Job-hunting in style

CEBU, Philippines - Graduation time is just around the corner and fresh graduates are expected to go job-hunting soon.

Looking for a job used to be a very tiring task as jobseekers. They had to scan the classifieds of the newspaper to look for job posts or had to go around from company to company to submit their application letters and resumes.

And when they do so, they had to dress up in business attire in case they will be interviewed right away.

Things have changed nowadays, though, because of technology. There are now a lot of websites that allow employers to post job vacancies and staffing requirements, as well as provide a venue for jobseekers to look for jobs and submit resumes online. These websites, also called job sites, make things easier for employers, as well as jobseekers.

Jobstreet.com is one of the leading job sites in the Philippines. Mary Jane Banguis, signed up with Jobstreet five years ago while she was a fresh graduate. Banguis shares that until now, even if she already has found a job, Jobstreet still sends her job posts that match her qualifications.

“It took me 10 to 15 minutes to sign up with Jobstreet and immediately after, they emailed me available jobs that matched my qualifications,” she said, adding that even if it has been a long time since she last visited the website, Jobstreet still sends her job matches.

Banguis also shared that a friend landed her first job in a food company through Jobstreet.

 Now, the job site is taking the convenience of job-hunting a step higher, especially for Cebuano jobseekers with its newest innovation, the Cebu Career Hub.

Jobstreet Marketing Director Yoda Buyco shared that the Cebu Career Hub is a one-stop career center that aims to help jobseekers, graduating students and early jobbers land their dream jobs. Located at the 2nd Floor of the mall, the center will be available for jobseekers, as well as employers starting February 25 and will be available daily, from 10am to 7pm, until May 25.

"The Cebu Career Hub is a pioneering program in partnership with SM City Cebu. This is one of a kind and is only available in Cebu. We chose to have this here because we know that the program will succeed through the support of Cebuanos," Buyco said.

The career center will offer jobseeker sign-ups daily, as well as free access to Jobstreet's job search facility, which is a database of local, national and international job posts.

On Fridays, the center will feature the Employers' Hiring Corner where at least four employers will do an on-the-spot hiring. Buyco said that an estimated 48 different companies have already signified to participate in this activity.

On Saturdays, the career hub will offer free career services such as consultations on how to make winning resumes and how to ace interviews. The consultation will be done by Jobstreet certified Human Resource consultants.

"The mall is the favorite hangout of jobseekers so we are bringing job hunting closer to them. We are bringing job hunting to the mall," Buyco said.The jobs that are in demand, Buyco added, are those in the IT (software and hardware), finance, manufacturing operations, engineering and BPO industries. But jobseekers have a lot of job vacancies to choose from as there are over 1,200 jobs in Cebu and Central Visayas that will be made accessible to Cebuano jobseekers.

Maria Teresa Mempin, assistant mall manager of SM City Cebu, said that the mall partnered with Jobstreet in the establishment of the career hub as a way to help the community.

Buyco stressed that all the services are for free and to be able to avail of the career hub services, jobseekers only have to bring their updated resumes.

Happy job hunting!

Resume 101

To prepare jobseekers for the Cebu Career Hub, here are resume writing tips from www.jobstreet.com.

Make sure your resume has these elements in the given order:

1. Job objective. State briefly the kind of job you seek so the employer will know if he has a match. Be specific and to the point. Never write obscure statements.

2. Pertinent skills. If you had work stints while studying, enumerate them here. List the employer's name, address, dates of employment, and your job title and duties. Indicate relevant skills acquired and accomplishments made.

3. Education. List down in reverse order your educational attainment, the name of school and year of graduation. Include your G.P.A. (if impressive), honors, special projects and extracurricular activities. Positions of responsibility in school activities and organizations show you have leadership and people skills.

4. Personal background. Disclose only those details relevant to the position. It is all right to omit your parents' names and occupations or your hobbies. Leave out something to talk about during the interview.

5. References. Skip this altogether or simply say that this will be available upon request. If you do include references, provide the complete name, title and contact details. (Get clearance from your references first! This way, they won't be caught off guard and can prepare a good testimonial on your behalf.)

Some useful tips:

• Be brief and concise. You've got about 30 seconds to make your pitch so don't beat around the bush.

• Be perfect. Proofread ruthlessly. Weed out typos and grammatical boo-boos. Double-check dates and facts. Ensure punctuation marks are correct and in their proper places.

• Be active. Go for action verbs. Delete personal pronouns and articles. These will invigorate your resume and free up space for more information.

• Be inviting. Your resume must look attractive to be read. Use conservative fonts like Times New Roman or Arial, at least 10 in size. Include ample white space. Organize items under section headings to give the eyes a break. Print on crisp, white paper.

Remember, a crowded, cluttered, error-laden resume is a big turnoff.