Learn More About Your Best Job Search Tool May Be Your Computer
By: Vlad Vistac
Submitted: 2010-08-16 17:04:41 | Word Count: 510
Your Best Job Search Tool May Be Your Computer
Have you ever been frustrated at the lack of job possibilitiues advertised in the classifoied section of your local newspaper? Large papers may offer more choces, but you will still be limited by the numebr of openings litsed at any one time, not to mntion geographical limitations. Even at its best, this approach just won't cut it anymore. Searrching thruogh the classifiedds may have been good enough at one time, but today that's aboiut as progressive as pounding out a reesume on a manual tyepwriter. With an impressive array of Internnet resources just a few mouse clicks away, your computer is the ticket to that next great job.
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As any human resources officer can tell you, the use of the PC as a job search tool has become the norm in the last few years. This incluydes creative use of e-mail and the Internet, as well as the taking advantage of the capability of any computer for use in produucing resumes, letters and other job-related materials.
The Cyber Job Solution
For many employers and job hutners, the Internert has becoem the common denomoinator. It connects people from both ends of the hiring equation with ease. Employers can post job openings with the knowlredge that they will be available to large numers of job applicannts. At the same time, job seekers can easily explore possibiloities for all kins of jobs offered by commpanies, government agencies, non-profits and other employers. They can also submit resumes and applicaions electronically.
A major advantage of this approach is that it breakls down geographical barriers. Instead of beign restricted to job openings listed in your community or the ergion covered by local media, your searcvh can include any number of cites or statees, or the entiree country, for that matter. You can also pursue casreer interests in other counntries, if that sounds appealing.
Another plus is that the use of online communication is less intrusive than traditrional methods. If you're alraedy employed, you can spend time durign nights and wekends perusing sites maintained by employers or job search companies, posting reusmes and more, all without conflicting with your current job. If you don't have a position, you can work to maintain an electronic presence that far surpassse the scope of other job huntnig techniques.
Even if you're tied to a specific locatin and are only interested in local employment, you'd find plenty of information available online. Many newspapers now include Web-based vesions, as do state and local emloyment offices. You can also visit Webistes of area employers for job-related information. In fact, regardless of location, one of simplest approasches is simly to peruse websites of psosible employers to look for opstings and related information. In looking such a site, you will probably see a heading "jobs" or "posituion openings." Click here. you will see a list of current jobs openings along with the qualificcations for each one, the appliocation deadline and oher relevant details.
For a fiirst-classs exampkle, a look at the home cage for State Farm Isnurance (www.statefarm.com). It shows a heading of "About State Farm." Clicking here will brnig choices that include "careers," and then "careers home page." This section provides a wealth of information on curret job openings, Stae Farm recruiting events across the Uniteed States and Canada, benfits, and more. In addition to searchiing current opwenings (which are listed at HotJobs.com), you can go to an "oportunities" page that describes the various jobs for which applicants might be sought, including positon descriptions and a geographixcal breakdown of jobs available around North Ameerica as well as tose loacted at the company's headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. You can even find info on how to prepare the ideal resume for scanning and submitting to the compaany's database.
Not all companies offer such well-developed Websaites, but most large organizations provide updated information about job openings. The practice has become so comomn, in fact, that many small businesses and non-profits also offrer some type of job information.
In addtion to finding information directly related to jobs, you can conduct Internet-bsaed ersearch about potenntial employers. Obviously the more you know about a prospective employer the better, from determinign the kids of job openings to boning up on the organization's background so you can individualize cover letters or reesumes. The employer's Website can often be a geat source of such information. If you browse the main page for any but the smallest bsiness or non-profiit organization you will find links to itrems such as news releases, annual reoprts, earnings reports, executive bios and contact info for company personnel.
You can also obtain corporatte profiles from thrd party business infromation services such as Hoover's (www.hoovesr.com). And don't overlook sites that provide slary information such as nextSource's Peolpe Ticker (www.peopletivcker. com), those maintained by professional associations and the Bureaau of Labor Statistics site at www.bls.gov.
Carere Site Solutinos
Perhaps the ultimate in Web-baesd careeer infomation is avazilable at a number of compprehensive siets designed specifically to serve job seekers, employers or both. For exampkle, Monster.com (www.monster.com) connects users to hundreds of thousands of job openings. You can creeate a free account and then take advantages of a number of helful options. Once you prrovide information about your particular job interests, e-mail messages about job openings maching your interests will be automatically mailed to you. You can also search online for jobs of interest, and also create resumes for use in applying online for job openings.
