Best Resume Places Based on Your Field
Getting your resume noticed is everything, and where it gets posted makes a huge difference. Uploading your resume to a big job board is just the beginning, but many professions have dedicated websites and communities that can give you an edge over the competition. Let’s take a look at some of the best depending on the field you work in or the job you are looking for.
For managers and information workers: LinkedIn
Despite our collective views on LinkedIn and the tsunami of notifications, it continues to be extremely popular, especially among professionals, managers, and other corporate decision makers . When I was having lunch with my old CIO, who later founded a talent and recruiting firm, he reiterated a few months ago how often people want to see the LinkedIn profiles of candidates in management, consulting, and even technical fields before listing them. in for an interview.
So when you say, “I don’t know anyone who actually uses LinkedIn,” it might be true for those of us who work day in and day out, but when it comes to managers, marketers, HR professionals and executives, they all spend more time on LinkedIn than you might think. If you want to reach out to them for a job, find out if they are hiring employees, and see what new projects their companies are implementing (and if you can get to the ground floor), this is an important place for you. Luckily, you probably already have a LinkedIn account. You just need to set it up correctly, make sure it is optimized for search, include some well-written testimonials from former coworkers, and coherently explain your skills, accomplishments, and the type of work you’re going to do. Learning how recruiters read your LinkedIn profile can teach you a lot too, and it doesn’t hurt to keep your profile updated and stay active with your connections. After all, LinkedIn is a social network, and the benefits you get from it are proportional to the time you spend using it. Oh, and of course, make sure you turn on two-factor authentication on LinkedIn as well.
For technicians, engineers, and systems administration: Dice
Dice is more of a traditional job board, but focuses on technology and engineering. Sure, tech companies are looking for managers, project managers, and other non-technical jobs there, but this site is a huge community focused on technical work. In many ways, this is very similar to other popular job sites : you post your resume, list your skills, programming languages, and certifications to create an easily searchable profile, and hope someone will contact you based on that. Then you dig through the listings, set up job alerts that match your skills, and hope that your app will stand out from the crowd. Don’t be discouraged – Dice’s technical focus helps to narrow things down a bit, and its communities are important for networking.
Speaking of community, Dice Talent Communities give you the opportunity to talk and network with other techies with career interests like yours. For starters, there are groups for people working in cloud computing, big data and data analytics, mobile development, UI / UX design, and more.The Dice news page is full of articles that can teach you a thing or two about the industry you are in. working, or helping you get a job in a specific field or in a specific company, and their career toolkit is a valuable resource for people to just start their job search (or resume them after a long time). Also be sure to visit the Skills Center , which will help demystify some of the terms and technologies you’ll see in these job listings.
For Developers, DevOps & Coders: GitHub
Granted, GitHub is n’t really a social network, but it’s a great place to upload your resume and projects if you’re looking for a developer, engineer, or analyst job. This is the place to see your projects, and while it’s not the only site of its kind , GitHub is so popular for one reason – and it’s not just the tools they provide to developers. It’s also easy to find and interact with other developers as well as their projects, and the GitHub pages are great for building a personal portfolio. The previously mentioned GitHub Resume can help you create a beautiful resume from your profile and highlight your knowledge and projects at the same time.
In this case, the real benefit of being on GitHub is being where everything is. When you’re applying for a developer job and want to showcase your programming skills or the tools you’ve created, submitting a link to your GitHub profile is almost a matter of course. GitHub isn’t quite good for chatting or communicating (sites with large developer communities like LinkedIn , Hacker News, and Quora are better for this) and it’s not very good for communicating with people who make hiring decisions, but it’s a great place. where you can see other projects, participate in them and, of course, see yourself. Sometimes this is the most important thing.
For creative professionals: Behance
Whether you are a graphic designer, UI / UX designer, digital artist, photographer, fashion designer, architect, illustrator, or any other creative professional, Behance is the place to go for your portfolio. The community is huge and job listings are included on the site , so you can apply with your portfolio and showcase your best work as soon as you find a job . The site makes it easy to create this portfolio, showcase your best work, encourage other artists and creative professionals in your field to browse your portfolio and offer feedback, and find work that is relevant to you. Likewise, you can discover the work of other artists, communicate with them, follow them, and even follow the companies or organizations to which they belong.
Behance hosts projects and portfolios from all over the world, and many companies, nonprofits and schools have their own dedicated pages on the site that you can follow to meet and talk with designers behind the scenes. The Behance network of sites includes the 99u productivity blog , an open API for developers to showcase their programming skills , and more. One glance at their testimonials page will tell you why you might want to sign up if you’re wondering how you might get noticed or actually find art jobs. Even if you still have things to do before you’re ready for a career, think of Behance as the LinkedIn for creative professionals. You want to be there, if only for the reason that everyone else is there, and you will learn a lot just by participating.
For media professionals: MediaBistro
If you are a writer, journalist, blogger, copywriter, technical writer or editor, MediaBistro is a great resource. The site is a combination of a knowledge base and a message board. The site has a variety oftraining camps, online courses, and face-to-face courses in social media, journalism, text editing, design, and PR that you can take at any time to improve your skills. Best of all, each class is taught by professionals working in the field you learn about. MediaBistro even offers certification programs in subjects like magazine writing, digital project management, and digital marketing, so you earn something to show through your hard work.
However , the MediaBistro message board is one of the biggest benefits of the site. It is updated regularly to include job openings from large and small media companies looking for everything from bloggers and writers to executive editors and directors. There is even a freelance market for those people who want to start a writing career little by little (or just don’t want to write full-time). The site is also heavily used by media professionals, and while there is no social component – for example, no one to follow or be friends with, and no one to really communicate with – the bulletin board aspect is its greatest strength. Yes, you will complete your profile and portfolio and use it to apply for the jobs you see, but you will also see what types of jobs exist in your specific field or area, what skills they require, and you have the opportunity learn these skills.
Don’t forget to create your own portfolio and don’t neglect social media
Even with industry-specific sites, you shouldn’t neglect building your own portfolio. You can use a third party service to create one , or you can take a do-it-yourself approach and create your own . Whatever you do, it’s a great idea to have your own portfolio with a URL that you can post on business cards , give out to people who want to share the work you do, or send to potential employers when you state your case. you have the skills they need on their team. Many of these sites allow you to build your own portfolio, but don’t rely entirely on them – create your own and then link to your profiles on the sites above so that people who find your personal site can jump straight to it and see other skills. that you have. If you have a great portfolio, here are some tricks to make it stand out from the crowd .
Likewise, if you are looking for a job, having a presence and being active on social media can also go a long way, especially in certain areas like marketing. You may need to clear your online presence first , but it’s wiser to be there than not , especially given the opportunity these networks provide you with to connect and converse with people whose work you admire, companies you would like to work for. , or projects. you want to take part. Of course, how successful you are with people on traditional social media depends mainly on the industry you are trying to get into and how skilled you are in professional networking , but I’ve only seen a few in the last few months. great connections and get incredible leads on Twitter.
We touched on this in our guide to indecent self-promotion and online identification : you have to be in control of what people find when they look for you, and you have to offer something to keep people from hunting. to contact you online. Moving beyond the big job boards and making sure you are where the events in your industry are happening is a good start.