5 Low-Cost or No-Cost Job Search Resources

job searchIt doesn’t matter if you prefer to consume your news through reading, listening or viewing. There are resources available across all these media. What you’ll want to think about is how you can easily incorporate more learning into your day. You’re much more likely to stumble across an informative article or see a helpful video if you’ve customized your news streams. One of the best ways to create a new habit is to make it easy. Where is the first place you go to get your news in the morning? What can you do to add career, job search and regional news to this outlet?

Reading Enthusiasts 
Simplify and improve your news consumption habit by setting up your mobile device with some of the following applications so you can make use of your time while waiting, commuting or breaking for lunch. Look for career and job search accounts on these social media channels: Facebook Pages and Groups, Twitter chats, LinkedIn Pulse news and Google+ pages and communities.

1. News feeds. If you have found websites or blogs with a feed, you can add them to Feedly, Pocket or The Old Reader. These applications allow you to browse recently published articles from a single access point. This is similar to skimming the daily newspaper, looking for enticing or relevant headlines. Often, one site just isn’t enough to provide you with all the news you need. These readers allow you to select the content you want to have easy access to.

2. Books and e-books. Whether your preference is to read an old-fashioned book or download one to your e-reader, there are millions of job search books in your preferred format. You should also keep your eye out for free or low-cost downloads that publishers and authors frequently offer. Use the advanced search function to sort and filter your results on Amazon or your favorite online book seller.

Auditory Learners
If you are a fan of audio books, love multitasking or just take in information better when you hear it, then you probably already enjoy podcasts.

3. Podcasts: These are great if you enjoy multitasking. You can listen while commuting or have the podcast running in the background while working on your computer. As you search for new podcasts, don’t forget to look for industry-specific topics. This will keep you up on industry trends and potentially expose you to new buzzwords and skills to add to your professional development list.

One of the best sources of podcasts are the free ones available through iTunes. Open up your iTunes account (or create one) and search podcasts for “job search.” You’ll see hundreds of different hosts. If you’re an Android user, you can use Google’s Play Store to find an app to listen to podcasts on your phone, mobile device and computer. One of the more popular podcast apps is Pocket Casts. There is a fee to download the app. If you already use it, then search the directory for “job search” topics to find your favorite host. If you’re looking for a free app, there are plenty of those as well in the Play Store. You’ll want to listen to some and find the resource that best matches what information you need for your career move. Explore and learn some new tricks.

Experiential Learners
Some people need to be actively involved in the learning process to absorb information. If this is you, you probably seek out more engaging job search information. These are some resources to investigate.

4. Webinars and online learning. There are low-cost and no-cost webinars for job search. So how do you find them? Usually the webinar’s host will write about the upcoming offering and share the news across social networks. (This is another great reason to join social media.) You can proactively seek out webinars on the websites you use for your job search. Search the site to see if it mentions webinars. That’s a great place to start. If you sign up for a site’s newsletter you will likely receive notification of upcoming webinars.

5. Massive online open courses, or MOOCs. You may be interested in developing skills in other areas besides job search. MOOCs allow you to learn from existing online courses by top institutions such as MIT, Stanford, Harvard, UCLA and more. Test the waters by signing up for a free, nondegree program to see if you like a topic before enrolling in a full-fledged college program or just brush up on your skills. Popular MOOC providers include Udemy, Coursera, iTunesU and edX.

Invest In You and Your Future
You owe it to yourself to invest in you. As you know, job search is tough. It is going to take more than a slick résumé to land your next job. You deserve to arm yourself with new tools and knowledge to make your job search more productive.

Source: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2014/04/30/5-low-cost-or-no-cost-job-search-resources