GUIDELINES FOR SELECTING YOUR BEST JOB SITES

• Free is the best price...skip sites requiring money & examine all options before paying for "enhanced features."
• The bigger (number of employers & jobs), the better.
• Industry/profession-specific sites offer more opportunities for specialists than "full-service" sites.

THE TWO RULES FOR SEARCHING ANY INTERNET JOB DATABASE:

1. Always select "advanced search"...take advantage of all database options
2. Always run "keyword" searches (rather than guided/menu search)...maximize efficiency

Tips

• Establish a separate e-mail account for your job search correspondence.
  Lynne.Olver@gmail.com is more appealing to potential employers than IHATEMONDAYS@aol.com. If you list your telephone number, check your answering machine.
• When you find a good job search site, save it.
  Create your personal job search folder.
• Create an Internet Job search log:
  Date, site checked, jobs applied/resumes sent. Try to avoid applying for the same job twice.
• If you don't have a computer, you're on dial-up, your power goes out? Come to the library!
  All public libraries in Morris County offer free, high-speed Internet connections with MS Office.

About online job applications

• Apply ONLY for jobs you are qualified to do.
  Don't waste your time (or the company's) by randomly applying for everything. Quality, not quantity.
• Whenever possible, avoid applying via the Internet.
  Most companies offer several options. Best way to apply? Have someone in the company hand the hiring manager your resume. Mine your network! Apply via fax or snail mail. Neatly handwritten evelopes get the most attention. E-mail is easily purged.
• Whenever possible, avoid the middleman.
  Apply directly to the company rather than through employment agencies or resume databases.
• Wait a few days.
  HR receives hundreds of resumes in the first 48 hours after posting a job. Applications received on days 4 or 5 are sometimes read first. Jobs are not awarded to the speedy, but the best qualified.
• There is no "standard" online job application.
  Forms, options, and instructions vary with job database and company. The three most popular options are e-mail attachment, copy & paste, and registering with the HR resume database.
• Just because a job is posted on the Internet doesn't mean its "real."
  If a company pays $700.00 to post a job for 28 days it will stay posted even if that job was filled on day one. Employment agencies & related service firms use these sites to cull clients.

Identity theft & job scams