11/14/95 RMIUG Meeting Minutes - Human Resources/Jobsearch Panel

The November 14th meeting of the Rocky Mountain Internet User's group began at 7:00 with Alek Komarnitsky as moderator. (He actually used visibile slides this time!)

Several announcements from the floor were made:

• Rocky Mountain Internet, an Internet Service Provider, has job openings. Those interested send resumes to info@rmii.com.
• An announcement was made from the floor that there is to be a seminar on "Revitalization" on December 5th, but the minute taker doesn't have additional information.
• Colin Cantwell of Votelink showed the award they received for being the "Best Interactive Site of the Year" from GNN. The site is as http://www.votelink.com. He announced they are interviewing for experienced perl-UNIX hackers to expand their site from 400 to 1200 HTML pages/week by January. Contact him at core@ix.netcom.com. Votelink is also seeking internet-journalists to create content for interactive voting. Contact alexia@votelink.com or call 443-3697.
• Pan Laughing Forrest (444-1987) is a 4GL programmer and is looking for a 4th Dimension Virtual Interest Page.
• Marie Bowman announced the Internet Chamber of Commerce meeting on the last Wednesday of each month. The next meeting will be November 29th at the Embassy Suites at 18th and Curtis in Denver, starting a 6 p.m.. The speaker will be from SGI and discuss Virtual Reality.
• Also, added after the meeting was the fact that a Denver-based company has a position available requiring up to one year of full time work for HTML programmer/web page designer to upgrade and expand an existing web site. Go to www.reio.com. Send email with resume attached, list locations of sites developed and salary requirements to jimrmart@usa.net.
• The RMIUG has a new library/book coordinator in Carroll Blend, cblend@tde.com
• There will be a Java Class taught at Continuing Education at CU Boulder in January.

The Evening Panel discussion began with Tonda Franklin from a Human Resources department, (franklin.t%emc2@ccsvm.stortek.com). She talked about some of the changing ways systems are being used to help connect the job seeker with jobs. Some examples she gave included:

• The New York Times has added PIN numbers to job ads, so those job seekers who register can have their resumes sent to interested companies.
• Software systems like "Resumax" are now being used by recruiters. The system, running on UNIX, scans and OCRs incoming fax and paper resumes and stores them in a data base. Then human resource "requestors" can scan the data base for key words. Tonda said "Finding the right words on a resume is critical".
• On the subject of resumes she noted that with these electronic systems resumes with no font switching, plain ASCII and no underlining are preferred. The resume should be in chronological order.
• She noted that companies are changing how they advertise jobs and are starting to put them on the Internet, particularly hospitals. Some companies, though, view the Internet approach as a novelty.
• Tonda referenced several URLs. They are also included in the list at the end of these minutes.

Shayn Smith (shayn.smith@colorado.edu) from Career Planning at CU-Boulder presented 10 things for a good job search on the Internet:

1. Have a career objective
2. Develop a diversified approach including the next 3
3. Use "Networking" (non-Internet term) including trade associations, user groups, newsgroups
4. Use a "direct approach" by contacting employers directly. (Shayn noted tha most jobs are not advertised.)
5. Look at announced positions.
6. Use the "Directory Search" on the World-wide-web and do a keyword search.
7. Examine Web sites.
8. Join discussion groups. Employers look for people who know what they are talking about.
9. Create an "electronic" resume. He re-iterated the caution to not use fonts, no underlining and focus on content.
10. Check out the Career information on the Web, which includes Career Magazine, tips on dressing, etc.

Shayn also distributed a list of URLs which is included at the end of these minutes.

Dave Stover spoke as a person who acquired a job using the Internet. He started out by pointing to his gray hair and noting "it slows you down in a job search!" Dave recounted his search and the fact that he found an opening through the Libnet list server. He recommended joining list servers; using the Web for job search listing, e.g. Lykos; using the AOL job search functions; having a well-honed digital resume and emphasising "presentation, presentation, presentation". Dave is (djscompu@csn.net).

The 3 panelists then answered questions from the floor.

"Are online resumes coming?"

Yes - but will recruiters have time to read them?

"What fonts are best for OCRing?"

Arial. A san-sarif font. Stay away from italics and underlining.

