Expanding Your Job Search Horizons with Professional Resume
Looking out over the online job search horizon, most job seekers will settle upon the most well-known job board attributed to revolutionizing employment searches and classified ads alike: Monster.com. A second glance yields Yahoo! HotJobs, CareerBuilder, and countless others. Given the wide audience these sites attract, is it wise to limit your search to the big hitters? Might you be missing a lesser-known player in the job-finding industry that could help you? There are numerous possibilities for conducting an effective job search and focusing on sites like Monster.com and professional resume services merely scratch the surface.
According to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, a serious job search should yield a comparable number of hours one will spend per week in the job. In other words, a part-time position of 20 hours per week will most likely result in the individual spending about 20 hours PER WEEK in job-hunting fervor. Of course, this includes everything from an in-depth personal analysis of goals to résumé preparation, customization, and beyond.
You can maximize your online time by incorporating the following approaches into your next employment exploration:
Visit niche job boards. There are thousands of job boards with a variety of concentrations, from industry-specific to ethnic-focused. At TalentZoo.com, search for marketing, PR, and advertising positions. LatPro.com is “dedicated to helping Hispanic professionals find career success.” Several resources available online provide comprehensive listings of specialized job boards such as NicheBoards.com and InternetInc.com.
Join social networking sites. Networking remains on the short list of highly successful job search techniques. Well-known sites such as Facebook.com, LinkedIn.com, and Classmates.com can provide you with a plethora of opportunities. But, don’t stop at joining the sites. Spend time nurturing relationships and reconnecting with former co-workers, high school friends, and other associates. Ideally, you should build a network long before you need to engage it to, for example, help you through a job search. However, it’s never too late to begin. It’s also important to note that you should be equally receptive to assisting others. Avoid becoming self-absorbed during your job search process.
Read blogs and other online media. Job leads may often be found in the most obscure places. Other times, they’re more obvious. While not a devoted employment site, ProBlogger Darren Rowse has established a tremendous following of professional bloggers. Recognizing the need for a place “where bloggers looking for jobs and companies looking for bloggers” can meet, he established the ProBlogger Job Board. Similarly, WAHM.com, an online magazine for work-at-home moms, updates their site regularly with an amalgamation of telecommuting jobs advertised across the Internet. The pros at this site do their best to scour the Internet for legitimate work-from-home opportunities by weeding out the scams.
During a typical week of job-hunting, you’ll have spent quite a few hours on your efforts. It’s always wise to employ professional resume services and career sites during your search for a position. Applying the above approaches, however, may provide more time for you to relax and look out over the horizon for a different reason…to enjoy the sunset.