Job Hunting in Cyberspace

Job Hunting in Cyberspace

A thorough search these days should include some time online

Computers are encroaching on one of the last holdouts of personal contact, the job hunt. Many job seekers are trashing paper résumés and turning to electronic versions to pitch themselves to prospective employers. Companies are also increasingly flirting with listing job openings on computer networks and accepting résumés via computer linkup.

Once resumes are in hand, many companies plus in key words to screen resumes for certain skills, degrees and experience. The software programs then scroll through the resumes, placing those with the most  key words at the top of the electronic pile. All the companies now use resume-scanning software.

How can you tap into the electronic job search? Big websites offer opportunities for posting resumes and exchanging messages with other job hunters. Beyond that, there are big job banks which keep a bank of thousands of white-collar, mostly management jobs, and additional openings for mostly high-tech positions are posted regularly. Database offer thousands of openings posted by employers seeking mostly professional and managerial workers.

Amount of time human resource managers say they spend reading most résumés : 30 seconds to 4 minutes. Photo by Elena.

Not surprisingly, techies are in big demand : About half of the listings are in technology fields. About one-third of positions are also computer related, although the horizons are broadening. 

Figures on the success rates are hard to come by, but every thorough job hunt includes today a trip to cyberspace. Some employers believe anyone using bulletin boards must be a cut above the rest. Be sure your online resume is short and snappy. A brisk resume is easy to skin and cheaper to download.

If you mail your resume to one of the many database services they will try to match up your skills with company want ads.