Online Job Search:
Careers expert John Lees FREC presents tips for making the most of the Internet in your job search.
Job hunting online is an art in itself, and one not to be ignored. Until as late as 2000 the Internet was only a vital job searching tool if you were employed in IT. Now it is an essential tool in everyone's job search strategy.
Remember the range of things you can find online:
- Vacancy listings
- CV databases
- Internet-based career centres
- Self-assessment tools useful in career search
- Search engines to help you find companies and organisations
- Trade associations and professional bodies
- News and information services
If you are going to use job boards regularly it's probably a useful idea to get hold of a current list of useful web sites.
You might also want to look at one of the better guides to online job searching, e.g. The Monster Guide to Job Hunting, Andrew Chapman, Prentice Hall.
Jobsites
Jobsites allow you to search by a number of categories, e.g. category, location, field of work, salary, level keyword(s). Many jobsites contain over 10,000 vacancies, and are updated every 24 hours, so you need to check sites regularly and learn how to use the relevant search criteria. Each site has its own quirks, so keep a notebook so you get quicker results next time.
One general tip is not to define your search too early, too soon. Using broad categories is fine - then use search tools to refine the listings.
General tips:
- refine your search after your initial results
- use AND and OR to increase the range of categories in your search
- use NOT to rule out things you definitely don't want to appear (e.g. 'NOT nuclear')
- try to match your search terms to the phrases employers use