Aidan McCrea

We've all heard how important portraying a professional presence online is, however what you don't hear about is how many jobs are lost solely because of a unprofessional or weak social presence. Without any sense of exaggeration it can be said that social media is a necessity in today's job world. It's important you have profiles built-out to show off who you are, your achievements and job history. Being inactive on social media will, in many cases. jeopardize your chance at getting your dream job. Careerbuilder's great infographic demonstrates just how many employers actively look at their employees or future employees social media accounts. The numbers speak for themselves in this case. When done right, social media platforms can be a major help in getting noticed and eventually soliciting offers. While Facebook and Twitter are popular, it's important your presence doesn't end there. Being well-rounded, and at least having built-out accounts with several other sites is helpful. While there are obvious no-no's on social media, simply taking an hour or two to accurately build-out a profile is easy and beneficial. It's beneficial because it populates Search Engine Results Page's (SERP) when your name is queried, and it's easy because many sites draw off other and therefore don't force you to enter much additional information. To help job seekers better understand the role of social media in their job search, CareerBuilder.com conducted a survey last year that asked 2,303 hiring managers and human resource professionals if, how, and why they incorporate social media into their hiring process. This survey came back with results that showed direct correlation between active social media users and success in job hunts. In some cases it was that the employer got a good feel for the candidate’s personality. Others chose to hire because the profile conveyed a professional image. In some instances it was because background information supported professional qualifications, other people posted great references about the candidate, or because the profile showed that the job seeker is creative, well-rounded, or has great communication skills. A big thing that many employers look for is consistency. Listing your accomplishments and profession on Linkedin isn't good enough because some employers may only look at Facebook. Having a consistent message and imagery across your social media presence will make life easier on your potential suitors, as well as on you as you won't need to reinvent the wheel for each social media profile you build. Overall, social media isn't brain surgery. All it takes is a few focused hours and a goal in-mind. It's best that you simply sit down and map out where you'd like to go with your career and build your profiles with said goal in mind. Also, make sure you maintain a clean profile, instead of just cleaning it up when the time comes you think that they'll be analyzed. In this digital age, you just never know who is looking at your profiles when, so it's best to be safe rather than sorry. Scroll down for Careerbuilder's awesome infographic:

It seems like right now is a great to be looking for a job. Steady growth seems to be a trend that's going to continue in many industries, and U.S. unemployment rates are down below 5%. Whether you're currently unemployed looking for a job, employed looking at your options or just coming out of school, now's the time to look at something new. The job categories that grew the most this year have been Community and Social Service, which grew 14.61% and Computer and Mathematics, which grew by 14.49%. These two grew by far the most, however next up with slightly smller, yet still impressive growth numbers are Health Care Practitioners and Technicians, which grew by 9.89%, and Construction and Extraction, which grew by 9.24%. Rounding out the top 5 categories is Art, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media with 8.42% growth. The national average for growth is 4.47%. As far as cities are concerned, New York grew the most in all categories. They were leaders in 4 out of the 5 categories, as well as saw growth of almost 10% higher than the next best city in Computers and Mathematics. While the large centers on the east and west coasts saw tremendous growth, large growth was seen in every corner of the country. The full list, provided by ABODO, with a full breakdown of each sector is below.

Breakdown of Top Performing Cities in Each Occupation

This is a more specific breakdown of the top 10 cities in each occupation field. Categories below are:

• Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports and Media

• Health Care Practitioners and Technical

• Construction and Extraction

• Computer and Mathematics

• Community and Social Service

Major Jobs in this Category:

• Actors

• Journalists

• Public Relations and Communications Practitioners

• Social Media Specialists

• Designers

• Musicians

• Athletes

As you can see, these type jobs are concetrated in the urban metropolitan areas. Unsurprisingly, Los Angeles leads the country. Its location quotient of 2.69 reflects the extensive infrastructure of the film and television industries. Similarly, New York City — the publishing, theater, and art capital of the United States — holds an extremely high location quotient of 1.95.This map looks like a cultural heat map of the United States, with cities like San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, and Nashville confirming their general reputations for artsy cool. One surprise on this list could be Columbus, OH, which even at the #10 spot shows a robust location quotient of 1.11. The city, home to both Ohio State and Columbus College of Art and Design, has emerged in recent years as an art and fashion mecca. In fact, Columbus employs more fashion designers than any city in the country not named Los Angeles or New York City.

Major Jobs in this Category:

• Physicians

• Surgeons

• Support Technologists

• Lab Technicians

• Dentists

• Chiropractors

• Therapists

Because of the nature of this field, the playing field is incredibly level across the board. The aspects of growth in this category could involve an aging population in those cities, or a growth in the amount of labs moving in those towns.

