You know about the fun stuff you can do when you connect up with an online service--like playing games or meeting people from all over the nation or even the world in chat rooms to talk about your favorite subjects. But now you can use an online service to chase your dream job. In brief, here's what you can do online:
CompuServe (800-848-8199) Hundreds of jobs are posted among the electronic classified ads on CompuServe. Beware, though, of options in the employment-and-education category with such come-ons as "EARN TOP PAY! WORK AT HOME!" and "EASY MONEY!" Many are of questionable value to most people. You can also reach E-Span here.
e-World (800-775-4556) Apple Computer's online offering, e-World is a friendly "virtual town" constructed for the community of Macintosh users, many of whom share an anti-Microsoft feeling. Go to the business and finance plaza for career content such as Adams Job Bank, Adia's Temp World of Work, and e-World Classifieds. In addition, you can research corporations using Hoover's Guides and browse the World-Wide Web. e-World's membership is ideal for electronic networking in special markets, such as small business, publishing, graphics design and entertainment.
Microsoft Network (800-386-5550) MSN has yet to reach a critical mass of job-hunting information. Its primary purpose appears to be to promote Windows 95, whose built-in search utility does make navigating online information easy and powerful. In MSN's Mainstream Career Center (located under Mainstream Resource Center), you can get career information, enter your resume into a database, join a networking group and participate in chat sessions with host recruiters from various companies. Be prepared, however, to be encouraged to buy resume-writing software, contact lists of growing companies, and other career-related services.
Prodigy (800-776-3449) Prodigy's bulletin boards are only informational--you can't put your resume in the system. You can, however, share referrals and information about jobs with fellow Prodigy members. Use the jump command and type careers bb or jump to classifieds to scan help-wanted ads. Also, you can create your own home page.
The advantage of these services to you is the exposure you get. In many cases you don't even need a computer to use them. The disadvantage for first-time job seekers is the lack of a work history for your profile. But skills are skills, and if you have them, flaunt them.
Here are some of the resume data banks:
Cors (800-323-1352; 708-250-8677 in Illinois) maintains a data bank of what it estimates is 1.5 million names, supplied by job seekers, employers cutting positions and universities. The application fee is $25. Your resume stays in the system indefinitely (which may account for the size of the data base). You can update it as often as you like for free.
DORS (800-727-3677) is a free service for military personnel and their spouses about to leave active duty. DORS keeps more than 21,000 resumes online for up to 180 days.
Job Bank USA (800-296-872 has a strong affiliation with professional and alumni organizations--the source of many of the 20,000 resumes in its data base. For $96 a year, you not only get into the data base but you also get newsletters on workplace trends and career advice.
National Resume Bank (813-896-3694), one of the most job-hunter-friendly of the data-base services, keeps you notified with monthly updates on how many companies have reviewed the summary of your qualifications that it keys into its 2,500-resume data base. When a company asks for more info--a copy of your resume--you get a card in the mail. Sponsored by the Professional Association of Resume Writers, the service sorts candidates into 35 job categories, such as engineering and health care. To sign up, send $40 and five copies of your resume to the above address. After that, you're in the system for as long as you want.
SkillSearch (800-252-5665). If you belong to one of the more than 60 sponsoring college alumni associations nationwide--including public and private schools and West Point--that are members of SkillSearch, you can take advantage of your alma mater's good name and network with your fellow alumni. But you don't have to be an alumnus to use SkillSearch's services. The SkillSearch electronic data base contains more than 30,000 resumes. Enrollment is $65 for the first year and $15 per year after that. Resume updates are free and encouraged.
Online Career Center (317-293-6499). Begun as a nonprofit company by a consortium of 40 corporations, Online's data base isn't skewed toward technical jobs. It contains some 20,000 resumes and it's growing. The service differs from the other resume data banks in two ways: It solicits help-wanted listings from employers, usually posting between 16,000 and 18,000 job vacancies. And you can reach the service through the Internet. You can leave your resume at the Internet address occ-resumes@occ.com. To view job listings, use the Internet's information search application, Gopher, to reach occ.com. Point your gopher at gopher.msen.com and choose "The Msen Career Center" from the menu, then "Online Career Center." Otherwise, you can send your resume and a check for $10 to Online Resume Service, 1713 Hemlock Lane, Plainfield, IN 46168; Online will key it in for you. Your listing will stay in the system for three months (six months if you paid the $10 fee by mail). Then if you haven't updated your resume, your records are purged.
If you want to chase classifieds, some of the big players are:
E-Span (800-682-2901). E-Span's 3,000 to 4,000 job openings are updated twice weekly. Listings are paid for by employers, so there's no charge to you. You can get to E-Span via America Online (keyword jobs) and CompuServe (go word e-span). You can also find it in the misc.jobs.offered Internet newsgroup.
Federal Job Opportunity Board (912-757-3030). Its menu-driven program is easy to use. Connect by computer at 912-757-3100. Job openings in the federal government are updated nightly. The service is free except for your long-distance phone charge. If you live in a large city, you can get job information for your area by calling the regional Office of Personnel Management for a local access number.
ClassiFACTS (800-757-7579). The service compiles 125,000 job listings from newspaper classified ads each week. It will send you listings that meet your criteria for $9-$14 per week. You can visit ClassFACTS online at http://www.com.classifacts and see sample reports. Though you can't yet purchase the service online, ClassiFACTS expects to offer that option in the near future.
Career Connections (415-903-5800). You can find Career Connections on the Internet. Use the telnet function to reach college.career.com (for ads for new college grads) or career.com (for other professional positions). The service is free to job hunters. High-tech companies such as IBM, Texas Instruments and Okidata use Career Connections to post openings.
Check Out These Career Web Sites:
Some of the online services let you set up a home page with on-screen, fill-in-the-blank forms, or you can find an Internet access provider that will let you do it yourself. Use a Web-search utility like Yahoo to find interactive home-page generators; try searching under "write your own Web page," "create a home page," and "design a home page."
Give some thought to what you want to put on your page. Possibilities include your portrait and resume, samples of your work (say, writing or graphic design). To see what others are doing, visit Cool Site of the Day (http://cool.infi.net) and the Useless Page (http://www.primus.com/staff/paulp/useless.html). When you are ready for your world debut, let the public know where to find it by announcing your page via Submit It, a Web feature that you can reach at http://www.submit–it.com.
Now you're ready for all the world to come visit your home page. Brace yourself for some interesting experiences.
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