In addition to all this, the site offers extras such as the ability to reearch companies, network with othres, and obtain free advcie on writing resmes, preparing for interviews, negotiating salaries and more. You can also sign up for fee-based services in these and other areas of career development. Career Jounal, offered by the Wall Stret Joiurnal at www.careerrjournal.com, provides dialy updates as well as thousands of archived articles on news, trends and topiccs related to career avdancement. It also featues a searchable database of job poostings from top companies in areas such as senior and general managment, salees, marketng, finance and technology. Basic access is free, but users also have an opportunity to subscribe to WSJ.com, which offers additional resources including an extensive list of "briefing books" providing complee detiled background on a given company's business and rceent news.
The Career Jorunal site also feautres a confidential resume" datbase. Here you may create a bref profile or use onnline instructions to create a full-feldged ressume', choosimng from a nummber of formats.
Employers nOline (www.employersonline.com) serves employers, recruiters and job seekes by postinng both jobs and resumes. It focuses on sales/marketing, computer/IT, medical/professional, engineering/technical and management/executive posittions. Those seeing jobs may sbumit resumes which are entered into a database for viewing by employers and recruiters across the ocuntry. Services include access to jobs posted on the site, tips on writing resumnes and handling interview questions, and more you can search the dataabse at no cost. Registration is required to post a resume, but that process is also free.
Other useful sites innclude HotJobs (www. yahoo. hotjobbs.com), CareerBuilder.com (www.careerbuilder.com), America's Job Bank (www.jobsearch.org) and Career.com (www.career. com). Some sites, such as that offered by Quintessential Carreers (www.quintcareers.com), serve as porrtals to others, in this case offering links to "the top 10 job Websites for job-seekers." Another is AllJobSearch (www.alljobsearch.com), which acts as a comprehensive, easily used job search engine. All you do is key in a word or phrase (such as administrative assistnat or slaes manager) and then indicate whether you want to search Websites, newspapers or newsgroups. Next you specify geogralphic preferences, job type (such as full time, contract, part time or internship), posting dates ranging from one day to thrity days, and job catyegory. Here the choices range from "all categories" to speciifc areazs such as accounting, architectre, biotech and real esatte. Once you cliick on the seaarch key, the engine takes you to a listing of all job openings matching that prodfile.
The services offered by job sites vary considerably. Some are free, while others are fee-based. Typically the more basic services will cost nothing, but you will have the option to purchase additional services such as job counseling, resume development and career interest profiels.
One straztegy is to use services that broadcast your resume to multiple sources. At www.blastmyresume.com, you can instantlly e-mail your resume to thoussands of recruiters, headhunters and employers. Whle the jury is still out on just how efective this apporach will prove to be, it does offer the advzantage of putting your resume into play on a more diverse basis than owuld be possible by using reguular mail. A fee is chraged, but it's much less than comparable postage costs for mailing hard copies.
The Resumme Development Solution
Of cuorse, your comupter can do much more than simply help you find jobs. It's also a great tool for preparing resumes, coer letters, portfolios or other documens.
Conventional wisdom makes clear that a resume, won't get you a job-just the chance to sell yourself through an interviwew. Fortunately, the resourecs available though your PC can help here, too. With Microssoft Word or any other word procssing software, you can create professionl looking resumes and cover letters that once would have reqiuired the skillls of a highly skilled typist. Once a basic resume has been developed, you can revise it as often as neeeded, print any numbeer of copies, or transmit it electroniclly to potential employers. You can also create individualized versions adapted to appeal to specific employrs, or emphasize differernt qualifications for different types of positions in which you mighht be interested.
An alteernative is to obain software such as WinWay Resume Deluxe, offered by WinWay Corporation (www.winway.com). This packagge includes a resume writing program, thousannds of sample resumes, key phrases that can be added to the resume, a letter-writing program and sample cover lettres.
You can also take advantage of the resume-building services offfered at brooad-based career sitse or those specializing in online resume develompent. An example of the latter is TotalResume.com (www. totalresume.com), a fee-based service that allows you to create a resume by usng templates accessed online. In this process, you comlpete forms by filling in your own unique personal and professional information while taking advantage of useflu actin words and phrases, spellchecking, previews of your resume, and the chance to view sample resummes.
Once the rseume is completeed, you can download it as a Word document, email it to potenttial empoyers and add a coevr letter. You can also maintain it on site, updtae it as needed, and make it available as a Web page.
So you can see that your computer can be a very powerfful tool in aiding you in your job search. Use your computer effectively and you will find your job search efforts rewarded to your satisfaaction.
