Job-seekers should know what they want before searching

Forget the classifieds. The job search of today doesn’t just involve newsprint, tiny type or confusing abbreviations. Web sites like monster.com and careerbuilder.com have helped transform the job searching landscape.

Today’s job seekers can tailor their job search to the type of job or industry, location, and a whole slew of other options to only see the most relevant job postings.

Those options make it harder on job seekers who don’t know what they want before they start the search, said Kathryn Musholt, president and owner of KSM Careers and Counseling in Akron.

“Most people approach (a job search) from the perspective ‘Where are they hiring?’” she said. “It’s much more important to know what job you want and where you’ll be a better match.”

Musholt recommends before beginning a job search, the person should research the kind of job he or she is looking for and the companies that he or she may want to work for.

The Internet can be a resource for doing that research. Most companies have Web sites with information about the company. Also, search engines can help find information and job postings within that company.

“Go to the individual company’s Web site to get information about the company, not just sites like monster.com or hotjobs.com,” Musholt said.

There are also resources online to help people determine the type of career or job they are interested in. Careerbuilder.com, for example, offers a section of career assessments for people looking to switch careers or who are unsure of which career to pursue.

Monster.com also has a career section with articles on everything from what to put on a résumé to what to wear and say in the interview.

A lot of online sites now allow users to post their résumé on the site for potential employers to look at, but there is some debate on how effective doing so is.

“Some people have posted their résumés on the sites, but the numbers (of résumés) are so huge it is not likely to get looked at,” Musholt said. “I haven’t heard of very many people having much success with it.”

In any case, posting a résumé online isn’t likely to hurt your chances, Musholt said. In the book The Guide to Internet Job Searching by Margaret Riley Dikel and Frances E. Roehm, they recommend posting résumés on the Internet even though the success rate is minimal. They recommend not relying solely on that to land the job.

Also limiting a job search to big-name job sites alone is a bad idea, according to job-hunt.org, an online site that evaluates Internet job search resources. It suggests that you cultivate as many resources as possible.

Searching large job databases can only get you so far. Everyone knows about them, and everyone is looking at and applying for the same jobs. If you have a specific location in mind, many newspapers and cities have special career sections on their Web sites.

One local example is careerboard.com, which has job listings for Cleveland, Akron-Canton, Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, Detroit, Indianapolis and Louisville, Ky. Also, both Ohio.com and Cleveland.com have local job listings on their sites.

Also, Web sites for professional organizations in your career area or specialized employment sites that focus on a specific niche can be helpful.

It is important not to limit job searches to the Internet alone.

“There’s more than one way to search for a job; don’t just limit yourself to the Internet,” Musholt said. “There are still jobs in the newspaper, but we’re finding more jobs listed on the Internet. Still, not all jobs are posted on the Internet.”

Contact technology reporter Meranda Watling at [email protected].