Get the job through the Internet and save your money, energy
By Sherrilyn Lee
SEMINYAK, Bali (JP): Imagine this scenario: The economic downturn in Asia causes your company to do badly and you are handed the dreaded pink slip.
Then for the next two months, your life becomes a whirlwind of activity as you try to send out countless resumes to companies, visit recruitment agencies, troop through job fairs, fill in countless application forms and ask friends to keep a lookout for vacancies at their workplace.
It is an unpleasant situation no doubt, but one that could happen to you. Several months later, you could be still unemployed and your salary expectations are lowered. You might even wonder in despair how long you can survive on your dwindling savings. You need a job fast!
Do not give up. Instead, go on line to continue your job search because the classified pages in the papers are not the only place to look. Cyber job-hunting is good for the following reasons:
1. You save time and money. No more printing CVs on nice, presentable paper, which is expensive, or buying stamps. Plus, you also save the Earth by reducing paper demand.
2. You do not get your hands grubby from the nonfast ink used in newspaper classifieds. In Cyberspace, information is just a click away.
3. The huge expanse of the net translates into potential job offers from overseas. That means opportunities to work in a foreign country to broaden your horizons.
Online ad space, compared to their print medium cousin, is a lot more affordable for employers since the rates are not based on length, or like in broadcasting, where airtime is measured in expensive seconds.
Free of these constraints, most online ads thus contain more information and naturally, this benefits the jobhunter. However, as the net is a huge marketplace, it is better to have a clear idea of the type of job you want, or you are sure to be overwhelmed by a mountain of listings.
Before proceeding, also remember that if you post a resume online, it can be read by anyone with internet access. The site hosting your resume does not provide any security features or offer privacy of your personal information. So make sure there is nothing too personal on it.
The first site I went to was Career Mosaic at www.careermosaic.com. With its neatly arranged and well-laid out presentation, it was a breeze getting the information I needed.
It's Career Resource Center had useful figures like the latest market trends, wage information and a resume center. At the DataBex Online link -- an extensive resource for company and corporate backgrounders -- I searched Del Computer Singapore and got an extensive array of links: Dell's Marketing Competitive Intelligence, and product.
Back at Resume Writing Center, an entire section devoted to helping you organize your CV, surfers get tons of tips to improve such things as their resume cover letter. Plus, there are loads of good sample CVs that have gotten people hired.
At the CareerMosaic Asia site, I found listings for jobs posted by companies from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and Indonesia.
Most of them were in technical fields. The site also accepts unsolicited resume submissions so those prospective employers can browse at their fancy. An ID number and password system is used so that you can update or delete personal information.
Another site worth a mention is the International Computer Professional Associates (ICPA) page at www.icpa.com. It specializes in helping multinational corporations recruit technology, marketing and finance professionals for jobs in Japan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and the U.S.
Unfortunately, most of the adverts I came across were for jobs in Japan only, and specifically for technical positions such as PC Network Administrator, Network Systems Programmers and PC Technical Support Analysts.
"One in four who apply here receive an offer," greets the claim in huge bold letters at The Monster Board at www.monster.com.
You will be guided through the site by adorable monsters with such names as Thwacker and Swoop. But don't let its colorful design and bright blinking buttons fool you. The board does actually contain extensive information with links to other employment-related sites.
In fact, with their database of 50,000 jobs, you soon realize that this site is not just fun and games. The site also offers other services including the quintessential Employer Profile, the Resume Builder, which allows you to store your resume on their database and a Career Insight and Advice page.
Information Technology magazine has their own employment search engines, too. Try Computer World at www.computerworld.com. Their site has a special section called IT careers. Other sites that you can check on and should not miss are: www.asia-net.com, www.occ.com www.jobasia.com, www.espan.com , www.jobengine.com, www.harbornet.com and the mother of all sites, www.jobhunt.com.
So far, the sites dealt with are based outside of Asia. In fact, they are from the U.S. The only irritation is surfers have to register and fill in a lengthy survey form before they can access and browse the job database.
Even if you post your resume on 100 different sites, don`t expect to be flooded with replies. Nothing is for sure on the internet or in this world. Be patient too because no matter what your qualification or experience is, online job-hunting generally takes longer. It could be weeks before you land anything.
My advice is to keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best, oh... and good luck!
The writer works with CyberSurf, a computer company in Seminyak, Bali.