Getting Started Job Search Tips

A Promising 2015 for Job Seekers

new-opportunities-for-job-seekers-in-2015
Written by Miranda Pennington

Casey Fleischmann, an Account Executive at Links Humans, has some good news for those of us stuck in the frustrating, daunting stage of professional life known as job hunting. First off, 2015 has seen the rate of job creation rise to its highest levels since prior to the 2007 recession and its resulting waves of lay-offs.

Employers and job-seekers alike are using LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to find each other; 1 in 3 hiring managers say the content they find when they research a candidate online contributes to their hiring decisions. Creativity (within appropriate parameters) is appreciated now more than ever–use your resume to tell the stories that make you a compelling future employee.

Key factors in preparing for a job–beyond the basics like networking and following-up appropriately–include making sure you’ve acquired and maintained vital technical skills for your field. Career experts like Barbara Safani advise job-hunters to use sites like Salary.com and Glassdoor.com to assess their market value, rather than relying on what they’ve made in the past.

So, the takeaway for career changers and employment seekers is that there are more ways for you to reach out than ever before. And while you’re waiting in that interminable space between sending out a dynamite resume and cover letter and actually getting a call back, there’s plenty for you to do in establishing your interest and availability online. Chin up, and get yourself out there!

About the author

Miranda Pennington

Miranda K. Pennington is a freelance writer and editor whose work has appeared on The Toast, The American Scholar, and the Ploughshares Writing Blog. She currently teaches creative nonfiction for Uptown Stories, a Morningside Heights nonprofit organization. She has an MFA from Columbia University, where she has also taught in the University Writing program and consulted in the Writing Center.