Employment Spot

Job Search Basics

We recently received an e-mail from a teacher looking to change careers. We didn’t have any openings, but thought of a company in her home state that might be a good fit. She sent them an e-mail, and they referred her to another company that might be hiring. It’s called networking. And the Web is a wonderful place to do it.


Market Yourself

Job hunting is sales, and you’re the product. As with any sales effort, you must find the right targets, capture their interest and communicate your points of differentiation quickly. You can employ a variety of tricks and tools in this process. Cold calls. Personal letters. And now, the Web.

Good salespeople do their homework. Your first assignment should be to evaluate your interests and strengths. The most cost-effective way of doing this is to site down with pencil and paper in a quiet room. If you need a little more guidance, the MAPP Assessment will identify your vocational strengths and help you determine what careers suit your personality for $39.95. Once you have some ideas, you can explore more than 12,000 detailed job descriptions at Careerexplorer.net.

Start Networking

Success in the job hunting game has a lot to do with who you know. Consider the Web your matchmaker.

If this medium can foster interstate marriages, it can land you a job. There are a number of ways to connect with potential employers. In many cases, you can go to a company’s Web site, browse a company directory and e-mail the appropriate contact directly. You can also try newsgroups and electronic mailing lists, which do a fantastic job of linking like minds. To locate a mailing list in your field, search Topica. To search newsgroups, head to Google Groups. You might also try contacting the alumni center of your alma mater. Many will give you the names and phone numbers of other alums working in your field. To locate a college Web site, check out the Web Universities by State.

And then there are the job mega-sites like CareerBuilder.com. These online resources have one goal — to match candidates with vacancies — and allow job seekers to search hundreds of thousands of job listings by geography, keyword or job type.

So you’ve found the right contacts. Now you have to send them something. Your resume and cover letter condense a lifetime of achievements into a couple of pages. They will determine whether or not you get the interview, so they better be good.

Fortunately, there’s an abundance of help online. Resume Tutor and CareerJournal (part of the Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition) offer excellent resume-writing advice. There are also professional resume writing services that will help you write a first-class resume and cover letters, too.

Do Your Homework

Secured an interview? Hoovers.com offers business profiles that can help you get up to speed on a company. When you’re ready to make the trip, MapQuest can help you navigate a new town with customizable maps or door-to-door driving directions.

Once you’ve been offered the job, the tables turn. Now it’s your turn to look for what you want. Salary and benefits will be up for discussion, so you may want to review JobSmart’s Negotiation Strategies. To find out what’s considered reasonable pay, explore the Job Smart salary breakdown by occupation.

Congratulations! You found yourself a job!

   — Lauren Zollinger