Author: Online job searching the new trend in getting hired

Forget the newspaper classifieds. Forget cumbersome hard copies of your resume. Even forget stamps and envelopes. Those methods of job searching are on their way out. Despite the technical difficulties some students have encountered using Penn's new online resume-drop system Crimson Solutions -- which has been plagued by frequent crashes -- career experts say that getting wired is often the ticket to getting hired. Last year, employers nationwide consulted the Internet in 48 percent of hires, drawing from a pool of some 2.5 million resumes that circulate the World Wide Web at any given time. "Your e-mailed resume is your new business card," explained technology writer Pam Dixon, who recently authored Job Searching Online for Dummies. Whereas applicants have traditionally mailed resumes to potential employers -- who then read and stored them in a file cabinet with hundreds of others -- resumes can now be launched directly into cyberspace and entered into company databases in matter of seconds. And with up to 100,000 career-related Web sites to visit, there are ways to reach the right people in any field. In fact, employers and job applicants alike are increasingly using the Internet to negotiate their interests in search of a winning match. But, as Dixon said, never enter a competition without a solid strategy. Dixon's guide to online job searching -- an installment in the popular For Dummies series published by IDG Books -- offers consumers inside information to help navigate their employment options online. "You can't just go on the Web and mill around and think any good will come of it," Dixon says. One engine Dixon recommends is careerbuilders.com, which limits one's search to 30 job sites based on the person's preferences. After filtering out unnecessary links, the most successful job searchers will promote themselves in a manner compatible with their technology. For instance, rather than write a traditional resume with emphasis on content and design, it is important to incorporate keywords from the jargon of one's desired profession. This draws attention to that resume when companies conduct a keyword search on their database. Although this tactic is more efficient than mailing endless copies of one's resume, publicizing personal information online can be risky, Dixon said. And Penn Career Services Director Patricia Rose agrees that "you have to do that very selectively." Career Services nevertheless encourages students to tap into the future of job searching. The office's Web site -- which was visited 3.5 million times last year alone -- provides links to engines such as jobtrak.com, where students can find employers in various fields who are interested in hiring Penn graduates. Such aids, however, are not always available to less privileged job applicants. The spread of online job searching promises to further disadvantage minorities and the poor -- on both a local and global level -- who tend to have less access to and facility with computer technology, Dixon noted. "The disparity is a very serious issue," Dixon said. But she added that other countries will eventually develop their own systems following the American model. Dixon has a regular column in the San Diego Union-Tribune and is currently writing a book about technology in the workplace.