Get Wired The Smart Way
By Ruth Silverman(Published in The Recruit, May 26 - June 8, 2006)
Are you part of the growing wave of Canadians who look for jobs online? As noted in a recent Recruit article, smart and effective online searching using tactics such as going to industry-specific web sites will make the difference as to whether you join the 7% of Canadian job seekers who find jobs through this medium (2004, Statistics Canada).
How do you find industry-specific web sites? One way, as recommended in the Recruit article, is to use internet search engines. Another way is through networking, a tactic that worked for 65% of job seekers in 2004. Ask people in the field to recommend industry-specific web sites that may have relevant job postings. That is how I found my job! A third way is to consult Get Wired, You're Hired: The Canadian Internet Job Search Guide (3rd ed., 2006, Sentor Media ) by Mark Swartz, a columnist for the Workopolis web site.
This newly released edition is well organized, focuses on Canadian web sites, and will be updated every two years, with regular updates posted on Sentor Media's web site. The Guide includes a chapter that lists and describes some 150 industry-specific web sites from fields as diverse as health, forestry, and the non-profit sector. Many of these sites are useful not only for job searching and posting your resume, but as excellent sources of information about how to enter a new career. Another section of the Guide lists web sites that index other web sites, some of which, like www.jobbus.com, list additional industry-specific links. The Guide also lists more general employment sites than I ever knew existed, including sites specific to particular provinces and cities, and sites focused on employment abroad.
More than just a list of web sites, the first part of the Guide essentially takes you through the career planning and job search process, and connects you at each stage to relevant internet and other resources. As a career counsellor, I was impressed by the soundness of the advice given on self-assessment and labour market research; many of the assessments and labour market web sites mentioned are ones we use in our career planning program. Similarly, the advice about resumes, other marketing materials, and interviewing is consistent with my expertise. Elsewhere, the internet newcomer can learn the basics of various electronic resume-delivery methods, as well as networking web sites, which help you build contacts for referral to jobs.
One thing that sets this Guide apart from advice given by many internet experts is the author's willingness to caution readers about when to step away from the computer in favour of embracing more low-tech job search methods and marketing materials. A paper thank you card is presented as a more reliable way to follow up after a job interview than its electronic counterpart, although advice is given on how to prepare both. Further, the author questions the need for a job seeker outside the graphic art or IT fields to prepare a personal web page. Such perspective lends credibility to the occasions in which the author strongly recommends internet use. Another impressive aspect of the Guide is an emphasis on researching the ethics of prospective employers.
I see Get Wired You're Hired as a Canadian What Color Is Your Parachute for the 21st century. If you are so inclined, it can serve as a guide to career planning and the job search process. Alternatively, whether you are a new or an experienced internet user, you can simply use it as a reference book for an effective web-based job search. Well worth the $29.95 price tag.
Ruth Silverman, MEd, CCC is a Counsellor/ Facilitator with SCCI Project Restart Ltd.