OnlineAMERICA ONLINE AnswerMan conference December 15, 1996. 6 P.M. ET Host Kevin Savetz. Topic: Special Guest Shannon Bounds, author of "How to Get Your Dream Job Using the Internet." CJ Ellen: Good afternoon and welcome to the AnswerMan conference. I'm CJ Ellen, your emcee, and AnswerMan, Kevin Savetz is your host. Today AnswerMan has a special guest for us. AnswerMan: Hi all. Welcome. Today my special guest is Shannon Bounds, co-author of the excellent book "How to Get Your Dream Job Using the Internet." Hi Shannon. Shankarl: Hi, Kevin. Thanks for having me. AnswerMan: So, Shannon -- is the Internet a resource that can replace traditional job-hunting resources like the want ads? Or is it better used as a supplement? Shankarl: It's definitely a good supplement and shouldn't necessarily constitute your entire search. Many companies advertise jobs online only, so the Internet is a great place to look for a job. AnswerMan: There are a whole lot of online job resources -- I have a few listed at Keyword: AM FOCUS, and there are dozens more. Do you have any favorites? Shankarl: Some of my favorites are Careermosaic, Monsterboard, Online Career Center, and Job Safari. They have the most job listings, and also tons of resources for the job hunter. Also, they are basically paid for by the employer and are free to the job seeker. AnswerMan: That's a plus for starving folks looking for gainful employ :) What types of companies advertise jobs online? Shankarl: A lot of people assume that only big, high-tech companies recruit online, but that's not really true. I've found job openings with companies like Walgreens, American Airlines, and even Wal-Mart. AnswerMan: Wow. Are these management jobs? Entry level? Shankarl: All kinds of jobs, and quite a few for those right out of college. In fact, many companies have special college recruitment programs online. AnswerMan: A section of your book is dedicated to learning HTML and putting a resume online. Do you think that's to the job-seeker's advantage? Do employers go trolling the Web in search of resumes? Shankarl: I think it's a good idea depending on the type of job you're looking for. If you want to go into the computer graphics field, and want people to have easy, free access to your portfolio (on your home page), this is a great avenue. CJ Ellen: We have our first audience question for Shannon. It's from DKarl1: Question: I work for a temporary employment agency interested in recruiting temps from the Internet. Where can I go to search resumes of potential employees? Shankar: First, I'd try some of the resume banks run by Careermosaic, Monsterboard, etc. Keep in mind that there will be a charge to you for searching the resumes (in most cases). But the search for an employee is made quite easy since you can search resumes by keyword. AnswerMan: Shannon, any tips on creating an electronic resume? Shankarl: That's a good question. Writing an electronic resume means changing the way most people think about resumes. Instead of writing a one-page sheet with tons of verbs, an electronic resume must be full of nouns that can be picked up by a keyword search. Very important! AnswerMan: Good advice! Also, just because its the Web doesn't mean you have to go crazy with the graphics and multimedia. Its still a resume and needs to be simple and straightforward. Shannon, can you list the URLs of the sites you've mentioned up to this point? Shankarl: Sure. Check out Careermosaic at www.careermosaic.com, Monsterboard at www.monster.com, and Online Career Center at www.occ.com. AnswerMan: You can get more pointers to online job sites to keyword AM FOCUS. Another member question, Ellen? CJ Ellen: AnswerMan, Shannon, we have another audience question. This is from Argo26: Question: Is there any special areas that specialize in entry level jobs? Shankarl: The best way to find out about entry-level positions is to go to the sites we mentioned before, and limit your search criteria to "entry-level." You can also limit your search even more by geographic location, job title, and experience keywords. AnswerMan: I'm fond of "Getting Past GO: a Survival Guide for College Grads" at http://lattanze.loyola.edu/MonGen/home.html. Shannon, let's take a second to plug your book. How can I get a copy? Shankarl: How to Get Your Dream Job Using the Internet is available in major bookstores, like Barnes & Noble and Borders. You can also order it during regular business hours by calling 1-800-410-0192. AnswerMan: ISBN: 1-883577-68-3, published by Coriolis Group Books. CJ Ellen: Another audience question. This one is from TimTClark: Question: Are non-technical jobs available on the Internet? Shankarl: Of course. I've seen job openings for everything from janitor to Senior Vice President, and I've noticed that the most prevalent non-tech positions are in areas such as sales, marketing, human resources, accounting, and finance. But that's not all. AnswerMan: Shannon, I've seen several "virtual job fairs." Are they any different than other job-hunting resources? Or is the "job fair" just a gimmick? Shankarl: Yes, because they are sponsored by specific companies and they "bring together the job seeker and the employer." I'm not sure that it's better than other online job hunting. If someone's trying to charge you money for this, beware! CJ Ellen: We have a question from Glenn 293 next: Question: Where can I find info about "head-hunters"? Shankarl: You can do an online search for headhunters, but with the resources the Internet has to offer, you might want to consider doing the headhunting yourself. There are agencies online that will help you with your resume, etc. if you feel you need the help, but they can be expensive. AnswerMan: Shannon--you've found the perfect job. What's the best way to submit your resume? E-mail? Fax? Or the traditional postal mail? Shankarl: That's a good question. And the best way to find out is directly from the company you're submitting your resume to. If you've found out about a job at the company's Web site, that site will probably also tell you how they prefer to receive more information about you. If you don't know, I recommend both e-mail and mail. Many companies use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software, so faxes may be hard to read. They actually scan the resumes in so they can be keyword searched. E-mailing your resume eliminates the scanning step. Cool, huh?! AnswerMan: Nifty. Do you know of any employment workshops online? CJ Ellen: How about meeting prospective employers online, too? Shankarl: Not any workshops necessarily, but there are quite a few sites with extensive resources. The Riley Guide is an example. There is shareware out there as well that gives you some good job-hunting help, such as interview simulators, resume builders, etc. To meet prospective employers, people should try newsgroups, and chat rooms. You never know who you'll run into. AnswerMan: Those interviews are the worst! Using the network to network, eh? That's actually worked for me on several occasions, I'm happy to report. Shankarl: There are so many newsgroups dedicated specifically to employment. It's a great place to find out about hidden jobs in small companies. (They may not want to spend the cash on a huge ad in the Wall Street Journal.) What would you like to know about non-profit? AnswerMan: Also, if you really want to work at a particular place or non-profit, just check the Web page of that organization regularly. Job listings are often posted at organizations' web sites, making it easy to pinpoint positions at nearby companies, or the firm that you've always dreamed of working at. CJ Ellen: AnswerMan, we're just about out of time. AnswerMan: The book is "How to Get Your Dream Job Using the Internet" by Shannon Bounds. Run out and get yourself a copy or three. In the mean time, go to Keyword: AM FOCUS for more job hunting sites and tips. Thanks for joining us today, Shannon. Shankarl: Thanks for having me. It's been fun. CJ Ellen: Thanks to the audience for such good questions. Sorry we couldn't get to all of them. AnswerMan, you'll have to ask Shannon to return. Meanwhile, see you next week, everyone. :) AnswerMan: Indeed, I will :) Night all. OnlineHost: Copyright 1996 America Online, Inc. All Rights Reserved.