Descriptions of Job Seeker Secrets ChaptersBy:JSS Staff
Chapter 1: The Internet and the Job Seeker
Online recruiting is one of the fastest-growing applications of the Internet. Today, more than 90 percent of college graduates will look for work on the Internet, while fewer than 10 percent looked for work on the Internet only 10 years ago. Likewise, today''s employers are hiring about 40 percent of their workforce through the Internet; and those numbers are growing quickly. Millions of employers and job seekers are taking advantage of the Internet''s capacity to connect people in hopes of finding a match.
As an Internet job seeker, you''ll need a basic understanding of how an online job search differs from a traditional job search. This chapter will present an overview of what makes an Internet job seeker successful and why and how employers look for candidates through the Internet.
Chapter Objectives
· Discover how an Internet job search differs from a traditional job search.
· Understand why and how employers and recruiters use the Internet to recruit employees.
The Internet Job Seeker
Internet job seekers come in all shapes and sizes. A job seeker who works in a high-demand field, such as network administration or computer programming, might rely on Internet recruiting to find the most competitive salaries. A job seeker who is relocating to a new city might want to save time and effort by looking for Internet job postings in the new location before the move. A job seeker who works in a niche field (a rare and/or highly specialized field), such as manual book binding or movie sound editing, may need to turn to the Internet to find work specific to his or her skills.
Fortunately, online job-searching methods are as abundant and diverse as Internet job seekers. Whether you''re a senior executive or a recent graduate, a techie or an Internet novice, the Internet can provide you with a variety of exciting career opportunities.
Job Searches: Traditional vs. Internet
For the purposes of this book, a traditional job search refers to a job search that doesn''t use the Internet, and an Internet job search refers to a job search that principally uses the Internet to find and respond to job listings. In essence, a traditional job search describes what job searches were like prior to the Internet.
Though a small percentage of the workforce performs job searches without the use of any Internet function including e-mail & those numbers are decreasing by the day. Most job searches combine aspects of both the traditional job search and the Internet job search. By performing your job search primarily via the Internet, you will be among the fast-growing pioneers of cyber job-hunting.
Chapter 2: Know What You''re Looking For
Objectives
· Understand the importance of a career self-assessment.
· Expand your career possibilities by exploring your interests, skills, and possible industries.
· Prioritize your career possibilities by identifying the characteristics of your ideal career.
· Use your prioritized career possibilities to take a first look at job listings on the Internet.
Too often in job searches and in life we take the easy road by accepting what is right in front of us. Unfortunately, that strategy rarely leads to satisfaction in life or in work. What is the best way to get what you want? Know what you want. One of the most common and dangerous mistakes job seekers make is beginning a job search without a clear idea of what they''re looking for. Before you can market yourself to an employer, you must know yourself well.
The Internet is a gateway to all kinds of work and millions of job postings. That''s why knowing what you''re looking for is especially important before you begin looking for jobs on the Internet. This chapter will help you develop a clear picture of your desired responsibilities, work environment, salary, and location in order to bring purpose and focus to your Internet job search. Narrowing down your search in this way will make the process easier, faster, and more productive.
Our model job seeker for this chapter is Jamal. He''s finishing his certification in veterinary technology and has experience walking dogs and working as an assistant in a veterinary clinic. Jamal is pursuing a career as a veterinary technician and enjoys classifying his rock collection and reading true-crime books in his spare time. Jamal''s experiences with identifying his career possibilities are provided as examples throughout this chapter.
The Career Self-Assessment
When people meet you, they typically ask, What do you do? And often, when we describe friends or family members, we mention their professions for instance, He''s a teacher, or She owns a design firm. Why is this so? Because what you do for a living largely defines who you are: your talents, your personality, and what role your job plays in your life.
Unfortunately, very few people truly know what they want to do. Finding a satisfying career involves a serious evaluation of our work experience, talents, and career values or what career experts commonly call a career self-assessment. A self-assessment is an evaluation tool that is designed to help you know yourself before you set your career goals and start down a path for meeting those goals.
Why Do You Need a Self-Assessment?
A popular saying claims, Do what you love, and you''ll love what you do. But how can you do what you love if you don''t know what you love? That''s where self-assessments come in. These tools can help you figure out what drives you and what you''re passionate about what you love.
If you''ve been in the workforce for a while, you might have a better idea of what you do and don''t want than first-time job seekers or people beginning new careers. But even people with a lot of work experience can benefit from exploring the variety of ways they could apply their talents.
Chapter 3: Creating Resumes and Cover Letters
Chapter Objectives
· Discover the types of resumes used in Internet job searches, and learn when to use them.
· Understand the standard elements of successful resumes.
· Use keywords effectively in your resumes.
· Create your Internet-ready resumes.
· Create your Internet-ready cover letters.
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Pounding the pavement is a perfect description of what traditional job searches were like prior to the Internet. Savvy job seekers literally covered miles of pavement, visiting several prospective employers with their fancy paper resumes in tow. As an Internet job seeker, you''ll be pounding the virtual pavement the information superhighway and the rules of the road have changed. Though the traditional paper resume still plays a role, it will not be your only or your most important resume during your Internet job search. Depending on the situation and the employer''s request, you''ll need to send different types of resumes throughout your Internet job search, including your traditional paper resume. In this chapter, you''ll discover how easy it is to create every type of resume you''ll need from one basic resume. You''ll also discover which resume you should use in the different situations you''ll encounter.
