There’s a good chance many job seekers out there aren’t aware of Google Alerts. The technology is easy to implement, as you only need to plug a topic into the search engine and receive regularly updated information regarding that topic’s latest news stories and articles.
If you use Google Alerts, you can likely gain “insider information” that can help your job search greatly, according to MarketWatch. In many situations, you’ll be able to watch the latest actions taken by potential employers and bring it up later in interviews. In some cases, you may even learn about job openings that haven’t been announced yet, giving you a chance to get at business opportunities before anyone else.
One way that you can use Google Alerts to your advantage is to research a location’s current industry projections. By using the technology to prepare a search for an area and industry you’re interested in moving to – you might be interested in uprooting to Austin, Texas and get an idea of how the software development market is performing, as one example – you can learn which companies are experiencing good results. Approaching these companies may lead to a direct improvement in production quality.
You don’t have to limit yourself to only job searching. Networking and referrals can be great ways to land a job, and if you set Google Alerts for industry leaders and members of your network, you can be on top of any good news and congratulate them as soon as possible. Don’t make the mistake of mentioning your job search outright. Instead, you can laud them for their achievements and either establish or rebuild your relationship with them. In the future, if they remember your kindness, they’ll be more likely to help you.
Keep tabs on yourself
Just as important as monitoring others can be your ability to assess your own online footprint by using Google Alerts. A potential manager will immediately Google you after they read your resume. In the event that any negative information comes up, they will become less likely to hire you. If you Google Alert your own name, you’ll be able to see anything that comes up, good or bad. If there’s anything bad that you discover, you can attempt to get it renewed or at the very least come up with a strategy to defend whatever the information in question says.
You can also use Google Alerts to better prepare yourself for both hiring opportunities and interviews. Having a strong online presence involves staying on top of information. Whether there’s industry-related news about you or you’ve found a new way to get your name out there – one way to do so is to publish an article on LinkedIn – you’ll have a better playing field to work from.
Strategies to improve your uses
Once you’ve decided to go forward using Google Alerts, CareeRealism reported a few separate ways you can use special features to improve your search capacities. Like with the overarching Google search engine, using quotations around names or companies, especially those that are longer, can keep results limited to exactly who or what you’re following. Using a minus sign can also improve these results, likely by helping you eliminate certain jobs. One way to do so is by removing specific positions you’re not interested in during a general search. One resulting search would read “tech jobs -developer.” These possibilities can help restrict your search results to only the exact information you’re interested in.