Major Jobs in this Category:

• Carpenters

• Plumbers

• Welders

• Heavy Machinery Operators

• Construction Workers

• Roofers

The data in this graphic shows where the biggest growth in the housing market is happening. The extensive population growth in Texas is displayed here, as well as the housing lull happening throughout the Midwest. Skewing mainly to the South and West, the booming economies of Texas, Arizona and, to a lesser extent, California are evident. Denver is seeing a large boost in it's housing market and economy, making them a diamond in the rough as far as the Midwest is concerned.

Major Jobs in this Category:

• Software Developer

• Marketing Coordinator

• Graphic Designers

• Digital Specialists

• Programmers

• Web Designers

This fast-developing industry continues to see its major growth on the West Coast. Major hubs in San Jose, San Francisco and Seattle are expected, while the spots for Denver, Boston and Columbus are slightly more unexpected. Because of the lighting fast nature of this category, the growth and decline numbers are always going to be skewed in one direction or the other.

Major Jobs in this Category:

• Social Workers

• Counselors

• Probation Officers

• Religious Officers

• Environmental Workers

• Substance Abuse Workers

Philadelphia is the leader in this category, while Boston, New York, and Detroit follow closely. While the other categories tend to lean towards more metropolitan areas, this category is more concentrated in smaller, less densely populated areas. For a more in-depth breakdown check out ADOBO full analysis.

Finding the right person to take over a role at your company is challenging. It often costs thousands of dollars just to fill one low- to mid-level position, and even more for management positions. That's why assuring that each hire you make is successful is of utmost importance in today's business world. Studies have found that new hires are one of the biggest factor in creating animosity and discord in the office. On top of that, in a 2014 survey done by BambooHR, it was discovered that one-third of the 1,000 respondents said they had quit a job within the first six months of starting it. Plus, more than 16 percent left between the first week and the third month of their new job. Along with being extremely costly monetary wise, this also creates discontent and confusion among the remaining members of your team. While the majority of businesses find success with new hires, if you're interested in some best practice techniques or are part of that minority that has struggled with onboarding new staff, try these 3 tips below.

1. Smooth Introduction

Making sure that your new hire has a smooth first week or two is excruciatingly important. Nothing is worse for a new hire to experience at your company than an aimless, unproductive and unstructured intro period. If nothing else, assure that they're at least busy with work, don't let them sit and stew about their decision! A good practice is to send out all of intro/contract/HR paperwork prior to the employee arriving on the first day. This simply allows both parties to be completely ready for the other as soon as the first day starts. Having experienced listless companies who ignored any onboarding procedure, there's nothing more frustrating. On top of dealing with paperwork prior to arrival, make sure you get your new hire to send through a quick bio and picture, so that you can familiarize them with your team. This allows both your hire and your team to be included in the process, as well as gives both familiarity right off the bat. Here a few other more obvious, but sometimes forgotten about details that need to be taken care of:

• Setup you new employees workstation before they arrive

• Establish short and long-term goals with the hire

• Make sure they have everything they need to be productive on the first day

• Have a meeting at the end of the first day to clarify any issues or just ask them how their day went

• Send them home with an organization-specific care package

2. Allow for Team Input

Allowing current members of your team into the discussions about the hiring process is a great way to get them involved. While serving many purposes, overall this practice is just to make sure that everyone on your team feels included. Also, you never know when a member of your team might have a connection to someone who may fit perfect with the organization. By including your team in the onboarding process, this gives the relationship with the new hire more potential to be a success. It does this by cutting away any resentment your staff may have about the decision. In theory it should allow your team to get any questions or concerns on the table prior to the new member coming onboard.

3. Setup Check-Up Meetings

Understanding your employees perspective is incredibly important. It's not good enough to simply make decisions for the company on your best judgement without consulting staff. The same concept applies to the onboarding process. Make sure that you're having check-in meetings with your new hire, as well as with your team. Hearing what they have to say will give you the opportunity to adjust on the fly and eliminate festering issues. A more formal way of doing this is through a formal questionnaire at the end of the first week. Include any questions about their thoughts on your orientation process and assimilation with the team and office. Not only will this allow you to identify any pain points that might reduce your new hire’s job satisfaction, but it also helps inform you about onboarding best practices for future hires. A significant amount of job turnover happens in the first couple of months, so assure that you're treating your new hire to a seamless onboarding process. – Don’t drop the ball after you make the hire. The onboarding process is just as critical as the recruitment process when it comes to optimizing hiring results. Smart hiring practices extend into your new hires’ first few months of employment, and recognizing that can save your company a lot of time and money.