The Smart way to use your Smartphone

       Just about everything has gone mobile in today's society. You deposit your checks, chat face-to-face with your distant friends, read your CompTIA and Microsoft courseware, keep track of your steps, and even use your phone to pay your bill at the local drive-through restaurants. Out of the Fortune 500 companies, 167 have portals optimized to fit a smartphone screen. This is more than double the amount from last year. What does that mean for the IT Job Seeker? It is important to embrace the mobile job search or get lost among the competition.

Here is how to make the most out of your Smartphone:

1. Save your Resume to your Smartphone or cloud storage

Before you apply to a a job using your mobile device, some preparation is needed. First, your resume needs to be easily accessible. If you have a cover letter, a work portfolio, or a reference document, it is a good idea to have easy access to it as well. Your documents should be able to be accessed on the unit itself in a  Word or PDF format or on a cloud storage such as Dropbox, Google Docs, or iCloud.

2. Ensure your E-mail and Voice Message Greeting is professional 

ITGeek@gmail.com or SingingSue@yahoo.com are fine when you are e-mailing with your friends but not appropriate when you e-mail a hiring manger or a recruiter. You can use an abbreviated version of your name or an alpha-numeric version of your e-mail address to all application related communication.

3. Make, Upkeep, and Use your professional LinkedIn and Twitter accounts

More than half of Americans assess social media sites through their mobile devices. With job opportunities shared widely  across these sites, more and more candidates are hearing about openings on their smartphones. Many organizations are recognizing the ease of "Apply using your LinkedIn profile" and have added this to their applications process. It is a great way to stay current regarding news in the IT industry, network with the individuals that may be hiring you, and can explore new job opening and updates at your favorite company.

4. Download Relevant job search apps

If you are using job listings to search for jobs, download the accompanying app. This allows you to get on-the-go alerts on job postings and quickly apply as you have already stored all documents needed to do so and have up-to-date social media profiles to refer the Hiring Manger to. Many companies have employment apps that you can download to your smartphone. 

5. Always use Good Judgment 

For the job seeker, there is a lot of information out there that can either hurt you or help you depending on how on top of it you are. Keep all social media postings clean, professional, and keep on the middle of the road. You never know if the hiring manger is a "donkey" while you may be an "elephant".  Also, if you are already employed, maintain your professionalism and conduct your job search off company hours using your own technology. 

Using your smartphone in a smart way will show hiring managers that you are a competitive candidate because you use some of the most up-to-date platforms even before being employed.

I wonder if you can apply using Apple's new iWatch?