Online Job Search Tools and Tips

What search words should you use to get the best results when searching a job search database? The key is using the right combination of search words to find job listings quickly. Looking for a job online is truly a numbers game. Volume and quality get results. Choose search words that will return good wide-ranging results and ensure that you retrieved more jobs than you might normally have.

1. Search Word Strings - Stringing combination of words, to consolidate your search is very useful. Try using 'Buyer' or 'Purchasing' or 'Procurement' to optimize your search. This structure allows for the most efficient gathering of jobs in a single search. This will include the other variations such as 'Senior Buyer' or 'Purchasing Agent' or 'Procurement Buyer with SAP Experience'. Keep in mind, 'and' and 'or' may drive different logic on different sites, so experiment to see which results in 'Either included' and which one results in 'Both included'.

2. People may want to use search words like 'Detailed', 'Cost Savings', 'Negotiating Skills', 'Team Player' and other words that may be desired traits. However, they are not relevant in finding jobs. In other words, qualify your serch words.

3. Save Your Searches. You can set-up 'Search Agents', these are saved searches which will run your Search Words daily/weekly, and then email the new results to you. It is good to see the jobs before everyone else does.

4. Your time is valuable, and searching on new sites needs to be a priority as well. Smaller sites have fewer jobs, but they are the 'road' less traveled, so you will see far less competition for the jobs on them.

Your Job Searching needs to be efficient. You want to be as efficient as possible when searching for jobs. Being efficient will help reduce the need for multiple searches and will help you avoid checking the same sites every day. Your time is valuable and you want to minimize the time you spend in front of a computer so you can be out networking. It's a good idea to cover all your bases when searching for a job in this economy, and online job searching should be just one of the avenues you use.

It's important to protect your privacy when job searching online. Here's information on how to keep your personal information confidential and how to protect your privacy.

Even though you should be able to have a personal life online, employers want to find out as much about you as they can. There are ethical issues regarding how deeply employers should look for information, but, there's nothing stopping them from getting as much information as they can on you. So, be careful what you share - you're not just sharing it with your friends, you're sharing it with the world.

If you have an account on a social networking site, take a look at your profile, your pictures, and who is linked from your site and vice versa. Is there anything you wouldn't want a potential employer to see? If you're concerned, make your profile private and be careful what you put on the front page. Anyone may be able to see the information on that page, even if your profile is private.

Take the time to periodically check all the information you have (or someone else has about you) online, so you can make sure you don't get any unpleasant surprises during the hiring process. I personally have heard of many cases where people were fired from existing jobs, based upon what employers found on networking sites, blogs and online journals.

Have you Googled yourself to see what information people can find about you on the Internet? Make sure that what you find is appropriate for a potential employer to read. You might be surprised at what's there!

If you have a blog, is there anything that you wouldn't want an employer or a colleague to read? Whether you write about your interviews, your current job, or your personal life, don't forget to review all your online information when job searching, because any potential employer could find it. If you have friends who write about you, check to make sure what they are writing is appropriate.

One way to avoid mixing business with pleasure is to have a dedicated email address and screen name that you use just for job searching.

Here's a quick list of what you should check:

Google, Yahoo, AOL, Bing and other search engines
MySpace, Facebook, Habbo, Bebo and other social networking sites
Blogs and micro-blogs including Twitter, Xanga
Other related networking sites such as photo sharing, Flickr
Forum / Bulletin Board Posts

Please be aware that many companies, no longer accept paper resumes. Before you spend time sending a paper resume and cover letter, review the job posting for application instructions, check with the company web site. Review how the company wants you to apply and follow their directions. If you don't, your application may not be considered.

There are many reasons why Employers prefer online resume and application submission. With online submissions the amount of paper in the office is minimized. The space necessary to store paper resumes is a problem in many offices.

Most employers record resumes and applications into an HR database. Access to qualified candidates is easy through the search functions in the database. Some employers provide online forms that applicants use to paste in their resumes. More and more employers are deserting their traditional newspaper classifieds in favor of online job postings.

If you have multiple copies of your resume, keep track of which one you sent. It is important to keep track of where you have applied. This way, you're not confused when you hear from an employer wanting to schedule an interview. You will need to match what you said when you applied. You'll need to know what job you're interviewing for so you can represent your qualifications for the position successfully and professionally.

Generally speaking, from the job seeker perspective, online employment application systems work well. To protect your privacy, apply directly at company's website. If you can avoid applying through a third party site, do so. There are employment Phishing sites out there. One last word of caution, guard your social security number, know who you're giving it out to.