The Riley Guide: How to Job Search

How to Use The Internet in Your Job Search

The Internet & Your Job Search || What is a Complete Job Search?
Going Online || Why Bother? || Before You Go Online || Can't Think of Keywords?
Selecting the Right Sites|| Managing Your Time Online
One Last Thing || Suggested Reading for Your Job Search
Go Through the 4 Online Activities:

The Internet and Your Job Search

What Makes Up The Complete Job Search?

Many people believe they are hard at work looking for work when they religiously scan the Sunday Classifieds. Unfortunately, what they are really doing is expending 100% of their effort on only 25% of the possibilities.

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A Real Job Search has 4 Main Activities and 2 Environments -- Off-line and On

1. Review Job Leads

Print Newspapers / Journals / etc.
VS
Online Job Banks / Recruiters / Newspapers / Journals / Associations / etc.

2. Research and Contact Employers

Print Telephone Books / Business Directories / Employer Pamphlets
VS
Online Telephone Books / Business Directories / Association Links / Industry sites / Employer Webpages / etc.

3. Networking

Meeting with anyone you can through meetings / friends / colleagues (a.k.a. Pressing the Flesh )
VS
Participating in appropriate Mailing Lists / Newsgroups / Chat Forums as well as turning OFF the computer to make calls and attend meetings (a.k.a. Face Time)

4. Prepared Resume Ready to Post or Email

Having a nicely designed copy as well as scannable copy printed and ready to mail or present on demand
VS
A plain text copy ready to post or email on demand.

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However you approach your job search, you cannot put all your eggs in only one of these available eight baskets. A successful job search means using a combination of as many baskets as possible in different ways. While you are the only one who can determine your level of comfort with any given basket, you really must use at least one basket from each main area (job leads, networking, research, and the resume) to get the best results from your efforts. Why?

• If you don't have your well-written resume in plain text, it won't be easy to send in response to ads found online nor to email to new contacts.
• If you don't attend local networking meetings, you could be missing a chance to meet the best person positioned to help you with your search.
• If you don't look at the jobs posted online you could be missing lots of local opportunities you've missed in other places.
• If you don't shut off the computer, how can you call employers and speak with them about possibilities and convince them how much they need you?

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Going Online

Why Bother?

If the job search is already hard, why add to the stress by using the Internet?

You can access current information at all hours of the day or night.

The Internet doesn't recognize holidays, and the whole thing won't go down all at once for maintenance. It's there when you are ready to use it, even at midnight after finally getting the kids to bed.

You can reach deeper into your local area as well as take your search far beyond your regular boundaries.

There are no geographic limits. There may be employers who would prefer to hire from their local area, but that doesn't mean you can't accept the job and, if it's worth it, pay for your own move. You can also dig down deeper into your local area, finding the smaller employers within walking distance from your house who are dying to find someone just like you. I saw it happen at a workshop I gave in Boston.

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 tell the employer. This means you not only know how to use a computer but you also know how to navigate this online morass.

The Internet lets you meet new people and initiate new relationships with others in your profession or region.

On the Internet, no one can see you sweat. You don't have if you look okay or if everyone can see that your hands are shaking. Take your time, and relax. Find the groups and folks that feel best to you and are discussing things that interest you, and then take your time getting to know them before putting your best electronic face forward.

The Internet can help you explore career alternatives and options that you maybe haven't considered.

Not quite happy with your current job? Is it the job or the career path you've chosen? Not sure? Explore! What sounds like fun? What are you doing now, and are there any ways to can take your skills and apply them in a new direction? You can find some self-assessment tools online, loads of occupations and disciplines to explore, and even lists of local career counselors and career center to help you if you feel you need it.

Just so you know....

CareerXRoad's 2007 Annual Sources of Hire Survey reports that "The impact of the Internet is so pervasive that it is reasonable to imagine that every source of hire has an internet component. It may have been part of the research done to find candidates or the source of information candidates uncovered which caused them to apply. The internet is also increasingly the major means to apply and communicate no matter what the original source."

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Before You Go Online, Answer These Questions

The answers to these questions will begin to build a list of Keywords you can use in your search.

What Do You Want to Do? What Can You Do? (Skills and Occupations)

What skills do you have, what interests, etc. Identify general occupations that interest you, not specific job titles.
Think healthcare or sales, not Chief Medical Officer or Director of International Sales

Who Do You Want to Work For? (Industries and Employer Preferences)

What industry interests you, what type of employer? If you have some specific companies you want to target, great!
Fortune 500, Inc 500, high-tech start-up, family-friendly organization...

Where Do You Want to Live and Work? (Location location location)

Is there a particular city, state, region, or country?
California, Southern Maryland, "someplace with sailing, good golf courses, and very little snow."
Don't laugh. I know someone who focused his search this way.
Saying "anywhere they'll hire me" will not work. There's just too much stuff online. However, you can take the time to research the industry or occupation you're interested in and find out where they are hiring people....

