Finding a job with today’s technology

It seems like everyone has mobile phones today -- an iPhone, Droid, BlackBerry or some other smartphone. Besides a phone, many also have notebook computers, iPods and iPads.

Technology changes so fast. It is difficult to keep up or fully understand how new applications or websites make looking for a job easier than sending a mass mailing of resumes to companies with job openings.

It is unlikely that one new job-search application or website will serve every person's needs. But, for every person looking for a job, there is a "no cost" or "low cost" telephone, computer and/or iPod/iPad program that will help you find and track a job that fits your experience. There are thousands of websites hosting job openings that can be tapped with simple search engines available on Google and Yahoo browsers.

Jim Stroud, an expert in social media recruiting, recently wrote how job-hunt.org can help a person with a telephone or computer access Google or Yahoo to use "search strings" for tracking hundreds of jobs. His example is a string that might look like this: intitle:accountant (intitle:job OR intitle:jobs OR intitle:careers) (apply OR submit OR eoe). That entry in Google or Yahoo resulted in more than 200,000 openings for accounting positions.

What the search engine does when you write "intitle:accountant" is track every described job opening with the word accountant in it on the thousands of websites that exist on the World Wide Web. Adding "OR" refines the search for additional words that may be used in the job description. For example, "eoe" stands for equal opportunity employment, which will be noted in many job-opening advertisements. This is a scatter shot way of finding jobs, but it can lead to that one job in the right place for the diligent job seeker.

If you are connected to the right website, "string searches" can be a great tool for finding the right job. NPR correspondent Frank Langfitt interviewed a headhunter in 2006 who said one of her favorite websites is LinkedIn, a network of 100 million professionals spread across the world. In his story, Langfitt reported, "LinkedIn says users include executives from all of the Fortune 500 companies. Typing keywords into a search engine, (the headhunter) can scrape the entire network to dig out high-quality candidates that she can't find elsewhere."

A job seeker needs to narrow a job search to websites that address his/her experience. A recent graduate may not be well-suited for LinkedIn but can be helped by websites like snagajob.com or teens4hire.com. An older job seeker might look at AARP.org.

If you have a smartphone, look for applications on your browser for that particular phone. Careerbuilder.com has apps tailored to iPhone and iPod Touch that will access more than 2,000,000 job openings

HireADroid supports a multiple-job-search engine (similar to Indeed, Careerbuilder, Simplyhired and Linkup websites), which allows you to immediately save a job opening as a favorite and respond to a company's job opening via email or tweet. This application covers the world, not just the U.S. employment market.

JobCompass is a phone app for both Android and iPhone. You can enter a specific area of employment interest with your preferred job, and it will deliver a mapped list of openings. The app is free.

BlackBerry has a free app called Beyond.com that lets the user search across industries, sorting by location and key words. The user is able to review detailed job descriptions and share the information with friends or save the job opening in a favorites file.

Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com have apps for all Apple's "i's" (iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad).

Another useful phone app tracks your applications. Of course, the tracking apps are different depending on the smartphone you are using, but tracking your applications is essential when looking for multiple opportunities. Apple has IgetAJob (.99 cents), Android has ToDo and Blackberry has Job Application Checklist.

Learn about QR, Quick Response codes, that are hitting the market. The codes contain volumes of information about everything from consumer goods to job openings and company profiles. They are bar-code-like squares. When photographed into your phone, they can be opened into an information page about a job opening or a consumer product.

Accounting giant Ernst and Young is using QR on its website. QRs are being placed on business cards for Vizibility SearchMe with links that can be added to resumes, presentations, business cards and any other printed or online materials.

"Embedding a QR code on a resume is an interactive and easy way for job seekers to proactively present additional information about themselves, while communicating a high level of technology savviness," said Wendy Enelow, executive director of the Resume Writing Academy and the Career Thought Leaders Consortium.

"Resumes are constantly evolving to keep pace with the changing employment landscape," she said. "Adding a QR code that links to your specific Google search results is one of the latest and greatest ways to create a multidimensional, technologically savvy resume. As we all know, job seekers on the cutting edge are more memorable to hiring managers and recruiters, and that's what the whole job search is about. Google me and remember me."

QR code scanning software is available for iPhone, BlackBerry and iPad. Check their respective websites for the downloadable app. Often it is free.

Telephone and other mobile communication devices are a mixed blessing. They offer immediate response and feedback with programmed applications that search for jobs and give the job searcher the ability to wirelessly transfer a resume to a prospective employer.

It is a mixed blessing because the ability to respond immediately must be tempered by the thoughtful process of tailoring your employment request to the employer's job opening. If the job description looks right, the job seeker needs to learn something about the company (information often available on the Internet) so a cover letter can be attached to the resume. The tendency can be to blast the employer with resumes without getting an employer's considered review because none of the resumes are tailored to the job opening.

