Identified

Identified's First White Paper : "Revenge of the Nerds" The rise of the Engineer in the US Workforce

Today, Identified is excited to release the first in a series of workplace white papers. We delved into our data to bring you some insights on the job market that you won't find anywhere else. Based on an unprecedented data set of 50 million Facebook profiles, the study is the first of its kind to analyze 1.2 billion data points on professionals’ work history, education and demographic data.

The “Revenge of the Nerds,” is a three-part series which explores how the rise of the engineer is impacting the American workforce. Over the last 10 years, the demand for engineering talent has grown dramatically. As a result, the salaries of engineers have increased rapidly, and the unemployment rate among them has remained extremely low compared to national averages. Identified Scores show engineers to currently be the most in-demand group with the highest scores across the board.

Our study aims to put some numbers behind a trend that has broad-reaching implications in the American economy.

Click here to download the White Paper.

Check back for Parts II and III in the New Year. We will look more closely at the typical career path of the engineer and the recent trend of the engineer as entrepreneur.

So You’ve Been Contacted by a Recruiter... Now What? (Part 1)

What should be your first move after you are contacted by a recruiter? This has happened to many job seekers, and we’re here to provide some advice. Here are some things you should consider after you’re contacted by a recruiter.

1) What company are they representing? Sometimes if they are from an outside recruiting company they aren’t allowed to tell you what company they are calling from. Think of a few things you’d like to know about that company, even if they can’t tell you the name. Are they well funded? What industry are they in? These questions might vary depending on what you’re interested in, but either way this is a good way to decide whether or not you’re interested in keeping contact with the recruiter.

2) Ask the recruiter where they found your information. If more than one person contacts you, this could provide you with some guidance as to where you should spend most of your time looking for a job. Have several recruiters told you that they found your profile on a job board? Or on Twitter or Facebook? Wherever it is, consider the possibility of spending more of your time on that site because of the success you experienced with it.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog post, and feel free to contribute any personal experiences or advice for job seekers who are confused about what steps to take after being contacted by a recruiter!

Occupy Your Time Between Jobs

So you’re looking for a full time job, but want to keep busy in the meantime? Here are a few ways to get out of the house, and boost your resume at the same time!

Volunteer: This is a great thing to add to a resume. Instead of sitting around on the couch, show future employers that you worked to help a cause that you’re enthusiastic about. Find an organization that inspires you!

Wait Tables: This is a quick way to make some money and add customer service skills to your resume. Customer service is a skill that’s valued by many employers, and many positions.

Start a blog: Pick an interest of yours and work to become an expert. Start a blog and network with others to build your connections and learn more about your chosen subject.

Take classes: Find a local community college and enroll in some night classes that are relevant to the industry that you ultimately want to end up in. This will give you something to talk about in interviews, and could give you better preparation for your future career. It will also allow you the opportunity to meet new connections who share similar interests, and they might be able to lead you in the right direction towards finding a great job.

Do you have any other ways to stay busy between jobs? Please share in the comments section!

Brand Pages: How do YOU Interact?

Since Google+ released brand pages last week, many people have been talking about the possibilities of those pages and how people will interact with them. Using your social networking profiles to connect with companies you admire or want to work for is a great way to connect with people who have similar interests.

If you’re looking for a job, many of these companies have career pages that you can connect with to get an inside look at what its like to work there. Liking a career page for a company also allows recruiters to see you and your interest in the company, and they may contact you for an open position.

Even if you’re not interacting directly with these companies and products, showing that you’re interested and starting conversations with friends and others in your networks can be a good way to connect with people. Give your contacts a reason to interact with you, and start conversations around brands that people will find interest in.

Everyone’s different, and some prefer to stay away from brand pages while others love to connect with them. How many brands do you choose to connect with, and how do you interact with them? Let us know with a comment, and feel free to connect with Identified's FB Career page for updates on jobs at Identified. We've also launched on Google+, so let us know what you'd like to see on these pages!