Ten Online Resources for Job Seekers

The Internet can be a very useful tool when it comes to finding work. However, you may have to search hard and long for quality websites, since, as with most things online, there’s a lot of junk. The following are ten online resources with job search engines and other websites to help you find work fast.

1. Job Search Sites

Some of the better job search sites are, in no particular order: Indeed, LinkUp, Simply Hired, and Jobster .
Increasingly, employers are posting more and more ads on Craigslist , which is a great resource to find jobs in your immediate area.

If you’d like to take advantage of the connections that social networking affords, then check out Twitter Job Search .

2. Help with your resume

About.com offers a comprehensive guide to writing effective resumes and cover letters , with additional links to other websites.

3. Interview tips

How To Nail an Interview offers twenty solid interview tips, as well as videos that demonstrate effective interviewing techniques.

4.  Information about prospective companies

Just as much as employers conduct research on potential candidates, through Google Search or other means, the job seeker should become informed about companies for which they’re wanting to work. Researching companies will help you during the interview process, in which interviewers often want to know how much you know about them in order to gauge your interest in the job.

But don’t just stop there. You may also want to find out how much you could potentially earn, or what the corporate culture is like in any given company. With GlassDoor , you can find out  the average salaries for different positions in different companies, and you can also read company reviews posted by current or former employees.

5. Tips on negotiating salary

Whether you’re in the process of getting a job, or you already have one, but feel that you deserve a raise, salaries are always negotiable. The State Department offers some good techniques in tactfully addressing salary after receiving a formal offer. Salary.com gives sound advice on broaching the topic of raising your salary once you’ve already been working for awhile.

6.Tips for using LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking media to find employment.

LinkedIn can be especially helpful in finding a job. In a  recent blog post , Guy Kawasaki, a venture capitalist, offers some tips on using LinkedIn to do just that.

Also read Time Magazine’s article  about using social networking to find employment.

7. Career assessment tests

Whether you’re still in school, looking for your first job, or wanting a complete change of careers, you should take a career assessment test to find out the kind of work for which your skills are most useful. This site offers a comprehensive guide to the best career assessment tests online.

8. Tips on using a headhunter/recruiter/employment agency.

If you’d like to use an employment agency to help you find a job, but you don’t know where to start, then read About.com’s guide to finding and effectively using headhunters’ services .

9. Career fairs

Sometimes, job fairs are a great way to get valuable face time with prospective employers and to find out what opportunities are out there in your locality. National Career Fairs  offers a search engine to find career fairs near you.

10. Tips on Relocating

Does your dream job require you to move? Or are you already looking for a change of scenery? About.com offers some tips and resources for job seekers who must or simply want to relocate.

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This guest post is contributed by Katheryn Rivas, who writes on the topics of online universities accredited .  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: katherynrivas87@gmail.com .

Comments

[Sales Recruiter]

I agree--online is where you want to be if you're a jobseeker, although be wary of online applications that can turn into a time-wasting black hole for your resume. I think the most effective place for you to be online is on LinkedIn, which is invaluable for networking, company research, and it's the place to be seen by recruiters. But many people don't know how to navigate it well. There's a couple of handy tools for LinkedIn available on www.career-confidential.com-- a LinkedIn Profile Tutorial (http://linkedin-for-jobseekers.com/linkedin-profile-tutorial.htm), and a more advanced LinkedIn Ninja Tricks for contacting hiring managers directly (http://linkedin-for-jobseekers.com/linkedin-ninja-tricks.htm). They really work.
Best of Luck,
Peggy McKee

[Angela Lazaridis]

Another great online resource for college graduates is 1stGig.com. 1stGig.com is a revolutionary matching system specifically designed for college graduates and early career professionals. It uses a precision matching system to link interests, qualifications and career requirements with those of employers. It helps individuals find a career not just a job.

[Mile High Pixie]

Steve, this post is just in time. Many architecture students are tuning up their resumes to enter a pretty cruddy marketplace, and every little bit of help is valuable.

I'm curious, what do you and your readers think of sites/companies that will review and tune up your resume for a fee? Worth it, not worth it, 50/50? I ask because a lot of these young folks ask me to look at their resumes, and I can't look at them all.

[Casey Accord]

This is an awesome resource, Steve. In this market, we all need as much help as possible. I just wanted to add another great resource too for those building their resume. I write for www.resify.com. It's got so much great information about resumes, including free templates. So I really encourage everyone to check it out.

Plus, we've just developed a keyword database for helping people find the best keywords to make their resume rise to the top of the pile.

Oh, and Mike, be really careful about getting involved with people who charge for resume "review". It can be incredibly expensive. If you put in the time to research what it takes to create a strong resume, you can probably do it yourself really well. It does take a little work, but personally, I don't think it's worth the money to hire someone when there are so many great free resources out there.

[Jim Hicks]

There is a whole lot of cool information here. I like the way you seem to have taking sometime to think about this. Really kind of you to share.

[Nevil]

These are some great tips. Thanks Steve

[uk jobs]

Nice tips for getting a job in social media. I think one thing that a lot of people do is try and be involved in as many different social networking sites as possible rather than focusing their time and attention on really getting involved in just a couple of them. Having that kind of focus will be better for them in the long run.

[Scottie Smith]

I hate to say that I regret that I did not found this post the time I was looking for a job..It took me 1 year to find a decent job and I encountered so many problems applying online with some online agencies that asking for money just for me to be interviewed. I am so glad that there is this informative kind of article that will help a lot of people. Thanks I appreciate reading your post.