Simply Hired Blog

30 Million Monthly Visitors and Two New Executives

We’ve been busy here at Simply Hired. Just recently, we surpassed 30 million monthly visitors – a tremendous milestone in our book! That number represents an increase of 50 percent from the previous year and 30 percent from this year’s first quarter. That’s quite a jump and we’re very proud of our team’s efforts to get there.

In addition, we’ve added two new executives to the mix. Jonathan Glick (formerly of Become.com and Yahoo! Search) has joined us as Chief Product Officer, where he’ll continue to make the world’s largest job search engine even larger! And, Leonard Palomino (previously with LiveOps) comes to us as Vice President of Client Services to help ensure that our customers have as an enjoyable experience using the product as we do building it.

For more information on Jon and Leonard, and the rest of our executive team, visit the About Us page or today’s press release.

Simply Hired Named a Top Bay Area Workplace!

Kudos to…us!  Not to toot our own horn, but today is an exciting day at Simply Hired as we’ve been named one of the Bay Area’s Top Workplaces for 2012 by The Bay Area News Group. And it’s actually the second time we’ve made the list!

Maybe it’s the fully-stocked fridges (yes, plural), each day’s catered lunch or the Friday massages that swayed the votes. Maybe. But in all seriousness, it’s our employees and their attitudes and dedication to our company that make Simply Hired an incredible workplace. Our mission is to help people find a job they love – looks like we’re right on track.

More details are available in today’s press release. And for the full list of the Bay Area’s Top Workplaces, visit: www.mercurynews.com/topworkplaces.

Beefing Up Your Resume

By Melissa Crossman

Your resume is often the only way you’ll have to get your foot in the door with prospective employers, but if you are lacking in experience, a resume with a lot of white space isn’t a great way to make a good impression. Since you obviously can’t go without a resume, you will have to take a look at your current set of skills, experience and education and find a better way to display them. Then, take a look at a few ways you can expand your experience while searching for employment.

Volunteer experience

Not all experience has to be in a paid position. Volunteer work is not only a great way to gain a little real-world experience, but it also looks great on a resume. Even if the work is only tangentially associated with your chosen field, simply showing that you have devoted a significant amount of your time to a worthy cause may be enough to separate you from other candidates. If you are currently unemployed, spending your time volunteering can be a great way to beef up your resume while you look for a job.

Education

Education is an important aspect of your resume and one of the obvious places where you can beef up the resume when you don’t have enough work experience. Even if you have already completed your degree, spending time getting an advanced degree, like a masters degree, can make your resume shine. Employers know how much work goes into getting a masters degree, and will be more willing to overlook gaps in employment or a lack of real-world experience when a high-level of education is on your resume.

Infographics

A little creativity can go a long way on a resume, and sometimes employers will gravitate toward a resume that doesn’t appear to be just another standard list of past experience and skills. Creating an infographic that supports your resume and highlights your skills will allow you to stand out from the pack and may go a long way in getting you a callback. The graphic will also take your limited experience and present it in a way that makes it look much more impressive than it is.

Think outside the box

There may be many things that you have to offer a company which simply won’t fit on a standard resume, but with a little creativity you can find a way to let employers know what you can do. For example, if you are trying to get a job in a public relations field, then describing your acumen for attracting Facebook or LinkedIn followers, with the numbers to back it up, can be a big turn-on for your prospective employer. Each position will be a little different, but it’s just this type of outside the box thinking that will help your resume stand out, even if there isn’t much else on it. At the end of the day, your resume can only list your actual experience, skills and education, but that doesn’t mean that you have to hand in an unimpressive list of words. By adding a few creative touches and thinking alternative life experiences, you can make your resume much more appealing and greatly increase your chances of landing the position.

Melissa Crossman is an avid reader and writer who loves dispensing practical advice, ranging from how to interact with others during a teleconference to dressing for your final interview. She wrote this on behalf of AIU.

The Most Important Job Search Trick

By Sean Weinberg

We’re all used to the basic job application process (write resumes, search for jobs, hit apply), but there’s one piece of it that I keep seeing candidates miss - and it’s actually the most effective way to get an interview callback.

Following up is the most important thing to do in your job search.

A week after you apply, call or e-mail your potential employer. This is crucial for several reasons:

1. It reminds the hiring manager that you exist. It is easy for your application to be lost in a pile of things to do and following up can help it get found.
2. It shows initiative. It gives the company a taste for how you are as an employee. Someone who follows through and gets things done. Someone they want to hire.
3. It separates you from the pack. A lot of people make the mistake of not following up and this can be the move that clinches the deal.

Some people may worry about being “annoying” or “bothering” the people they want to work for. However, following up is too important to let that concern stop you from following up at all.

