If you want to find a job in today's information
technology market, it's almost essential to at least be familiar with
all of the IT tech job sites on the Web. Often, jobs are posted on the
Web before they're posted elsewhere, if they're even posted outside the
Web at all. And much like professional headhunters, job sites are almost
all universally free to the job seekers. Signing up costs you nothing
more than a few hours of your time and might benefit you in the form of
a new job.
But beware. Stories abound of companies firing
employees upon finding their resumes online, and of job ads that are
nothing more than lead generators for headhunters and temporary
agencies. This guide to online tech job sites will help you stay ahead
of the curve and find the Web site that works best for you. And, with a
little luck and a killer resume, you might even land the job of your
dreams.
ITcareers.com
Partnered with
ComputerWorld, this
is one of the big two tech job sites (receiving over 10 million job
queries a month) and one of the first you should check out when
beginning your search. Registering on the site is easy; it just takes a
few clicks. And once you're registered, you can cut-and-paste your
resume into your profile, or use the built-in resume builder to create a
brand new resume.
Though you're probably better off using your
own resume if you have one, the resume builder is simple enough to use
and creates a passable if cookie cutter-looking end product. All you
have to do is answer a series of questions (are you willing to relocate?
what languages do you speak? What are your salary requirements?) and
you're done.
Once you've uploaded your resume, you can choose to
make it available to everyone or just to companies you specify. What you
can't do, however, is specify certain companies to which you
specifically don't want to make it available, so if you're already
working and don't want your boss to know you're looking for a new job,
watch out.
"I might be one of the lucky ones," says Andre Rankin,
47, a computer engineer in Dallas, "but I found my current job within a
week of posting my resume on the [ITcareers.com] Web site. I sent them
my resume, they replied, and three interviews later I was hired."
Jobs: A-
Privacy: B
Tools: B
Ease of
Use: B
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Overall Grade:
B
Monster.com
Like ITCareers.com,
Monster.com is one
of the granddaddies of the tech job listing sites. The
attractively-designed site boasts over a million job listings and nearly
41 million resumes, making it a boon for employers as well as potential
employees. Similar to ITCareer.com in scope, it also offers career
advice on resumes, interviewing, and salary information. And Monster
Networking hooks up people in the same industry to provide possible
leads. Members of the network also rate each other via eBay-like
feedback scores, giving newbies to the site an idea of what to
expect.
Compared to some of the other resume builder programs,
however, Monster's isn't quite up to snuff. It only lets you list former
jobs and training in chronological order, but will allow you to upload a
Microsoft Word document to use instead. The career advice section,
however, more than makes up for any shortcomings. You can find pointers
on almost any aspect of job hunting, including what to wear to an
interview, what salary to expect for your field and area, and even how
to negotiate. Be prepared to spend several hours here, exploring all the
different aspects on how best to land the job you desire.
"There's
a large chaff-to-wheat ratio," says Brian Dent, 26, a consultant in Los
Angeles, "but if you take the time to learn the system, you can do
really well with Monster.com. Because there's so much there, it takes a
while to navigate." Dent recently landed a job in New York, for which
he'll soon relocate, through the site.
Jobs:
A
Privacy: B+
Tools: B+
Ease of Use:
A-
------------------
Overall Grade:
B+
Dice.com
Though it boasts less
than 80,000 jobs, Dice.com
is one of the most often recommended sites for positions in the IT
industry. It offers a straightforward, easy-to-use interface, and is
more targeted to tech jobs than many of its bigger competitors. And
though there aren't a lot of extras here (a la Monster's career advice)
everything is streamlined toward the IT professional and getting you a
job.
One nice thing about this site is that you can decide which
companies are able to view your resume. If you don't want, say, company
X to view your specifics, you'll be invisible to them but visible to all
other companies. You can, of course, also send your resumes directly to
any of the employer's advertising on the Web site.
"I was able to
land a great contract position which was advertised on Dice earlier this
year," says Steve Weintraub, 32, of Fayetteville, Ark. "There was a lot
of competition for the job, but, based on my resume, I managed to win a
phone interview with the client. Immediately after the interview, they
made me an offer. I'd never have even known about the job if it wasn't
for Dice."
Jobs: B+
Privacy: A
Tools:
B
Ease of Use: A
------------------
Overall Grade:
B+
Hotjobs.com
Purchased by Yahoo
in 2001 after a failed bid from Monster.com, Hot Jobs is nearly as
big as Monster but offers many features found only in more streamlined
job sites. For example, like Dice, you can specify that certain
companies not be allowed to view your resume, and, using the status bar
at the top of the screen, you can easily see how many times your resume
has been viewed. And while the interface isn't as easy to use as Dice,
the Web site offers a lot more--almost as much as Monster--in terms of
career advice and resume help.
As of this writing, over 200,000
jobs were added to the site in the last fourteen days alone, bringing
the total jobs online to just under a million. And because Hot Jobs is
now part of Yahoo and thus has access to Yahoo's huge networking
relationships, the Web site has used that connection to enhance what it
offers by forming partnerships with other companies such as 4jobs.com
and Real Resume. The former company helps expand Hot Jobs into smaller
markets, while the latter enables you to create the very best resume
possible through expert advice and examples.
"I used Hot Jobs to
find my current position as an analyst," says Lisa Stevens, 31, of
Kansas City, Mo. "The resume advice was really valuable and helped me to
enhance my strong points. I joined the site in February of 2005 and had
landed a job through them by that May."
Jobs:
A
Privacy: A
Tools: A
Ease of Use:
B
------------------
Overall Grade:
A-
Joe DeRouen writes Windows Advisor monthly for
ComputerUser.
