CareerJournal.comís Online Job Hunting Secrets

Job hunting has made a dramatic transition in the past decade as both companies and candidates have moved online, says a report on CareerJournal.com, The Wall Street Journalís executive career guide. While surfing the Web may not get you a job, better Internet job-search skills can improve your odds of securing an interview.

According to a 2005 survey from the Society for Human Resource Management in Alexandria, Va., about 86% of human-resources professionals polled use Internet job postings to recruit candidates.

ìThe first step when conducting an online job hunt is to clearly specify what you’re looking for and to use the siteís tools to specify what you don’t want,î says Sarah Needleman, associate editor, CareerJournal.com. ìExcluding words will narrow down the number of job openings and give you more targeted results.î

In some cases, online ads are blind-- the employer’s name isn’t given. To find out what company is behind a blind ad, cut the employer’s description from the ad and paste it into a search engine such as Google or Yahoo. Recruiters often use the exact wording from the employer’s Web site to write job ads. Odds are good the employer’s Web site will turn up in your search. If youíre not sure what company placed the ad, be aware that you could be applying to a job posted by your current employer.

Job boards that post classified ads aren’t the only websites job hunters should visit. Employment leads often show up on career-related Web sites, such as networking sites, blogs and discussion boards. Typically the leads come from participants who learn about openings at their employer or from people they know. One caveat when responding to a job lead ñ make sure leads are valid before you began pursuing them.

CareerJournal.comís Job Hunting Tips:

Make sure the job wasnít posted by your current employer.
Try to talk with someone who works for the company before responding.
Develop a personal connection in the department to which youíre applying.
Join an online networking site.
Make sure leads are valid before you apply.