Get the job through the Internet and save your money, energy
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.