Taking your job search online: don't limit your job hunt to the classifieds. You can increase your prospects by entering cyberspace.

Don't limit your job hunt to the classifieds. You can increase your prospects by entering cyberspace.

IN 1988, WHEN OLA KUDU went online to register for classes while a student at Wesleyan University, he knew the Internet could open new doors. What he didn't know was that six years later, those doors would open to a new job. During a chat session on the BBS, New York Online, the 25-year-old graphic artist mentioned that he was looking for a job. Tired of the "stiff" art departments of the financial and management firms he had known, Kudu jumped at the online invitation to visit the office of Vibe magazine.

"I thought the person who invited me would be this computer nerd" recalls Kudu. "It ended up being the president of the company." The Brooklyn native was offered the job of chief graphic designer and programmer for the black music magazine's online service and took it. Now, as art director for the hip-hop magazine The Source, Kudu says taking his job search online helped him to find a job where he could be creative as well as productive.

Whether you surf the Internet, subscribe to America Online, Prodigy, CompuServe or any of the other online services, you can find scores of job databases, resume banks and job matching services--200 or more according to some accounts. If that's not enough, computer stores are stocking their shelves with job search and resume-writing software. One benefit to minorities, in particular, is that posting online is "color-blind." Until the face-to-face interview, employers are evaluating you solely on your qualifications, not race or ethnicity.

But the process can be time consuming, and there's a lot to learn. Online job searching isn't a substitute for tried-and-true want ads, hard resumes and all-important networking. Computer novices and experts alike must ask questions and follow directions carefully before launching their vitae into cyberspace. Click the wrong icon and you'll send your resume into oblivion, or worse, into the hands of your current employer!

Employers who use newspapers, trade magazines and recruiters to find qualified candidates are now also looking electronically with listings on various services, and the company's World Wide Web "home page." In fact, a recent poll of 435 human resources professionals, conducted by Lee Hecht Harrison, revealed that 47% use the Internet to recruit; 31% said they use resume banks.

"In the last two months, our last eight hires have come off the Internet," says Danny Thomas, national employment manager of the business market division at MCI Telecommunications Corp. in Atlanta. Thomas and 16 other MCI recruiters across the country use Internet services like job Bank USA and Online Cancer Center--the "pot of gold on the Internet rainbow"--to find technical and sales support professionals. "We're really moving away from newspapers and into the online world," Thomas says.

Low-tech companies conduct electronic searches as well. "I find more diversity online, because I can post with specific SIGs (special interest groups) like Netnoir, LatinoNet and the Ebony Room," says Marianne Blanchard, human resources consultant at Abt Associates Inc., a social policy research and management consulting firm in Cambridge, Mass. "We don't get a large response to our online ads, but we do get applicants whose qualifications fit more specifically with what we're looking for."

Blanchard posts jobs on at least 40 online sources when searching for seasoned research professionals. On average, Blanchard considers only 50-60 of the 1,000 resumes she receives from newspaper ads, whereas 80% of the mere 100 resumes she receives from an online ad usually qualify.

Despite the acclaim of human resources'professionals and some career experts for electronic job searching, the phenomenon is still in its infancy. "Though it has been around for close to 15 years, it has just started to take off in the past two," says Daniel Lauber, author of the Professional's Private Sector Job Finder, Government Job Finder and Non-Profit's Job Finder (Planning Communications, 800-829-5220). But, warns Lauber, "It has a long way to go before it replaces traditional job search methods."

Currently, between 50% and 80% of jobs listed with the nation's job banks are in technology and technology-related industries. But the number of jobs in finance, banking, sales, manufacturing and consulting industries is rapidly increasing. Going through the Web sites, home pages and services may take hours or even days at first, but once you're familiar with the process, you can quickly go right to the appropriate database. But researching the different services and software programs available is critical. Don't try to compose your resume and go online in one day. Some listings charge a fee, so check the cost before you start your electronic search.

