Apps for job applications

It sounds so obvious that we almost have to say it out loud, but the word “application” is used in two senses when we talk about software applications for job applications. Actually, it’s kind of the same meaning after all isn’t it? If we use software applications (or “apps”) to help us search for job postings and submit our personal profiles for a position we want, then we are using the software application “applied” to the job of creating an application.

Potentially tautological semantics of the English language aside, there exists a healthy gamut of job- and work-related apps for us to make use of across all the main computing platforms today. While some job apps exist online as website-based online search services, there are also plenty of other supplementary tools you can use to refine your approach to the labour market before your launch your curriculum vitae (or resume if you prefer) into the world.

A good place to start is any app built to fuel your inspiration -- and many of these apps are placed alongside the employment and job finder tools in this space. You can download apps that will give you “100 awesome quotes from Steve Jobs” to get you in the mood for world leadership if you are of that kind of mindset. If you are perhaps a little less gung-ho and more reserved, you might like to opt for “10 things not to say in a job interview” just to get you in the mood. Both of these admittedly quite lightweight apps are now on the Windows 8 app store; neither are likely to turn you into the next global innovator or great public speaker, but searching for apps in this vein may indeed get you focused on the free job tools that do exist out there.

Job Applications Organizer on Windows 8 is better than any of the comparable offerings on either Google Play for Android or indeed anything on the Apple Mac Store. This free app will allow you to track you current job applications and synchronise deadlines for tasks and meetings. It will also store all the relevant information you have relating to that dream job that you have been working towards -- it even helps you create emails for the job application process based upon templates that you can customise throughout your job search.

Google Play for Android apps in this space are good, but they all tend to rely on the always-online nature of most Android users so these app’s primary function may be more actual “job search” related than job help. One exception is “Job Interview Question-Answer” which exists to provide a free interactive video app that helps you practice your answers to tough interview questions in an easy-to-use mock interview format. You can watch as you are asked a tough interview question and then record your response to that question so you can see what you look like to your interviewer. It sounds like an awful ordeal to put yourself through doesn’t it? But it’s probably a great way of sharpening up your act before your big day.

Apple’s store is arguably less enriched than others when it comes to job application applications. Certainly there are very few free offerings compared to the other stores and the amount of free online apps. The moderately priced and simply named “Resume” is here though and this app claims to work as a tool to get you through that interview and help you stand out from others. Resume features high definition video clips to help explain what managers are looking for and a whole batch of advice from so-called “leading experts” in their field. It is no substitute for just getting out there and having a few interviews, but it might help some users.

Where are all these job apps going in the future? The same way that all software applications will if they are given half a chance i.e. online connected geo-location aware and mobile. That is to say, your mobile device will know who you are, what you do for a living and whether or not you are on the job market. Apps like JobLens from Nokia (not yet available in the Middle East as yet) work with augmented reality technology to show job locations on local maps and even guide you towards employment trends, job compensation data, neighbourhood demographics and company profiles.

Many of the apps in the job applications market log in with services such as Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook. So if you are going to seriously use electronic tools to get that perfect job, you may want to think about ramping up (and in some cases that means cleaning up) your online profiles. Job search apps can never replace the special connection achievable through human interaction and the interview process itself, but they are making a direct effort to impact the whole procedure of job hunting from every angle possible -- so sit up straight, fix your shirt and tie and get online.

Adrian Bridgwater is a freelance journalist who specialises in software applications, gadgets and games.