7 Pinterest Boards to Follow for jobs and opportunities

Is it possible to get anything but hours of casual fun out of the popular pinboard site, Pinterest? As it turns out, yes. A number of great websites and organizations take to Pinterest to share their advice, ideas and insights related to careers, job searching and professional development, while managing to turn this often cumbersome activity into a more enjoyable, visual experience.

Pinterest already is a way for professionals to organize their career plans, get job search tips, and showcase their work in an interesting, visual way to employers. To jump-start your use of Pinterest for your career, here are seven of the best Pinterest boards to follow related to employment.

InsideJobs

This organization uses Pinterest to help people with career exploration and inspiration, including career ideas, education, career coaching and career change. With only eight boards, InsideJobs updates regularly and provides insightful, useful info for professionals, much like a pinboard career coach.

CareerBliss

Self-described as a “community dedicated to finding you a happier job,” CareerBliss offers a variety of useful pinboards on Pinterest. Their boards include articles related to bosses, coworkers, employers, employee benefits, company culture, work options and having fun at work.

BrazenCareerist

If you’re looking to become a more savvy job seeker, follow BrazenCareerist on Pinterest to find advice and tips on job searching, as well as a compilation of online job fairs, career courses you can take, and specific advice for Gen Y.

CAREEREALISM

Their motto couldn’t be more true (“Because every job is temporary.”) and their Pinterest boards are a bit like job search boot camp with fun visuals. You’ll find tips for resumes, job interviews, networking, cover letters and work attire. They’ve also got recommendations for career books, work lunch ideas, office decor, vacation destinations and more.

Splash Resumes

Of course, this organization posts resume tips and tricks, but they also include a healthy dose of work wardrobe suggestions, job search tips and personal branding ideas. If you’re looking for ways to make yourself more unique and creative in your job search, these are great boards to follow.

Working Mother

The Pinterest board of Working Mother Magazine showcases the top companies for working moms, career advice, tips for multitasking, financial advice, info for new moms and a host of other mom-and-parent-specific topics. They even have an "LOL" board for when you need a good, career-related laugh.

Workshifting

Dedicated to helping professionals work from anywhere, the Pinterest board of Workshifting offers home office tips, coworking space suggestions, and technology updates and advice. Great pinboards for digital nomads.

If you’re already spending untold amounts of time pinning to your heart’s content, why not use Pinterest to advance your career, too? If nothing else, it makes job searching a bit more fun and it gives you a solid excuse for spending so much time on Pinterest.

Why Employers Aren’t Interested in Your Resumé

Resumés today are just an old school formality that provides little insight into the person’s past records and true personality.  Most employers today spend less time sifting through clichéd applications and more time surfing profiles of job seekers online.  

Stats show that today most recruiters find that sourcing candidates on social networks saves money. They prefer approaching candidates through online referrals and it also helps them reach out to people who may otherwise have not applied for the position. So be prepared for the inspection. Unfair or not, this is a practice one has to deal with.

Recently there were several incidents across the United States wherein employers demanded that applicants provide them with their Facebook username and password or that they log on to their network during the interview itself. Kind of like handing over your house keys to a burglar holding a gun to your head! The more polite practice is going through only the candidate’s public profile respecting his or her right to withhold any information they deem sensitive enough to keep private.

So, what can you do to be ready for the Facebook interview? 

1. First impressions matter, so make sure your profile picture doesn't show you drinking or acting too crazy.
2. Ensure that all your details across all your social network profiles, match. Fill out the description about yourself in a clear, crisp and clean manner.
3. Use the privacy settings. If you haven’t yet bothered about it, it’s time you started. Personal photos, or any other information that you would rather share with a select group of people, should not be made available on your public profile. After all, you wouldn't want your employer finding old pictures of you at a wild party, especially when if you’ve claimed your hobby is yoga.  
4. Watch what you post and tweet. Be casual but polite. Language does count. So learn to show a little restraint.
5. If someone posts something objectionable on your wall, be sure to leave a calm comment making your stand clear on the subject. Or delete the post altogether.
6. Your profile page isn’t just about keeping information private, but also a great platform to show off your achievements. As long as you keep it subtle. For instance, a photo of you receiving an award without tom-toming about it helps you come across as capable, ambitious and yet, balanced.
7. And if you’ve already landed the job, be smart enough not to openly vent your frustrations against your boss or leak confidential company details on your wall!

So now that you’ve set your profile in order, you can gear up for the personal interview. And this time you can carry that resumé along…for old times’ sake!

How a 140-Character Twitter Resume Could Land Your Next Job

Brangelina, TomKat…. Twesume?

Just like it sounds, “Twesume” unifies Twitter (your favorite micro-blogging platform) and your resume (yep, the one sitting on your hard drive).

In essence, a Twesume is a short bio or resume condensed into 140 characters or less. Sometimes paired with the #twesume hashtag, the Twesume can be tweeted, messaged or emailed to potential employers.

The great thing about the Twesume is that it’s a completely flexible, living document. Did you get promoted? No problem, just tweet the addition to your resume. Relocate? Totally fine.


What’s the Big Deal?

Like it or not, social media is only getting more influential. In 2011, 89% of companies used social networks for recruiting. As we venture into 2012, you’ll find that social recruiting will become more prominent, edging out job boards as a means to connect employers and job seekers.

Twesumes help job seekers get noticed by companies who use social recruiting. With the Twesume, a job seeker can introduce himself and engage with an employer in less time (and space) than a traditional resume and cover letter could ever manage.

How Can I Write My Own Twesume?


If you’re interested in jumping on the Twesume bandwagon, all you need is a Twitter account and something to say. Once you have your Twitter account squared away (be sure to have a picture, bio and some followers/followees), write your very own Twesume. While the Twesume can be anything you like, try to include this information: what you do, an accomplishment, a goal, skills and/or a link to a detailed profile or website.


Santa Claus: World traveler and toy expert. 300+ years management experience. Looking for position in entertainment industry. http://tinyurl.com/c9ursdp #twesume

Tweet this to your followers, DM to a specific employer or use as your Twitter bio. It really is as simple as that.

What does your Twesume say? Do you think Twesumes are here to stay? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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, Weinberg has dedicated his career to helping job seekers write the best possible resumes. You can connect with Sean and the RezScore team on Facebook and Twitter (@RezScore)