They are not job banks-- they are information banks. A search at an Internet job board will reveal opportunities beyond what is posted for a jobseeker that takes the time to read between the lines. For example, if two competing companies in an industry are located near you and only one is hiring via an Internet job board, what are the opportunities implied by that? From competitors to suppliers, a jobseeker using an Internet job board can identify emerging opportunities that many will never pursue -- or even identify.Job boards can be an indicator of local opportunity. How is employment in your area? Job boards can be used to compare not only the numbers of jobs in an area, but also how much they pay and how desperate companies may be for new hires. A thorough study of several job boards may indicate that you are living in the wrong area to pursue your career objectives.
Job boards identify Internet savvy companies. The future of every worker and company is online. What does it say about those that use the Internet to recruit? It may indicate that they are a company to work for.
Internet job boards are just a tool. But using them to only respond to job postings is missing their true value. A savvy jobseeker will use them to identify trends, target companies and opportunities that may not be obvious to others. It is what a jobseeker does with the information they gather online that will really count in getting a preferred job.How the Best Jobs are Really Obtained
There has been a long-standing rule that a full 80 percent of jobs that are filled never get advertised. This is commonly referred to as "the hidden job market". These are jobs that get created and filled because people simply talk to each other. And chances are, you probably know someone that got a job this way.
Unfortunately, most jobseekers throw themselves into the other 20 percent of available jobs-- the ones that do get advertised. These are the jobs that cannot be filled in any other way. They are jobs that companies admit just could not be filled from within or from referrals that come to them. They are sometimes the jobs that nobody else wants-- and they are the jobs most compete for when they do not know how to network with people they know to find a job.
Some think the Internet will change the old 80/20 rule. But so far that has not proven to be true. In fact, if Forrester's report on the online job search industry says one thing loud and clear, it is that online job searching is ineffective and it has to change.
And those changes are coming. The Internet job boards, recruiters and companies everywhere are developing technology to improve results. Recent studies indicate that while recruiters are going to use the Internet overwhelmingly to find new hires, nearly 70 percent of them still prefer to hire people through networking efforts. And the changes being made by job boards and company web sites all point to technology that allows for easier connecting options with jobseekers online.
But for jobseekers this only highlights a need for new online skills and new online behaviors. Avoiding the 20 percent of the job market where most compete for jobs will mean networking online as it is effectively done offline.
How Does A Jobseeker Internetwork?
Networking in the real world is nothing more than overcoming the fears of making contact with others. It's simply talk.
But it only happens through an orchestrated effort. You have to seek people out, get them to agree to meet with you, discuss your career aspirations and ask for more contacts. This is hard enough for some people to do face to face.
For so many that are new to Internet job seeking, it is nigh on impossible to do online. Or so it would seem.
But a growing category of connecting tools are emerging online that will make jobseeking-through-networking (or, Internetworking) not only easier-- but essential in the years ahead.
The easiest, most natural and popular form of connecting online is chat. There are a number of chatting venues online.
Sites are nothing less than gigantic communities of people that gather to discuss topics of interest -- including jobs and careers.
Other web sites, such as specialize in intimate and expert chats designed to give sites users the real meat-and-potatoes of any given topic. Often, these sites will provide name-brand hosts that chat with site users about anything. These can be powerful venues for jobseekers to make connections and to learn information about a job, company or industry that is not revealed in an article or in the news.
Instant messaging provides jobseekers with a live, online portfolio that can be seen by anyone referencing a jobseeker's ICQ address. ICQ has over 15 million users and the free software to use the service is consistently in the top-ranked list of Internet downloads. Many people post their ICQ number in email signatures, on business cards and on resumes because using ICQ online is as simple and fast as using a telephone.
For jobseekers looking to set up a private meeting with someone online, there is a free new tool available site offers a personal chat room for up to 4 people for free. You can email the attending parties in advance and share files through the site interface. It even includes application sharing and "web tours" which basically serve as online white boards.
Instant messaging recently took an interesting turn with the release of Gooey-- an instant messaging program allowing users that are on a web site at the same time to communicate. What would happen if you looked for a job at the same moment a recruiter posted a job?
Instant connectivity is more than just email. allow users to access email, voicemail, and fax from anywhere-- whether they are online or offline. This is especially useful for students or other Internet users that access the Internet from school or library computers. In effect, jobseekers do not even have to own a phone or a computer to utilize any of these services.
