>1. “Mega” job sites
>2. Niche job sites
>3. Transition-assistance Web sites
>4. Organization Web sites
>5. Company Web sites
>6. Virtual career fairs
>Getting Started

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The Internet can be a big help in finding a job. Learn about six specific online tools that you can use to pull off a successful job search.

Discus Dental hired more than 108 new employees last year, and every one of them had some form of online interaction, says Scott Rabinowitz, recruiting manager for the dental product manufacturer and supplier. Whether it was a simple e-mail correspondence or a résumé submitted online, these successful candidates were aided in their job search by the Internet.

With so much of our lives taking place online, job searching is just one more reason to use the World Wide Web to its fullest potential. Here, Today’s Officer Online looks at six areas of the Internet and how to use them effectively in your job-search strategy.

1. “Mega” job sites

Employers list thousands of positions on the mega job Web sites such as Monster, CareerBuilder, and HotJobs. Positions are advertised in just about every category and industry conceivable. Job seekers flock here to search jobs by salary range, location, years of experience, keywords, and more.

In addition to the myriad job-search options, the mega sites offer online networking with fellow job seekers, the ability to post résumés in an online database available to employers, informational articles about interviewing and résumé building, and other career resources.

The downside of mega job sites is that “there are so many people that have access to the Internet that companies are just flooded with résumés,” says Sgt. 1st Class Mike Shuford, USA-Ret. After several months of job searching on a number of Web sites, Shuford found his current position, “senior counter intelligence agent” for Best Buy’s Geek Squad in Indianapolis, on CareerBuilder.

2. Niche job sites

Want a job in human resources? Check out Jobs4HR. Know your way around finances? Try CareerBank. These are two of thousands of Web sites dedicated to niche employment.

The benefit of using a niche site instead of a mega job site is that you don’t have to wade through thousands of jobs that don’t match your criteria to find the ones that do.

Explains Don Firth, president and CEO of JobsInLogistics, “We divide logistics into 50 different categories. Monster may have thousands of logistics jobs, but you have to go through each one to find jobs in your specialty,” whereas the niche sites divide your field into specialties, such as, in this case, transportation logistics versus engineering logistics.

Employers post their jobs on these sites knowing the people using them have a specific interest in the field. Likewise, employers will search these sites’ résumé databases with the same idea in mind.

If you have experience in a niche area, this is where you can help your next employer find you.

3. Transition-assistance Web sites

Transition-assistance sites such as Corporate Gray, TAOnline, or MOAA’s The Officer Placement Service (TOPS) differ from other employment Web sites because their content is geared entirely toward retired or retiring military personnel.

“There are things like salary calculators, real estate information, real estate financing options, and benefits on education. In addition to saying, ‘I’m going to go out there and work,’ they can learn about things that [civilians] take for granted,” says Tom Kaleta, manager of TAOnline.com.

As with niche job sites, if employers post jobs on a transition-assistance site, it is because they want to hire candidates with military experience. Applying for a job through a transition-assistance site lets the employer know right off the bat that you have that experience.

4. Organization Web sites

Although these are not dedicated employment Web sites, many nonprofit organizations have online “career” sections for members to post jobs, search jobs, and post résumés. Many services are available free to the general public, too.

If your interest is in statistics, hook up with the American Statistical Association. If marketing is your thing, visit the American Marketing Association. Organizations like these are endless.

On these Web sites, you can find openings not published elsewhere. Ken Young, a human resources analyst for Cumberland County, N.C., says that at the local government level, recruiters tend to not use sites that charge a posting fee. It’s not that those sites aren’t credible; smaller employers tend to have smaller human resources budgets.

Young posts jobs on nonprofit organization Web sites such as the National Association of Counties and the American Planning Association as well as his own local government site. He occasionally looks to the larger job boards to fill more specialized positions.

Some nonprofit organizations, depending on their size and purpose, also offer career resources to Web site visitors. Some of these resources are available to members only, but if they’re open to the public, take advantage.

5. Company Web sites

Going to the source can sometimes save steps in your job search. If you know of a company you’d like to work for — maybe one whose mission you admire or one in a town you’d like to live in — go directly to its Web site, find the “career” or “jobs” section, and see what it has to offer.

“Candidates are more likely to see all of a company’s job openings by directly visiting the company’s Web site,” says Stephanie Kempa, director of Americas Staffing Organization for Hewlett Packard.

Companies can list jobs for free on their own Web site, whereas they have to pay to list jobs on other job boards, so they’ll probably take advantage of their own, free resource first and for longer periods of time.

The same idea applies to posting a résumé online. The company can search its own résumé database for free, but it usually must pay to search other sites’ databases. When you post your résumé, some companies offer to notify you when new positions open, giving you a leg up on candidates not registered with the company.

6. Virtual career fairs

Once held in city convention centers and college gymnasiums, even the career fair has moved online. You’ll still find traditional career fairs, but this new virtual form has a lot to offer job seekers. Virtual career fairs (VCFs) are sponsored by organizations for their members, by colleges for their students and alumni, and by online job boards and local radio stations for the general public.

Each VCF is set up differently, but the basic premise is the same. The Web site takes you to the career fair, and buttons link job seekers to each employer’s virtual “booth.”

“As you step into the booth, you get a [video] greeting. What you see on the left and the right are buttons that all allow you to have some interaction with the company. People can send their application in right on the career show floor,” says Gonen Ziv, senior vice president of Unisfair, a provider of online event-hosting services, including VCFs.

VCFs can take place over any period of time chosen by the sponsors. While the event is “live” online, users can have online chats with employers and job seekers, participate in informational Web casts, and search and apply for jobs. The resources and job listings can even be available online after the VCF has “closed.”

At a VCF, you have the opportunity to interact with potentially hundreds of employers, but you don’t run the risk of running into anyone who would be put off by finding you at a career fair, such as a current employer. You also save time and money by not having to travel to the career fair location.

Getting Started

These six Internet options are great tools to add to your job-search bag-of-tricks. To get started online, a little preparation is required.

• Build a quality résumé. Most job sites offer the option of a fill-in-the-blank résumé builder or allow you to attach a document containing your résumé. Some employers prefer reading well-formatted résumés rather than online forms, but other employers are wary of viruses associated with attached documents. Be prepared for both. MOAA’s TOPS offers résumé services for members.
   
• Know what job you’re looking for, and know the companies you’re applying to.
  
  “You can tell when someone is just throwing their résumé at whoever. I’m looking for candidates with the right skill set for the position and who [have] done research on the company and how they can fit into my organization,” says Rabinowitz.
   
• Post your résumé in the job sites’ databases in addition to sending it to employers. Employers use résumé databases to search for candidates to fill both advertised and unadvertised positions.
  
  As one employer recently said to Kaleta, “You can’t just wait for [candidates] to come, you have to go out there and find them.”
   
• Be aware that there are Web sites that charge job seekers a fee. Nothing says these Web sites aren’t legitimate, but with thousands of free Web sites, consider whether you really need to spend your money to view those paid sites’ jobs.
   
• Don’t hide behind the Internet in your job search. It’s easy to surf the net for six hours a day, apply for 20 jobs, and feel like you’ve done all you can. The Internet has its place in a job-search strategy, but good old fashioned networking can’t be replaced.