Using Google Alerts for Hunting Jobs

When it comes to job hunting, finding a suitable job is always a challenge. Many people still rely on the out-dated methods for finding jobs. They go through the classified columns of the dailies or at most consult the job websites online. Going through hundreds of job search websites or finding an ideal position through the thousands of advertised jobs in dailies can truly be a difficult task. However, there are many new tools that can make the job search process effective, easier, and faster. These tools will enable to crack the jobs that are not advertised anywhere.

Google Alert is one such tool that should be a part of your job search kit, so that you receive an email alert every time the search engine discovers the information that you have told it to look for. It can include news stories, press releases, articles, and any other mention about the particular subject. You can use the Google Alert Strategy along with other job search techniques that you are already using.

How you can set up the Alert?

Visit the page http://www.google.com/alerts and then sign in with your email account. (You will not require a Gmail account for that)

You can determine how often you will like to receive the alerts. You might be interested in a particular job role or job sector. Whatever be your preferred industry or role, you need to think of the search terms that your potential boss may use at the time of publishing the blog post, press releases, or articles and accordingly frame the search queries. You can mention the industry name and the location in the search query to receive more specific alerts that may be relevant to you. Going through the job alerts you receive, you can select the ones that are of true interests for you and disregard them which may look irrelevant.

If the employers’ name is two or more words enclosed it within the quotation marks. If you wish to include the name of multiple employers within the search terms use the word “OR” in between the names. If you are not happy with the kind of responses received, refine the filter as required.

What to do with the alerts received?

Monitoring your desired employers with Google Alerts, will provide you an inside scoop of what is happening in their companies. It will keep you updated about the possible openings in the company. You can drop a resume whenever there are suitable posts. Say, you read news about a certain company that they are going to expand in France and you speak fluent French. You can mention this skill in your resume while applying for a vacant position for that company. This specific skill will strengthen your candidature.

Research employers in a specific geographical area. You can use Google Alerts to track the breaking news of interested employers. It will be effective to search jobs either where you live or where you are planning to move. For example you are willing to work in the insurance sector in New York and you live in Florida. You might set a Google Alert for New York Insurance companies. You might have the information about the growth of the companies including the search terms like “insurance companies signing new lease” or “expansion”.

Make a good impression at the interview. Setting up alerts like the target companies’ financial statement, competition, merger or acquisition information can give you many details to shine in the interview. Thoroughly, research any of the news that you come across about the company. You may prepare a proposal to present in the interview as per the recent news released by the company.

Network with suitable people. These days, networking and referrals are effective for bagging an appropriate job opportunity. Though, LinkedIn is the best site for this purpose, Google Alerts keep you updated about someone making a significant impact on the industrial front or moving to a different job sector even if that person is not in your LinkedIn network. Certain renowned professionals may not update their LinkedIn profiles regularly, but Google Alerts may help you stay updated about them also.

Maintain your online reputation. When a resume is considered for potential hiring, the employer Google the name of the applicant, to check whether there is any offending information about that person in the digital space. Therefore, it is important to set up Google Alert for your own name. It will notify you if your name is mentioned anywhere online. It becomes easier to get rid of inaccurate information about you online, before it catches the eyes of potential employers.

With the set Alerts, you will soon receive a great job opportunity and will be able to bag it successfully.