Internet Career Services
Your Ticket to Job Searching on The Internet

by Lisa Freeman and E. René Hart, CPRW

The Internet and World Wide Web have opened many new avenues for job seekers and employers alike. Employers are finding that using the Internet to advertise position vacancies can be extremely beneficial, allowing them to reach a global pool of candidates they would never have been able to pinpoint by advertising locally.

Of course, you the job seeker also benefit from all the Internet has to offer. You can actively search thousands of job databases and employment listings, or you can research specific companies in which you have an interest. You can also post your resume online, e-mail the resume in response to a position announcement, or locate recruiters who specialize in your industry or geographic location.

Getting Started

The first step in transitioning your job search online is to map out a plan of attack. If you are relocating to a specific area, for instance, you'll want to concentrate most of your efforts on that particular area. If you have no specific restrictions on where you want to work, you can approach the job search from all angles. One thing to remember when you're coordinating your job search: the Internet, while an effective and useful tool, is only one piece of the job search puzzle. You should continue to use your networking contacts, industry publications, professional journals, and newspaper classifieds to learn of additional employment opportunities.

Preparing an Internet-Compatible Resume

Chances are that you've prepared your resume to be read by a human being. If you plan to post your resume online or transmit it via e-mail, you should make sure that it is compatible with the computer eyes it will be seen by. Essentially, this means that the resume should be stripped of all the elements which make it attractive to the human eye, including boldface, italics, and fancy typestyles. Eliminating these extras will ensure that your resume can be read by anyone who receives it via the Internet.

Since there are many different word processors and computer platforms used by people on the Internet -- prospective employers included -- your first concern in preparing an Internet-compatible resume should be to make certain that anyone can view it, regardless of their software or computer system. The easiest way to convert your resume to ASCII text is to select and copy the entire document, then paste it into a text editor such as Windows Notepad. This is to make sure that your word processor doesn't throw in some non-compatible codes like curly quotes, em dashes, or bullets.

Here are some additional guidelines to keep in mind:

• Delete all tabs and indents. You can replace each tab with four or five spaces to maintain some of the document's layout.

• Remove all bullets. Use an asterisk or dash followed by a space to replace them.

• Shorten all line lengths to 60 characters.

• Make all information flush left. For example, if you've formatted your resume so that the dates of employment are flush right, you will need to enter a carriage return and place the dates on the left.

• Make sure that your name appears on the first line, your street address on the second, city, state and ZIP code on the third, telephone number on the fourth. If not already present, place your e-mail address on the last line of the identifying information.

Maintaining Your Anonymity

For better or worse, anyone can access the Internet, including your current employer. If you are attempting to conceal your job search, you should take appropriate measures to maintain your anonymity by removing all identifying information: names, addresses, phone numbers, company names, and reference names.

Once all of your identifying information has been removed from the resume, you should include a method by which the prospective employer can reach you. This can be as simple as a non-identifying e-mail address (like JobSrch1) or an unlisted fax number. Post office boxes can also be used to maintain your anonymity; however, it is a little-known fact that USPS post office boxes used for business purposes CAN be identified to the general public. For instance, if in the course of your business you have requested a post office box number to receive both personal and business mail, anyone who has that box number can call the post office and find out to whom that box is registered (a valuable tip to job seekers faced with responding to a "blind" newspaper advertisement!).

Another solution to maintaining your anonymity would be to hire someone to manage your online job search. This person would serve as the "middle man" between you and the interested company or recruiter and would only release your identifying information and/or contact data after discussing the inquiry with you.

Resume Banks

There are many resume banks which allow submissions free of charge, as well as quite a few who charge a nominal fee (usually between $20 and $50 for a one-year listing). If a resume bank requires no registration fee, then by all means, submit your resume! If you encounter fee-based resume banks, however, you should strongly consider the value of the exposure your resume will receive before proceeding.

Locating a list of resume banks is easy using the Internet's many search engines. Using the search phrase resume banks, we were able to locate a number of prospective sites in which to post your resume. A few resume banks you may wish to check into include the Worldwide Resume Bank (keyword CAREER CENTER on America Online) or the National Resume Bank (www.national-resume.com).

As an alternative to visiting each site, you may wish to consider using the services of a company such as ResumeXPRESS (www.resumeXPRESS.com) who will, for a fee, submit your resume to a multitude of resume banks, recruiting firms, and employment agencies all at the same time. The advantages of using such a service are obvious--you save a lot of time and energy by posting your resume in one location while still allowing it to receive a tremendous amount of exposure.

Job Databases

There are hundreds of employment databases available for researching specific positions. The key to success is to focus your search as narrowly as possible, whether it be on one particular industry or even by geographic location. Just a few of the databases available include The Internet's Online Career Center (www.occ.com), JobCenter (www.jobcenter.com), and Career Mosaic (www.careermosaic.com).

In addition to allowing you to post your resume online and search for position vacancies, many of the employment-related sites offer a wealth of valuable resources, including articles on interviewing, working with recruiters, and salary negotiation.

Online Newspaper Classifieds

Many of the country's largest newspapers have moved into the Internet community and have made their classified ad sections available for viewing and searching. North Carolina's primary newspaper, The News and Observer, offers job seekers a wealth of information about available positions statewide. Their site (www.nando.net) gives visitors the option of searching through the current day's employment ads, as well as the previous Sunday's listings, across approximately 20 different employment categories. Other newspapers who have made the Internet move: The Tampa Tribune (www.tampatrib.com) and The Miami Herald (www.herald.com). CareerPath (www.careerpath.com) is a great site for researching newspapers online; it showcases over 20 different newspapers from across the country.

Company Sites

Many companies large and small have discovered the advantage of advertising employment vacancies online. If you have an interest in a particular company, look to the Internet for position openings and other background information which might be helpful in finding out more about the company.

Recruiting Firms/Employment Agencies

Recruiting firms and employment agencies have also found the Internet to be a beneficial source of gathering candidates for their clients. The Recruiters Online Network (www.ipa.com) boasts over 5200 recruiters and employment companies distinguished by 73 specialty areas. Other sites, such as America's Employers (www.americasemployers.com) also provide listings of recruiters.

Nationwide employment agencies such as Adecco (www.adecco.com) and Kelly Personnel Services (www.kellyservices.com) also offer job seekers the opportunity to submit their resumes for consideration.

Expand Your Horizons

The resources on the Internet are virtually unlimited, so why not take advantage of them to create additional opportunities for yourself? With a small investment of your time and computer resources, you too can become Internet-savvy and find the job of your dreams!

** Reprinting of this article is prohibited! **

Article originally appeared in The Word Advantage. Reprinted with permission by Jan Melnik. ©1996 Lisa Freeman and E. René Hart