04.13.07
Looking For Work?
When the pipeline is relatively empty and there are bills to pay, it is helpful to get some work directly, even if it means you may have less time for your business from time to time.
When you are in such a condition, or even if you have not yet started a business, you may need to seek out work. The question is, how?
There are a few different tools that should be in your toolbox when you are looking for work:
- Newspaper classified ads — this is probably still the most-used way to advertise a job opening, so you can not afford to ignore it. Many newspapers are affilliated with an online job search site as well, which means that some of the jobs in the paper will also be online. The negative about newspapers is that they tend to scatter some of the ad throughout the paper. This means that you either have to read / look through the entire paper or take the chance that the one job that fits was in the section you did not read.
- Free job search sites — there are a few majors that you should be on, as well as special-interest sites. Yahoo’s HotJobs tends to have a fair selection, but they frequently “refresh” older jobs to make them look like they just came in. This makes it possible to click on the “apply now” link, only to find that you applied for that position 5 months ago. CareerBuilder appears to do something similar. Monster also allows refreshing old jobs, but you can see “applied” next to jobs that you have already applied for. Monster and CareerBuilder each offer to store cover letters for you. CareerBuilder will not send the cover letter unless it is stored. Since the purpose of a cover letter is to tell the HR person something unique about how the applicant fits the requirements of the position (and thus to get the person to look at the resume), this is absolutely counter to the purpose of having a cover letter. Both Monster and CareerBuilder use ASP.Net and both have issues with Opera, Konqueror (and presumably other KHTML/WebKit browsers) and some Gecko-based browsers. Using Opera on CareerBuilder means that “apply now” buttons no longer work. What kind of bozo creates a Web application and doesn’t make sure that it works with Opera, Gecko, and KHTML/WebKit? That is inexcusable in today’s world. The other thing with these kinds of sites is that they are filled with “work at home” schemes. Maybe it is just me, but I have little confidence that I will be able to make $5,000 per day sitting at home in my underwear.
- Job placement agencies and temporary help agencies — these can be helpful for some fields. One friend moved from an $8.00 per hour job to a $10 or $11 job with benefits thanks to an agency. (The benefits part really makes a difference if you have a family of six to take care of.)
- Personal networking and contacts — this is the best and most effective way to get work.
The Department of Labor has conducted countless surveys over the years to track just how job seekers actually find employment. While statistics vary slightly, 75% to 80% of all jobs are found through networking and direct contact. This method is often referred to as the “hidden job market” — job openings that don’t appear in employment publications.
There is plenty of good advice there. It is frequently found that someone you know knows someone that can put you in touch with a hiring manager or HR staffer.
One final bit of advice: it is not very often that a candidate-paid agency can offer anything that an employer-paid agency cannot. Plus, the employer-paid agency will not get paid unless the employer hires a candidate, so they are probably more likely to do the work necessary to get suitable candidates before HR staffers and hiring managers. A candidate-paid agency tends to want its money up front, which takes away the incentive to do a good job.
If you have Linux or BSD-related (That includes PHP, Perl, Python, shell scripting, a little bit of Ruby, or Java) employment opportunities in the Victor Valley, Antelope Valley, Barstow, or the area from Pomona through Ontario and Rialto, to San Bernardino, Redlands, Yucaipa, and Riverside, you may contact me at default [at] webconnectconsulting [dot] com or huckstech [at] warmmail [dot] com.
