Organizational skills are not only useful on the job, but also during the job search. It’s often said that finding a job is a job in itself because it is time consuming and involves a lot of strategic planning and follow-up.
A new free tool, Becomed.com, will help you manage all of this and more.
“I came up with the idea for Becomed.com while on honeymoon in Hawaii with my wife,” says Mike Marom, founder of Becomed.com. “I was unemployed, I had already created a few Web applications by that point, and I wanted to keep myself busy during my job search so I was trying to think about areas of my day-to-day life that I wanted to automate. I immediately realized that being unemployed, I spend a significant portion of my day applying for jobs, and that the system I was using the keep track wasn't good enough—it was too passive, and involved too much manual manipulation of information. I figured that if I created a site that will assist me with my job application tracking, even if no one else ever used it, it would not be a time wasted since I will get value from it.”
Some key features and benefits for internship and entry-level job seekers, according to Marom:
Staying organized. Record position descriptions and any research you’re doing about the company and the position. Then, use this information when preparing for interviews, creating the cover letters and otherwise interacting with the prospective employer. Keep track of résumés, cover letter templates, references, recruiters and contact people at the organizations you’re interviewing at by recording their details and uploading relevant documents.
References management. Built into the system is the ability to keep track of references and reminders to contact references before you send their details to potential employers.
Activities and follow-ups. Keep track of upcoming activities such as interviews, and receive important reminders such as interview follow-up reminders. This is built into the system so first-time job seekers are gently guided into the correct job search process and won’t miss important steps, such as follow-ups. Becomed.com users may opt to get daily agenda e-mails into their inboxes reminding them what’s on their plate in the next few days.
Helpful advice. Advice and links to tips and relevant articles based on the section of the site you’re in, such as links to articles about how to write a good résumé and cover letter, how to do company research, interview preparation, etc.
Analysis. A smart analysis section looks at all your job applications and will give you insight into which résumés, cover letters, recruiters and job boards are getting you results.
Dossiers. Have instant access to full application dossiers, which contain the job description, any notes you took down, the entire application timeline so far and upcoming events and reminders, company research information and company contact information. You can print this dossier and bring it with you to face-to-face interviews to prepare.
“I feel like this is particularly useful for first-time job seekers who don’t yet know exactly what they need to remember about their job applications, and need this kind of guidance and an active system of reminders,” said Marom of the dossier feature.
Future plans for the site include enhancements to the advice section, adding even more capabilities to the analysis section and further down the line, creating a smart phone-friendly version of the site.
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