Internet Job Search Advice

The Internet, of course, is a vital resource for job seekers. Many companies nowadays require job seekers to apply for jobs online or via email – with no paper resumes accepted. Not too long ago it was the other way around!

Here’s what you should be doing on the Web:

• Search employer websites for job openings.
• Search the major job boards, e.g., JobMonkey, Monster, Indeed, CareerBuilder.
• Put your resume, portfolio (if applicable), and personal profile online. Using a blog or social networking platform works best but you can also build your own website.
• Communicate via email with prospective employers.

Demonstrate a little ‘Internet savvy’ to your future employer by doing some or all of the above.

How Is an Internet Job Search Different?

Conceptually, looking for employment online parallels and must be part of your traditional job search. In both methods, you need to assess your strengths, prepare a resume and cover letter, and generate job leads. In both methods, you want to get your resume in circulation with a pool of future employers. And in both the real world and the Internet, your objective is to get people to read your resume and give you a face-to-face interview.

What is different about an Internet job search is that the Net offers you more opportunities to get in touch with employers than ever before. With the Net, you will see more “employee wanted” notices than a hundred different Sunday newspapers could provide, and you will be able to use online services to search through those postings for the jobs you want a thousand times faster than you could with the paper classifieds. In addition, the Internet offers inexpensive ways to make your resume or job request available for easy viewing by employers using the Net to find employees. When potential employers see your online resume or job request, they can quickly ask for more information or arrange for interviews by email.

Making Your Resume Available on the Internet

Once you have had a chance to poke around the Web, you will notice that everyone and her grandmother has a page out there. Why not get one yourself?

With your resume online – perhaps as part of your own blog – you can make its address available through email, social networking sites, or even printed on your business card. A Web resume not only has the potential to reach a very wide audience, it also shows that you are hip to today’s technologies.

Your Web resume can be very similar in content and layout to your paper resume. You can see our sample Web resume and the HTML code it takes to make it. (HTML is the formatting language all Web pages are constructed with.) You can modify our HTML sample to include your own information and voila! Your own Web resume. Or, perhaps easier, develop your resume in a Web application such as Dreamweaver or use a HTML editor. If you have a blogging site or page on a social network, then you can use their interface to create a snazzy resume without having to use HTML. It’s never a bad idea to make your resume available online as a PDF file too. Any type of document can be converted to a PDF file, but you have to have Adobe Acrobat software to do it. Most copy shops, at least those with publicly available computers, will allow customers to use their software to make PDF files.

Be sure to check out the various blogging applications as they’re the most popular online profile and resume platforms.