The global pandemic has cost more than 40 million American jobs, even as the economy slowly starts to come back to life. We’re experiencing the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression.
If you’re one of those millions of people looking for work, you may discover that, with so many people also job hunting, you’ll be applying for more jobs than you’ve had to in the past. Daunting? Yes. But illumy can help you stay organized and put your most polished, professional self forward to prospective employers.
Email Address
Hiring managers have seen all sorts of crazy things from applicants. One of the more common missteps applicants make is having an indecipherable, strange, or downright inappropriate email address. Nicknames that sound juvenile, too many numbers, or words like “mean,” “bad,” “killer,” etc. in your email address do not convey the sense of professionalism that companies want. Also, the email domain you choose to use—such as Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, or Gmail—can reveal your age and other demographic information.
With illumy, though, it’s extremely likely that you’ll be able to select your full name at illumy.com as a username, and it might be possible to snag a username that’s just your first name. There are advantages to being an early adopter. 😎
Email Organization
Keeping all your emails orderly and filed is always hard, but during a job search, it’s vitally important. illumy is a valuable tool for managing all the emails you get from companies. Every message you receive from one address, regardless of the subject line, appears in a single thread. That means you don’t have to scroll through your inbox, past the newsletters, spam, and chain emails from Grandma searching for an interview request or pre-hire exercise. Messages are automatically stored in one place. Plus, any files or offer letters (!) they send to you (or you to them) display in the right panel, under Files, so you can navigate to them fast. And if for some reason you can’t find what you’re looking for, illumy’s search function is faster than Usain Bolt!⚡️
Phone Calls
If you’re searching for your next job in a different city or country than where you currently live, you might find that companies are reluctant to interview you if you aren’t already living there. But you can’t move until you have a job. So what can you do? Well, illumy has inexpensive plans (starting at $3/month) that include a phone number and unlimited free calls to the US and Canada.
Choose a number with the area code of the place you’re moving to, and recruiters and HR reps will think you’re already in the area. Plus, with a phone number dedicated to your job hunt, you’ll always know it’s a potential employer who’s calling, so you can prepare yourself mentally and make sure you’re in a quiet environment before taking the call. Or, you can send it to voicemail.
Voicemail
Even with a dedicated number for job hunting, there are times where you won’t be able to answer a call and need to send it to voicemail. That’s why all paid illumy plans include voicemail and text transcriptions of your voice messages, so you can see the contents of a message without listening to it. Plus, they’re all stored in a single call log, so you can scan to find the message or missed call you want quickly.
Searching for a job is never easy, and doing so in this economic climate is tough. illumy can help you stay organized, look local, and exude professionalism so you stand out from the crowd. Sign up today at illumy.com, and jump-start that job hunt!
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
