Toolkit
Addition
ToolKit:
Get Help with Your Searches
If you've
ever become frustrated when developing a search query, consider
asking Jeeves. It's a novel combination of real people expertise,
index, and search engine. Ask
Jeeves, tries to make information easier to find. Instead of
requiring that you master Boolean operators and arcane query language,
it lets you use plain English. But, still, it's not exactly using
natural query language (NQL).
When you
type in a naturally phrased question, Ask Jeeves searches through
all the most popular search engines and brings back easy to navigate
results.
We tried
a search by asking "how can I find employees". The results were
mixed to say the least, but we did get a few leads. Jeeves pointed
us to the legal definition of an employee, the retail food industry
center, Career Web, a recruiting firm in the semiconductor and electronic
industry, and interview tips.
When we refined
the search a bit and asked how to recruit new hires, the results
were more closely targeted.
No, Jeeves
doesn't take all the pain out of searching. It does though provide
a different and interesting way to do it. It also provides a few
surprising results, which if followed up on might lead you on a
new, profitable path.
And if Jeeves
doesn't work, try Findout,
a free reference service from Find/SVP, a professional research
company. Findout leads you to reliable information sources in loads
of categories. If you are then unable to find what you need, you
have access to research experts who will spend up to 15 minutes
finding an answer to your question.
For people
who have tried their search by using a number of different search
engines and a number of different keywords and Boolean operators,
this service can be quite helpful.
In addition,
it offers a Work
& Career section where you can find links to Find/SVP's favorite
sites that post job listings, a compendium of articles, and other
resources. There's also an extensive online library,
covering topics ranging from computers, law, and investments, to
the home, relationships, and hobbies.
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Search Tips
Search
the Cyber Planet
Planet
All is not for the faint at heart. It is, though, a tool that
could be used to help you recruit. If you're willing to fill out
an easy registration form, you are then given the ability to search
for members by interest, affiliation, region, and more.
Once you're
registered, and have given a list of your affiliations, you can
also add additional groups and create your own. We added IBM, with
the idea that perhaps we could gather a list of names of people
associated with them who might just be in the market for a new IT
job.
Before we
even got to see a list of names, we were given a choice of 28 IBM
groups (by region) that we could pick and choose from. Once we chose
the group, we were added to it and were able to view the names of
several other group members.
Then comes
the interesting part. You can add these people to an address book
that Planet All creates for you. You can also access their Planet
All email addresses and find out where they live.
Even more
exciting is the ability to find members--by keywords. So, let's
say you're interested in hardware engineers. Just key that in, read
through a few screens, and voilla. And, just recently, Planet All
teamed up with The Monster Board
to enable members to find new business contacts and career leads.
All you need to do is a keyword search for "Monster".
Clearly,
Planet All was not created with a recruiter's needs in mind. And
that brings up the issue of ethics.
The purpose
of Planet All is to help friends find friends and co-workers to
stay in touch. If your principles suggest that you abide by intent,
you probably don't want to use this method. On the other hand, if
you think that you should be allowed to use whatever information
you find, then Planet All might be for you.
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