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Electronic Job Search
The Internet is a powerful tool for job search. You can use the web to find job leads, research companies, careers and to create an electronic resume. The top ten uses of electronic job search: Find job leadsResearch companies Apply for jobs Research careers Create and send an internet friendly resume Explore careers Network and use chat rooms to find openings Protect your privacy Post your resume on line Have instant communication with perspective employers CONNECTING TO THE INTERNET The first thing you will want is the ability to connect to the Internet. For this you will need a computer, Internet access and an Internet Service Provider (ISP). With the Internet, the modem determines the speed at which you can connect. The fastest is a cable or DSL connection. An Internet Service Provider, such as Yahoo!, America On Line, etc., allows you to access the Internet. You can then use search engines to look up information about companies or to find job search sites. You can also use free services such as Hotmail () to set up an e-mail address for your job search. You can also access your St. Kate’s e-mail using the computers in Rooms 374, 350 and 355 in the education building. For general information on how to use the internet, try: If you experience problems you can call the help desk at x6402 from the computer labs. EXPLORING CAREERS If you are exploring different careers that will give you satisfaction, the Internet provides a wealth of information about all types of careers. You can also start by taking on line assessments to gain insight on your interests, skills and values at these sites: I SEEK: A direct link to career assessments and career information http://www.iseek.org/ The Discovery System: Located in the Computer lab in room 355 of the Education Building The Keirsey Career Temperament Assessment: A way to link your temperament to actual careers and jobs. Free! http://www.advisorteam.com/user/ktsintro.asp The Occupational Outlook Handbook: http://stats.bls.gov/search/ooh.asp?ct=OOH The Career Key: An assessment that has links to the Dictionary of Occupation Titles, which lists over 12,000 job descriptions. Note, however, this book is somewhat outdated. http://www.careerkey.org/english/ This site has updated job descriptions from the US government: http://online.onetcenter.org/ The next step is to talk or meet with people who work in the field that you’re interested in. RESEARCHING COMPANIES You want a good fit where you will work after graduation. So, research companies where you want to work. Or, if you have an interview you can wow them by knowing about the company. Use a search engine to find the company’s web site. You can find answers to questions of yours about what the company does, what it’s products and services are, who the main players are, and get a feeling for your fit in a company. It should be mandatory to review an organizations web site prior to any interview. You can also use sites such as: Business Reference library: http://lib.mansfield.edu/ Companies online: http://www.companiesonline.com The James Hill library in St. Paul: http://www.jjhill.org/index.asp JOB SEARCH STRATEGIES The most common use for a job search on the Internet is to find job leads. Experts estimate only 5-15% of all job opening are filled through the Internet. Most jobs are still filled by small employers who will probably not list jobs on the web. Therefore, electronic job search should be just part of your job search strategy. Networking and directly contacting the employers is still the best way to job search. The office of Personal and Career Counseling (651) 690-7830 offers manuals and resources to assist you in your job search. That said, the Internet is changing the way employers and applicants find each other. Employers are increasingly using the technology of the Internet to find and screen applicants. If you post your resume on line, employers will use keywords to review your resume. For example, “ Registered Nurse” on a resume will prompt the computer to send the resume to a recruiter. Many jobs listed on web sites are employment agencies. The advantage of an agency is it’s one more part of your network. The disadvantage is that typically the agency is working for the employer, not you. Your privacy may also be compromised. The main challenge is to find the right type of job leads in a reasonable amount of time. There are thousands of sites that list job openings. There are two basic types of web sites. The first is meta-listings. These are sites that list job openings from many different companies. The other is a company specific job site, such as North Memorial Hospital. Find the ones that work for you. There are also web sites that list job openings. Some examples are: America’s Job Bank http://www.ajb.dni.us/ Career Builder: http://www.careerbuilder.com Employment guide http://www.employmentguide.com/ Especially for college grads, with a lot of information on job seeking skills: http://www.collegegrad.com/ Hotjobs: http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/ The Minneapolis Star Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/working/ Minnesota’s Job bank: http://www.mnworks.org/ Monster.com: One of the largest sites: http://www.monster.com/ The Riley Guide: Very good job searching advice: http://www.rileyguide.com/ St. Paul Pioneer Press: http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/classifieds/employment/ A complete listing of Minnesota Newspapers: http://www.mnnews.com/s.html The above are just a sampling of what is out there. The web is in a constant state of change: Sites move or are merged, good sites going bad, etc. This is a suggestion of places to start. All of the sights will have steps and choices you will make. For example, “Search for a job”. Your next step may be to choose a geographical choice. Then another choice for type of occupation. Then follow the search parameters until you find the jobs you are looking for. As you surf for jobs, you will be given choices on how you want to proceed. If you see something in blue that means you can link to that page of information. Your mouse curser will also look like a hand when you pass over the blue text. One way to surf a web site is by going to the “site map”. You will then see the options of pages to go to. You may also see a rectangular box with an arrow on it. This is a drop down menu. Click with your mouse on the arrow and you will be provided choices. Click on the choice you want, for example, a state where you wish to look for work. Remember, usually the left and right side of the mouse gives you different macros, or options. Two points: · If you are on over half an hour and still not finding relevant leads try another site or narrow or broaden your search (choices) parameters. · When you do find a job site that provides many relevant jobs, bookmark the sight. Look in your