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Niall Kennedy |
Published 12/31/1969 |
Careers and
Employment |
Unrated
How You Can Use The Internet In Your Job
Search
If you haven?t already starting using
the internet to assist you in the job
search, then you are missing out on a
huge employment trend. There are
numerous reasons to take advantage of
this powerful tool, the most important
one being that
employers
are using the internet more than ever to
find candidates. If recent internet
usage studies are accurate, nearly 48%
of businesses do at least some of their
recruiting online. Not utilizing the
internet in your job search means that
you are flying under the radar for many
potential job opportunities.
The internet is useful for a number of
job search-related activities including:
-- Searching for
Jobs Online
-- Posting your Resume Online
-- Networking
-- Company Research
Searching for Jobs Online
Million of job openings are posted
online each year, many times more
openings that you could possibly access
on your own outside of the internet.
There are a number of general employment
sites that allow postings in all
professions, industries, and experience
levels. These sites are very large in
both size and scope, but are popular
with employers and
job seekers
alike.
If you are able to narrow your job
search to a specific profession or
industry, niche sites will be incredibly
valuable. Niche sites are those
websites that specialize in a particular
industry or profession, as opposed to
allowing for the postings of any
position imaginable. The advantages of
using a niche site are (1) that you will
not need to sort through nearly as many
job openings
to find those that fit your
qualifications, and (2) that traffic is
much less at niche sites. As a result,
the competition for these positions is
not nearly as fierce. Examples of niche
sites in particular fields include:
-- For Human Resource Professionals:
SHRM (http://www.shrm.org)
-- For Teaching Professionals:
Teaching Jobs
(http://www.teachingjobs.com)
-- For Medical Professionals: Med Search
(http://www.medsearch.com)
-- For Accounting Professionals:
Accounting Job Search (http://www.accounting.com)
In addition to standard online job
boards, many government agencies (from
the local to federal level) now list all
available positions online. Companies
with corporate websites also frequently
post any job openings on the company?s
job announcement board. You can use any
major internet search engine such as
Google or Yahoo to find a specific
government or company website.
A final note on online job searches: a
large majority of newspapers with
widespread circulation publish
classified ads, including job openings,
on the internet now. These ads can be
accessed for free in most cases, and
will give you direct access to any local
position openings.
Posting your Resume Online
Resume banks are large online databases
that allow you to post your resume to be
accessed by recruiters and potential
employers. The advantage to keeping a
copy (or copies) of your resume online
in a visible location is that allows
employers actively seeking candidates to
consider your credentials without you
having to submit your resume directly to
the company. Individuals worried about
confidentiality can opt to leave
personal identifying information off of
the resume and simply provide an
anonymous email address at which
interested employers can reach them.
Many job boards also have resume banks,
so take the time to browse around your
favorite job sites to determine your
options for posting your resume.
Resumes can frequently be uploaded
directly to the site or cut and pasted
for quick posting. In the event that
the site does not support this
technology (or if you only have a hard
copy of your resume), you will need to
manually enter your resume into the site
by filling out a form or typing into a
pre-designated text box.
Technically-savvy job seekers may also
choose to post their resume on their own
hosted website, on a free personal site
provided by your Internet Service
Provider, or on a company website (such
as Careerhunters.com) for a small fee.
Networking
Networking is one of the most successful
ways to find a new job, since personal
relationships often lead to
opportunities that you might have
otherwise never knew existed. The
internet offers innumerable
opportunities to network with other
professionals in your field. Online
forums, newsgroups, and professional
journals/blogs allow you to connect with
professionals who may be able to point
you (and your job search) in the right
direction. You may even be able to find
a mentor to help guide you in your
career development.
Company Research
The internet is a powerful tool for
conducting research on a specific
company in which you are interested.
Using a major search engine to scour the
web for information on a company will
turn up a company?s corporate webpage
(if they have one) as well as a variety
of other web sources disclosing
information that may be highly pertinent
to your job search. Use the internet,
for example, to research the company?s
products and services, industry,
competitors, financial information,
history, and reputation.
Laura Adams is a qualified careers
advisor with 11 years experience. Teaching Employment Information - Resources, News, Tips and Views to help Teachers find their dream jobs. http://www.Teaching-Job.info
Copyright Teaching-Job.info This article
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