Why No Social Media Presence Is Bad for Job Seekers

Why No Social Media Presence Is Bad for Job SeekersWhy No Social Media Presence Is Bad for Job SeekersUp until now, your social media experience has consisted mostly of posting the occasional vacation photos on Facebook and hunting for cool images on Pinterest. But having a small social media presence- or worse, none- is really bad for job seekers. Heres what youre inadvertently telling prospective employers when your online persona is virtually non-existent.What Employers Think When Youre Not on Social MediaYoure hiding something.Maybe youve had some iffy pics pop up on Facebook. Or youve tweeted your undying love to Betty White on Twitter. In an effort to clean up your social media presence, you decided to dump it all and delete all of your social media accounts. For a job seeker, though, it can kill your chance of getting a job interview. Having absolutely no virtual footprint is highly suspect, and the first thing that a eignung anfhrer will think is that youve done something tha t youre trying to cover up.Youre not social media savvy.While perusing your resume, your boss-to-be is able to approximate how old you are. How? By checking how far back your dates of employment go, when you graduated from college, and the terminology you use in your resume. If a potential employer suspects that you might be an older worker- and then checks online and discovers that you dont have an online presence- he might jump to the conclusion that youre not social media savvy. And no matter what type of job youre looking for, in todays market, social media skills are a must-have.You simply dont care. Lets face it social media just isnt your thing. Youd rather talk than text, and print out pics instead of scrolling through them. If a prospective boss is interested in you, he can make his decision based on your resume and cover letter, right? Wrong. Unfortunately, every job seeker should have a paper trail of his previous employment as well as an online trail. While it might seem like a huge waste of time, potential employees are not picked simply by what they submit on a job application. Social media plays a huge factor in whether a candidate gets a callback- or not.You dont have anything to offer.Up until now, your career is a mlange of assorted part-time and full-time jobs in various industries. Your skills are also a mish-mosh of different things acquired over time. By not putting anything online, you hope to hide your spotty working history. But a hiring manager, upon not finding anything about you on social media, might think that youre not a strong candidate. After all, a job seeker who is invested in his job search can and should use every social media channel at his disposal in buchung to find a job- and there should be proof of that online that a hiring manager can find. That way, he will know that youre serious about your search and will take that same determination and dedication should you be offered a job with that company.No matter what your reason, having a solid social media presence is an important step in the job search process. Start off by having a professional Facebook page, a polished Google+ page, and a clean Pinterest and Instagram account. You should also establish a Twitter account that you can tweet from to companies youre interested in working for (or even post interesting news topics that relate to your industry). And above all, make sure that your LinkedIn profile is completely filled out and up to date, and use its new blog post feature to write some interesting stories to give potential employers a glimpse into your personality. Once you start, you might find that you enjoy social media- especially when the job interview offers start rolling inReaders, do you have a strong social media presence, or is yours a little lackluster? Why? Let us know in the comments below

Why You Should Interview for a Job You Dont Want

Why You Should Interview for a Job You Dont WantWhy You Should Interview for a Job You Dont Want When youre eager to find work, its natural to blast out your resume to as many employers as you can, hoping that some of those hiring managers will bite. But what happens when youre called in for an interview for a job you realize you dont actually want?Its not a totally uncommon scenario, and initially, you may be inclined to pass on that interview rather than waste your time - and other peoples time - discussing a role youre not interested in. But in reality, there are plenty of good reasons to attend a job interview, even if you dont intend to take the job.Attending job interviews can be nerve-wracking , so the mora experience you have under your belt, the more confidence youre apt to gain. Candidates are often advised to do trial runs before attending actual interviews, so if youre invited to meet with a company you dont think youll end up working for, you can use th at interview as a test run of sorts in order to do better in the future.If youre a strong interviewee who has an easy time talking to new people and building relationships, attending the occasional needless interview, so to speak, can actually help your career in the long run. Thats because every interview you go on gives you the gunst der stunde to meet new people and make new connections, and that, in turn, can lead to different opportunities down the line.Maybe you applied for a role at a marketing firm that seems data-intensive, when in reality, youd rather spend your days doing something more creative, like developing marketing campaigns. But its not always easy to convey the entire scope of a role in a single job description , so if youre willing to take the time to attend an interview, you might find that the job in question is more appealing than you thought. In our example, you might realize that the so-called boring data-analysis job you were convinced youd turn down is actually quite creative in nature, making it a position youd consider accepting.If you go into an interview for a job youre convinced you dont want, theres a good chance that youll walk away from that interview feeling the same way. But if you manage to wow the people you talk to at that company, theres a good chance theyll contact you the next time a better opportunity opens up.Of course, if theres absolutely nothing redeeming about a given interview youre asked to attend - say, the job is a dud and the companys future seems bleak - then by all means, politely decline. Otherwise, it never hurts to take a few hours out of your day and see what an interview has in store. It just might end up leading to a great job one way or another.

