There was once a time when one had to not only accompany their CV with a handwritten cover letter, but also go to a cyber cafe, print out as many copies as possible, before dropping them at the entrance or reception desks of as many offices as you possibly could. Well, those were tough days for job seekers.
To start with, the CVs were left at the guard’s desk and very few made it up to the intended person. The outcome? Endless days of waiting for responses that never came, after spending so much money and time. Additionally, you most likely did not know anything about the company, apart from what was in the media. But, technology has changed all that. Here is how.
Applying for Jobs On the Move
If there’s a single thing that technology has changed, is how people now apply for jobs. Employers no longer fuss about hard copy applications anymore. Well, maybe in a remote office that is literally located in the middle of nowhere. Present day employers ask you to apply for jobs online.
The amazing thing about technology is that you get to apply for jobs from where you are, when you want, especially with the rise of apps. The BrighterMonday app is one of the few credible apps in Kenya that jobseekers can use on the go, which allows you to upload your CV and apply for jobs as soon as they arise, while on the go. In a world that is so technologically connected, millennials cannot bear the thought of going offline to look for jobs. This has lead to increased innovation by employers, to make things easier and faster, for job seekers.
Looking for Jobs in Real Time
Previously, jobs only used to be advertised in through newspapers and those were only the top positions. As such, positions that did not qualify for such advertisement had to be passed around through word of mouth. If you were not within earshot of the right people, you didn’t get to learn about these jobs. So, most job seekers ended up randomly dropping CVs in offices and having to pray that there was a vacancy. That was tedious and costly.
In came technology and the game of guesstimation and wasted time became a thing of the past. For millennials, all one has to do is go online and look for available jobs fitting their credentials and expertise. With the ability to create customised email alerts or push notifications on apps, you do not have to struggle looking for jobs that fit your skills because technology actually does it for you.
Emergence of Freelance Opportunities
The fever of working from home has not died down just yet. Everyone wants the convenience of working from wherever they please; at least that is what millennials want. Others don’t want to work for anyone and that is now possible with technology. Freelance or the gig economy is now an actual thing thanks to technology. With just a computer and good internet connection, you can now work for anyone across the world, and this means plenty of jobs for millennials. While job-hunting, millennials are now looking for freelance opportunities too, made possible by technology.
Employer Profiling
A close match to freelancing is the ability to work from anywhere and collaborate with teams from across the globe. Technology has now made it possible for remote teams to work effectively from anywhere in the world, and this has meant more spare time for millennials. Most millennials do not want to be confined to an office their entire day. Well, with technology, one can easily make reviews of the potential companies that they can work for and select only those that allow their employees to work remotely. This is a win for everybody, as employers do not have to invest heavily in office space and resources.
On the other hand, job seekers can now find detailed information about employers online, which helps then decide whether they want to work for a particular employer or not. It is now easy for job seekers to find online reviews about employers online, which has made eased the process of job hunting since they can filter out those employers with bad reviews.
Amazing Possibilities with Social Media
We have all heard the flak that social media has had. With parents complaining about how millennials are glued to their phones due to social media, to being the new avenue for hate speech. Truth be told, it is not all doom and gloom. Recently, you can find your next job through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and most importantly, LinkedIn. Employers have gone to where the people are and if you follow the right pages like BrighterMonday Kenya, you will always see posts about available opportunities. Social media is the new cool and if you use it right, then finding your next job is actually no so hard after all.
Many things have been changed in today’s world, thanks to technology, particularly in how we look and apply for jobs. With the rise of apps and social media, job seekers can now find suitable vacancies without having to walk all day long dropping CVs in numerous offices. With technology, there is no limit to what people can now do.
