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JOB-HUNTING ON LINE

R.D.com Website

How to begin
a job search

on the Internet

Here's some Advice from the Experts
Interview with Daryl Hulme, Vice President of Human Resources for HotJobs.com
and Brenda Nixon, Career Communication Expert

So you think it's time for a change. The old job just isn't providing the challenges it used to. Or maybe you are looking to move up the career ladder. Now is a great time to make the leap. Not only is the economy strong, but you can look and apply for jobs all over the globe without ever leaving your computer. With all of the online job resources available, it's hard to know how to begin. We sought the advice of Daryl Hulme, Vice President of Human Resources for HotJobs.com, an online job board and career communication expert Brenda Nixon. Nixon developed the content for WinWay PayRaise and WinWay Resume, software aimed at helping the job seeker, and has authored several books. She is an adjunct professor for Concordia University Wisconsin in its Management and Communication program for Adult Learners and the Communication Wizard at Mountain Systems, Inc.
Here is what they had to say.

RD.com:

What is the best way to put the variety of online job resources to work for you?

NIXON: There are thousands of job sources on the Internet, but fortunately you do not need to search all of them. Find an online job bank that specializes in your area of interest. For example, BrassRing.com is mainly for IT (information technology) professionals. To cover multiple online banks in one search, use a powerful search program such as the Agent 2000 feature included in WinWay Resume. It searches through multiple job banks with a single mouse click.

RD.com:

How should you go about your job search, and how should you approach a potential employer? Does it make sense, for example, to send a blind email to a company?

NIXON: Many blind e-mails suffer the same fate as blind letters that are snail-mailed ... they are trashed without opening them. However, if you find a company that you are interested in applying to, learn all you can about the company BEFORE sending them an e-mail. Include something in the subject line of your message that will entice the recipient to open your message. Bad idea: "Resume enclosed." Great idea: "Results-oriented sales achiever available."

HULME: In general, people tend to be less formal when using e-mail. This tendency carries over to candidates applying for positions via e-mail. But the old adage that says, "You only have one chance to make a first impression," still applies. So I think it's important for candidates to ensure that their on-line application sends the message that they intend to send. For example, in applying for a job, a candidate should use the resume to convey his or her qualifications and accomplishments and the cover letter to express interest and professional objectives. A less formal approach might entail sending an e-mail note with 2 or 3 sentences, in place of a cover letter, simply expressing interest in a particular job. This approach may not provide the potential employer with sufficient information to accurately assess the candidate-job match. It's in the candidate's best interest to take advantage of the application process and provide the employer with the information needed to accurately assess skills and determine whether there is a potential fit. Applying for a job is the first step in the hiring process make it count.

RD.com:

How can you make yourself stand out from the crowd in cyberspace?

HULME: Use words in your resume that will easily be picked up by an employer conducting an online search. Recruiters conduct on-line searches for candidates by keying in a few words that are descriptive of the candidate for whom they are seeking. That said, you should selectively include words for your resume that have a high probability of being identified. For instance, if you are a sales professional, you should indicate whether your experience includes "inside sales," "outside sales," or "ad sales." You should also indicate how much revenue you generate and the types of clients with whom you have worked — i.e.. Fortune 500, mid-sized companies. Another way to make yourself stand out is to ensure that you demonstrate in your resume that you possess the competencies that an employer deems critical to success in the job and to the organizational culture. You can extract these competencies from the employers' job postings or ads, marketing literature, or word of mouth. Certainly in today's market of start-ups and reorganizations, for instance, competencies such as the flexibility, speed, resourcefulness, and the ability to drive execution and results are in high demand. This suggests that you slightly tailor your resume or cover letter for each employer to which you apply. It requires a little extra work, but it can have a big payoff.

NIXON: In the olden days - the 1990s - action verbs were what made stellar resumes stand out over mediocre ones; keywords or keyword phrases are critical in the new millennium. Why? Because it's quite likely that your resume -- at least the one you e-mail or submit online -- may NEVER be read by a human. Computers process your information and store it in databases. When a need for a person to fill a position comes up, someone enters keywords related to the position into the database's search function. You need to be sure you include a section at the top of your resume that is filled with 10 to 15 keywords that people will search for when they need to find YOU. And remember the adage that you should never have a resume longer than two pages? That's a thing of the past, too, when you're talking about your online resume. Include all the relevant information that you think will assist an employer in determining if you are the right fit for a position in your online resume. Then, when you are called in for an interview, bring along a traditional paper-based resume.

RD.com:

What sort of candidates stand the best chance of being chosen when employers are using online resources?

