Four Valuable (but Free) Smart Phone Apps for Job Seekers

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If you've been out of work for some time, you might find yourself reluctant to ever leave your computer, because you're constantly checking your favorite job sites every hour to see if anything new has come up. There are a number of good smart phone apps out there that could free you from all that. In fact, a smart phone could be a more valuable tool than your computer when it comes to your job search.

"A smart phone is always with you, and there are apps that can alert you when a job you're qualified for opens up," said app expert and Appitalism CEO Simon Buckingham. "Smart phones have GPS systems that can help you find out about local jobs, and there are also socially aware apps that will alert you when a job comes up at a company where you have a connection." A Facebook friend or LinkedIn contact, for example -- that can be invaluable.

"Randomly applying for any position is so 20th Century," observes Buckingham. "Every app now needs to have a social component." He says the best apps fully utilize smart phone functionality, in that they give you relevant search results quickly, formatted for a small screen. Too much information could be difficult to download and read.

Buckingham has made a list of his favorite job apps that are currently on the market. He's included apps for Android, iPhone and Blackberry, because those are the most commonly used platforms. He's not aware of any cross-platform apps that have been developed yet, but he foresees that happening soon:

Job Search (Free for the Android) - Find jobs from your Android phone with Indeed.com, a comprehensive search engine for jobs. In a single search, Indeed offers free access to millions of jobs from thousands of company websites and job boards.

Mployd Job Search (Free for the Apple iPhone) - Find Jobs on your iPhone or iPod Touch or iPad with this powerful job search engine. The Mployd Job Search Application allows you to find jobs in an intuitive and simple way.

Real Time Jobs (Free for the Apple iPhone) - In a single search, this app allows a job seeker to search hundreds of thousands of job offers, view a job description, and apply for their ideal jobs. Using the world's first real-time job search engine coupled with sophisticated QuickPitch technology, the app helps job seekers get an early jump on the best jobs.

Search Jobs Beyond (Free for the BlackBerry) - The application allows users to search thousands of jobs across more than 25 industries by location and keyword, as well as review detailed job descriptions, save jobs to a list of favorites and even share jobs with friends.

Buckingham sees the future of apps utilizing audio technology, so you don't even have to touch a keyboard. You will be able to simply say, "Find a job in Manhattan for a software engineer that pays over $75,000," and, voila! All jobs of that nature would appear on your small screen. Buckingham predicts Apple will release an audio job search app as soon as next month.

In the meantime, you still need a laptop to craft a professional resume, but someday soon, you may hear there's an app for that as well.