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Job hunters seek online help to find employment
by Donnie Elliott
Today's job seekers and businesses are increasingly turning to online resources to help connect the
most progressive companies with the most career-minded individuals.
In fact, 100 percent of Fortune 500 companies are now using online recruiting. Oracle
Corporation
Practice Manager Daryl Corbin estimates that he hires more than 60 percent of their new employees
through online resources.
Some of the larger and more popular online resources are Monster.com, HotJobs.com,
CareerBuilder.com and HeadHunter.net. Some smaller online network resources, such as Dice.com, which
is technology oriented, are geared to a specific industry. Even UH-Clear Lake has an online resource
service for former students.
"Online recruiting has exploded over the past few years and will continue to grow in the future,
" said Senior Analyst Kevin Mullins of Monster.com.
According to Mullins, his company is one of the 100 most-visited sites on the Internet.
Monster.com currently boasts more than 19 million job-seeker accounts, a résumé database containing
more than 13 million resumes, more than 80,000 member companies and more than one million job
opportunities in the Monster Network. Patience is a must when posting a résumé online, said UH-Clear Lake Career and Counseling
Coordinator Stephen Markert.
It may take weeks or even months before being contacted by a potential employer.
"The big advantage for posting your resume online is that you will be fishing in a larger pond
and
can keep your bait in the water over a long period of time until someone bites," Markert said.
"Electronically, companies can scan and store your résumé until they have a place for you."
"It is very important to put a complete listing of all your skills, and be very specific because
most companies use word search for specific skills," Corbin said.
According to both Markert and Corbin, it is also very important to have a good set of key words
when posting your résumé online. Companies will scan resumes looking for certain key words to match
their needs.
These sites also usually have formatting requirements that are very explicit. Your résumé will
be
overlooked if you use different fonts, lines or bullets.
When posting your résumé online, there are two things to consider. First, headhunters will
approach
you.
"This is not necessarily a bad thing, but you should never pay a fee for a job," Markert said.
"You should also never let them send your résumé to any client they see fit. Remember that you are not
the client. The company paying the fee is the client."
Another thing to be aware of is that most of these online companies will sell your information
to
anyone who will pay for it. This can lead to identity theft.
"It is especially important that you never put your social security number or a driver's license
number on a résumé that you submit to an online network service," said San Jacinto College Central Job
Placement Coordinator, Vanden Berg.
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