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Having trouble thinking of keywords?

Ask a friend to help.	Friends can frequently see things in you that you can't. They might also have some good ideas and interesting options for you to consider.
Ask a Librarian.	Librarians are usually very good at this kind of exercise, but try to ask for some help when the reference desk isn't busy so he or she can concentrate better on your project. He or she can probably point you to books and other resources that can help.
Scan some Online Job Banks.	Search some of the major job lead banks like Yahoo! HotJobs (hotjobs.yahoo.com), or JobCentral (jobcentral.com) for jobs that interest you. Read the job descriptions, note the skills and kinds of experience the employers are seeking, and then use these words in your search.
Read a Good Book	Check your local bookstore or library for a copy of What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles (Ten Speed Press). It contains some exercises designed to help you identify your skills and interests, some of which are on the web in his JobHuntersBible. Your local career center, public library, or employment service center will have even more good resources you can use. We have a few listed at the at the end of this article.

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Selecting the Right Sites

I've only provided these questions as a starting point for your evaluation and selection process. You are the only who can say that a site and its resources works well or doesn't work at all for you.

What type of information am I finding here?

• Is it a more formal or informal discussion?
• Is it business listings, academics, or nonprofits?
• Is it just job listings or is there other useful information to be found?

Are the job listings dated so I know when they were added?

• Responding to old ads is not only a waste of your time, employers really dislike getting applications and inquiries about jobs they filled a while ago.
• If you don't see any dates, check the information for employers posting here. How much do they pay and how long will the jobs be posted?
• If you still don't see any information, send an email to the site's webmaster and ask how long they retain position listings in the database.

How long is the information retained here?

• Is it updated or altered daily, weekly, monthly?
• Do information postings expire quickly or remain for an extended amount of time?

Who runs this service?

• Is there information about the people who run this site that I can read?
• What's their background (recruiter, industry specialist, someone looking for a fast buck)?
• Is there a name, address, or phone number for contacting them with questions?

Do I know anyone who has used this service?

• What did they use this for? How did it work for them?
• Did they like what they found?
• Do they feel it was helpful and worth the time spent here?

If there's a fee for this service, is it worth the cost?

• Can I find other sites and services that offer an equal service at no cost?
• What will my money get me?
• What is the refund policy?
• What promises are they making, and are these promises reasonable?
• If I'm not happy with the service, how are complaints and possible refunds handled? (Look for a company name, a phone number and address, etc.)

If I send these people an email asking who they are and can I get more information on their service, do they actually respond to me?

• If they never contact you again, consider your time well spent and your money saved.
• If they contact you by email or phone, then judge them using your own criteria, but ask them all the pertinent questions until you are reassured.

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Managing Your Time Online

Every time you connect, start someplace new. Pick out a select list of general resources, use these to find more specific resources, and keep moving. Things change, but not so rapidly that you will miss something important if you check only there twice a week.

Remember, move general to specific, but always remember to move!

1. Visit the large information databases first. These include virtual libraries and large recruiting sites like JobCentral. Looks for links to information in your chosen field or industry. Repeat this search every few days, like Monday and Thursday.

2. Move on to the smaller, more exclusive resources and services, including online resource guides and sites dedicated to your field or industry. You want to find links to employers or collected information in your field that can give you leads or networking contacts. Repeat this search every few days, say Tuesday and Friday.

3. Use the search engines to locate new and hidden resources specific to your occupation and field. If you have a company you are interested in, search on the company name, any variations or nicknames it is known by, and names of its major products. Repeat this search every few days, maybe Wednesday and Saturday.

4. Finally, shut off the computer and spend some time with your family, friends, and yourself. Take the seventh day and relax, do some reading, walk outside, and remind yourself that there is a world out there and people to talk to. Play with your dog or scratch the cat, and if you don't have a dog or cat, substitute whatever pet you have. All work and no play makes every one of us completely stressed out and candidates for heart attacks which are total bummers and will keep us out of work for a long time.

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One Last Thing

The Internet cannot be the only resource you use
or your job search!

You must continue to utilize all contacts, information resources, and services available to you for the most effective and efficient search for employment. Continue to attend meetings, pick up the telephone and call people, and use the reference books in your local library.

Limit your time online to one-quarter (25%) of the total time
you can dedicate to your job search,

...unless you are a techie who is working in any area related to computer networks or programming. In that case, move it up to one-half (50%) of your time, but make sure your skills are current in order to be your most competitive.

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Suggested Reading for Your Job Search

• Dikel, Margaret Riley and Frances Roehm. The Guide to Internet Job Searching, 2006-07 edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. 2008-09 edition due Spring 2008
• Bolles, Richard. What Color is My Parachute. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press. Updated annually.
• Weddle, Peter D. Internet Resumes. Manassas Park, VA: Impact Publications.

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Go through the 4 online job search activities: Find Job Leads || Do Research || Network || Prepare & Post Your Resume

what

job title, keywords

where

city, state, zip

jobs by

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