The Arizona Republic
From June 2, 2002 Print Edition

Don't rely solely on Web to land your dream job

By D.J. Burrough
Special for The Republic
June 2, 2002

Pound the pavement.

In the not-too-distant past, that term was more than an antiquated euphemism for a job search; it was reality. Searches most likely required leaving home, going door to door and dropping off copies of your resume.

But the Internet has changed that forever.

Job searches can now be conducted from virtually anywhere, at anytime. Job openings can be found on company Web sites, you can post your electronic resume on vast databases for prospective employers to peruse and, in some cases, you can even conduct an interview via the Internet.

But as helpful as the Internet can be, it is not a foolproof tool. There are cyber dead-ends that can take valuable time, and pitfalls that can curtail your chances of landing a new job as surely as if you wore a Hooters T-shirt to a job interview.
Career experts suggest limiting the amount of time spent visiting job Web sites. Instead, they say concentrate on gathering information and sending easy-to-read resumes.

It's important for job seekers to understand the Internet is just one tool that can be used to help them find a job, career experts say. And that old-fashioned networking and newspaper want ands can be more powerful. Some career experts feel that posting a resume on a job Web site is a long-shot at best.

"The Internet doesn't work," said Eugene Krohn, managing director in the Phoenix office of Andrew Stevens & Associates, a career management firm. "The chance of finding something through the Internet is very remote."

Posting your resume on vast job Web sites like Hotjobs.com and Monster.com, is akin to a stroke of luck. It's estimated that less than 5 percent of online searches result in success.

"The best use of the Internet is the research capabilities," said Wendy Carr, a regional market resources consultant in the Phoenix Office of Right Management Consultants, a career management firm.

Online job-hunting tips

How to use the Internet for Job searching:
Limit the amount of time searching online, as the payoff is limited.
Use the Internet primarily to gather information, such as identifying companies you want to work for and gathering data about them.
Make sure to spend more time on old-fashioned job searching via newspaper want ads and personal networking.
Send your online resume in plain text.


Via the Internet, you can find recent articles on companies of interest, see their latest annual or quarterly reports, and learn more about which direction the industry is headed. Useful company information can be found on such sites as: www.vault.com and www.wetfee.com, Carr said.

She suggested limiting the time you spend posting your resume, or registering on job Web sites, to just 15 percent of the overall time you spend on a job search.
Although Krohn has doubts about the success of job-posting Web sites, he said that as long as it doesn't detract from your job search or take too much time, it can't hurt to post your resume on Hotjobs.com or other sites.

As with a paper resume, your electronic version will get thrown into an oversized pile. The person, or computer program, that shifts through that pile is looking for reasons to eliminate resumes, not to pass them along.

It's better to track down the person who is in a position to be your supervisor at the prospective firm and talk to them in person, or via e-mail, about your interest.
"Most of the really good positions are not published," he said. "You are not going to see them on the company Web site."

Carr suggested creating a resume in a plain text format. All the fancy formatting that goes into a resume created in another version doesn't always remain so when viewed on a computer at the other end.

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