"Is email a good cover letter?"

No. Use a standard cover letter in your search. Do no put critical information in email or a fax cover sheet.

"Should we use job shop firms?"

Yes. Use temporary agencies to get your foot in the door. You will see more of this over time.

"Can anyone use the CU Career Center?"

It's mainly for CU students, staff and graduates. Some career resource, e.g. its library are available for general use.

The meeting ended around 9:15. There were approximately 110 attendees at the meeting. Respectfully submitted by Art Smoot.

Shayn Smith's Handout of URLs and publications.

JOB SEARCHING ON THE INTERNET

Selective List of Internet Addresses Compiled by Career Services University of Colorado at Boulder

http://stripe.colorado.edu/~rai/carserv/
CU-Boulder's Career Service's home page. Look here for news on workshops, services, and special events.

http://www.careermag.com/careermag/
Boulder-based service providing job vacancy searches, career articles, discussion groups, employer information, and resume postings.

http://www.jobtrak.com
Job listings available for CU-Boulder students and alumni. Use the password buff.

http://www.espan.com
Especially useful here are salary surveys (though primarily for technical positions).

http://chronicle.merit.edu/.ads/.links.html
Approximately 1000 positions in higher education announced weekly

http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/ellens/non.html
Non-profit organizations, some of which announce jobs

http://www.occ.com/
Very large database of job listings including coop, internships, and summer work.

http://work1.utsi.edu:8000/~jfrench/
Good place for entry-level positions

http://www.petersons.com/
Educational resources and opportunities are listed here, including graduate schools

http://www.medsearch.com
Healthcare and biotech job listings

http://www.cob.ohio-state.edu/dept/fin/osujobs.htm
Job postings for business and finance

http://www.aaas.org/science/jobnet.htm
Vacancies announced for science and engineering fields

http://www.fedworld.gov/jobs.htm
Federal job opportunities

http://www.careermosaic.com/cm/usenet.html
A very good source of job leads; West Coast oriented

http://www.asia-net.com
Asia-related jobs are posted here

http://www.indiana.edu/~reeiweb/indemp.html
Russia and Eastern Europe employment and internship listings

http://www.wm.edu/catapult/catapult.html
Developed by the College of William & Mary. Acts as a springboard to over 200 career and employment links

http://199.94.216.72:80/home.html
Another popular job search site. East Coast oriented

http://www.onramp.net/ron/
The Recruiter OnLine Network composed of 1000 executive recruiters, search firms and employment professionals.

http://internet-plaza.net/careermag/newsarts/special/1035.html
Information on salaries, compensation, benefits, and business trends.

http://www.yahoo.com/
One of the best search engines; like a global yellow pages for organizations, institution and projects

http://www.wpi.edu/~mfriley/jobguide.html
One of the best collection of career/job search resources on the internet.

gopher://UMSLVMA.UMSL.EDU:70/11/LIBRARY/GOVDOCS/OOHA/OOHB
The government's Occupational Outlook Handbook with references to 300+ occupations, salaries, trends

http://www.careerpath.com
44,000+ help wanted ads put on-line by six newspapers

Selected Bibliography: Job Searching On The Internet

Glossbrenner, Alfred and Emily (1995). Finding A Job On The Internet. McGraw-Hill.

Gonyea, James C. (1995). The On-Line Job Search Companion: A Complete Guide to Hundreds of Career Planning and Job Hunting Resources Available Via Your Computer. McGraw-Hill.

Jandt, Fred E. & Nemmich, Mary B. (1995). Using The Internet In Your Job Search. JIST Works, Inc.

Kennedy, Joyce Lain & Morrow, Thomas J. (1995). Electronic Job Search Revolution: How To Win the New Technology That's Reshaping Today's Job Market. John Wiley & Sons.

Kennedy, Joyce Lain (1995). Hook Up, Get Hired! The Internet Job Search Revolution. John Wiley & Sons.

Kennedy, Joyce Lain (1995). Electronic Resume Revolution: Creating A Winning Resume for the New World of Job Seeking. John Wiley & Sons.

Weddle, Peter D. (1995). Electronic Resumes for the New Job Market: Resumes That Work For You 24 Hours A Day. Impact Publications.