Quintessential Careers:
The New Era of Job-Hunting: Strategies for Finding Employment on the Internet
by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
Looking for a job may never be the same. With the huge growth of employment-related Web sites
on the Internet, a job-seeker cannot afford to overlook searching for a job electronically.
Successfully navigating this frontier, however, requires new skills and strategies. The
focus of this article is to provide you with a roadmap that will guide you through the maze
of Web sites related to career development and job-hunting and give you directions to the
best resources currently available to job-seekers.
Before we begin this journey, one caveat: Job-hunting on the Internet should, in no way, be
your sole means of looking for a new job. The traditional methods of networking, job boards,
classified ads, and targeted job searches should still be part of your overall job-hunting
plan. The Internet simply expands the job-hunting resources that are available to you.
For those unsure of their career direction, the first step might be to one of several
Web sites that offer Career Assessment Tools,
such as the Ansir Self-Perception Test
or the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, which score
results from online questionnaires and provide suggestions of appropriate careers
for your type.
Most others will start the journey by going to one of several career development
Web sites, such as Quintessential Careers
or The Riley Guide, which can provide
assistance with developing or honing your resume and cover letter writing, finding
the best sources for researching companies, strengthening your interviewing skills,
learning how to network, mastering salary negotiation, as well as perfecting other
key career and job-hunting skills. If you only have one type of resume, then you
should definitely start here. Most job-hunting experts now talk about three kinds
of resumes:
Once you've honed your skills in these areas, the next step is to develop a strategy for
job-hunting on the Internet. If you're a college student or recent college graduate,
your approach will be much broader than if you are a seasoned veteran, partly because of
the need for confidentiality of people currently in the workplace, partly because of the
availability of Web sites at different career levels, and partly because a less developed
network. Keeping these issues in mind, there are four different types of Web resources
for job-seekers:
Will these steps guarantee you success in finding a new job or career? No. No method
is guaranteed to work, but as more and more companies go to the Internet for faster and
more efficient job searches, it does not make sense to ignore this new avenue of networking
and job-hunting.
All of these resources and links are available at Quintessential Careers.
For more information and details, visit Quintesential Careers:
Guide to Job-Hunting on the Internet.
Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search
terms by going to our Job-Seeker's Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.
Search Quintessential Careers:
Dr. Randall S. Hansen is founder of Quintessential Careers,
one of the oldest and most comprehensive career development sites on the Web, as well CEO of
EmpoweringSites.com. He is also founder of
MyCollegeSuccessStory.com and
EnhanceMyVocabulary.com. He is publisher of
Quintessential Careers Press,
including the Quintessential Careers electronic newsletter,
QuintZine. Dr. Hansen is also a
published author, with several books, chapters in books, and hundreds of articles. He's often
quoted in the media and conducts empowering workshops around the country. Finally, Dr. Hansen is
also an educator, having taught at the college level for more than 15 years. Visit his
personal Website or
reach him by email at randall(at)quintcareers.com.
|
|
