Usenet Job Posting
Recruiting with Newsgroups
There are many places on
the Web to post job openings. Some recruiters have success posting
in targeted email discussion groups. Others use a combination of
the hundreds of free and fee-based posting sites on the Web. Still
others turn to UseNet newsgroups.
Newsgroups are similar to
email discussion lists in that they are usually centered around
a subject of interest to the subscribers. The big difference between
the two is that newsgroups are not email-based. Instead, you connect
to them through a newsreader provided to you by your internet service
provider (ISP).
Sometimes a conversation
within a newsgroup has many participants and entries. To help keep
track of who said what to whom, most newsreaders allow you to "thread"
the conversation. This puts subjects and responses to the subject
together in an organized fashion. It also allows you a decent chance
to choose to read only posts of interest to you.
There are many thousand
newsgroups. Close to 200 of them are related only to those advertising
and seeking work. But, don't limit your postings to just these groups.
Because newsgroups are subject based and have any number of people
accessing them, you may also want to explore newsgroups that would
be interesting to the people you're trying to find. Participating
in a special interest newsgroup may help you find people with the
particular skills and knowledge you seek.
If you want to explore the
use of newsgroups for posting jobs, there are a few steps you should
become familiar with.
- First, find out which
groups you can access from your computer. Do this by trial and
error, by contacting your ISP, or by purchasing JobFind an internet newsreader
that will find out for you.
- Second, find a few
newsgroups that interest you and a few that deal with employment.
Spend a few days reading through the discussions and see what
types of postings are made and where your postings will be best
situated.
Where to Find Newsgroups
- Cyber
Fiber has created 24 categories into which they've put the
thousands of newsgroups. At this site you can do a general interest
search, or you can point to a category and search within that
for names of appropriate newsgroups.
- Tile
Net allows you to search for a subject in general or to browse
through the index, the newsgroup hierarchies, or by a description
of the group.
Specific Employment Related
Groups
- Job
Search Usenet Newsgroups offers a hyper-linked listing of
newsgroups dedicated to jobs offered and sought. While much of
the list is geared toward CA, a definite attempt was made to include
as many US states as possible. A resource well worth looking at.
- Job
Find has put together a compendium of information about newsgroups
geared toward employment. At this site you can find out which
newsgroups your ISP offers, which ones are local to your area,
which have heavy traffic, and more. Importantly, it also offers
information about new newsgroups geared specifically toward certain
professions and industries.
Don't Forget To Read The
Article on Searching Usenet
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