4 Niche Job-Search Tips

Looking for a job on the Internet can be daunting. Where do you start? What Web sites are best for your industry?

If you're suffering from "job search overwhelm," take heart. Remember the adage about how to eat an elephant one bite at a time.

Your quest for employment is the same.

It's less overwhelming if you slice the online job market into bite-sized pieces instead of trying to visit 1,000 Web sites in a single day.

Here are 4 ways to divide the online employment market into smaller niches -- and get hired faster.

1) Search For Local Job Sites

Like politics, most job searches are local. You'll likely get hired by an employer within 20-30 miles of where you are now. So it pays to find Web sites that list local job openings.

Tip: look for job listings at the Web site of your local newspaper or TV station. You'll almost always find something. Examples: startribune.com, kstp.com, detnews.com, nytimes.com. You'll often find links to other regional job sites this way, too.

A second tactic is to type your state or city name and the word "jobs.com" into your Web browser and see what turns up. Examples: Minnesotajobs.com, Chicagojobs.com, Phillyjobs.com.

2) Search For Jobs By Industry

No matter what line of work you're in, there's probably a Web site with employment postings for that industry. So doing a Google search for "job title + jobs" should produce leads.

Another good Web resource is SearchSimpleton.com. It has links to more than 1,000 industry-specific Web directories, from Accounting and Finance to Travel, Hospitality and Restaurant job sites. It's a good place to narrow your search to a specific industry or job function.

3) Search For Unadvertised Openings

Here's a neat trick. You can get hired by companies before they even know they need you, according to Rich Milgram, founder and CEO of the 4Jobs.com Career Network.

All you have to do is think beyond your title.

"Most people take their job searches too literally. If they don't find an exact match for the position Software Development Manager, for example, they give up. This is a mistake. Instead, look for companies hiring lots of software engineers and go pitch yourself as a manager to that company. That's because employers tend to fill lower-level jobs first over the Internet, so you'll be there ahead of their need for a new team manager," says Milgram.

How do you pitch yourself to employers before they've listed a job opening?

Research the company, make contact with people who work there, then send a networking letter. According to Milgram, your letter should say something like: "I've been in your shoes before, here's what you're going to experience as you hire new people, and I'd be happy to talk to you about it."

"The successful job search is not about you, but about the growth and the future of the company you want to work for," adds Milgram.

The sooner you realize that, the sooner you'll get hired.

4) Contact Old Classmates

You already know that networking can uncover the best job leads. It's essential that you tell everyone you know about your job search. But don't stop with those people.

Talk to everyone you used to know -- folks you haven't been in touch with for years.

And the easiest way is to contact people you went to high school or college with. Even if you haven't talked to them in 20 years, you have something in common and they ought to be glad to hear from you (unless you stole their lunch money or did something equally inapt).

Two Web sites to help make contact with old school friends are Classmates.com and Linkedin.com. Also, most college Web sites will help you get in touch with fellow alumni -- try yours and see.

Now, go out and make your own luck!

Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes. Since 1996, he and his team have provided resumes, cover letters and online job-search assistance to clients in all 50 states and 23 countries. Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, CBS MarketWatch, The Wall Street Journal's National Business Employment Weekly, CBS Radio, and many others.

---

Start Working Before You Get Hired

What if there were a way to *prove* to any... Read More

Perceptions

How was your latest car wash experience?Did you take your... Read More

Stay At Home Moms No Longer Struggling To Make Ends Meet

It is hard to be a stay at home mom.... Read More

Looking for Work in All the Wrong Places

The Question: After identifying a potential employer, I get contact... Read More

Self-Knowledge: The Key To Finding The Right Career Direction

Your career, like any journey, has a beginning, an end... Read More

Seven Ways to Say You?re Fired and What to Do When It Happens to You

Today's employers scramble for creative ways to advise employees of... Read More

Effective Networking Skills: The Art Of Taking Your Job Search To A Whole New Level

Your network consists of family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and former... Read More

Negotiate Better Job Offers with This Twelve-Point Checklist

You've been through an employer's interview process successfully and have... Read More

Doing What You Love

What do you want to be when you grow up?... Read More

Discontentment in the Workplace

While more people are finding employment, more employed workers are... Read More

No Experience? No Problem!

Are you a new graduate with little or no work... Read More

Job Hunting: Its Still The First Impression Stupid!

In the 1992 USA Presidential election, political strategist James Carville... Read More

Your First Summer Work in the UK - Picking Strawberries The Right Way

Most jobs on farms in the UK involve picking strawberries... Read More

The Art of Selling Yourself!

To "sell" oneself on paper is not easy. Creating a... Read More

Image and Style Count

When I was a child, there was a pool nearby... Read More

How To Win the Job-Hunting Game

When I got over the initial shock of being urged... Read More

Is Pursuing a Career in Patent Law the Right Move for You?

What's It All About? The field of patent law is... Read More

Get That Job: Mastering Job Interviews

I've heard it said?in fact, it might well have been... Read More

Take Charge of Your Job Search: 12 Steps to Success

Despite what many people may say, a job search does... Read More

Job Hunting Tips: Assessing Personal Value

A week out of work is a vacation. You can... Read More

Be Prepared for the Unexpected

How long has it been since you last had to... Read More

Losing A Career Can Feel Like Getting A Divorce

Most of us are aware that we need to grieve... Read More

5 Steps to Standing Out Above the Crowd at Work

Do you feel like one in a million at work... Read More

Tips for Handling On the Job Setbacks

If you've chosen a business career, you will inevitably experience... Read More

Are Your References Ready?

One of the most common forms of background check performed... Read More

What to Do if You are Over 40 and Have Lost Your Job

Unexpectedly loosing your job can be a very traumatic and... Read More

Internships: Bonkers or Brilliant?

I have something to say that's driving me batty. It's... Read More

Offer Letter Limbo

Recently we concluded the placement of a Senior Sales Representative... Read More

Career Change: Success Tips

Successful career change is based on first making an honest... Read More

How to Write a Scientific Resume

You're a scientist, you're very well educated, you're intelligent, and... Read More

Hiring the OverQualified Employee or Mining for Gold

I am having a hard time understanding why a valuable... Read More

5 Resume Mistakes Telecommuters Often Make

Finding a legit telecommute job can be difficult. Telecommute jobs... Read More

Moving Without A Job: Should You Move to the Location of Your Dreams and THEN Look for a Job?

Moving without a job will challenge your identity -- but... Read More