How Technology Has Positively Impacted Your Job Search

Technology that’s been implemented over the last decade, as well as emerging technologies, can help job-seekers find positions more easily. Not only can they research possible roles, but they can also find remote opportunities beyond where they live. 

Here, we’ll talk about the innovations that have positively impacted job search over the last ten years. 

 

✅ You can research companies, salaries, and positions before you start.

A decade ago, job candidates were walking into positions much more blindly than we do today. Specifically, search tools like Glassdoor let candidates research the company culture, identify salary ranges, and read employee reviews so they can make better-informed decisions. 

“Employer-review tools like Glassdoor and Kununu really allow the candidates to go behind the walls and see what the culture and environments are like at companies, to an extent. In the age of technology, it is much easier to do reference checks and find out who is in your ecosystem. From both sides — employer, and candidate,” said Brightcove’s Carrie Walecka.

Ninety-two percent of candidates read these reviews before applying for a new job, and about 47 percent of millennials have turned down a job because of negative posted reviews.

 

✅ Remote opportunities let you search for positions anywhere in the world.

Prior to the shift to remote work, candidates were usually confined to searching for jobs in their local area or being forced to relocate. With the rise in remote positions, however, job seekers, especially those with particular skills, can find positions anywhere in the country or, sometimes, around the world. 

“Technology made it possible to seek out the best talent, not just locally but worldwide. Chances are, you don’t even have to worry about relocating the prospective employee because you’ve got Skype, Slack, Trello, Basecamp, and old-school email,” Pete Sosnowski, co-founder and VP of Uptowork, argued.

 

✅ Remote work lets workers in wage-stagnant places develop their careers.

The rise in remote work also meant that job seekers in areas with limited career growth or wage growth could compete for positions in areas with higher wages. For instance, candidates can apply for remote jobs in cities that pay more lucrative salaries without leaving home. 

The change in the number of remote applications has increased exponentially. In January 2020, prior to the pandemic, only about three percent of applications belonged to remote candidates. Now, cities like Wilmington, North Carolina, and Sarasota, Florida, have seen the number of remote job applicants increase to more than half. 

 

✅ LinkedIn helps workers connect with each other and find the positions they’re seeking.

LinkedIn is another virtual tool that has helped workers find new opportunities. With 830 million members, searches for “LinkedIn” have increased by more than 212 percent in the last 12 years. 

The professional social media platform lets candidates both connect with others and search for jobs. This democratizes the networking process to involve everyone, avoiding some of the networking traps of yesteryear, like nepotism or old boys’ clubs. Instead, professionals in many fields can meet each other and learn about jobs that may not be posted on job search platforms. 

LinkedIn has also tweaked its search features in recent years. 

“To aid the shuffling workforce, LinkedIn recently added filters that allow job seekers to target remote, hybrid, or on-site roles. Indeed has added tools to help employers conduct video interviews and hosted a month-long hiring initiative for the restaurant industry…” said Washington Post’s Danielle Abril.

 

✅ New technologies help candidates get their resumes seen by hiring managers.

As applying for jobs has become simpler, companies have also had a more difficult time sorting through applications to find qualified candidates. So, they have turned to applicant tracking systems (ATS) that match applications with keywords on job applications. 

This isn’t necessarily great for job seekers, as hiring managers may never see their materials. But technology like Jobscan and SkillSyncer can also help those candidates write tailored resumes for those positions. These tools can be encouraging to candidates who may otherwise fear they’re underqualified for particular roles. 

“I’m seeing a rise in people who want to test the waters,” she said. “People have been inside their houses for the last two years, and they want a new challenge,” Sarah Johnston, founder of Briefcase Coach.

 

How Technology Has Positively Impacted Your Job Search

 

Certainly, not all emerging technology has positively impacted job search. But many employees have discovered new ways of networking and connecting they couldn’t access before. What’s more, they’re finding new opportunities to develop their careers without relocating. 

Undoubtedly, the pandemic has shifted the way we think about work and the role it plays in our lives. As new trends in the workplace unfold, we are likely to see even more new technologies that will positively impact your job search.