browser for “bookmark” or “favorites”. RESUMES A resume is a one to two page document that describes your qualifications for a job. Creating a winning resume is described in the booklet Resumes and cover letters , available in room 359. For electronic job search, we will describe scannable resumes, resumes as attachments (such a Microsoft word document) and ASCII resumes. Scannable resumes: Simply put, a scannable resume is scanned by an employer’s computer to see if it warrants a human being looking at your resume. In large to medium companies many Human Resource departments scan a resume. You should contact the company to find out what type of resume they want: paper, scanable, an e-mail attachment, etc. If the company wants a scanable resume, you should match your resume to the job. This means good use of keywords. Look at the job description and include as many keywords as possible to maximize your chances of being selected. Remove all bold text, italics, underlining, and use a 10-12 point font in Arial or Times Roman format. Your resume is now scanable. You may wish to send the resume without being folded and without staples or paper clips. That’s all you need to do! How to e-mail a resume as an attachment: If your have your resume in Microsoft Word (or similar product) you can send it to the employer as an attachment to a cover letter. The advantage of doing this is that you can have a more professional appearing resume, because you can use graphics, layout, bolding, etc. Generally, when you e-mail a resume there will be a dialog box for attachments. The menu will have a command the says “attach document” or it will show a ‘paper clip’. You can also click “Help” on your e-mail services browser for instructions or go through Windows explorer. The disadvantages of sending an attachment are several. First, an employer may be hesitant to open it for fear of viruses. Second, the employers’ system may format it differently so you lose visual appeal, or the software may be incompatible. Therefore, always talk to the employer to find out which formats they accept. Once you have completed your resume, e-mail it to several addresses, and check out its appearance to make sure what you send is what the employer sees. An ASCII resume is a text based resume that all computers can read. The disadvantage of an ASCII resume is you cannot use graphics such as bold or bullet points. In addition, text (ASCII) files do not have word wrap around, special font’s tabs, and can only be left aligned. However, the resume you send will be what the employer sees and all computers can read it. Create an ASCII version of your Keyword Resume An ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) resume is an electronic version suitable for submission via e-mail or for pasting into online resume bank submission forms. This section explains how to convert your information into ASCII text, however, once entered into an automated applicant tracking system or online resume bank, your success in initial selection and ranking will be determined by how effectively you have used keywords in your resume. Follow these steps to create an ASCII Resume: -Set margins so that 6.5 inches of text are displayed. -Now you should have an ASCII version of your keyword resume suitable for submission via e-mail or for pasting into online resume bank submission forms To create a Text resume from Word, you can also Go to “File”, click “save as” and save it as a text file (.rtf). Once again, the advantages are you can send it without being an attachment, all computers can scan it for keywords, and what you send is what the employer gets. YOUR RESUME AS A WEB SITE For advanced job searchers, you can create your own web site. This allows you to use more graphics, images, photos and text. You can also use multi-media effects. Make sure you have a way to market and let employers see the web page. For more information you can read Heart and Soul Internet Job Search or Job Searching Online For Dummies. POSTING YOUR RESUME ON LINE One electronic job search strategy is to post your resume on line. The advantage is that many employers will screen on line databases to find specific skills. For example, a recruiter who needs an R.N. with pediatric oncology abilities. Remember keywords? This is how employers find you! An example of on line posting services is Smarter Source, a site especially designed for Minnesota Private College students. Post your resume on this Internet database, exclusively for students and graduates of MN Private Colleges. A fast and easy way to get your resume out to interested employers. You can also post on the major sites such as Monster, Flipdog, etc. Some cautions, though. Your privacy cannot be guaranteed or protected. Also, your present employer may see your resume. You can, of course, list your contact as a Hotmail account name (amyjobseeker@hotmail.com) and contact employers after they have e-mailed you. Remember, some employers may not bother! MORE THOUGHTS A short and snappy cover letter should accompany each sent resume. Try to get the persons contact name and title. You should check your email every day. List your e-mail address on your resume. Sometimes, for example, if you post on Monster.com you can get unexpected phone calls from employers, so be prepared at home. Be aware that many bogus or questionable jobs may appear from listing your resume on line. Check out an employer before accepting any job! Also, many employers will have the equivalent of an employment application on line. This could be used to screen you out! The traditional methods of directly contacting an employer, networking, etc. are still the best way to find a job! Some job searchers use the internet as their only means of job search. They surf and e-mail resumes. Employers still hire people they meet in person. If there is a number one rule of job search, it is meet, in person, the person who can hire you. All other job search activates are aimed at this one credo. You can also use chat rooms, employer databases, and e-mails as part of your networking activities. You also want to direct your e-mails to those who can hire you. Consider calling the employer and e-mailing directly the supervisor of the department where you want to work. Electronic job search is a life skill that will help you now and in the future. And remember, in life, to do what you are. Suggested reading: Heart and Soul Internet Job Search: C. Cochran & D. Peerce, Davies-Black Publishing, Palo Alto, Ca. 1999 Job Search Online for Dummies: Pam Dixon, IDG Books, Foster City, Ca. 2002 Job Hunting on the Internet: Richard W. Bolles, 10 Speed Press, Berkley, Ca., 2001 Using the Internet In Your Job Search, Janndt and Nemnich, JIST Works, Indiapolis, In. 1995 The above books are available in Room 359 in the Education Building.
Contact us: (651) 690-8121 Office of Personal and Career Counseling
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