MyJobHunt

Online Discussion Groups Can Be Effective Networking Tools: PART 1.

With the explosion of social networks (Facebook, MySpace, etc.), online Discussion Groups have become valuable resources for job seekers. But it can be a double-edged sword.

While Discussion Groups can be a great place to build job-search contacts, they can also be a place where a person can quickly fall out of favor, or even dumped from the list for improperly following the Group’s guidelines.

To best leverage an online Discussion Group for job networking purposes, here are some tips for interacting with in the groups:

-Take time before posting your first message. Do some “lurking” for a few weeks, scour the archives and  FAQ to “get a feel” for the group.

-Avoid a long, personal introduction unless the list guidelines suggest you to do so. As much as possible, keep your messages as concise and relevant to the group.

-Always use a signature (sig) file to identify yourself (NOTE: Signature files are the several lines of text your email software attaches to the end of all your email—usually containing your name, affiliation and promotional or personal message.

-Never post in ALL CAPS. Capitalization is used for emphasis in email discussion groups, and all caps are the equivalent to shouting.

-Be sure to carefully write all your emails to the group. Be cautious of alienating anyone in the group. Aim to build a spirit of good for yourself, and your good name. So don't be forceful in your early messages. Let your network build gradually.

-Avoid attaching files when sending email, or use fancy formatting (Italic, underlining, etc.). Remember, some mail readers can’t display this type of formatting.

-Be cautious about getting involved in contentious discussions (some discussions can become quite heated) until you’re an “accepted” member of the group.

We'll post Discussion Groups Part 2 early early next week. If you have any questions about Online Discussion Groups, please feel free to contact Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance.

 

 

Job Search Engines Provide Extra Punch To Job Seekers' Efforts.

When job searching, a lot of time is saved by using any of the various Job Search Engines to expedite.  In addition to visiting individual job boards, you can also use Job Search Engine to check multiple sources of jobs from all over the Internet.

Use Job Search Engine sites such as SimplyHired.com (was named one of PC Magazine's "Top 100 Websites for 2009"), and Indeed.com to search millions of jobs posted on company sites, job sites, and newspapers by keyword, location, and type of position.

Check out the Advanced Search options, too. You can narrow your criteria even more and search for jobs by company, work requirements, education level, and other options. The job search engines also have additional resources to help you job search, including salary information, widgets, and plugins for your browser.

As we pointed out in our previous MyJobHunt blog posting, if you're spending considerable time on Twitter be sure to utilize TwitterJobSearch.com, a job search engine just for Twitter users. It works like the other job search engines finding jobs posted across sites, but in this case, it finds jobs on Twitter.

Here’s a few top Job Search Engine recommended by TBWA:

Monster.com

One of the best job search engines out there. You can narrow your search by location, keywords, and employer; plus, Monster has plenty of job search extras: networking boards, job search alerts, and online resume posting.

LinkedIn.com

LinkedIn.com combines the best of two worlds:  The ability to scour the Internet for jobs with its job search engine, and the opportunity to network with like-minded friends and individuals to deepen your job search.

Indeed.com

Unlike Monster, you cannot submit your resume from Indeed.com, but the job search engine more than makes up for that by being a meta search engine of many of the major job search engines and job search boards out there. Indeed uncovers a lot of jobs that you wouldn't normally find on most job search sites, and they do a good job of making their job search features as easy to use as possible.

SimplyHired

SimplyHired also offers a very unique job search experience; the user "trains" the job search engine by rating jobs he or she is interested in. SimplyHired also gives you the ability to research salaries, add jobs to a job map, and view pretty detailed profiles of various companies. We highly recommend SimplyHired.

USA.gov

Think of USA.gov as your gateway into the huge world of US government jobs. Navigate to the USA.gov home page, click on the Jobs and Education section, then Government Jobs. You'll find a wealth of resources here to help you find jobs working for Uncle Sam.

CareerBuilder

CareerBuilder offers job searchers the ability to find a job, post a resume, create job alerts, get job advice and job resources, look up job fairs, and much more. This is a truly massive job search engine that offers a lot of good resources to the job searcher; we especially appreciate the list of job search communities. 

Dice

Dice.com is a job search engine dedicated to finding technology jobs—offering a targeted niche space for finding exactly the technology position for which you might be seeking.

Yahoo Hot Jobs

Yahoo Hot Jobs is still one of the largest and most well known job search engines on the Web.

We’ll keep you apprised of these and more new Job Search Engine as they launch.

 

Don't Forget About Online Job Banks!

Internet and Web site advancements have provided us with job-search conduits such as online recruiters, headhunters, job sites and ... job banks, where job seekers can post resumes, search for a job or announce job openings.

Basically, there are two kinds of job banks—private sector and governmental. Job Banks function similarly to employment agencies, the major difference being that they provide services online and do not collect fees.

Job Banks match people with jobs according to skills, education, work experiences, geography and salary. A lot of companies today focus on niche markets, resulting in the emergence of industry-specific job banks. Here is a short list of job banks online:

JobBankUSA.com
SeniorJobBank.org
JobBankInfo.org

For more information about Job Banks and other strategies for your job search contact Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance.

 

NEW JOB SEARCH WEB SITE TARGETS $100K JOBS/$100K JOB SEEKERS

Just as there’s job search Web sites for specific industries and business categories, such as medical or information technology, there’s now a site for $100K+ job seekers. So if you’re hunting for that high-level management or c-level position, things may have just gotten a bit easier with TheLadders.com. Unlike Monster.com, TheLadders.com targets only professionals looking for higher paying jobs minus the hassles and the need for weeding through endless entry-level after entry-level positions.

TheLadders.com offers up only $100K+ jobs—categorizing them by region and country.  These jobs are further segmented by job type, i.e., technology, accounting, retail, etc. TheLadders.com also goes one step beyond other job search sites by offering safe and secure networking opportunities for job seekers and recruiters.

The Wall Street Journal recently commented on the benefit of utilizing a specialized job search engine, such as TheLadders.com, by stating. “... in addition to sharing the same audience as The Wall Street Journal, TheLadders.com’s brand holds similar attributes of exclusivity and must-have content.” (click for full article). TBWA’s MyJobHunt Blog will keep you apprised of this and other such job search Web sites. Have you visited TheLadders.com? If so, what’s been your experience? Do you know of other specialized job search sites of interest? We want to hear from you!