Job Search - Applying On line?!

Jonathan Chaffin estimates he has applied for 500 jobs posted online during the past few months. The Phoenix resident has received plenty of rejections.

Even getting hired for an entry-level position "seems impossible at this time," said the 25-year-old who graduated from Arizona State University one year ago with a bachelor's degree in global business. "I don't know what else to do."

Trying to score a job through an online search casts a wide net, but candidates can feel as if they've dropped their electronic resume into a black hole.

Human-resources departments can seem unresponsive. Some jobs that are listed as open have been filled. Posting personal information can attract scam artists.

"Nobody that I've applied to online has ever called me back," said d'Anne MacNeil, 57, a resident of Mesa.

The specialist in medical-insurance billing, with more than 20 years of experience, has been job-hunting since August, and she has applied to 51 online posts. She is registered on the major career Web sites, has started faxing her resume to companies and has done plenty of networking.

That's important, career experts say.

Job-seekers must have a strategy beyond just filling out an online application and waiting.

Employers aren't automatically going to come find you, said Alison Doyle, a job-search expert from upstate New York who authored 2008's Internet Your Way to a New Job: How To Really Find a Job Online.

"You have to be more proactive," she said.

That's critical as more people find themselves out of work.

The national unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent in November from 6.5 percent in October. Some economists predict it could spike to 10 percent in 2009.

Arizona's rate is 6.3 percent, with roughly 198,000 residents unemployed.

How to find success online:


• Be software savvy. Your resume and cover letter may never reach a human being. Many companies are using software to filter applications.

That can include having applicants answer basic questions pertaining to set requirements. For example, a department store might need employees to work weekends. A candidate who can't could see his or her application automatically rejected.

Companies also use electronic searches for key words in resumes and cover letters.

That's why job applicants should mimic phrases found in a job description. They should research the company and get a sense of its culture and incorporate that, as well.

"Somebody might call a customer-service representative a 'client experience person,' " said Theresa Maher, spokeswoman for Phoenix-based Jobing.com.

Use that preferred phrase, and "you're more likely to go to the top of the list," she said.


• Heed job description. "There's nothing worse . . . than randomly applying for everything," career expert Doyle said. "It's a waste of your time and a waste of the employer's time."

Phoenix-based Arizona State Credit Union, which uses Job ing.com, is hiring mostly tellers and call-center employees. It is seeing about 30 percent more applications than is the norm.

"We feel that shows there are a lot of people out there who . . . have lost their jobs and are looking for any job, particularly to preserve health-care benefits," spokesman Paul Stull said.

Candidates need financial-institution background or a minimum of six months of cash-handling experience. Without it, the credit union rejects the application.


• Do your homework. Make contact with the person making the hiring decision. His or her information may appear on the company's Web site or through a Google search. Or, simply call the company to ask.

A sales rep, for example, might send a resume and cover letter to the vice president of sales.

Even if he or she redirects you to human resources, you become known, said Jim O'Hara, president/chief operating officer of search firm Kellen James in Scottsdale. "I'm going to be more on the proactive side, specifically if it's a company I want to go to work for," he advised.


• It's still all about personal contacts. Mark Mehler is co-founder of CareerXroads in Kendall Park, N.J. He said that once a person has applied online with a tailored application, he or she must "find a friend, acquaintance, alumnus who works in that company."

Searching for jobs online can be maddening, but success stories can be found.

Merrily Planck, 52, of Maricopa, recently found a temporary position with a credit union. She spent most of 2008 searching online for a job in the banking industry.

She wishes that the online application were more personalized and that some companies kept job listings up to date.

As for Jonathan Chaffin, he has put his resume online (www.jonchaffin.com) and is in the process of applying for the MBA program at ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business.

He's not giving up.

"I believe that I am an exceptional candidate for a company to take into their organization, as I want to start with the company and move my way up to ultimately becoming a (chief financial officer)," he said.

Source:azcentral.com