We live in an age where technology touches everything we do. There are smart refrigerators, thermostats, and cars. Medicine, entertainment, and business are touched by technology at every step. Technology makes our lives easier through speed and convenience, and the job search is no exception. Technology has transformed how we look for, apply, interview for, and secure our jobs. Overall, these transformations are positive, but there are a few ways that technology can hurt your chances of securing the perfect job. Here’s a quick look at the pros and cons of technology and your job search.

How Technology Helps Your Job Search

• Updating your resume is as simple as a few clicks. Before technology, resumes and cover letters had to be physically printed. They mostly live online now, which means keeping your resume and cover letter up-to-date only takes a few minutes. Even if you aren’t actively looking for a job, it’s a good idea to make time each month to keep them updated. You never know when an opportunity might pop up!

• Job postings are at your fingertips. We don’t have to physically walk into a business and ask if they are hiring. Online job search engines and company websites allow you to look for and find hundreds of jobs with just a few clicks.

• Apps make managing the job search easy! Almost every job search platform has an app that allows you to see where your application is in the process. The guessing game has been greatly minimized thanks to mobile technology!

How Technology May Hurt Your Job Search

Your online digital footprint is difficult to erase. Depending on your age, your digital footprint may have started before you were even aware of the internet. Parents post pictures and stories online of their children. Teenagers add videos, photos, and publish content that they may regret as adults. Hiring managers and co-workers can find anything that has been posted, so be cautious of what you put online.

Here’s one great example of how this can hurt your job search: A young woman, we’ll call her Sue, was interviewing for project manager of a family-owned, small business. This position required a large amount of client interaction in which representing the values held by the company were vital. Sue made it to the final interview process and was one of two final candidates. Unfortunately, before her interview an intern Googled her name and uncovered a scandalous work history. News spread among employees quickly and even though this was behind her, Sue was eliminated as a potential candidate. What was searchable online did not represent the company’s values and had undermined her ability to work well with the team, as they distrusted her immediately.  

Too many options can be overwhelming. While we listed “job postings at your fingertips” as a helpful aspect of technology, it can also cause a lot of stress if you don’t have a game plan.

The applicant pool is deep. It’s not uncommon for a position to get as many as 500 applicants. If it’s a desired position or with a sought after company, the number may increase into the thousands. How do you stand out among such odds? It takes work and patience. Our best advice is to hire a career coach who can help you customize your resume, nail the interview, and build a reputable online presence.

All of these potentially negative aspects of looking for a career in a technology-driven world can be addressed with the expert assistance of a career coach. We would love to partner with you to ensure you have success after success. Contact us to learn more!