The Monster 5 for Friday--Careers Edition--January 21

Here at Monster.com, we love social media: Twitter, Facebook, mobile apps--we think they're all important tools for the modern job seeker. We're deeply invested in these spaces while we continue to innovate with our core job-search and candidate-search products.

So we're always a bit perplexed when someone says something like "Social media spells the end of job boards." I mean, Facebook hasn't put an end to social gatherings. Twitter hasn't put an end to face-to-face conversations. And YouTube hasn't put an end to Hollywood. Rather, social media (used appropriately) has enhanced all these areas of our lives--making our social gatherings easier to plan, giving our conversations richer context, and expanding and informing our entertainment choices. Smart companies (like Monster) capitalize on new technology.

Social media won't kill job boards. Social media makes good job boards better. The modern job seeker should be using Twitter to connect with people and research companies (and to get job-search advice from @MonsterCareers, of course). In addition, he or she should definitely have a resume posted on Monster.com. Anyone who says something like "Skip Monster" is advising that you skip the foremost source of job postings by employers in 19 of the top 20 industries and in 45 of the largest 50 cities, as compared with any leading career website.

The fact is, to our customers (including a very healthy majority of Fortune 500 companies), our semantic-search technology means we are a primary source of relevant job candidates. We've developed several blockbuster products that are taking Monster and our customers far beyond what some people might think of as the traditional "job board." And what benefits our customers benefits the job seekers who use our site.

But enough about us! Here are five of our favorite career-advice stories from this week:

5. As we all know, getting a job is hard--but keeping a job means you have to keep striving to improve yourself. Here are some tips from Dr. Woody, in "How to Be a Better Employee in 2011."

4. Self-promotion is an important part of the modern job search--Chris Perry of Career Rocketeer has some tips, in "Make Employers Come to You."

3. If you're switching careers or industries, you need to be able to pinpoint and describe not-so-apparent relevant experience. Find out how, in "Six Interview Tips for Career Changers."

2. Technology has changed the way we format our resumes. Find out how, in "Resumes for a Digital Age."

1. Ready for a chuckle (albeit, perhaps, a rueful one)? Check out "The 25 Weirdest Interview Questions of 2010."

(How has social media affected your job search? Let us know in the Comments section.)

 

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