Chapter 4: Searching for Your Target Careers
Wildcards, spiders, and Booleans, oh my! Like Dorothy''s quest to find the wizard in the film classic The Wizard of Oz, your Internet job search will involve many new obstacles and adventures. The Internet presents a variety of paths to your target careers paths that are often plagued with wrong turns, worthless Web sites, and meaningless search results.
In order to navigate these paths successfully, you''ll need a few good friends, tips and strategies that will help you avoid pitfalls and sharpen your search for a fulfilling career. In addition to offering general Web searching strategies and tips, this chapter will provide useful approaches to finding jobs within Web sites, locating company sites and company profiles, and using keywords effectively.
Chapter Objectives
· Master the basics of Web searching.
· Learn to search for jobs within general and specific job boards.
· Learn to search for jobs within company Web sites.
· Learn to search for jobs in the online classifieds. |
Chapter 5: Job Boards
Imagine you''re shopping for a new winter coat. Though you know the basic color and length you''re looking for, you want to see a large variety of styles and fabrics. For this kind of shopping excursion, a large superstore specializing in coats would be your best bet.
Online job boards are like superstores for the Internet job seeker. Their job banks are crammed with job opportunities in a variety of career fields, locations, and salary ranges. To maximize your job board shopping experience, you''ll need to know how to evaluate the merchandise, where to find the best selection, and whether you should pay a fee for extra services. In addition to offering valuable insider tools for understanding and evaluating job boards, this chapter will provide basic pointers for posting your resume, mastering profiles, using job search agents, and responding to job postings.
Chapter Objectives
· Learn to evaluate the features and functions of job boards.
· Post your resume, profile, and personal settings on the job boards.
· Respond to job listings on the job boards.
Chapter 6: Company Web Sites and Third-Party Recruiters
If you''ve ever been hungry at the grocery store, you''ve probably noticed that the power of a growling belly can override good judgment. When almost everything looks appetizing, a carefully planned grocery list falls to the wayside. Sometimes, an active job search can feel like shopping for food on an empty stomach. Every job opportunity starts to look appealing when you''re hungry for work.
Though your Internet job search may provide many opportunities in your career field, it''s important not to lose sight of your career target list. Going directly to company Web sites and third-party recruiters is one of the best ways to ensure that you find what you truly want. This chapter will focus on tips for performing in-depth company research, getting inside the right companies, and utilizing third-party recruiters.
Chapter Objectives
· Expand your job search, discover strategies for getting inside companies, and apply for jobs directly through company websites.
· Understand the different types of search firms, and register your resume and profile with third-party recruiters.
Chapter 7: Looking for Location
It has been said that there are no shortcuts to any place worth going. This may be true of just about everything except job hunting on the Internet. While the Internet won''t literally transport you to new locations, it will provide many shortcuts for targeting specific locations. If you''re relocating, the Internet will help you find almost anything you need for your move including a job in your new town.
The Internet is truly a blessing for job seekers who prioritize location because it provides a means of virtually scouting out and visiting a location before you arrive. This chapter will provide strategies for conducting your Internet job search by location. Whether you''re staying home, going home, or relocating to a new place, you''ll discover proven ways to home in on your target locations.
Chapter Objectives
· Discover strategies for conducting a long-distance job search, giving relocation information to potential employers, and finding online job listings in small towns.
· Apply to jobs in your target locations using online classifieds, geographic job boards, and government job sites.
Chapter 8: Using Specialty Sites to Your Advantage
Despite the tens of thousands of jobs of every description that are listed on the major job boards, many terrific jobs still never make it there. If you have an unusual profession or if you want to work for a small company or nonprofit organization, you might not find the job of your dreams on one of the big job boards. Instead, you should focus your search on the thousands of smaller, specialized job sites, which cover every profession and type of work environment imaginable.
Even if your career skills and needs are considered mainstream, specialty sites can provide options that uniquely fit your career target list. In this chapter, you''ll discover how to apply your Internet search skills to finding and applying to job listings on a variety of specialty sites including nonprofit sites, diversity sites, and newsgroups.
Chapter Objectives
· Discover the types of specialty sites, and understand the advantages and disadvantages of using them.
· Find and apply for job listings on a variety of specialty sites.
Chapter 9: Freelancing Through the Internet
When embarking on an important purchase or life decision, such as buying a new car or getting married, wise people will tell you to shop around first. If you make an important decision quickly, you risk making the wrong decision. Accepting a job offer is one of the most important decisions you''ll make in your life. Though most modern workers have many jobs throughout their careers, it''s important to understand that every job will shape your work experiences, resume, and career path.
If your Internet job search hasn''t provided listings that are a perfect or near-perfect match for your career target list, you might consider taking freelance or temporary work until the right thing comes along. In fact, freelancing and temping can often help you find the right thing! This chapter will focus on finding freelance and temporary work through the Internet alternative paths to traditional, on-site, full-time employment. In addition to valuable information about freelancing and temping job sites, you''ll discover the advantages and disadvantages of waiting for the right thing to come along.
Chapter Objectives
· Understand what it takes to be a successful freelancer.
· Discover the advantages of becoming a temporary employee.
· Explore job sites for freelancers and temporary employees.
Chapter 10: Refining Your Internet Job Search
If you''ve ever plugged in a string of old holiday lights only to find that they won''t light, you understand how difficult it can be to get to the root of a problem. To find what''s causing the trouble, you must unscrew each light, one by one. If you''re not getting the responses you expected from your Internet job search or you''re getting responses but not clinching the deal, you may be wondering where and how you''ve gone wrong. Fortunately, there are better ways to find the broken light in your Internet job search. |