S P O N S O R S

November 22, 1996 --- Before you go on the next interview, dig in to the facts about your potential employer. These links should get you the bulk of what you need:
• Big Book Lists companies by industry.
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics
• The Census Bureau A little knowledge never hurt anyone. Learn all you can. Search these links to very important research tools: Fortune 500 company info, World Wide Web Virtual Library, statistics, news and more.
• Dun & Bradstreet - Business Trends
• Hoover's Profiles of the Top 100 FORTUNE 500 Companies
• Investor Relations Resource: Public Companies NETworth lists the home pages established for public companies, providing information about their products and services, as well as press releases.
• The World Wide Yellow Pages

Hollywood

November 21, 1996 --- In The Background is a vast selection of Film industry career tips, industry-related articles, an Extras' Handbook, Production and Contact resources, How to search for an agent, and the scoop on Net Actors and Online Casting. If you're thinking about the film industry, start here.

Future Scan Magazine

November 20, 1996 --- Though it doesn't quite live up to its impressive title, Future Scan Magazine is certainly worth knowing about. They try to explain job market material to teens.

We can't vouch for how long it will be there, but Future Scan's current feature is an solid introduction to internships. You might want to read about it there and then come poke through our archives for links.

What Color is Your ....

November 19, 1996 --- The inevitable has finally happened. What Color is Your Parachute, the perennial best seller, has arrived on the net. It's a remarkably useful tool brought to you by the Washington Post's Career Center

The Other R Word

November 18, 1996 --- Wandering around the web, you might get the impression that finding a job is only a process of submitting a flurry of resumes. While we actually suggest sending out thousands, there are other approaches. Finding the intersection between what you want and what someone else needs is always a piece of the puzzle.

Unlike bulk resume submittal, which is a high volume / low percentage game, knowing what you want and finding someone to do it with is more emotionally risky. With lots of resumes flying, not getting an answer is predictable and impersonal. It's safe. For every thousand you send, you get 15 responses. It's just like direct mail. The web can help you automate that process.

The other approach doesn't automate very well. If you're passionate about your goals, you will encounter rejection face to face. The first answer will always be "No". If you're lucky, "No" will be accompanied with a reason.

Recently, we've had a spate of applicants who want to work for us. It's great, as the workload here grows, we need help. But, we want the people who help us to be working in the directions we want to go. Most of these very motivated people know exactly what they want.

That means that our first answer is always "NO". Why? We're heading in very clear directions and want to conserve our resources to meet those goals. Most companies are like this. Real creativity, on the part of the job hunter, is figuring out how to kill two birds with one stone. How to create the intersection between your goals and the goals of the company you want to work with.

So, if you're going to be more aggressive than the simple transmission of resumes and cover letters requires, expect rejection. Then, harness it. Understand that the first answer is going to be negative. Reframe your proposal to meet your understanding of what your potential employer needs. If you can figure out how to meet those needs, your percentages improve.

Negative feedback is still feedback. Learning to use it well makes all the difference in your job hunt.

November 17, 1996 --- Kaplan's Career Center, brought to you by the test praration people at Kaplan, manages to keep it's sense of humor intact. The company publishes lots of job hunting and career preparation tools and makes a bit of their accumulated wisdom available on the web. It's a great place to stop by and reduce the anxiety a bit.

Take a look at

• The Hot Seat which simulates tough interviews and teaches you how to "Keep your cool".

• Thanksgiving careers, which we sort of guessed would contain "jobs for turkeys". On fact, along with pointers to other holiday related jobs, this Gem includes a free game of Spin The Turkey (downloadable shareware for Mac or IBM. It also showcases valuable holiday tips for travel, dealing with family, suggestions for smalltalk, menu suggestions and recipes, andpointers to holiday Jell-o recipes.

• Surprisingly, Kaplan features even more downloadable games in their "cellar". Who'd have ever guessed that job hunting could be so much fun?

All in all, Kaplan's Career Center is nothing short of remarkable. It's a broad offering with lots of resources and distractions designed, at every step, to integrate entertainment with the difficult work of job hunting and career management. We're nothing short of awed by their work. Really, check it out.

More Resources

• Companies with Job Ads (Nearly 1500 Links to Companies and their Job Postings)
• Tools (Everything You need for a Job Hunt)
• The daily newsletters are archived in weekly volumes in the Archives. Past issues include:

Many of the items are also included in the Tools Area. The Web's largest collection of Employment related resources is also included in the Tools Area. -----------------