br /
divWith the rise of the Internet, searching for a job has become a predominantly online process. With that reality in mind, this article contains seven tips and secrets for making the most of your online job search.br /
/divbr /
divbu1. Let Employers Find You (Always Post Your Resume Online)/u/b/div
divA 2005 study by ComScore Networks found that job seekers who added their resume to an online database were twice as likely to receive a job offer as those who simply applied to specific positions. Always keep in mind that many employers never advertise their openings, preferring instead to search a pre-screened database of applicants. Employers overwhelmingly prefer this method to the alternative of advertising a position online and being flooded with hundreds of unqualified applications. If your resume is not in the database that your dream employer is searching, yoursquo;ve already lost out. /div
divnbsp;/div
br /
divbu2. See What Employers See/u/b/div
divMost of the major online job boards have a section of their site where potential employers can conduct a free test search of their resume database. Before you post your resume online, use this feature to search for the type of job you want./div
divThere are at least three advantages to doing this:/div
ul
li You will see the Top 10 candidates for your keywords (i.e., your competitors) and you can then model your own profile and resume after these successful examples. /li
li You will immediately see that placing keywords in the Title of your profile and body of your resume are critically important (because thatrsquo;s how employers search the database)./li
liYou will learn what keywords work for your occupation and possibly discover others you hadnrsquo;t thought of.br /
br /
/li
/ul
br /
divbu3. Use Third-Party Job Search Engines/u/b/div
divJobseekers donrsquo;t realize that the search functions on most job boards are intentionally set up to show you sponsored listings first. Thatrsquo;s the principal reason why your search results often bear little relevance to your search terms and always seem to include so-called quot;business opportunities.quot; To circumvent this problem, use one of the new third-party job search engines like a href="http://www.indeed.com"www.indeed.com/a or a href="http://www.simplyhired.com"www.simplyhired.com/a. The big online job boards give these search engines access to their databases because they effectively pre-sort incoming traffic, allowing the job boards to show better-targeted ads. By using one of the free services, you will get more relevant search results and gain the additional advantage of searching multiple job boards at once.br /
br /
/div
br /
divbu4. Save Your Money/u/b/div
divSeveral online job boards offer paid packages that purport to place your resume near the top of the list when employers search for candidates in your field. Donrsquo;t waste your money. First of all, you have no way to measure how much higher your resume will rank over non-paid resumes. Second, for the most competitive fields, thousands of other people have purchased the same package, defeating their purpose. Third, both CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com, the two biggest online job boards, have publicly acknowledged that simply changing one word of your profile or posted resume on a regular basis will have the same effect (essentially getting you the outcome of the paid service for free.) br /
br /
/div
br /
divbu5. Protect Your Identity amp; Privacy/u/b/div
divUnfortunately, online resume databases have become a favorite way for scam artists to find victims. To protect your privacy and identity while still effectively making your credentials available, consider these steps:br /
/div
ul
liNever list your home address on your posted resumes. Legitimate employers donrsquo;t need it in order to evaluate your credentials./li
liInstead of listing your full name, just put your first initial and last name. Make sure you follow this practice for both your online profile and your posted resumes. /li
liUse a free email account (Hotmail, GMail, Yahoo, etc.) instead of one that identifies your current employer./li
liIf you can afford it, use an inexpensive voicemail box for your phone number. The reason is that a third-party voicemail phone number cannot be reverse-searched to find your home address and other personal details./li
liTo really protect your privacy, don't put an email address on your posted resumes (in most cases employers can still send you email through the job boardrsquo;s built-in system). The majority of job board scammers obtain target victims by using special software to ldquo;scraperdquo; email addresses off posted resumes. Instead of listing an email address, just list your phone number. Some privacy experts suggest listing only an email (and no phone number). I think it should be the other way around. Herersquo;s why: Legitimate employers and recruiters interested in your skills and qualifications will call you, but most scammers will not. The reason is that it is simple and convenient for scammers to send out email in bulk, but it is inconvenient, time-consuming and risky for them to place individual phone calls (and costly if they are located in another country). br /
/li
/ul
divDonrsquo;t be an easy target.br /
/div
divnbsp;/div
br /
divbu6. Always Complete the Online Profile (in addition to attaching your resume)/u/b/div
divWhy? Because when employers search the resume database, your profile is searched and shown before your resume. In fact, an employer wonrsquo;t see your resume at all unless they first click on your profile and then scroll all they way to the bottom of the screen (which many wonrsquo;t do)./div
divnbsp;/div
br /
divbu7. Optimize Your Resume for Online Job Searches/u/b/div
divJust like with normal web searches, when employers search online resumes databases the results are ranked based on the frequency and occurrence of certain keywords. As such, to optimize your resume for online job searches, you should do the following:br /
/div
ul
liPut your keywords in the title of your resume. For example instead of naming your resume quot;Bobrsquo;s resume ndash; IT versionquot;, try quot;SQL Developer, ORACLE, PeopleSoft, ERP.quot;/li
liPut your keywords in the fields provided for your former job titles. At several of the largest online job boards, the Title of your profile and the Title of your recent jobs are the ONLY fields that employers initially see when searching for candidates./li
liMake sure your keywords appear in the body of your resume multiple times.br /
(Tip: If they donrsquo;t naturally fit elsewhere, create a quot;Skillsquot; category at the end of your resume and incorporate them there.)/li
/ul
divbr /
Knowledge is Power. Make sure you use it in your career search.br /
/div
br /
br /

div(c) 2006 Dyson Conwell. All Rights Reserved./divbr /br