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Many are wielding the Web as a job-hunting tool

When Zach Bowman graduated from the University of Texas last year with a radio-TV-film degree, he did what many people seeking jobs do these days: He posted his résumé on the Web.

But while he spent the year getting interviews and contract work, the jobs were not always what he was looking for.

“One employer advertised itself as a creative, sports-minded marketing industry. Their Web site was pretty vague, but I went on an interview anyway,” Bowman said.

He was told the company he applied to was a marketing agency. After an initial interview he was told he needed to come back for an all-day tryout, but when he showed up for the second day, he discovered the company did cold-call office-supply sales — not what he was looking for. “I left before I got too sucked in,” Bowman said.

With huge job-seeking sites advertising hundreds of thousands of jobs every day, it’s no wonder Bowman had trouble.

But for those job seekers who know how to take advantage of new Web sites and services, the Internet can give them an edge.

From sites that allow job seekers to post biographies, photos and samples of their work — along with a résumé — to sites that provide detailed information about the companies job seekers are considering, it’s getting easier to find the right job using the Internet. For example, there’s http://www
.chron.com/class/jobs/ in the Houston Chronicle.

“I’ve been using résumés for 30 years now for my own personal pursuit of jobs, and they’re the same as they were in the ’80s,” said Heather Galler, CEO of jobkite.com. “But for most people, there’s a lot more than a page worth of information you can present. We can go so much further, and why not? It’s important to supply employers with all the evidence of why you should be hired.”

Galler suggested job candidates use the Internet as a portfolio, posting everything from written excerpts of work to graphs highlighting sales. She said on her Web site employers can advertise job openings by using flash ads, which move and use pictures.

Marc Cenedella, president and CEO of theladders.com, a search engine that targets executive-level jobs, said that although high-tech résumés are appealing, the bottom line is still the information.

“Just because a technology exists, that doesn’t mean you should use it,” Cenedella said. “Video résumés and things of that nature are always a big temptation for people but don’t actually help you get the job. The recruiter wants to see your accomplishments.”

Shorter can be better
Some job search sites allow members to post only short biographies or profiles using key words. That way, recruiters and hiring managers can take a brief look at a candidate and move on.

“It’s a lot easier for employers to look at a quick bio and say, ‘This is someone I might be interested in,’ and call them,” said Peter Newfield, president of career-resumes
.com, a résumé critiquing site. “People have to understand that a bio is never a substitute for a résumé; it’s a crack in the door.”

Adam Hanin, a job seeker who used the Internet to search for an executive-level job in Houston, said the biography system was easier than posting his entire résumé.

“The reality is that a bio is a tightened form of a résumé. You’re giving enough info for a recruiter to know your general background, but not all the detail,” Hanin said.

Hanin’s search for a new job took three months, which he considers short for the specialized position he sought.

Even those who don’t believe in using the Internet to post biographies or graphics to accompany their résumés still agree that it has given every job seeker an edge because the information on the Internet about the companies they may be considering is growing.

“It’s really easier for people to find the right kinds of roles now,” said Michael DeRouen, vice president of recruitment for Job IT. “You spend more time interviewing with a few companies because you can qualify that company.”

‘Do your homework’
DeRouen said every job candidate needs to research the company he or she is interested in to find out what its financial status is, who its competitors are and how it ranks in its industry.

“Do your homework,” he said.

Conversely, with the help of the Internet, companies can screen job seekers, and are doing it more and more. Using easily accessible social sites like myspace.com and facebook
.com, employers can look at a candidate’s Internet personality.

According to a survey by collegerecruiter.com,
77 percent of employers use search engines to uncover information about candidates, and 35 percent use that information to eliminate a candidate.

At the University of Texas, career experts advise students to clean up their profiles and perform “narcisurfs,” in which students search for information about themselves online.

“In the same way employers are allowed to do background checks, some employers view this as an extension of that,” said Kate Brooks, director of the UT Liberal Arts Career Center. “But if you create your own Web site with a résumé or portfolio and someone searches your name, the first thing they see can be positive.”