Simply Hired Blog

Job Seeker Testimonial: Donovan

We always love hearing about our users' job search successes!

Recently, we were suprised to hear tapping on the window of our San Francisco office. Outside, was a man with a note written on a sheet of paper, pressed up against the window:

"You helped me get my next job. I start June 6. Very excited! THANKS!!!"

A couple of our sales folks went outside to speak with him and hear his story:

Donovan was fortunate enough to find a job right after graduation that he liked enough to stay for five years. But he started to get the itch to see what else the job market could offer, and began to seek out new and more challenging opportunities. However, after trying out a few different avenues for job search, he found himself frustrated searching through pages of unfocused results and sites that were not user friendly.

Then one day Donovan walked by Simply Hired's San Francisco office one day on his way to work. Curious, he checked out the site and found that he loved its simplicity and ease of use. Once he knew what he was looking for in his next job, SimplyHired.com made it easy for him to find it. He created an email alert based on his keywords and found the email communication kept him motivated and focused on the job search. For Donovan, SimplyHired.com was effective and fast.

Within a week, Donovan found his dream job. He applied and was granted an interview, and 48 hours later, he was hired.

Thank you Donovan for sharing your wonderful story and congratulations on your new job!

Do you have a SimplyHired.com job search success or positive feedback on the site or your experience? Share it with us for a chance to be featured on our blog!

Happy Earth Day 2011!

Today is Earth Day, and to celebrate, we'e going to tell you about some of the great tools we have to find a green job or a job at a green-friendly company. Being "eco-friendly" is an important quality that job seekers look for in prospective companies, as we have discovered in a recent SimplyHired.com poll – over half of job seekers think it’s either very or somewhat important to find a job at an eco-friendly company.

So this Earth Day, check out jobs at green companies through our Green Jobs filter. This will return only jobs that are involved in the protection or restoration of the environment or conservation of natural resources. You can find the Green Jobs filter at http://www.simplyhired.com/green, on the special searches page, or within the Special Filters on the left side of any search results page.

There are also a number of green jobs that are being created and are expected to have significant growth in the upcoming years. These include jobs include Building Retrofitting, Mass Transit, Energy-Efficient Automobiles, Wind Power, Solar Power and Cellulosic Biofuels. Not sure what those areas entail? Check out our Green Jobs: Finding work in an energy-efficient future page.

So make a difference this Earth Day by finding a green job or work at an eco-friendly company!

Find a Job with Simply Hired’s Veteran-Friendly Search

It’s Veterans Day, when we celebrate the America’s military veterans for their patriotism and willingness to serve and sacrifice for love of country. Despite their special training and background, many veterans have a difficult time with their job search after leaving the service.

Because of this, Simply Hired created a Veteran-Friendly search, which will only display jobs from companies that are veteran-friendly, according to JobCentral.com. The Veteran-Friendly search can be found from the Special Searches page, and under the “Special Filters” on any SimplyHired.com search results page.

Happy Veterans Day!

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Transferring Military Skills to the Civilian Workforce

While some military occupations, such as doctors, are the same whether you’re in the military or in the civilian workforce, others require translating your military skills to the lingo of the private and public employment sectors. Finding a job as a veteran can be difficult, but here is some advice on making a smoother transition into the civilian workforce.

Many people in the private sector will not know the the military lingo you are accustomed to using, so it is important to translate military terms in previous job titles and achievements from your service into terms that hiring managers and interviewers can understand. Even if you are looking for government jobs, you shouldn’t assume they know military vocabulary.

Target your resume based on the kind of job you’re looking for. Not all of your military involvement or achievements may be necessary to include based on the job you want. By including only your most relevant occupations, training and achievements, you will create your strongest statement for why an employer should hire you.

Translate job titles and descriptions to remove military jargon. For example “Infantry Senior Sergeant” could be translated to “Manager of Tactical Operations.” For an idea of how your military occupation code translates to civilian standard occupational codes, you can use the O*NET Crosswalk Search by entering your military code or title into the “Military” search field.

Create a full list of military achievements to accompany your translated resume separately. If you realize an interviewer also has a military background, you can leave this behind knowing they will understand your service background and may influence their decision to hire you.

A military veteran can be a valuable asset to a company because of their specialized skills and other qualities such a work ethic, discipline and leadership. By displaying your military skills in a way recruiters and interviewers can understand, your job search and transition into a civilian job will be much easier.

Have you successfully transitioned from military to civilian life? What are your recommendations for making this a smoother transition for other veterans? Comment below!

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Find a Government Job this Election Day

It’s election time once again and people across the nation are casting votes for their elected representatives in their local and federal governments. If you’re interested in government jobs, this is a great time to discover new opportunities. There are currently over 200,000 government jobs, in a variety of industries, including politics, engineering, business, finance, law enforcement and education.

If you’re looking for government jobs, here are a few ideas of work you can do:

Public School Teacher jobs
Patent Technician jobs
Police Officer jobs
Information Technology Specialist jobs
Accountant jobs
Civil Engineer jobs
Social Worker jobs
Criminal Defense Attorney jobs

Government jobs typically have great benefits, including flexible schedules and paid health insurance. If the current election has fired you up to work for your state or federal government, start your job search today.

Why would or wouldn’t you work for the government? If you currently work in the government, what advice can you give job seekers who are looking to find a government job? Share in the comments below!

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