25 Google Applications to Assist in Your Job Search or Branding Your Career

If you were curious to know the population of Seattle, Washington, how would you go about getting the information? What if you wanted to know how to get from San Francisco, California to Napa Valley, California? Well the easiest and most convient method would be to Google them, right? Google gives you access to all the world’s information with just the click of a button, but did you know Google could assist you in finding a job or building up your professional brand?

Google is more than just an Internet search engine. It is a toolbox full of valuable weapons that any professional can use, no matter what stage of your career you are in. By using the applications below you can keep up to date on companies of interest, build your online brand and showoff your accomplishments.

1. Google Blog Search – Search blogs of the companies you are interested in, or follow the blogs of the industry experts in your field.

2. GMail – Create a professional email address for networking purposes and then have that address forwarded to your personal email

3. Google Profile – Control how you appear in Google searches by creating a personal profile. On your Google profile page you can add links to all your social networking profiles and your blog.

4. Google Custom Search – Create a customized search for your job search or career development by adding specific websites, blogs or job sites, or keywords

5. Google Desktop – It’s like a regular Google search but instead it searches your computer. It allows you to have easier access to your documents. It also has the option to add gadgets to your desktop so you can get the RSS feed from sites you frequently visit.

6. GOOG-411- By dialing 1-800-GOOG-411 from any phone and stating the location and type of business you are looking for GOOG-411 will connect you with that business. It is helpful if you are going on a job interview or attending a networking event and forgot the address or phone number. You can even ask GOOG-411 to send you a text with the information or send directions to your mobile phone.

7. iGoogle – Create a simple internet homepage with news, RSS feeds and gadgets that will assist in the job search or career development. Add interesting companies and the feed for their jobs page, add feeds to the blogs of industry experts or add RSS feeds for industry related conferences or events

8. Google Alerts – Get email updates on the topics of your choice. Set it up to get an alert every time a website is updated or topics of interests are mentioned in the news. It is also a great way reputation management tool. You can setup alerts to be sent to you every time your name is mentioned throughout the internet

9. Google University Search – Google’s University Search enables you to narrow your search to a specific school website. You can look for things to enhance your career like admissions information, course schedules. Or if you want to connect with former alumni for networking purposes you can have access to alumni news.

10. Google Maps – View maps and directions of a particular location. If you want to know the names and location similar companies in a certain geographical area, you are able to map them out and view a map with the exact locations flagged.

11. Google Finance – Get updates on companies within a specific market or industry. Google Finance allows you to view portfolios, the latest news and interactive charts dealing with companies that might interest you.

12. Google News – Search thousands of news stories for updates on the overall employment market or a specific industry. Using the advanced search you can narrow your results down to exact companies or news sources.

13. Google Reader – If you don’t have time to search the internet for stories and updates, Google Reader constantly checks your favorite news sites and blogs for new content. Whether a site updates daily or monthly, you won’t miss a thing. It shows all you indexed and favorite in one place. It’s like a personalized inbox for the entire web and you can just skim the headlines and read the topics that interest you.

14. Google Scholar - Google Scholar provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.

15. Google Patent Search – When you are researching companies, Google Patent Search allows you to search and view the full text of US Patents. This way you can see what those companies are working on or have produced in the past. When used for career development it can help you access what it already out there and give you ideas of what you can work on

16. YouTube – Use YouTube to find and watch videos with job search tips and tricks, view videos about hiring companies and share videos about your background. You can also use YouTube to connect with people and publish self created tutorial videos.

17. Blogger – A free blogging platform, Blogger helps you establish yourself as an industry expert. You can use your Blogger account to create an online resume or write articles that have an impact within your industry.

18. Google Sites – Google Sites is a great online collaboration tool that allows you to bring all your information together in one place. It is similar to iGoogle, but it allows for more personalization. By creating a single page you can combine all your information together. It allows you to post documents, videos, photos, calendars and attachments. This is a great place to serve as your online portfolio because you can share it with as many people as you want to.

19. Google Talk – Google Talk is Google’s version of instant messaging. It keeps you in contact with your peers and networking contacts. Some of the features of Google Talk are the video feature; allowing you to conduct and participate in video interviews, group chat; to have an open conversation with all your contacts, voice chat; to make PC to PC phone calls. It also has a feature called Reply by Chat. If you receive an email from someone who has Google Talk you can respond to the email through instant message rather than having to wait for them to respond to your email.

20. Google Calendar – Using Google Calendar allows you to organize your schedule and share events with friends and peers. You can set it up to receive daily calendar updates by email and view the shared calendar of those in your network. For professionals wanting to increase their marketplace visibility Google Calendar allows you to send out invites to events you may be hosting or RSVP to events you will be attending.

21. Google Toolbar – Google Toolbar makes it easier to stay up to date with news and happenings through the use of a toolbar at the top of your web browser. You can modify it to meet your needs by creating shortcuts to your favorite websites and Google Tools.

22. Google Groups – One of the best ways to make your mark in your industry and stay networked with others is to join and participate in groups. Google Groups allows you to connect with people who you may not have had access to otherwise. By join groups, you can comment of topics being discussed on group forums and send emails out to the members of those groups.

23. Google Knol – Create and publish information about a subject you are interested in. This is a great tool to establish industry thought leadership and expertise. You can also connect with other industry experts and share/grow your knowledge.

24. Google Orkut – Google Orkut is an online community designed to make your social life more active and stimulating. It helps you maintain existing relationships with pictures and messages, and establish new ones by reaching out to people you’ve never met before. Orkut makes it easy to find people who share your professional interests and establish new business contacts. You can also create and join a wide variety of online communities to discuss current events.

25. Google Book Search – If you are looking to increase your knowledge on an industry specific topic or get help with a job search problem, Google Book Search allows you to search the full text of books.

Be sure to stop by AskBINC in the future for detailed ways to use some of these Google Applications. If there is a particular one you would like to read learn about let us know.