A record-setting 11 million new jobs may have been created from 1992 to 1997, but they didn’t do a lot of good for job seekers who didn’t know where to find those vacancies. The Professional’s Job Finder presents 3,003 of the best search tools for conducting every kind of job search so you can quickly and easily find job vacancies in the profit-making world, the private sector—whether or not you are connected to the Internet.

Here are some of the tools for finding job vacancies

Many years ago the local newspaper was the place to look for job openings. Experts now estimate that only seven to 20 percent of job vacancies make it into the local newspaper. During the 1980s employers began to realize that their ads in the local classifieds were generating far too many responses from unqualified applicants. Since somebody on the payroll had to spend time looking at all these applications, employers sought venues to advertise their vacancies that would attract a more qualified body of applicants. The result has been a blossoming world of sources for job ads both in print and in cyberspace on the Internet.

Specialty and trade periodicals offer employers a more focused audience, often members of a professional association who are much more likely to be qualified for a job than many of the people who respond to an ad in the local classifieds.

Specialty and trade periodicals. Many specialty and trade periodicals include a good number of job ads for the profession the publication serves. For example, every issue of High Technology Careers features ads for hundreds of positions in the high technology and computer industry. Editor & Publisher carries over 100 ads for jobs in the publishing industry.

The vast majority of specialty and trade magazines are available to the general public. If a professional association is the publisher, members usually receive the periodical as part of their dues package or at a substantial discount.

Job listing periodicals. One of the best sources of jobs for an occupation is the periodical devoted entirely to job ads or announcements. The number of job ads in a typical issue rangers from about a dozen to several hundred. As with specialty periodicals, a job listing periodical may be available only to members of the organization that publishes it.

State chapters of professional associations. Many of the associations that publish periodicals with ads for private sector positions have state or regional chapters that also announce job openings in their local newsletters. Some even operate job services.

Positions wanted. In addition to listing jobs which are available, many of the periodicals included in this book let job seekers advertise themselves under a category like “Positions Wanted.”

Internships. Throughout the chapters that follow, you’ll come upon some directories of internships as well as some periodicals and job services that carry internship announcements.

Local newspapers. Even with all these new job sources, do not ignore the local classifieds. The classifieds are still the primary place to advertise jobs that do not require an advance education, like blue collar and clerical positions, or are very localized in nature.

About half the nation’s daily newspapers have placed their classified sections on the internet thus giving you immediate access to them even thousands of miles away. Chapter 2 of this book gives you a number of key sites on the Internet that will get you to these online job classifieds.

Job databases. There’s been a wild growth in online job databases and job banks which anybody can access with a computer and modem. Most job databases are located on the Internet for which you’ll also need special software to access. Other job banks are located on the bulletin board services (BBSs) which require no special software.

Some universities and colleges participate in online job databases for use strictly by these graduates.

Job hotlines. Many professional and trade associations operate job hotlines which usually offer a prerecorded announcement of job openings. These hotlines have become much more sophisticated thanks to the wonders of the “automated attendant” device. The most sophisticated job hotlines allow you to specify the geographic area(s) in which you are interested and the types of jobs about which you want to hear.

User newsgroups. These online sites include listings of job openings when you subscribe to them. They are nearly always free. Job openings are sent by email. See Chapte3r 2 for a detailed discussion of how to use mailing lists in your job search.

Company job pages on the Internet. Many companies have home pages on the Internet that include a connection to a company-owned online site where job ads are posted. See Chapter 2 to learn how the Internet works. Chapter 2 also gives you information about a number of prime Internet sites that connect you to these company job pages on the Internet.

These are only a few of the tools you can use to get a professional job in the private sector. For instance, there are also tools for networking and for researching employers.

For complete information, including listings of periodicals, directories, databases, newsgroups and websites relating to jobs, you may see the book Professional’s Job Finder by Daniel Lauber.

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