7 Myths About Veterinary Careers

7 Myths About Veterinary Careers7 Myths About Veterinary CareersVeterinary medicine is one of the most popular animal-related jobs, but there are many widely held misconceptions about this particular career path.Lets take a look at seven of the biggest myths about veterinary careers. Vets Make a Lot of Money Veterinarians make decent money but it is not nearly what they could be making as human doctors.Starting salaries for vets are fairly low considering the huge amounts of student debt (often in the six-figure range) that they must pay off while trying to establish themselves in the profession. Specific earnings for vets can vary widely based on the type of medicine they practice, their years of experience, and whether they become board certified specialists. It Is Almost Impossible to Get into Vet School Getting accepted to veterinary school is difficult due to the popularity of the profession and the limited number of seats in each veterinary class. The applicant pool for veterinary medicine is of a very high quality, and it is arguably tougher to get accepted to vet school than medical school. Despite this high-quality applicant pool it is not impossible to gain entrance and you dont need a perfect 4.0 GPA. In recent years many students have chosen to attend international programs (such as those in the Caribbean) that have slightly lesser admissions requirements. Others work for a year to gain experience and then reapply. You Have to Be a Pre-Vet Major to Apply to Vet School You most certainly do not have to major in pre-vet, animal science, or biology major to gain entrance to a vet school program. These are helpful majors that often include most or all prerequisites for applying to vet school, but you can major in any area that interests you provided that you also take the courses required for admission. Veterinarians Arent Real Doctors Veterinarians graduate from a four-year medical school program and earn a Doctorate in Veterinary Medi cine (DVM). They are doctors in every sense of the word. A vet must achieve proficiency in treating many species, making their medical skill set quite impressive. Veterinary Medicine Is a Male-Dominated Profession Veterinary medicine once was a male-dominated profession, but it has reversed course in recent years. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) found that in 2014 there were 102,584 practicing veterinarians with a significant gender gap 58,148 females and 44,258 males. Food animal medicine is still overwhelmingly male-dominated (81 percent to be exact), but most other areas show an even split or a greater number of women practitioners. Vet school enrollment tells a similar story, according to data collected by the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC). In 2014, women held 76.6 percent of vet school seats, while men held 20.4 percent of vet school seats. There Is a Shortage of Veterinarians Most industry experts agree that there is no shortage of veterinarians on a large scale, but there may be shortages in specific niche areas of practice (such as large animal medicine) and in some rural areas.The number of graduates has increased sharply in recent years as mora vet schools (domestic and international) have opened, and as some established vet schools have increased the number of students per class. Veterinary Medicine Is Primarily Focused on Cats and Dogs While all vet students must learn about small animal medicine and many go on to work in pet-related practices after graduation, the profession is not at all limited to this sort of work. There are many other areas to consider including large animal medicine, exotic animal medicine, mixed practice medicine, equine medicine, and a variety of board certification specialty areas. There are many other options for veterinarians including teaching, research, government regulatory work, military service, consulting, and corporate employment.