Career Plan development

In this chapter, the interplay of various Internet “tools” will be discussed as a means of integrating the various passive and pro-active elements of the job search and the process of creating a career development plan. The Web serves two distinct purposes in assisting the job seeker by providing:

Company and industry information…Growth trends, new technologies and products, business deals, and the influential persons involved.

A conduit to post resumes or fill out applications on various job boards and recruiter sites, or to “spider” to these various websites.

For your convenience, we have provided hyperlinks to various recommended websites.

Utilized properly, the Web will enhance your focus, efficiency and self confidence regarding the job search and career planning process. Done improperly, such as your competition, every hour spent on the Internet decreases efficiency, increases frustration, and degrades self-confidence regarding the search.

Web-based Assistance Tools Highlights:

Properly utilized, the web can provide a wealth of knowledge on industry trends, company status, key player backgrounds and contact information. This allows a far more personalized and pro-active communication strategy to be employed by the job seeker.

In many cases, this research provides “the hook” to open communication with influential business leaders, and provides you the “why” you might be interested in pursuing a business relationship with that company and specific persons within the organization.

The Internet is also a valuable tool in “advertising” your credentials “to the world” and in contacting or applying for positions with recruiters and on specific company job sites.

The logic of passive search methods is valid…if enough eyes view my resume, I may and should get calls expressing some level of interest. Be prepared though, that the quality and quantity of responses is highly unpredictable!

The Internet is simply a support tool for your search, not an end unto itself. As such, you must define the goal of each scheduled Internet session, and what timeframe you have allotted for this activity.

Chapter Excerpt: Web-based Assistance Tools

Your competition logs onto the Internet, and without a specific agenda defining what they seek to accomplish, and in what timeframe, they find themselves lost, ‘chasing white rabbits’ down ‘endless holes’ for countless hours each day. In the end, your competition has nothing to show for this effort…no interviews and certainly no offers of employment.

EDITOR

Career Plan Development