What’s a career tool? It’s a ubiquitous term that’s still a bit hard to pin down, but we all know we should be making better use of them. To be sure, “career tool” is an ineffective phrase if we don’t know what it means. On the other hand, maybe we’re overthinking this. A career tool, after all, is anything we use while working on our careers: methods and skills and instruments that help us forward in our work lives.
We’ll leave a strict definition for another time, and for now we just want to equip that tool-belt. Check out our favorite career tools below. From resume tweaking to psychological testing, something here will help you on your way…or at least find your way.
In almost any industry LinkedIn is a valuable resource. Not only can you network with the type of people you need to be around professionally, you can build a robust and shareable digital resume in the process. Many employers want a look at your LinkedIn profile during the application process, and a respectable presence on the site takes time to curate, so don’t put off your profile building.
VisualsCV
There are probably a million resume tools out there, programs that will help you tweak, streamline, and improve your work biography. So what makes VisualsCV special? To begin, it does everything expected of a simple resume builder: it imports and auto-populates data like education and employment history from your LinkedIn account or pre-existing resume. What makes VisualsCV a better resume builder than your own brain then? The program helps present your data in a way that’s digestible by Applicant Tracking Systems (those pesky computer programs that dump applicants before a human eye ever scans the resume).
Easel.ly
Unlike VisualsCV and other similar resume tools, Easel.ly lets you turn your resume into a compelling infographic. It might seem a bit aggressive to opt for such an unconventional resume style, but catching a hiring manager’s eye is half the battle.
Myers-Briggs
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is one of the most popular psychological questionnaires around, and while you probably don’t want to blindly pick a career once you’re finished with the test, there’s a reason the MBTI has been around for almost a century. The questionnaire is reportedly used by 89 Fortune 100 companies, according to the CPP, and if you haven’t taken one already, you won’t have to look long to find one.
University Career Center
Perhaps the most persistently-overlooked resource on this list, your school’s career center is often one of the best starting points for help finding a job. Career centers will give you access to job banks, connect you with potential employers, and optimize your whole job hunt.
Resume and Cover Letter Templates
Obviously you don’t want to send in a resume or cover letter that looks like all the rest, but there’s still a protocol to adhere to. Sometimes it can be tough starting from scratch, and a template can actually help you from getting bogged down in the details.
Idealist.org
In 2015, you’re never far from a job search engine, but finding the right one can feel impossible. (Is there a job search engine engine?) Idealist.org is a resource for non-profit job hunters, and a long history and robust user base means its effective, and decidedly not flaky. The job listings are legit (and not spammy), the site doesn’t collect your personal info, and there’s no advertised jobs, meaning payola doesn’t give deep-pocketed employers a leg-up.
Poachable
Poachable is a unique new way of looking for a job…discretely. Rather than apply directly for your dream job, Poachable allows companies to seek out potential hires anonymously. It’s kind of like a cross between Tinder and LinkedIn, which obviously screams millennials.
Indeed
Job boards are a necessary evil. But if you can help it, you obviously want to cut out the fat. Indeed is probably the most popular board around these days, and for good reason: it collates and repackages job offerings better than any other service.
Toggl
If you’ve already got the perfect job, but can’t find (or make) the time to make the most of it, a tool like Toggl might help. Toggle will track how much time you’re spending on a particular project so you can streamline your time management.
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