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JOB HUNTING. By ILIL ARBEL, PH.D. JOB HUNTING ON THE INTERNET IS WORTHLESS Eight years ago I was a freelance writer. For reasons I could not understand, my list of clients was getting smaller and smaller, and I felt that perhaps it was time to look for a full-time job rather than continue to struggle. I took a couple of refresher courses in computer work and looked for about a year, finally landing a job with a respected publishing house where I still work. My job hunt consisted of the usual routes. I told everyone I know that I was looking for a job, looked at all the appropriate newspapers, and put my resume on the Internet. On Monster.com, of course, the one everyone talked about. My resume is good; I have years of experience, good education, and excellent references. I put in all the right “buzz words” that would attract the attention of employers. So how would you explain the fact that I have not got a single response from Monster.com? I am not exaggerating. My resume was not picked by any publishing house. In the meantime, I got my job through answering an ad in the New York Times, in the old fashioned way. Since I was working, I had completely forgotten about my resume on Monster.com, but when I was asked to write this article, I suddenly remembered and checked. The resume is still there, and eight years later, still not a single call from any employer! A friend whose experience and education are wonderful, also in publishing, has recently put her resume on Careerbuilder.com. They are very, very active, on this site. They send her a list of jobs almost every day. Most of these jobs, however, have little to do with what is stated on her resume. She gets such things as training to be a truck driver, catering, and teaching. Nice jobs, but for which she has no credentials at all. She had applied to some publishing jobs, about two a week, and did not receive a single response. In addition, my friend had been approached by a related company who was supposedly endorsed by Careerbuilders.com, called Resume Mailman. She paid about fifty dollars so that her resume will be distributed to 295 local recruiters. This was three months ago. Not a single response. This company seems to me to be a scam, though I have no proof of it. Another company, called “Resume Rabbit” has been contacting her almost every day with the same offer. She knows better now. A good friend who is in journalism had the worst experience of job hunting on the Internet that I have ever heard of. He has a spectacular resume, his credentials are perfect, and his references are so high end it would make you gasp. He is also out of a job after losing an international position. In the last five years he had answered literally thousands of job offers. He had put himself on every recruiter’s site that is even remotely connected to his field. He is very computer savvy, and has some kind of software, which I have to confess I don’t really understand, that allows him to keep track of all the jobs he had applied to. I won’t write the exact number because no one would believe it, but I do mean thousands. He had received maybe five or six responses, over these five years. So what is going on? You would say, maybe this is specific to publishing and journalism, two fields that are very badly hit by the economy. Well, two people I know, both young, intelligent, with brilliant resumes, are working for the furniture industry. They are project managers, supplying furniture to new and renovated office spaces, a hot industry. Both have about ten years experience, making them the most desirable job candidates for corporations. One of them had his resume on Monster.com for five years. The other had it there for two years. Each of them got one response over the years. One response. And yet, you hear from everywhere that the Internet is the only way to find a job. That newspapers no longer work, that word of mouth is useless because companies shrink, outsource, and cut down. I have no answer. I don’t understand it. But if you had the same experience, if the Internet has failed you, this is not your fault. Something is wrong with the system. I wish someone would explain it to me.
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CAREERS. From the desk of Maximillien de Lafayette THE WORDS YOU SHOULD NEVER USE IN YOUR JOB APPLICATION
What not to say in an application
There are no "mistakes" only "valuable lessons"
Never say "never" but always mention your "achievement", is the advice for job hunters trying to fill in application forms. Admissions advisers and psychologists at the University of Hertfordshire have drawn up a list of the 10 top words to make a good impression in applications. They have also listed the 10 worst words, including "hate" and "nothing". This advice also tells applicants not to say "mistakes" but to mention their "valuable lessons". 'Don't panic': If applicants are worried about having too many valuable lessons, the Hertfordshire academics also recommend avoiding other less than positive words, such as "panic", "problems" and "awful". None of these words is a good way of selling your skills to employers, suggest the academics. If you want to push more positive buttons, there is a list of feel-good words for applications, which will produce a more appreciative reaction. These good words include "experience", "involved", "planning" and "developed". The advisers say companies or universities will see many similar application letters - and that the choice of language generates a positive or negative impression. For instance, over-emphatic words such as "never" and "always" could give a negative impression that "the applicant is making an exaggeration which is seldom true". "Every recruiter and admissions officer will have to assess hundreds if not thousands of personal statements from hopeful applicants and will make their decisions based on what they can see on paper. "Choosing the right words is therefore vitally important if your application is to stand out from the rest," says Karen Pine, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire. APPLICATION FORM WORDS 10 Best: Achievement, active, developed, evidence, experience, impact, individual, involved, planning, transferable skills. 10 Worst: Always, awful, bad, fault, hate, mistake, never, nothing, panic, problems . Workers want bosses to 'get lost'
Would workers really be happier without bosses?
Most workers reckon that their bosses are excessively bureaucratic, apportion blame wrongly and are inconsistent in decision making, a report has found. Sirota Survey Intelligence questioned 3.5 million staff over three years at firms including global giants Shell, Tesco, Microsoft and Dell. The belief that managers hamper staff is deeply ingrained, the report showed. Instead, workers want to know what is expected of them, have competent bosses and better cooperation across the firm. 'Out of the way': Sirota argues that the biggest challenge for many companies is creating an enthusiastic workforce as this is a key element of a successful organization. Dr David Sirota, Chairman of the research firm, believes that too often managers get in the way and hinder their staff's natural enthusiasm. "People come to work, to work," Mr. Sirota said. "Unfortunately, they often find conditions that block high performance, such as excessive bureaucracy burying them in paperwork, and slowing decision making to a crawl. "Management has to help employees perform, which in many cases means getting out of the way." CONTINUES ON P62
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