ShareThisBy M.B. OWENS
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
The Internet has become one of the most popular ways job seekers look for employment. There are literally thousands of sites to choose from. Some are giants and all-inclusive while others are quite small and industry or company specific. Which one should you select?
Take a look at your field of employment. How specialized is it and how easy is it to get a job at this time? Consider what type of company you want to work for, where you want to locate, and if you are more conformable working with certain types or size of sites. All of these issues can influence what type of employment Web site you want to use.
Some people in certain fields are quite successful in finding employment in the huge general job sites. They find positions of often hard to fill jobs that have limited numbers of qualified candidates with hard to find skills or positions from employers needing a large number of employees. The large sites are usually good for entry-level positions with larger companies. People with strong and broad skills in sales or marketing do well. The bottom line is that virtually every kind of position can be found on the large sites from professional to low skilled.
The problem is, though the sites appear to be geared to the job seeker, they are in fact set up for the employer. That is who is paying for the service (with rare exception).
It is okay to use them, just do not totally depend on them.
The problem with these big sites is that employers using them are often overwhelmed with resumes. They spend little or no time reviewing many of them. Your resume may be just lost in the volume. That is why when you use these sites your chances of finding a job are not high. This does not mean not to use them. It means don't rely on them or become discouraged when using them.
Use them intelligently. Don't spend all your time at one site just because there appears to be so many jobs available.
If you have a specialized occupation, go to the sites that advertise in the field. These sites are tailored to fit the needs of employers looking within certain fields or industries. If you fit the mold of what these employers are looking for, these sites are probably where you should be spending most of your time.
Specialty sites can have certain benefits over the general sites. They may allow you to e-mail your resume where the other sites make you use cumbersome procedures. Employers and not headhunters more often use them so you end up with direct contact with actual hiring managers. There are often more management level jobs in a given field found on the specialized sites.
If you desire to pinpoint your search even more, take a look at employer Web sites. Here you know the employer you are applying to. Make sure you pay close attention to directions. Since you may be directly dealing with the hiring managers you cannot make careless mistakes. Make sure you pay close attention to any format requirements.
So, a key to using the Internet is to have an idea of the demand for your skills in the marketplace, which is integrated with your own personal preferences. Work intelligently to develop an approach that gets you the best results possible.
(M.B. Owens is president of a career consulting company. E-mail him at usajoblocator1(at)yahoo.com.)
