Career Site

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.

Its an understatement to say the Internet is big. Its impossible even to accurately describe its reach as for every few Web sites that die every day, several more crop up. Competition can be fierce among sites publishing similar information, and more so among sites selling similar products. This applies to job seekers as well. Whether its a profile on LinkedIn, a Twitter account, or an individual Web site, millions of people are using the Internet to find jobs. Its gone way beyond simply performing a job search on sites such as Monster or Career Builder. These days, if you want to get noticed, you need to step up your game because if you dont, you can be sure that the person who did put themselves out there will be the one to get the job over you. Dont just think outside the box—get rid of the box. These are just a few creative ways to get noticed online.

Change The Game

In most cases, employers have the upper hand. Theyre the ones who have the job you want, the salary you need, and are pretty much holding all the cards when it comes to deciding who gets that coveted position. Sure, you may have done some brilliant resume writing, and you may hit it out of the park in the interview, but it comes down to the hiring manager deciding whether they like you or not, and you just have to live with their decision. Or not. You can take a page from Susan Villas Lewiss book and hire a boss instead. Lewis created a site called Susan Hires a Boss, and laid out in great, somewhat controversial detail what she was looking for in a boss. She definitely ruffled a few feathers, but more importantly, she stood out because she went about the job search process from an entirely different angle. And it worked. She ended up hiring just the boss she was looking for.

Hit Em Where They Live

More and more companies are looking online to find job candidates, even those companies that arent Web-based. It makes sense because the Internet has streamlined much of the job/candidate search process, and has made so much more information so much more accessible, for better or worse. But if youre hoping to get a job with a Web-based company, the last thing you should be doing is sending them a paper resume. If you want to get an Internet companys attention, you have to make full use of the tools available to you. Remember, this company lives on the Internet. They see all the online ruckus you do, multiplied a few thousand times over. One way to get up over all that noise is to emulate Jamie Varon and her Web site, TwitterShouldHireMe.com. Her site went into detail not only about her experience, but, well, why Twitter should hire her. Her gumption got her a lunch meeting with the company, and although it didnt result in a job, it did lead Varon to other lucrative pursuits, one of which is her own successful Web design company.

Put Away Your Pride

One positive aspect of so many people being out of work due to a sluggish economy is that theres a sense of camaraderie. Sure, youre competing against a lot of those people when youre searching for a job, but being part of such a large group facing the same trials can take a little bit of the sting out of something that previously could have been a source of embarrassment. If you want to get employers to notice you, its time to swallow a bit of that pride. Thats what Robin Stearns did when she created the site myhusbandneedsajob.com (now defunct) after watching her husband struggle for months to find a job. The site contained a photo of Stearns holding up a sign that said, Hire my husband. This particular method may reek of desperation, but it got results. Within days of the site going live, Stearnss husband was receiving dozens of job offers. They also heard from many people in the same situation. Being brutally honest about the situation they were in may have been difficult, but it struck a chord that people could respond to. Theres one thing all these methods have in common—guts. You have to be willing to take risks to get what you want. And even if you dont succeed, you can at least say you gave it one heck of a shot. There will be naysayers—there always are. Ignore them, and just go for it. You may end up with something even better than you were trying for.

Leslie Williams is a writer for Jobfox Resumes, the largest resume writing service online. She specializes in using social media to connect to the right job.

Similar Posts:

• 4 Tips for Getting a Job
• Job Search Reviews – I Read it on the Web
• Cool Jobs…Where Can You Find A Cool Career?
• Seattle Resume Writers
• Smarter than the Average Bear