Top 10 mobile apps for today’s job seekers

All except one comes for free.

According to Adrian Tan,  managing director of RecruitPlusConsulting,  technological advancements have made it imperative for job seekers to move away from the ‘age of dinosaurs’ and to start leveraging on the mobility of smart phones in order to gain that vital competitive edge.

As such, Mr Tan recommended the following 10 iPhone apps that will give you that “edge”:

1. LinkedIN – LinkedIn Corporation (Free)

From its beginnings in 2002, LinkedIN has grown to 175 million subscribers in over 200 countries today. Locally, they have captured more than 1 million users and recruiters have already taken a serious adoption of LinkedIN as another useful tool to find candidates.

It is paramount for any serious job seeker to have a LinkedIN profile and use it regularly to expand and extend their professional network. A wider network means an increased visibility - and that will be helpful in getting the job seeker a higher chance of being headhunted.

2. Interview Skills – Barclays Capital (Free)

The job interview. It's the first make-or-break moment in your career. And it's a genuinely nerve-wrecking experience for anybody. If only you could ‘role-reverse’ and understand exactly what the interviewer is
looking for.

That's what this app sets out to do. You'll be given inside info about the questions typically asked by graduate employers. You'll hear from three fictional candidates and get to make a hiring decision of your own. And you'll then be able to compare notes with a real Barclays Capital recruiter. All in all, pretty good stuff!

3. How to Get a Job Interview – Docstoc Inc (Free)

Does job hunting leave you exhausted? Are you nervous about nailing a job interview? This app is a complete blueprint for landing your dream job, from finding to securing it. Let professionals and job interviewers explain how to find a position that is aligned with your skills and that compensates you well.

They’ve included tips from actual CEOs and hiring managers on topics like:

• Most common interview questions and the answers they’re looking
for.
• How to negotiate the highest salary possible.
• Things to AVOID saying during your job interview.
• A paragraph to include in your cover letter that will generate a
response 98% of the time.
• The top 5 factors that managers use to determine whether or not
you get hired.

4. JobStreet by JobSteet (Free)

The genius of this app is the smart use of location. If you are looking for a job in a specific area, the “Jobs Near Me” feature would flip into a map and show you what you want is available nearby.

iPhone application allows you to find jobs easily from anytime and anywhere. Once you make it through the
(thankfully!) of signing up an account via your PC at you can start to apply for jobs with a single click.

5. STJobs – Singapore Press Holdings (Free)

The latest job portal to enter Singapore’s market, it arrived with a bang with tonnes of marketing and a huge and successful career fair at Suntec City. The exposure had attracted a lot of employers who begun advertising and offering more than 47,000 job openings. Make this a “one-stop shop” for all your job listings if you are pressed for time.

6. E2i – IPTech (Free)

e2i, Employment and Employability Institute, works with various partners across different industries to encourage the professional development of professionals, managers, and executives. This app allows you to discover
the latest events, developments, and networking opportunities that you may wish to participate in. They also have training programs to help job seekers become even more productive and most of such trainings are heavily subsidized. Whoopee!

7. Résumé App – Vurgood Applications (US$2.99)

Within seconds of inputting your information, Résumé App will generate a professional-looking PDF résumé that is completely customizable with whatever information you choose to include! You can input as many past job experiences as is required, as well as specific education information and activities. You can input specific skill-sets that you have obtained, and you can even include extracurricular activities if you so choose. If you desire, the application allows multiple references, as well as photographs, all of which can be included in the PDF resume! Also an option exists to include a generic cover-letter if the destination company/organization requires it.

8. Job Lander – SparkRiver (Free)

Do you want your résumé to stand out from all the others and immediately grab the attention of hiring managers? Job Lander is an incredibly easy to use app that creates gorgeous, colourful, personalized infographics for your résumé within minutes.

The amazingly, colourful infographic showcases your employment and academic background with a stunning, eye-catching graphical timeline.

Job Lander will truly make your résumé stand out and get you noticed. And that’s critical when the job market is such that so many people are sending in their résumés for the same job.

9. Learn SG – Singapore Workforce Development Agency (Free)

This iPhone application by WDA contains useful tools for individuals to find out what jobs are suitable for them based on the “Holland Code Personality Test”. You can also use it to check out the average salaryfor a variety of occupations in Singapore (data provided by Ministryof Manpower) and search for courses that suit your personalities and interests.

10. Facebook – Facebook Inc (Free)

Last, but definitely not least, this is not designed to idle your time awaywhile you wait for your job applications to be processed, but rather it is an avenue for job seekers to engage with quality companies. This will keep you in the loop on new updates, trends, and even new openings as more and more companies are putting in extraordinary resources to leverage on the power of social media.

You can even join the pages of reputable recruitment agencies that frequently put up the latest information that job seekers will find immensely useful in their attempt to find their next dream job.