Here’s how you follow up effectively and appropriately.

1. Stay polite and be brief. In professional communications, brevity is crucial. For the follow up not to seem like begging, you’ve got be comfortable holding back from giving the potential employer a lengthy job pitch. A simple “Just wanted to confirm you’d received my application” is generally sufficient as a starting sentence.

2. Remind the hiring manager why you would bring value to the company and that you are still interested. Following up is a chance to show them just a little bit more about you. You didn’t want to overwhelm with information on your resume and cover letter, so here’s your chance to slip in a little something extra. A follow up email can be a little bit friendlier and less formal in tone.

3. If you have already been called in for an interview, when you follow up show what you learned from the process.  You want to show them “I heard what your needs are and I am the person to fulfill them.” Reinforce why they called you in for the interview in the first place.

4. Nudge a little. You do want to remind the company that you are in an active search. A great trick is to ask for a specific time frame for a meeting, thereby passively nudging them to give you a response. Something like, “I’ll be in the area on Monday afternoon and would love to meet up for coffee if you are available.”

5.   Last, but most importantly: THE most effective line to use in your follow up is “Please let me know either way”. 

I am going to repeat that: THE most effective line to use in your follow up is “Please let me know either way"

Sure, it’s more polite for the company to let you know either way, but with the amount of applicants and the numbered hours in a day, it’s not as likely that you’re going to get that courtesy call or e-mail unless you specifically ask for it.

Follow up with them to help ensure that they follow up with you.

Have you followed up and gotten the job or do you know someone who has?

Sean Weinberg is the COO and co-founder of RezScore, a free web application that reads, analyzes, and grades resumes – instantly. Also the founder of Freedom Resumes, Sean has dedicated his career to helping job seekers write the best possible resumes.

Professional Spotlight -The Top Insurance Jobs Around

By Susan Wells

Today, with so much focus on a failing economy and a crashing job market, career talk can be a pretty dismal conversation. Our college graduates are entering an economy with a national unemployment rate of 8.1% and the threat of mounting college debt ever looming—not the brightest of world's to suit up and enter smiling. But, of course, we're doing it. Everyone from recent college graduates and experienced professionals interested in a career change continue to search for lucrative and stable positions within the professional world. Some of the top careers in the insurance field can offer stability, interesting work, and substantial pay. Jobs within the insurance sector make up close to 15% of America's work force. With this number being so significant, very few job seekers are actually aware of the vast potential the insurance field offers. These three insurance jobs are some of the best in the business.

Actuary

Though actuaries are not exclusively employed in the insurance sector, insurance is their most traditional employment avenue. An actuary deals with the financial impact of risk and uncertainty. For insurance companies, actuaries use their skills to develop pricing models for various insurance risks. This is one of the primary functions of an insurance professional and is a highly sought after skill among insurance professions. Actuaries use their specialized skills to calculate premiums and reserves for insurance policies. While actuaries make up a fairly small fraction of all insurance related careers, the number of actuaries has grown over the last several years and is expected to continue growing. To become an actuary a bachelor's degree in a math related area is expected, along with two to four years of experience in the industry, and licensing by either the Society of Actuaries (SOA) or the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS). The pay scale for actuarial work is strong, with median earnings around $87,650 in 2010 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Insurance Agent

When we think about a career in the insurance realm, most of us likely think insurance agent. Insurance agents are the facet of insurance companies that the general public has the most familiarity with. They are the sales force behind the insurance industry. Insurance agents are the force that markets and sells health, life, casualty, and property insurance products and plans to businesses and individuals. Sales is at the heart of being an insurance agent. Therefore, individuals who are customer-focused often excel at this position. While the pay range for these positions can vary greatly, the median pay for an insurance agent in 2010 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics is $46,770 per year. However, some of the highest paid insurance agents can make up to six figures annually. The job outlook from 2010 to 2020 for insurance agents is expected to grow at 22% which is faster than the national average. Those looking for an extra edge on the job market today may want to consider obtaining further certifications as a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) or Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR).

Property and Life Insurance Underwriters

Insurance underwriters preform some of the central functions of an insurance company. Underwriters make sure that new and existing insured individuals meet the insurance company's eligibility requirements. They use specialized knowledge and training to assess risk, price coverage, and eliminate ineligible applications. These practices enable an insurance company to operate successfully. It is the underwriter who provides the main avenue between an insurance company and an insurance agent. While job duties are similar among the various insurance fields, the criteria that an underwriter uses will depend entirely on what area of insurance they are employed in. For example, for someone applying for car insurance, an underwriter would take into consideration that individual's driving record. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay for insurance underwriters in 2010 was $59,290 per year.

Susan Wells is from insurance quotes. She writes on topics including health/car/life insurance, mortgage, and real estate.