Posted on: Sunday, October 28, 2001

Surviving the hard times
Job-hunt Web sites quickly proliferate

By Anita Bruzzese
Gannett News Service

In 1995, you would have been hard pressed to find 300 online job sites. Today, a search is likely to find 5,000 sites, and the number continues to grow as more companies find a way to connect with recruiters.

Still, just because there are thousands of sites to choose from doesn't mean they are worth your time or effort. Mark Mehler, a job recruitment expert, says that job sites online range from "high sleaze to high integrity."

That means that unless you are careful and do your homework, you may find that your resume has been sent to every company on the planet, including your current employer. Or, you may find yourself inundated with offers of a tropical vacation as a job search site is simply a way to get your e-mail and phone number to those persistent telemarketers.

"Be leery of giving out personal information," Mehler says. "You want to know as much as you can about who you are sending information to. Be careful of Web sites that are just supermarkets trying to sell you products."

So what should you look for when you're looking for work online? Consider these tips from Mehler, and his partner, Gerry Crispin:

• Study the site. Carefully read the privacy policy and who owns the site. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Find out who uses the site — if a headhunter uses it to troll for job candidates, it could mean the headhunter will send your resume to a company before you get a chance to do it. That could mean that an employer will simply pitch your resume into the nearest recycling bin, and you can kiss your chances good-bye.

• Find out where a resume ends up. This is where it's important to maintain as much control as possible over your personal information. If the resume is sent directly to an employer, great. But if the site sells the resume to other sites, you could end up applying to your own company. Ouch.

• Do your homework. You know better than to just blanket the country with resumes and then never follow-up. The same goes with online searching. Find out your area's top 100 employers (most newspapers have published a listing), then find that company's Web site. Since 496 of the top Fortune 500 have such sites, it shouldn't be difficult. Then, look at the job postings and send your resume directly to the company online.

"This not only gives you a contact name to start with, but it gives you the most control over your resume, and that's what you want," Mehler says.

• Stay close to home. Don't take this literally — it means that you stay in touch with professional associations that you know. This is a booming job recruitment area for many companies.

As authors of "CareerXroads" ($26.95), Mehler and Crispin have visited hundreds of job Web sites since they began the process some six years ago, and they believe that anyone who avoids posting online is missing the boat.

"It's just the way things are done now. You have kindergartners who head straight for the PC when they enter a classroom. It's the way we all communicate now," Mehler says.

Still, the majority of hires are made because "somebody knows somebody." That's why you should tell everyone you know that you're looking for work, and if you can get someone to hand deliver a resume to the right person, that certainly beats sending in electronically, Mehler says.

"Even if you use the Internet, looking for work is a full-time job. It's harder than a full-time job. You still must be very active in your job search, whether you post it online or not," he says.

For more information, try www.careerxroads.com.