6 Places To Look For Jobs

Looking for a job demands a high level of focus as well as a well defined direction. It doesn’t help to just go around haphazardly in desperation trying to get ‘anything’ to work for and then getting frustrated when your employment goals are half met, or not met at all. Fortunately, in this age of information, there are myriad channels that you can use for a meaningful and fruitful job search.

Let us examine 6 places to look for jobs among some of these channels, where we can successfully direct our job search.

1. Internet – World Wide Web

A couple of decades ago, you didn’t need to go ‘online’ to search for a job – simply because there was no ‘online’. Nowadays, most people, in most countries, have to go online and use the internet to search for a job. More and more companies are opting to receive job applications online only. Even people with traditional mindsets would agree that using internet is part and parcel of our job search now.

Searching for jobs on the internet is quite simple. Just entering the term ‘jobs’ on Google returns hundreds of thousands of pages for you to browse. However, the sheer number of pages returned in such a way can overwhelm anyone, so it is important to direct your search in a more focused way.

Career/Job Advice Sites:

At present, there are scores of career and job related websites, like the one you are on, providing free and valuable advice. Visiting only a few of the good ones will give you an idea of how to organize your job search and, more importantly, which job boards (sites) to follow.

Job Search Engines:

Anyone familiar with such a search would know that the leading job search sites include careerbuilder.com, monster.com, indeed.com, simplyhired.com and careerjet.com among many others. Most of these sites let you post your resume free of cost or for a small fee for employers to scan.

Social Media:

In recent times, the concept of Social Media Networking has exploded onto the scene. A job searcher can make full and rewarding use of it by getting registered on a site like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or MySpace and these versatile portals would throw job opportunities back at you like popping corns.

Companies’ Websites:

If you have already gone through the grind of deciding upon which particular industry you want to go in, narrow down the companies suitable to your search. Now make sure to visit each of their websites as they post any available positions under ‘careers’ etc. Many a times, that is the only place they advertise as they think anyone really interested to work for them would visit them on the web to find out about them.

Government Run Job Boards:

Most governments these days, national or local, run their own job boards and these are a very valuable resource. The credibility of advertisers on such job boards is high and you are less likely to waste your time going up blind alleys. Type in your city, state or area name along with the word ‘jobs’ and you are sure to get a ‘jobs available’ page by the relevant authority.

2. Newspapers

When I graduated from college and university a couple of decades ago, the main source for our job search used to be the good old Newspaper. We used to get a ‘jobs available’ page in the Wednesday and Saturday editions. Although I mostly use the web now to help my clients, the joy of the rustle of newspaper and the excitement of going through the vacancies remain unmatched since then. My peers from that time would acknowledge and identify with that feeling.

National Newspapers:

The newspaper in its ‘paper’ form is on the way out slowly. Still, you can scan through the week-end editions of good national newspapers even now. If you are looking for big corporations or companies, a national or state level newspaper is the one to read.

Local Newspapers:

For jobs in and around the area you live in, local newspapers are still your best bet, even when compared to the internet. The classified ad sections in these papers contain a treasure of local jobs from companies that are more likely to be familiar to you. These ads are likely to seem more ‘real’ to you as compared to some distance and unknown employer and company on the web.

3. Networking

In the previous point, I mentioned about the ‘romance’ with newspapers relating to job search in the times gone by. Another channel at that time to secure a job was networking with the people you know and, in turn, people they know, for jobs. Talking to your friends, friends of friends, acquaintances, relatives and even people like your grocer or hairdresser could get you job leads. Mercifully, this kind of channel is still alive and actually kicking. Any employment counselor worth his salt would tell you how effective networking with other people for your job search is, even and more so in this day and age.

Despite all the hype of job boards and numerous such job search avenues, networking remains the single most effective way to get a real job. The reason for this, among other things, is that a large percentage of available jobs are nested in what we call the Hidden Job Market. An aggressive and focused networking approach would land you a job faster than any professional person or organization can help you with.

4. Job Fairs

If you keep yourself abreast of all the activities in the job market, you are sure to come across notices of Job Fairs happening in your town or city. Sometimes these fairs are held by non-profit organizations, while other times they are organized by a single big company itself.

Going to a job fair might not guarantee you a job but would certainly help you get familiar with a lot of employers. You would be able to talk to someone, from the companies advertising there, who would actually be eager to tell you more about them as opposed to if you cold called them. In addition, you can drop your resume there and then. Many of these companies put those resumes in their data bank and go through them when a position comes up. As a result, you are one step ahead of your competition at a later stage.

5. Recruitment/Staffing Agencies

Check into the Yellow Pages of your area and you are bound to come across a bunch of recruiting or staffing agencies. Call them or pay a visit to their office. Be clear about your target and explain it to them. They are in the job business only so you may find what you are looking for with them. Only thing to watch out is that some of them may have expensive services and there is absolutely no need to spend a large amount of money for your job search in this booming information age.

6. Non-Profit & NGOs

One of the positive offshoots of civilized society is that we have a lot of non-profit or non-governmental organizations working in various areas for the betterment of society in general. Many of them run very resourceful employment programs and are doing laudable work in this field. Look up in your area or city for such agencies and you are sure to find useful leads for your job search.

With so many resources available to you all around, its time to take a deep breath and embark on your job search journey. Good luck!!