Owlbert Shares Finding A Job Tips
Get Clarity On... Internet Security |
Chat | Email | Shopping |
Jobs | Kids | More...
Free Newsletter!
Sign up for our
Owlbert ClarityZine
ezine and receive unheard-of clarity
and cool tips!! 
E-mail Address:
Name:

The Secret Story

General

More Free Help

Make Money
Beginners Make Money Cookbook

Main Page > Finding A Job

Finding a job online can be quite the adventure. The key thing to remember is.)

Network. Network. Track. Track. Network. Followup. Advocate. Network Track. Followup. Advocate. N....

Have I made myself clear? :-)

Finding a job online (I mean really finding the best possible position for you) can mean work. Sure, you can just submit your resume and pray to the givers-of-being-paid-to-breathe jobs that you'll have a new career land square on your shoulders in the next 27 minutes.

Yes indeedy, you can do that.

However, let me propose you'll have far more success if you approach it in a far more methodical fashion. And that leads me to

Before You Begin - Buff Up Your Resume

owlbert tip
One of the easiest ways to get your name out in front of employers eager to hire you is to have a sterling, killer resume. Contrary to popular belief, employers don't simply walk outside to pick resumes off the trees!

Quality resumes involve much more than just the content, however. It's also the cover letter you include. The paper on which it's printed. But most of all, it's the message that it delivers.

Keep in mind your goals. You want to be hired! Well, companies don't hire you - people do! I'll bet you never had to stand in front of a brick building interviewing, right?

You're dealing with people. Management. Folks with a personal agenda. And you want to ensure your resume helps you communicate, beyond a shadow of a doubt, how by hiring you, the manager and company will profit.

Right?

Right.

Remember, your resume is not only a sum listing of your accomplishments. That, by itself, is boring.

Your resume exists for one purpose and one purpose only -

It's to sell YOU!

YOU YOU YOU!

It's there to showcase to the hiring management of corporations what's in it for them to hire you.

Wasn't that simple?

Quite often, job seekers forget this most mundane point. Human nature is prevalent wherever one goes, and it's human nature for management to look at potential employees with the idea of "how will hiring this person benefit me?" in the back of their minds.

So. Your resume must showcase not only your skills and accomplishments, but also ideally put them in a framework that rings a bell with the interviewing management.

How can you achieve this? Prior to submitting a resume to a specific company, you can choose to research that company on the Internet. What have been the achievements? If you know the name of the hiring manager, can you find any press releases or news items that talks of his or her accomplishments? And then can you subtlety tweak your resume to focus on those issues?

Management generally receives dozens if not hundreds of resumes a day. Your goal is to ensure yours get read. And once read, that it hooks the reader into wanting to learn more about you.

Here are some resources to help you with resume writing. And if you're in the market for a new career yourself, don't forget to sign up below for my FREE resume/cover-letter writing eClass!

Once you have your resume down pat, it's time to consider:

Step 1 - Prepare Your Job Search Strategy

It's quite amazing, really, how many people shoot themselves in the foot even before getting their resume out of the door. Think about your email address, for example.

It's commonsense, really....having an email address allows your network to get in touch with you. But there are a couple of key factors you must keep in mind.

  • DON'T use cutesy/sexual email handles. To convey a sense of professionalism, create an email address/handle that either consists of aspects of your name or your skills. Sexybabe83 is an example of a worthless email address; salesprof29 is something that would work better. Try the first letter/last name combination as well.

  • DO know what your email address is. Many professionals will use a free email account at Hotmail or AOL to handle their correspondence. If you have more than one, however, you might kinda sorta forget your passwords and Ids. Always make sure to have them written down.

Next, prepare your job hunter's diary. It's been scientifically proven (okay, well maybe not scientifically, but you get my drift) that history repeats itself. That doesn't mean you should repeat mistakes in the job search as well.

One resource you can use to help you organize your job searches is to take a notebook (it doesn't have to be full-sized - something that slips into your pocket will work just fine) and record your daily job searching activities.

What can this include? Well, you can list the numbers of places to which you submit resumes (including job boards and individual companies). You can keep track of the passwords you use. You can describe your interviews. You can take notes down on what part of the day you feel the most energetic, and then concentrate a good portion of activity during those times. Etc.etc.etc.

Don't underestimate the power of knowing where you've been and where you're going. It can keep you from wasting big bunches of time.

Next, focus on your targeting job hunting. If you're an electrical engineer, submitting your resume to an accounting job site would be quite the waste of time. One way to find targeted job boards is to search like so:

career field job board

ie,

accounting job board

You might find listings like:

Accounting Jobs, Accounting Careers and Resumes. - Accounting Jobs, Accounting Careers and Resumes. Accounting Jobs, Accounting Careers and Resumes. ... Job Seekers Search Jobs Now Post Your Resume ...

