By Tamar Asedo Sherman
Anyone who is looking for a job automatically searches the want ads in their local newspaper, but that is the least effective way to find a job. Employers list a job opening in the newspaper only as a last resort. They much prefer to hire someone who has been referred by a current employee, a friend or family member, or someone who might have contacted them previously for an informational meeting.
The Internet is quickly becoming a good resource for finding new employees, although an employer can be overwhelmed by receiving hundreds of résumés from across the country in response to a single listing online. There are numerous Web sites that will let you post your résumé, search for jobs, provide information on employers and links to their Web sites, and keep you posted when a new job listing matches your interests-all for free.
Web sites for job seekers also offer tips on how to assess your interests and abilities, conduct a job search, write a résumé, a cover letter, thank you note, prepare for an interview, dress for success, negotiate your salary, and get along with co-workers and your supervisor on the job.
All you have to do is register to use the site. The Riley Guide to using the Internet in your job search offers many tips and suggestions at www.rileyguide.com:
- One major advantage of using the Internet is that you can access current information at all hours of the day or night, 24/7 as they say. A bonus is that “on the Internet, no one can see you sweat. You don’t have to worry if you look okay or if everyone can see that your hands are shaking.”
- The Internet can help you explore career alternatives and options that you maybe haven’t considered. If you’re not quite happy with your current job, you might want to explore alternatives. What sounds like fun? Can you take your skills and apply them in a new direction? Online you can find self-assessment tools, skills and knowledge needed for different occupations, and even lists of resources to help you further, if you need it.
- Using the Internet in your search demonstrates leading-edge skills. Whether you found the job listing online or did research online before your interview, make sure you let the employer know that you looked at the site and did your homework.
Some experts recommend going directly to the career section of the company’s Web site because job postings are more likely to be current and the job-seeker can obtain specific instructions on how to apply online. Most importantly, applying through a company website lets the employer know that you are really interested in that company, and really want to work there. Your application is taken more seriously than if you apply through a public job board, where your application is generally one of hundreds of applications the employer has to sift through.
A few Web sites are geared specifically for people with disabilities. They are:
www.disabilityinfo.gov, the federal government’s one-stop website to provide people with disabilities with the information and resources they need to actively participate in the workforce and in their communities.
The goal of www.abilityjobs.com and www.jobenable.com is to assist individuals with disabilities to enhance their professional lives by providing a vehicle for finding employment with employers who are actively recruiting qualified persons with disabilities.
Following are the mega-Web sites that list thousands of jobs across the country. You can search their databases by keyword, field, and location:
• www.careerbuilder.com, jointly owned by the Tribune Company, Gannett, and Knight-Ridder, has the want-ads from around 200 newspapers across the country. This huge database lists lower-tech and traditionally blue collar jobs.
• www.monster.com will examine new listings as they are created, and will e-mail you with listings that match your criteria. It is affiliated with The New York Times.
• www.hotjobs.com, Yahoo’s hotjobs offers articles and links to resources for job-hunters, including salaries, résumé writing, interviewing, and relocation.
• www.jobbankinfo.org America’s Job Bank is sponsored by the Department of Labor, and includes all 50 states. This is a good site if you are looking for jobs in state and local governments, school districts, and public utilities.
Then there are several that are less well-known:
• www.simplyhired.com claims it is building the largest online database of jobs on the planet, with millions of listings.
• www.Jobster.com has a database that appears smaller than other sites at first glance, but it keeps its listings current. You can check by how long the listing has been out, 1 day, 7 days, or more.
• www.indeed.com culls job listings from job boards, newspapers, company career pages and industry associations, allowing employers to post job listings for no charge.
• www.hound.com’s job listings come directly from employers’ career web pages at no cost to the employer. It claims to have listings that no one else has.
Finally, you can get answers to all your questions about using the Internet for your job search at www.jobhuntersbible.com hosted By Dick Bolles, author of What Color is Your Parachute.
Tamar Asedo Sherman works as an employment specialist at UCP-Suffolk in Hauppauge, NY. She can be reached at action@unitedspinal.org
