Looking
for a job on the Internet? If so, you are not alone—the Internet
has quickly become one of the most popular job search methods. As a
link to the global universe, it has revolutionized the way prospective
employees search for jobs. Still, it’s not magic; the Internet
will not automatically find a job for you. Like any other job-hunting
strategy, using the Internet successfully requires effort. The key to
being successful using the Internet is knowing what you want and how
to get it. New Internet search technology includes job search agents
and mega-search tools. Job search agents, such as
www.nationjob.com and www.diversityworking.com
are automated programs or services that search job databases and notify
users when listings match their requirements. Mega-search tools, such
as www.careerbuilder.com,
and employment911.com, are
sites or software programs that allow users to search more than one
online site at a time and combine all the results on one list to review.
Think Before You Act
Before using the Internet tools described above, job seekers should
ask themselves some key questions:
What
do I want to do? What skills do I have and what are my interests?
(Identifying general activities/tasks rather than job titles can
be helpful.)
Who
do I want to work for? What industry interests me? (Target specific
companies if possible. Otherwise, consider whether you’d
like to work for a Fortune 500 firm, high-tech company, startup,
family-friendly company, etc.)
Where do I want to live? Is there a specific
city, state, region or country that interests me? (Think about
weather conditions, recreation and other things that are important
to you.) In addition, when looking at various sites, question
the information you are viewing. Are the job listings current?
Who runs the service? Is there a fee for use? Do you know anyone
who has used the service in the past?
Don’t Waste Your Time
Managing time online can be very important during the job search.
Here are some tips to help you use your time wisely:
Begin
your online job search by visiting large information databases.
(Do this every few days; daily visits may be too frequent to turn
up new information.)
Use
links from the large information databases to take you to smaller
sites where you can investigate specific employers or find networking
contacts. Again, visit these sites every few days.
Use
search engines to locate new resources specific to the job you
want. Realistically, your Internet job search strategies should
be limited to about 25% of the total time used to look for a job.
Don’t neglect conventional job search strategies, such as
on-campus interviewing, perusing newspaper want ads or conducting
informational interviews. One recent graduate unwisely spent all
his time on the Internet looking for jobs; he was unemployed for
six months. One day while talking with a friend, he learned about
a job opening in his town that had been available for over two
months. He hadn’t heard of the opening because it wasn’t
posted on the Internet.
The Internet is a tool, and like all tools it is only as good as the
skill and diligence of the user. Many new users of this technology
become frustrated or overwhelmed by the size and constantly changing
nature of Internet job search sites. But patience and dedication can
pay big rewards when you find the job of your dreams.
Written by
Dr. Juan I. Vigil. Dr. Vigil runs a consulting firm,
The Vigilant Group, Inc., in Hawaii.