HULME: Candidates who reply to online job postings quickly stand the best chance of being chosen. The internet has made life faster for both the candidate and the employer. Resumes once submitted through the mail are now submitted with a quick click. Candidates still relying on the mail stand a good chance of being beat to the punch by candidates clicking their resumes through on line. The tight labor market has forced employers to make faster hiring decisions, or risk losing candidates to the competition with a blink of the eye and a click of the mouse.

Those who successfully communicate their skills, competencies, qualifications and who match the job profile for which they are applying stand the best chance. I once received the resume of a firefighter in Kansas who was applying for a Human Resources job in New York City. I had no doubt that the guy was a great firefighter, and while one can argue that HR professionals today need to be skilled in "putting out fires," the candidate-job match was not one that jumped out. This example might sound extreme but the point can generally be applied: To stand the best chance of being chosen, you need to demonstrate that your skills and qualifications fit the job profile.

NIXON: The candidates that stand out to employers are similar to those who use traditional methods...  ones who can clearly and concisely communicate to an employer how they can add value to the company. It's as simple as that.

RD.com:

If emailing a resume or samples of work, what is the best format to use?

NIXON: With all the fear of viruses these days, many companies do not allow unsolicited attachments to be opened by their employees. So you may have the jazziest and best looking resume on the planet which will soon become the jazziest and best looking and QUICKLY DELETED attachment in someone's inbox. My best advice is to send your resume in plain text as the body of your e-mail message. If you want to include all the bells and whistles, then include a hyperlink to your online resume, where you can get as jazzy as you desire. (Be careful, though, about divulging too much personal information in your online resume. . . your current employer may just stumble across you and wonder why you're seeking another position.

HULME: I discourage graphics or designs, as they are not likely to transmit successfully. Most employers specify their desired format for sending resumes and work samples. For example, some employers request that information be sent via web-based script. Others request attachments in Microsoft Word. You should adhere to individual specifications to ensure that your submissions are successfully transmitted and in the employers' preferred format. Deviating from such basic instructions could result in your resume not finding its way to the proper source and missing out on an opportunity.

Source: R.D.com Website

GLOSSARY

challenges: stimulating situations (desafíos)
to move up the carer ladder: to be promoted (para ser promovido, ascendido)
leap: transition (in this context) (salto, cambio)
sought: enquired for (buscamos)
to seek / sought / sought / seeking (buscar)
aimed at: directed at (dirigido a)
authored
: written (escrito, sido autor de)
a blind email to a company: a mail with many hidden copies (CC - CarbonCopy) (un mensaje con copia oculta a una empresa)
fate: destiny (destino, suerte)
snail-mailed: sent by regular or standard mail (enviadas por correo postal)
trashed: disposed of (tiradas a la basura)
willl entice
: will provoke or stimulate (estimule)
recipient: the person who receives your mail (destinatario)
achiever: a winner, a person with a record of successes (ganador)
carries over to: persists (persiste para)
adage: proverb (adagio, proverbio)
accomplishments: abilities acquired by training (logros)
cover letter: letter attached to the CV (carta de presentación)
entail: imply
(implicar)   
candidate-job match: compatibility between candidate and job (compatibilidad postulante-puesto de trabajo)
assess: judge, analyse (valorar)
hiring process
: employing process (proceso de contratación)
make it count: take it into consideration (tenlo en cuenta)
stand out: distinguish yourself (sobresalir)

recruiter: someone who gives advice about employment (los consultores, los reclutadores)
by keying in
: identifying (identificando) 
seeking
: searching (buscando)
ad sales: advertising sales (ventas por aviso)
revenue: amount of income before any deductions (ingresos)
deems: considers, views as (considera)
word of mouth: gossip spread by spoken communication; grapevine (boca a boca)  
start-ups: settings in operation (emprendimientos)
resourcefulness: the quality of being able to cope with a difficult situation (ingenio para salir de apuros)
to drive execution: to carry into action (poner en marcha)
tailor: create, adapt (adaptes, crees)
payoff: recompense, benefit (recompensa, beneficio)
stellar: the most important (estelar)
called in for an interview: asked to participate of an interview (citado/a para una entrevista)
tight: scarce (fewer jobs) (escaso, ajustado)  
firefighter: fireman (bombero)  
HR professionals: Human Resources pros (los profesionales de RRHH o Recursos Humanos)  
"putting out fires": extinguishing "fires" (problems) (solucionar problemas, "apagar incendios")  
jumped out: highly noticeable, stood out (se destacara)  
the jazziest: the showiest, in poor taste (el más llamativo)
bells and whistles: unnecessary ornaments (adornos innecesarios)
stumble across you: find your resume on line (toparse contigo)
deviating: turning away from (desviarse)

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