When it comes to your job search, the most successful job seekers are the ones that are the most informed. With all the moving parts that go into the process, it can be easy to get lost in a sea of terms and acronyms that recruiters and hiring managers throw around. My goal is to make sure you understand the most commonly used job search terms so you'll never be caught off guard again!
10 Job Search Terms Every Successful Career Girl Should Know
1: Job Satisfaction
This describes how happy and fulfilled you are with your current job. It encompasses many things, i.e. the actual work you’re doing, your contributions to you company, your impact, compensation, etc. Dissatisfaction with your job affects your physical, emotional and financial well being.
2. Career Portfolio
Your career portfolio helps frame an employer’s view of you. It includes samples of your work, your experience, your education, your accomplishments and your skills. Your portfolio is much more than just a resume or cover letter.
3. Job Boards
These are sites where open jobs are posted for job seekers to apply. There are five main types of job boards: general job-search engines, industry-specific job boards, geographic-specific job boards, job-seeker specific “niche” boards and company career pages.
4. Information Interview
Not to be confused with a job interview, an information interview helps you leverage your network to get insider information about a target company, role and/or industry. Savvy job seekers use these types of interviews to help choose or refine a career path, learn how to break in and find out if you have what it takes to succeed.
5. Hidden Job Market
Only about 20% of all available jobs are ever posted on a job board. This means that most jobs in the market are “hidden”. In order to find out about these jobs, you’ll have to use tactics like information interviews and networking.
6. Employment Gaps
This describes any periods of time between jobs when you’re unemployed (whether it’s voluntary or involuntary). Generally, employment gaps aren’t an issue – it’s when they’re unexplained or too frequent that they become a red flag. There are numerous strategies for reducing the impact of these gaps on your job search.
7. Counter Offer
This is an amazing salary negotiation strategy used by savvy job-seekers when a job offer is not at an acceptable level. You should know that almost all aspects of a job offer are negotiable, including the salary, non-salary compensation, moving expenses, benefits, and work arrangement. You should ALWAYS have a counter offer.
8. Company Culture
This is the most important thing to consider when going through the interview process and is the collection of beliefs, expectations, and values shared by an organization’s members. The culture sets the rules that defines what behaviors are acceptable/normal. It’s crucial for job-seekers to understand the culture of an organization before accepting a job.
9. Compensation Package
This is more than just salary and includes a combination of salary, bonus, overtime, benefits and allowances an employer provides to an employee. When comparing competing job offers, you should consider the total compensation package, not just salary.
10. Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
This is a tool used by employers to collect, store and screen applicant data. In order to make it to the job interview phase, applicants must learn how to develop resumes that are ATS-friendly and is rich with key words employers use to search for job seekers.