Accounting.com - Site totally dedicated towards all aspects of accounting

See what I mean? You can also find targeted job boards at:

Still with me? Great! Now that you have a resume plus places to submit it, it's time to consider:

Step 2 - Finding Your Job Network

Now that you are fortified with the networking requirements (email, signature and bookmarks), you can start to search out your own personal job hunting network.

There are many places to consider on the Internet. Some of the best include:

Do not feel that you are restricted to only one job board, or that you must use every single one you come across.

What can you do at places like this? The really topnotch sites will include tremendous community forums and a plethora of free information for resume writing, interviewing tips and more. Monster.com, for example, has communities at http://community.monster.com which are incredibly beneficial. JobCircle at http://www.jobcircle.com has listings for technical user groups and skills testing, to name only two of their extra goodies. Always make sure to look around.

Professional Organizations

Any professional organization or trade union to which you belong will probably have forums and communities in which you can introduce yourself and network. Remember, your main goal in this fledgling communications is not HIRE HIRE HIRE HIRE ME!, it's instead, hey, here I am, here's what I do, here how I can help y'all out as well. People on the Internet tend to offer much more help if they see you're willing to assist others as well.

Professional organizations can be found at:

User Groups

User groups are specific only for techies. If you're not a techie, you wouldn't use a user group, you'd search for a professional organization instead.

User groups can be local and regional as well as national. Not only that, but savvy recruiters also know how to find those user groups that post jobs on their site as well.

User groups can be found at:

Mailing Lists and Forums

Mailing lists and forums can be truly a godsend. Being part of a support gathering of people can assist in keeping your spirits up as well as provide you with invaluable networking abilities too.

One comprehensive resource for mailing lists and forums can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com . Just choose the industry in which you are interested and search for it - you'll most likely find tons of excellent career resources.

Local Communities

Your community also has a wealth of information available including:

  • Chamber of commerce. Often, local businesses will register with the chamber of commerce and participate in networking events. A quality directory can be found at http://www.chamberofcommerce.com.

  • Local businesses. The proactive approaching of your local businesses can yield some great results. Infospace will let you set your address and then search for specific businesses within a 5 mile radius. Additionally, you can simply visit Google and look for "state" "city" business directory like so:

    NJ Moorestown business directory

  • Newspapers. Your local newspapers can have not only business directories but employment classifieds as well! Check out News Directoryfor a full listing.

Diversity organizations

African American, Hispanic, Asian, Indian, Handicapable, etc...there are many diversity organizations available for you to join to network with your peers. The Multicultural Advantage has some very good links for this.

Thus, the next time you're tempted to say, "I don't have any place to look for contacts online!", take a step back and review both this unit and Unit 3. Then proactively think what would be the first step for you in building your network. And then make it happen.

Step 3 - Submit Your Resume

I firmly believe that you should scope out and make a custom presentation for each job opportunity to which you apply (ie, tailor your cover letter, your resume, etc.). However, I am aware that folks do like blasting their resume from here to the ends of the planet. Here is one way to do that.

Keep in mind however, you really do want to make an indelible impression that leads to a hire. What I would do is consider some of the comprehensive boards like College Recruiter, Monster.com, HotJobs.com, submit my resume there, and then patiently and methodically use my Job Hunter's Diary to sketch out how I would network for positions. And then of course, I'd make it happen.

More useful resources are:

Some excellent books to consider are:


Finding Square Holes: Discover Who You Really Are and Find the Perfect Career
Customer Reviews —
Editorial Reviews — ... Product Description | Finding Square Holes is unique in taking a predominantly self-reflective approach to career development, combining techniques from personal development theory, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and the Myers-Briggs model of personality. If you’re in a crossroad in your career, either trying to decide what to do, or disgruntled with your current job, this is the book for you. It starts with the premise that you can’t achieve happiness in anything if you don’t know what you want in...more


To Find a Job..Start a New Career: The Career and Job Change Toolbox
Editorial Reviews — ... Product Description | Certain large industries have contributed more than their share of layoffs and downsizing, and our slow economy has more than a few employees scared and uncertain of their futures. As many as 20 million people are dissatisfied in their current occupations. Some of those are unhappy workers afraid to start a new career or reevaluate their current occupations or field. People today change jobs more than ever. It's rare for an employee to stay at one company for a lifetime and retire there....more


Working in the Music Industry: How to find an exciting and varied career in the world of music
Editorial Reviews — ... Product Description | Exploring all career areas - record companies, music publishing, sound engineering and more, this book contains case studies and top tips on finding and getting jobs in the music industry. It is crammed with honest, realistic, practical and helpful advice....more

[ Return to top ]