Boot Camp for Job Seekers, Using the Web to Get a Foot in the Door

New Lenox's "Allied Forces" in the battle against unemployment—The Village of New Lenox, New Lenox Library and the New Lenox Chamber of Commerce—is sponsoring the second in a series of Boot Camp for Job Seekers events.

Boot Camp for Job Seekers is slated from 6-7:30 p.m. April 2 at New Lenox Library, 120 Veterans Parkway. The guest speaker, Chris Hogan, of New Lenox, plans to unveil the secret weapon in achieving meaningful employment.

Hogan, who is the vice president of sales for a recruiting firm, AvatureCRM, will be sharing the ins and outs of how companies actually find their employees. There are more than three million jobs in the United States right now, and many of them are in the Chicago region, he said. As a talent acquisition recruiter in charge of candidate relations, he is taking aim at unemployment and underemployment.

The first thing to understand is how taking advantage of technology and social networking can help get the job seeker noticed. He'll be talking about the importance of Linked In and networking to gain the inside track on jobs.

"Just responding to an ad" is not enough anymore, he said. "I deal mostly with large companies—with 1,000 employees. They all deploy different strategies." They use different sources to reach out and find employees who will fit into their professional realm.

Hogan said he plans to show attendees what it looks like from the other side of the coin. What are employers looking for in their new hires and what makes one application stand out in a stack of hundreds. "A lot of people don't know who to be findable," he said.

"The best and most trusted sources" by the hiring agent is employee referral programs, job boards, recruiting events, social media and college recruiting," he added.

LinkedIn is the top external source for job leads and employee referral programs are the No. 1 way to gain the inside track. He'll be sharing insights on how to effectively utilize Facebook and Twitter in the job search, as well.

Interested in registering for the Feb. 26 Boot Camp for Job Seekers?

• Call the New Lenox Public Library at (815)-485-2605 or register online here.

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