The world has gone “high tech” and increasingly so will your work search.
The internet and other electronic resources can help you to plan your career and find work. But unless you’re in a high-tech line of work, think of your electronic work search as one of the ways to find a job, a method that supplements, but do not replace, the other self-marketing strategies mentioned on other web pages on this site.
Where the internet currently is most useful is in the research phase of your search for work. The internet is loaded with information and is at your fingertips twenty-four hours a day.
You don’t have to have a computer, modem, and internet service provider yourself to use the powers of this information-age tool. Free service is available in public libraries and at career centres in your region. You can also find internet service at cyber cafes where you may have to pay a fee for the time you are online.
Preparing For Work Search — Researching Yourself
You are the product. You, your skills, attitudes and knowledge are what you are selling to the employers who need your abilities. The internet has tools that can help identify what you have to offer an employer.
You can also use search engines to discover sites for yourself. Choose a search engine and enter “career” or “self-assessment” as keywords.
Researching Occupations, Industries, and Companies
Once you have a better idea of what you, the product, have to offer employers, it’s time to explore what fields of work and that industries might be a fit for your particular skill set and preferred work style.
The internet has much to offer here as well. Again, search engines can provide information on specific industries and companies you want to explore. Use keywords to find the ones in which you are interested.
Checking out companies’ home pages will provide valuable information on their products and services, size and location and much more. Researching prospective employers is helpful not only in targeting companies you want to work for but also in providing background information when applying for an advertised opening.
Your cover letter, resume, portfolio, and job interview can all reflect your knowledge of the company and its needs. To go one step further in your preparation, find out what has been happening recently with the companies you are researching by reading newswire services in your area.
Hyperlinks will connect you instantly to information on career planning, jobs and recruiting, training and qualifications, labour market intelligence, the workplace, community interests and services, and financial help. Job openings found on the internet are at a variety of job bank addresses.
Job Postings Via Listserves
Rather than look for job postings yourself, you can subscribe to a mailing service that sends you postings of jobs as they come on-line. There are some such listserves that you can find using the search engine specifically for listserves. Don’t be fooled into thinking that subscribing to listserves will do all the work for you, though. It is just one of the pieces in your repertoire of resources and strategies.
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