Have you ever found yourself out of work and the job search is taking longer than you expected? Why not learn a new skill set or hone up on a current skill. There are many great free resources online and in person to take advantage of.

IN PERSON TRAINING

1)      Many local colleges offer 6-12 weeks class room sessions on different technologies in which you can get a certificate. This might cost a little bit of money, but it is well worth the investment in your future.

2)      Local companies like Pragmatic Works offer free SQL training every Tuesday and Thursday at 11am. They also offer different SQL boot camps in which they give you a power introduction to different SQL products. The boot camps cost a little money, but you will come out of the class with a strong knowledge of the skills. Visit www.pragmaticworks.com  and check it out for yourself.

3)      There are many local technical user groups in which you will get a chance to network with people in the industry and learn from the night’s presentation. User groups cost nothing and there is one for almost every skillset. Some user groups include: JAXDUG (Jacksonville Development Group), JSSUG (Jacksonville SQL Server User Group), JAXJUG (Jacksonville Java User Group), JAXSPUG (Jacksonville SharePoint User Group), and IIBA (International Institute of Business Analyst).

4)      Code Camps are also a great way to learn a lot and attend a bunch of classes for free.  .Net code Camp and SQL Saturday are great code camps to go to and learn from local and national industry experts. 

5)      www.codeacademy.com is an extensive 12-week class room instruction on Ruby on Rails. You should make sure you are truly interested in programming otherwise you might lose interest.

ONLINE TRAINING

1)      CodeAcademy and Code School are a couple different online options that offer free tutorials on various different products. Find what technology you are interested in you can find many free options to get you started.

If you have the time, definitely take the effort to strengthen your total skill. I gave examples of technology related options, but there are many other options for all backgrounds. You can be certified in almost anything.

Jeremy

Here is wishing everyone a very happy New Year. I hope you really enjoyed your time off with your family and friends. I know a lot of people are struggling with their search for employment through the Holiday Season. It can be very tough because a lot of companies can really put a lock down on budgets and hiring. I want to give some tips going into 2013 that will help you land your next job.

1)    STAY POSITIVE- November and December are the hardest months to find a job. Don’t let having no luck the last 2 months get your spirits down and slow down your efforts in the search for a job. Have a positive outlook and remember finding a job is a full time job in itself.

2)    SEARCH DAILY- Mid January is when most companies finally are back in full swing and all new budgets are approved. Hiring managers are ready to spend so there should be a high influx of opportunities in the next month or two. Don’t miss out on the chance to land a great job. Search daily on the job boards, the paper, company sites, etc…..Keep a close look out on Social Media sites as well. Many employers posts jobs via status updates and tweets.

3)    FOLLOW UP- Go back through your list of jobs that you have applied to and call the company and find out if the position is still open. Let them know you are interested. Maybe they are ready to move and you will now be fresh in their mind.

4)    FIND A RECRUITER- If you don’t already have a recruiter you trust, call around and go meet face-to-face with a couple different recruiters. Feel free to contact me, or any other recruiters at Incepture for help in landing your next job! Recruiters will be super busy the first few months and being fresh in their mind will put you at the top of their list when positions come out.

EVALUATE YOUR JOB SEARCH-  If you continue to have no luck, step back and really evaluate your job search. Don’t keep doing the same thing over and over. I believe it was Albert Einstein who said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Best of luck and I hope everybody has a great 2013!

Thanks for reading my blog and feel free to follow me on Twitter (@JeremyDReynolds) and LinkedIn

Sincerely,

 Jeremy

It seems like everyone has some sort of smart phone these days. If you find yourself sitting in a coffee shop or restaurant between interviews, take a moment to review the tips and tricks provided in these mobile applications. I have an iPhone myself, so these are some quality apps I have come across that can help you make the most of your job search.

1.    Jobmo- https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jobmo/id448483260?mt=8 –

Jobmo pulls employment opportunities from multiple sources and allows you to search for jobs in your city or zip code. You can edit the settings to narrow your search by distance, salary, and a variety of other factors. Jobmo even allows you to connect their app to LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. When you are interested in a job posting, Jobmo will connect you directly with the client’s website for more information. Jobmo is an excellent app to search for employment opportunities.

2.    Job Interview Q&A- https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/job-interview-question-answer/id527637543?mt=8

With so many applicants to every job, nailing your interview is absolutely essential. This app prepares you for the actual interview. The free version gives you 5 basic prep questions that everybody should know. For each question there is a nearly 2 minute video response from a professional that explains how you should best answer the question. A really cool feature this app has is the ability to record yourself answering the question. You just press record and then you can watch video footage of you answering the question. There is a limited amount of questions, but there are a ton of extra questions that you can purchase which pretty much covers any topic you could imagine as it relates to interviewing. I definitely recommend using this app to prepare for an interview.

3.    JobAware- https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jobaware-job-search-just-got/id453682011?mt=8

This app offers the most complete information for a job seeker. It offers interview tips, salary negotiation tips, salaries listed by profession, and resume tips to help you ace your interview and get selected. You are able to search by location for jobs in your area and then track the jobs you have applied to. It gives you multiple options to research the company with Google, LinkedIn, Wikipedia, and a few others. You can link this app to LinkedIn as well. JobAware will definitely keep you active in your job search and is a great organizational app to utilize during the job search process.

4.    How to Get a Job Interview- https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/how-to-get-a-job-interview/id485804851?mt=8

This app specifically aids you in getting interview. There are 5 different chapters with 5-6 different videos prepping you for different interview questions. This app also has different resume templates and cover letter templates to use. Outside of interview questions, this app also goes over how to dress for an interview and provides body language tips and many other little details as it pertains to landing a job. You could definitely spend hours on this app brushing up on your interview skills. The information it provides on body language and talking points can also be useful if you have a job. You would be surprised how much these details play a role in promotions and career advancement.

I highly recommend trying these free apps to aid in your quest for employment as well as checking other apps out. There are also paid apps out there that will format a resume for you and allow you to send it out from your phone. You are no longer stuck in your home office all day to search for work. Have you found any other apps that were helpful in your job search? If so, please share in the comments.

Go mobile and best of luck in finding your dream job.

Jeremy

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