Between brushing up your resume, filling out applications, and networking with people in your industry, you can end up spending a lot of time spent in front of a computer when hunting for a new job.
If you'd rather get away from your screen and still not fall behind on your job search, there are a few apps that can help. I've rounded up five professional networking and job search engine apps that can help you spot new opportunities and keep you organized along the way.
JobLens
First up is JobLens, a feature-packed app from Nokia that includes in-depth information on company history, salary estimates, and location demographics with each job listing. You can find opportunities several ways, but the two most interesting are the map view and "augmented viewer," which uses augmented reality to show nearby job listings in your camera viewfinder.
To use the app, you must sign in with LinkedIn and Facebook, which might turn off anyone hunting for a job who doesn't want to put their Facebook information out there. However, JobLens uses your LinkedIn connections and Facebook friends to find jobs at the companies where your friends and professional contacts work, so you have a better shot of getting the gig. The app even gives you a checklist of tasks to get the job, such as company due diligence and preparing for the interview.
The only downside of JobLens is that the app kicks you the job listing's website in your phone's browser to apply. If you'd rather not fill out an application on a tiny mobile screen, you can save listings in the app to view later.
Nokia's also got you covered if you're hunting for an internship. The company recently unveiled Internships Lens, which does everything that JobLens does, but instead searches for paid and unpaid internships aimed at students.
Job Compass
Job Compass bills itself as a decision-making app that can help guide you to a new career. It includes stats from the US Department of Labor on the industries with the most employees and highest pay, as well as salary breakdowns for nearly any job title you can search for.
The app also has detailed job listings that give you a quick run-down of responsibilities, required experience, and location. Like JobLens, the app bumps you out to the browser to fill out an application, but it also gives you a place to store jobs that you can apply to later if you prefer. In my research for this list I found a lot of crummy job search apps in the Windows Phone app store, but Job Compass is one of the few worth downloading.
LinkedIn
Building a LinkedIn profile is standard professional protocol these days, right behind writing a resume. The service lets you create a profile with all of your skills and work experience, and then connect with friends, co-workers, and classmates to build a professional network.
You can't create or manage your profile with the LinkedIn mobile app for Windows Phone, but you can search for job opportunities. In the app you'll see recommended jobs that LinkedIn thinks you might be interested in or that match your skills. Unfortunately, you cannot submit applications directly from the Windows Phone LinkedIn app, but you can save jobs for later.
Compared to LinkedIn's website, the app is pretty basic. Still, it's a useful tool to find job leads and stay in touch with your network.
Craiglist+
As the newspaper classifieds for the Internet age, Craigslist is a popular place to hunt for a new job because both smaller firms and big companies often post job listings there. For pursuing these ads on your Windows Phone, I recommend Craigslist+.
The app has a pleasing colorful design, is easy to use (provided you're familiar with Craigslist already) and has all the helpful filters you could need to narrow down your search. You can even reply to job posts from the app, though it does open your email client to send the message.
CamCard
Throughout your job hunt, you're bound to encounter a lot of business cards. If you're anything like me, you don't want to worry about losing those tiny pieces of paper, but manually entering each new contact into your phone sounds less enticing than a root canal. CamCard is one of many business card readers in the app store, and, in my opinion, one of the easiest to use.
Just snap a picture of any business card, and the app does its best to grab the information and sort it into the correct categories, such as work phone and email. It's not always completely accurate, especially when capturing cards with fancy fonts, but it works remarkably well overall. Once it grabs all the information, you can edit anything that doesn't look right and save the contact in the app. CamCard stores the original card photo with the text contact, which you can export to your phone's People app at any time.
If you'd rather get away from your screen and still not fall behind on your job search, there are a few apps that can help. I've rounded up five professional networking and job search engine apps that can help you spot new opportunities and keep you organized along the way.
Augmented reality in Nokia's JobLens app.
(Credit: Screenshots by Sarah Mitroff)
First up is JobLens, a feature-packed app from Nokia that includes in-depth information on company history, salary estimates, and location demographics with each job listing. You can find opportunities several ways, but the two most interesting are the map view and "augmented viewer," which uses augmented reality to show nearby job listings in your camera viewfinder.
To use the app, you must sign in with LinkedIn and Facebook, which might turn off anyone hunting for a job who doesn't want to put their Facebook information out there. However, JobLens uses your LinkedIn connections and Facebook friends to find jobs at the companies where your friends and professional contacts work, so you have a better shot of getting the gig. The app even gives you a checklist of tasks to get the job, such as company due diligence and preparing for the interview.
The only downside of JobLens is that the app kicks you the job listing's website in your phone's browser to apply. If you'd rather not fill out an application on a tiny mobile screen, you can save listings in the app to view later.
Nokia's also got you covered if you're hunting for an internship. The company recently unveiled Internships Lens, which does everything that JobLens does, but instead searches for paid and unpaid internships aimed at students.
Get employment stats in the Job Compass app.
(Credit: Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff)
Job Compass bills itself as a decision-making app that can help guide you to a new career. It includes stats from the US Department of Labor on the industries with the most employees and highest pay, as well as salary breakdowns for nearly any job title you can search for.
The app also has detailed job listings that give you a quick run-down of responsibilities, required experience, and location. Like JobLens, the app bumps you out to the browser to fill out an application, but it also gives you a place to store jobs that you can apply to later if you prefer. In my research for this list I found a lot of crummy job search apps in the Windows Phone app store, but Job Compass is one of the few worth downloading.
LinkedIn helps you build a professional network.
(Credit: Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff)
Building a LinkedIn profile is standard professional protocol these days, right behind writing a resume. The service lets you create a profile with all of your skills and work experience, and then connect with friends, co-workers, and classmates to build a professional network.
You can't create or manage your profile with the LinkedIn mobile app for Windows Phone, but you can search for job opportunities. In the app you'll see recommended jobs that LinkedIn thinks you might be interested in or that match your skills. Unfortunately, you cannot submit applications directly from the Windows Phone LinkedIn app, but you can save jobs for later.
Compared to LinkedIn's website, the app is pretty basic. Still, it's a useful tool to find job leads and stay in touch with your network.
Hunting for jobs on Craigslist+.
(Credit: Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff)
As the newspaper classifieds for the Internet age, Craigslist is a popular place to hunt for a new job because both smaller firms and big companies often post job listings there. For pursuing these ads on your Windows Phone, I recommend Craigslist+.
The app has a pleasing colorful design, is easy to use (provided you're familiar with Craigslist already) and has all the helpful filters you could need to narrow down your search. You can even reply to job posts from the app, though it does open your email client to send the message.
CamCard snaps photos of business cards and creates new contacts.
(Credit: Screenshot by Sarah Mitroff)
CamCard
Throughout your job hunt, you're bound to encounter a lot of business cards. If you're anything like me, you don't want to worry about losing those tiny pieces of paper, but manually entering each new contact into your phone sounds less enticing than a root canal. CamCard is one of many business card readers in the app store, and, in my opinion, one of the easiest to use.
Just snap a picture of any business card, and the app does its best to grab the information and sort it into the correct categories, such as work phone and email. It's not always completely accurate, especially when capturing cards with fancy fonts, but it works remarkably well overall. Once it grabs all the information, you can edit anything that doesn't look right and save the contact in the app. CamCard stores the original card photo with the text contact, which you can export to your phone's People app at any time.
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