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It's All in Who You Know
May 21, 1998
Lots of people say finding a job is easier if you have loads of
contacts. For many of us, that's true.
We may start out a bit isolated and displaced, but as we grow older we
meet more people who might, just possibly, one day be able to put us in
touch with a friend of a friend of someone who owns a business.
But, who wants to wait that long? There's now an easier way.
The ‘net can help.
Look at the people with whom you exchange email. They may be far and
wide, but you know them. That counts when you need to access every
individual you know to help you find that elusive position.
There are also professional mailing lists on the ‘net. That's where
those with kindred minds if not spirits discuss matters of importance to
their profession--well, at least sometimes that's what goes on in the
lists. To find a list suited to your professional leanings, go to Liszt and search by keyword.
You can also join a professional association. There's thousands of
them--some local, others national, and many international. The advantage of
being part of a professional association is two-fold. You can add it to
your resume, which may help people see you as seriously committed to your
field. But, it also enables you to attend meetings with other people who
share somewhat the same professional interests as you do. Often, they may
know of someone, somewhere, who is desperately in need of someone just like
you.
If you're not yet part of a professional association, try looking here:
Then, too. You can't expect to get something for nothing. Networking
and making contacts is a process of information exchange. You've often got
to give to get...
One Stop Shopping
May 20, 1998
Need a new stomping ground for your job hunt?
Try the site out of Clemson University. It's not really a site, but rather a page--a very slow-loading page at that. However, it pulls together in one space some of the best sources on the internet that aree related to the job hunt.
In fact, you might find enough links at the site that, if you follow them all, you could become your own career expert.
The pages starts, eventually, with a rather tedious and lengthy introduction to the contents and its creators. It then moves to a table which indicates there are nine different sections, ranging from what the creators call job search engines, to large corporations with job postings, to cost of living information. There's also a career resource section and internship and fellowship opportunities.
What does make the page helpful is the rating and comment section for each of the links. Not all have been rated yet, but each has a concise, almost always positive comment associated with it. And while we may disagree with some of the comments, they have included some very helpful sites.
So, approach it with lots of time and a bit of skepticism.
Aside from the difficulty you might have in scrolling down such an extensive page, and aside from the fact that little in it seems alphabetized, it's nice to see a place that looks at so many aspects of the job hunt and tries to pull them together.
Company Research
(May 19, 1998):
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:
Using Mailing Lists
(May 18, 1998): The Internet is home to about 110,000 mailing lists on a huge range of subjects. Each list has between 10 and 10,000 subscribers. (Liszt is a searchable index of over 90,000 of them and includes a great introduction to mailing lists).
Mailing lists vary significantly in frequency, content, tone and local culture. Essentially, they are all groups (communities) that communicate by sending email through the mailing list software. You send a piece of mail to the mail software and it distributes it to the rest of the group.
Joining a mailing list deserves careful consideration before you make the plunge. Simply following all of the traffic through your email box can be a daunting prospect. But, mailing lists are one of the best places to network with other members of your industry. It's possible, over time, to build close relationships with colleagues a (and the occasional recruiter).
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