Once you have chosen your instrument of job search -- whether a wired computer, wireless smart phone or an Apple "i" -- the next step is to select a service provider. For the wired or wireless network computer, the most common providers in the Las Vegas Valley are Cox Cable and Century Link. But Clear also provides wireless 4G home network services and 3G hot spots that can be used nationwide for laptop computers. Clear's sales seem to be primarily Internet driven, but it does have a store on Charleston Boulevard, west of Rainbow Boulevard.

In January 2011, JD Powers and Association rated AT&T, Sprint/Nextel, T-Mobile and Verizon as the primary wireless providers in the Southwest. AT&T and Sprint call quality was rated as about average with three out of five gold circles; T-Mobile call quality was grouped in a category of the "rest" with two out of five gold stars; and Verizon was awarded the five-star gold medal award for 2011. Of course, the two biggest competitors in the national wireless telephone service market are AT&T and Verizon. Last month, AT&T announced that it was buying T-Mobile.

Choosing a service is complex. A customer's use and the capability of the wireless service have to be married in a way that meets the customer's need. Every service provider has had complaints ranging from dropped calls to unreasonable contract termination fees.

AT&T is no slouch in the job-search market, particularly with its iPhone app for job openings at AT&T. With more than 266,000 employees, there are always some openings available, but now you can use your iPhone to job search and alert you for any openings that are available with AT&T anywhere in the nation. You can use the app to notify you if an opening for AT&T occurs in your area.

AT&T has a user-friendly website that allows you to look at everything AT&T is doing in today's market. You can enter the website wirelessly and watch videos that will tell you about its "Job Search Initiative" and hear testimonials from high school students about their experience shadowing AT&T employees as they complete a day's work. Even the CEO, Randall Stephenson, has had a high school student shadow.

AT&T's website shows every product it has for sale and contracts to meet a wide variety of wireless needs. From applications to hardware, touring AT&T's website is a technological marvel.

Mike Elgan noted in a 2009 Computerworld article that "The consumer electronics scene in the U.S. is wonderful and horrible at the same time. The devices, technologies and innovation are wonderful. The provision of wireless access is horrible. U.S. carriers are some of the most backward, unscrupulous and anti-customer companies in the nation."

That was in 2009 and 2011 seems better. Now, some providers are taking month-to-month contracts with no termination fees. Service providers are listening to customer complaints and changing their business practice to address some of the consumer frustrations noted by Elgan in 2009.

But choosing a service remains complicated. The customer needs to ask questions and clarify what he or she needs and what the wireless service company can provide.

Call quality is not the only consideration when deciding on a wireless service provider. Until recently iPhones only used AT&T, so if you were not with AT&T, iPhone was not a smart phone alternative. Verizon is now a service provider for iPhone.

Another company to consider for cellular service in Las Vegas is MetroPCS. A spokesperson for MetroPCS said it had the first 4G LTE network in Las Vegas. LTE stands for "long term evolution" and is considered the future of wireless communication because of its increased data-transfer speed. The company has set up its own network in 13 major metropolitan areas, Las Vegas being one of them. Las Vegas was chosen because its market information showed that 90 percent of the population uses mobile phones.

The company has four stores in Las Vegas at: 6431 W. Charleston, 4069 S. Maryland Parkway, 1300 S. Lamb A-2. and 2371 E. Bonanza Road. Other locations in the valley: 655 W. Craig Road Suite 100 in North Las Vegas, and 10251 S. Eastern Ave. Suite 130, Henderson. It is one of the few wireless service companies providing month-to-month service rates. The competitive advantage for MetroPCS is its policy of no annual contracts. With a monthly fee ranging from $40 to $75 and a network of 100 cell towers in the Las Vegas Valley, the company believes it has the best service in town. Smartphones like Android seem a perfect fit for MetroPCS's service.

Verizon is a premier company in the communications business. It focuses on wireless technology designed to empower customers through the Internet, email, social media, text messaging and telephone contact. Verizon's reputation is founded on network accessibility, whether at home or on the road. By providing accessibility, it promotes use of smartphones, tablets, net books, 4G USB modems, Mobile Hot Spots and feature phones to help job seekers stay connected.

Like most progressive companies, Verizon uses social media like Facebook and YouTube, national job boards/aggregators and its own online site to attract candidates for employment. But Verizon does not eschew traditional recruiting: i.e., personal contact through career fairs and college campus recruiting events. And, of course, most of us have seen the newspaper and television advertising.

Verizon backs up its advertising for employees with awards like "Best in Employee Training," "Elite Winner in Compensation and Benefits," "Best Places to Work for Recent Grads" and "Best Company to Work for Working Mothers."