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Who benefits from online resume databases
If he's not even up for such a discussion, you probably don't want to do business with him.
Resume banks can fall under one or more of the following categories. They may
- Specialize strictly in your industry (such as high-tech or health care).
- Focus on a particular profession (such as human resources or sales).
- Provide recruiting services to special-interest groups (such as women, the disabled, or other minorities).
- Cater to a geographic region (such as a state or metropolitan area).
- Cover a wide range of industries and professions so applicants are considered for lots of job titles.
Let's look at how to find resume banks in these categories.
The Professional Approach
Many Web sites specialize according to industry, profession, or both. Here are ways to learn of those that apply to your job search:
- Use your search engine (see Chapter 20, "The ABC's of E-Resumes"), inserting keywords that indicate your area of expertise or industry (such as jobs, e-commerce, and marketing for a marketing position in online business).
- Read professional magazines in your field or visit their Web sites to see what online recruiting services they suggest.
- Ask your colleagues what resume banks they recommend (assuming you can speak freely with them about your job search).
You could also do a search for specific companies in your field and go to their Web sites, where you might be able to submit your resume.
Specializing in Special Interests
Good resume Web sites focus on special interests, you as a social cause or an ethnic population. These sites have a couple of advantages over the large number sites in that they may
- Offer current employment information that's specific to that interest group.
- Provide job-search support through articles, chat rooms, and member profiles to enable individual networking.
Good ways to find your special-interest Web sites include asking friends in your special-interest group, using your search engine, and looking for Web site addresses in literature from your interest group.
Career Casualty
Don't be shy about following up on an electronic resume submission. After you've uploaded your resume onto a company recruitment Web site, call or e-mail a few days later to ask whether they received it and whether it's been routed into their system.
Bonus Check
Special-interest Web sites are one of the best types of sites for networking. These sites frequently have chat rooms and e-mail options which make it easy to contact others with the same interests.