Searching for Jobs Online?

Embedded Geek asks: "My wife, a VB/C/C++/SQL coder, was recently laid off from our mutual employer and is on the job hunt. I am also sending around feelers. We've posted both our resumes at our own site (here and here) and at Monster.Com. So far, we have gotten disappotinting results - several headhunters generating a lot of smoke but no heat. Some people have suggested dice.com and other techie oriented sites, but I wonder if we're going about this the wrong way. Are we better off using the Internet to directly find and reach companies (I really dislike headhunters)? Should we find a site affiliated with a major newspaper's want ads? Has anyone out there found other strategies to using the Internet in a job search?"

This related submission from kalanar asks a similar question, but questions whether exclusive online searches are the answer: "With the current economy state, and the increase in unemployment in the US, I'm curious if anyone has had luck with onlinejobsearchengines. I have applied to many job listing (80+) and have not received much of a reply. I'm curious if employers are worried about the relocation factor or if employers are more anxious to hire people that have applied in other ways. (Fax/Inperson)"

So if you are recently employed, especially in the US, what strategies did you use to land your current job?

Comments

It's all about the network

[andy@petdance.com]

The most important network is your own network of huamn contacts. It's all about who you know and how you work your angles. Get the word out there. Let people know you're looking.

Go thru your Rolodex and hit the phones. Past bosses and colleagues, regardless of how long ago they were, are prime sources for leads.

Don't forget your family and the people they know. Chat people up. Talk talk talk. The best jobs aren't going to be found in the want ads.

Last person I helped land a job was because I saw her reading Webmaster In a Nutshell on a commuter train, and I asked if she was lookin'. She was, and she was good, so we hired her.

Find a headhunter you like, if that's possible. If you're great, they'll do the work for you, and get you in the doors. Just make sure that the job is the right fit.

I'm not saying to ignore postings, whether online or in print, but they're nothing compared to talking to other humans.

I recently landed a job via online search

[renehollan]

I registered with a bunch of sites: dice, computerjobs, monster, probably a few others, as well as hit the job search engines. It is a royal pain to enter data for each one. (note to self: develop a resume XML DTD).

It took from May 15th to the last week of June (about) to land a position. In that time, I got about 1/2 dozen calls, two interviews, and two offers, both sent my way by headhunters. None of my personal applications panned out. So, my "saturation" technique didn't result in what I'd consider excessive interest -- you just never know who uses what job engine or site.

I ended up accepting a position near Dallas, TX, and moved from Chicago, IL. Employer payed a flat rate toward moving expenses and left me to deal with the logistics (the allowance was generous, but the headache of dealing with all the logistics was a pain -- apparently outsourcing that kind of stuff is expensive).

Now, my case might be atypical, because in addition to all the other problems related to the downturn in the economy, I required visa sponsorship. Still, I found and got a job I liked using only on-line resources.

Re:I recently landed a job via online search

[babbage]

Note to original poster: reinventing the wheel is overrated. Search on Sourceforge & you'll find at least a couple of XML resume schemes, but Sean Kelly's seems to be the authoritative one.

Otherwise, I'm on a similar track: I was laid off two weeks or so ago, and am temping now for a very interesting company & am hoping it'll become a permanent position. I submitted dozens & dozens of online applications, but the job I'm at was discovered by a *good* headhunter (Randstad -- nice folks, I like working with them because they actually seem to want to place you in a job where you & the employrer will be happy, rather than just filling seats so they can pocket the commission). I had an offer for freelance work & that was found by word of mouth. None of the online applications I tried amounted to anything, and yes I've been following up with emails & phone calls. I've had a handful of "no thanks" responses, but mostly I just get silence.

Keep in mind also that if trying all avenues doesn't work out, now would be a great time to go back to school, consider a career change or reapplication of old IT skills to new non-IT jobs, or, if you're into that sort of thing, enlist in the military. It would of course be risky, but it would also be patriotic (in a *good* way, not a jingoistic one) and it would be a sure paycheck.

Just try to keep all of your options in mind & try everything that seems like it'll help...

Stupid Resume Tricks

[gnovos]

I know this will sound silly, but it works for some reason. If you are sending a resume to one of those "resumes@foo.com" or "jobs@bar.com", most likely you will see it filed away and never see a human response. A trick I learned (by accident) is to send an email to one of these addresses talking about your "attached" resume ("As you can see by my skills x and y in my resume blah blah..."), but *don't* actually attach it. 90% of the time you will get an email back from a *person* (i.e. not an autoresponder) asking if you could try and send it again. Now you have an actual email address of somone in H.R. that you can use to send polite emails concering the status of your application, etc.

I know many people will scoff at this idea saying "No self respecting tech company will hire you if you show you're too stupid to be able to attach a resume!" But this isn;t the case. Most of the people who work in HR are the types who find it perfectly resonable to make a mistake and forget to press the "attach" button, or else they are the types that believe whole-heartedly that attachements can get "lost in the mail" even if it's email.

Once you have an actual person (sometimes including a phone number!) you have the chance to add a little "human touch". As long as you are polite and don't make yourself look bad, this extra little boost can be what seperates you from the rest of teh stack of resumes.

job seeking in Australia

[Technodummy]

If you're in Australia, check out seek.com.au. I've just moved cities, and every job I have gotten since I moved was from this site. (I found a few jobs for friends there as well)

Also:

• *do* call a contact number in the ad if there is one, let them know you have sent in your resume, and ask them a few questions about the job.
  this means it's more likely your resume will actually be *looked at*
• *do* include important information in your resume cover sheet. eg - if typing speed is something they are likely to filter applications with, then include it on the cover sheet.
  it saves them the time to read through the resume
• *do* include when you are available for work on your cover sheet.
  same as above.
• *do* send your email applications in plain text. offer to send it in another format if this is preferred.
  not all the people who filter job applications are good with computers, no matter what the industry.
• *do* include special skills you have that may not be specifically job relevant.
  I am fluent in the Phonetic Alphabet, and put it on my resume. I had a lot of companies and recruiters call me to ask what it was.
• *do* email a company if they send you a virus in an email.
  I received one from a company I had emailed my resume to. they offered me a job after I sent them an email detailing what virus they were infected with and how to remove it and prevent it in the future. I didn't accept their job offer, but I think they'll remember me if I contact them in the future.