Most job hunters these days use the Internet to find job openings. Guy Kawasaki had an interesting post today about his experience posting and filling a job opening on Craigslist.
Since I recently completed the post-college job search, I thought that I’d share a few tips and resources.
For local jobs
Apply online and then stop in their office either the same day or the following day. This works well if you know the contact person for the job opening. It allows you to hand in a paper copy of you resume, cover letter, work examples, transcripts, etc. Also, it allows you to see the company’s culture by the dress, decor and the way the company presents itself to visitors.
For out of area or out of state jobs
Set up interviews, meetings, or even informational interviews prior to your visit or relocation. Also, try to include both a permanent and temporary (local) address. Or, just provide a local address. A company may be looking to hire someone locally and disregard out-of-state candidates; it’s less coordination, hassle, and expense on their end.
You should always
Dress at least one "level" more formal than the employees at the company. For example, if employees wear jeans on Fridays, you should wear slacks. If the employees wear collared, button down shirts with no ties, wear a tie. And so on and so on. There are exceptions to this rule, but this is a good general rule to follow.
Write a thank you or follow up e-mail whenever someone contacts you. Not only does this help establish rapport, it also helps to let them know you’re serious about the position.
Job sites to consider using
College recruiting office or Web site – Very targeted for recent graduates, seniors and juniors. Not a lot of weeding through jobs that require 3-5 years experience.
Craigslist – A lot of junk postings to weed through, but there are some hidden gems.
Local Newspaper(s) – usually free access online. Targeted locally. Great starting point for out for out of state jobs.
Yahoo! Hot Jobs – Large, but not as many jobs as CareerBuilder or Monster.
Monster – Huge. A lot of third-party recruiters.
CareerBuilder – Very Large. Basically the same as Monster.
LinkedIn – mostly intended for people at the middle management level. Create a profile. It’s free and helps to build your personal brand.
Doostang – Invite only social network. You must be a member with 20+ friends. E-mail me for an invitation. Functions similarly to LinkedIn once you’re a member.
Indeed – jobs from more than 5,000 sources and provides RSS feeds for any job search query.
Thanks to Jason for submitting Indeed.
I recommend setting up RSS feeds for any job site possible. Then, aggregate them to a service like Google Reader, or use live bookmarks. This saves time entering the same criteria day after day.
If anyone has any other job sites that they found to be useful, please post them to the comments and I will surely add them to the list.
I like your idea of subscribing to job postings through RSS. I think the most important element is to build your network through blogging and through peers. A strong network will allow you to take less interviews and see more results faster.
Craig:
Nice post, I noticed that you included America’s Job Bank in your list, which is no longer active. You also might want to check out Indeed.com, which includes jobs from more than 5,000 sources and provides RSS feeds for any job search query.
Take care,
Jason
Personal Branding Magazine Issue 2 Available
Personal Branding Magazine released its second issue yesterday. As such, I thought I’d make my article available at no charge. For a printable version of the article, click here. Credibility in the Application Process By Craig RentmeesterThe job huntin…
How do I get your email address, for an invite to Doostang. Thanks!
thank you for your information, i will visit you a letter
I tried http://www.webinterview123.com that have a variety of companies that do interviews right online.
Hi,
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robinson
Online Uk Jobs Resource
I learned that if you hate your job or employment situation, you will lose it. So either learn to like it and keep it, or find something else before they find someone else.
I have already joined the community. Although I’m unlikely to get a job through Career Commons since , I will definitely enjoy connecting with fellow jobseekers and with internet and network, there might be interesting opportunities.
Thanks, I really appreciate your willingness to help out. I will definitely keep you posted!
A company may be looking to hire someone locally and disregard out-of-state candidates; it’s less coordination, hassle, and expense on their end.
Great post as for me. It would be great to read something more concerning that theme. Thanx for posting that data.
College recruiting office or Web site – Very targeted for recent graduates, seniors and juniors. Not a lot of weeding through jobs that require 3-5 years experience.
Beautiful article, ive been visiting your site weekly and really impressed with the topics on your site. Thank you.
Next you should do a search and see if you can find any websites that can help you find a job online or sell your skills on a freelance basis. Writing, software design, software writing, editing, website design, bookkeeping, account and consulting are just a few of the many services and skills on demand online these days. As stated, you will be surprised at how many skills will work online. Some people work a few hours a day just organizing emails into the correct folders.
This is an eye opening post, Thanks for the info. appreciate the hard work and time taken to do this write up.
I’ve never really seen dressing up for the interview as a big part of the application process until I saw this post. Good job, Craig! I didn’t know that there was actually this rule that you have to dress up better than the employees. But how will you know their dress code? Don’t you think it’s gonna be weird to ask? This is a good tip, though. I guess it’s safe to just wear a business attire for all interviews.
I can attest to the effectiveness of these tips, especially the one referring to dressing up. Among all the interviews that I’ve done, only those where I wore a formal attire were successful. They were a success in terms of my confidence level.