How You Can Use The Internet In Your Job Search
By Laura Adams
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.
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.
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
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