Generally, finding the right job openings depends on the key search words you plug in. A recent search of the World Wide Web's E-Span job database (http://www.espan.com. Tel: [phone]) turned up 250 mostly technology-related positions each in sales, management and engineering, along with short descriptions of each company. Help Wanted - USA (http://www.webcom. com/-career/hwusa.html. Tel: [phone]) provided thousands of job listings in marketing, a little over 300 in nursing, but more than 2,600 in engineering. Few listings appeared for the key words agriculture, economist or professor.

JOB BANKS

Greg Jensen was getting nowhere in his job search. With no intriguing leads from any of the four headhunters he'd contacted, the systems integration manager decided to try an online job search service. "Even though I'm relatively Net savvy, I never took job-hunting possibilities on the Internet seriously," says the 31-year-old Caribou, Maine native.

Once plugged into Career Mosaic, a World Wide Web site, Jensen found literally hundreds of computer industry job listings. In minutes, he copied his resume from Word for Windows, typed a short cover letter and e-mailed both to a company that had openings in interactive television. The next day, he received a call. Within a month, Jensen, who was making $55,000, landed an $80,000 job with Reston, Va.-based Tele-TV, an interactive television company formed by Bell Atlantic, Nynex, and Pactel.

Job banks provide access to hundreds of job advertisements posted on electronic bulletin boards--"online want ads." Most services get their listings directly from employers and may charge them a fee. But some services cull job listings from newspapers and other sources. As a result, the job listed may not be available when it reaches your computer, or may not have existed at all. So ask the provider for details before you subscribe. Before buying job bank software, be sure its listings are regularly updated.

Also, look for software that allows you to target jobs according to industry, geography, position, company and salary.

Adams New Media takes a comprehensive approach to job hunting with its Adams JobBank for Windows program ($70, 617-767-8100, ext. 323), which lets you tap into 11,000 U.S. corporations and employment services. Each employer profile includes a contact name, phone number, address, job categories and openings and benefits. The program also allows you to customize cover letters and resumes for each company. In addition, it offers practice interviews and includes a log for you to track your progress with each company.

KeyLink by Duffy Communications ($50, 404-266-2600) helps people who have physical or visual disabilities, or who are hearing-impaired match their skills with companies. The Monster Board (http//www.monster.com) is very popular, and lists mostly East Coast jobs in computing, marketing and communications. You can also upload your resume on this service. FedWorld (703-487-4608 or access through telnet: fedworld.gov) is one of the best sources for government jobs. This one is in demand: Access it before 8 a.m. E.S.T.

Using job banks on bulletin board services (BBSs) may require more work. Invest in a good online job-hunting book that provides a list of BBSs and their addresses, such as Be Your Own Headhunter Online, by Pam Dixon and Sylvia Tiersten (Random House; 800-733-3000). The best BBSs list various jobs and companies, but most usually target a select audience.

Warning: BBSs come and go quickly. So don't be discouraged if the number is disconnected. With so many to choose from, just try another.

RESUME BANKS

Resume banks allow you to showcase your qualifications online 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The cost of posting your resume in a database is usually less than $100. In some cases it might even be free if run by large organizations looking for new hires. Your resume can remain posted for anywhere from a few months to a year. Some take your resume by e-mail, while others will require you to send a hard copy of your resume, which is then scanned into their computer. Be sure to call the database before sending your resume and enrollment fee.

Some resume banks have a short life span. Two veterans are Access . . . FCO On-Line (703-281-0200), which posts federal job openings, and Job Bank USA (800-296-1872), which lists resumes for everything from attorney to wellness manager.

The key to resume databases is using the right catch phrases. Employers punch in key nouns to resumes. Since computers screen your resume before a warm body does, forget about using words like accelerated, arbitrated and launched. Instead, use words like accounting and Price Waterhouse for an accountant spot, or LAN and MIS for computer specialist positions. "If key words are absent, then your resume may be in eternal limbo," warns career expert Joyce Lain Kennedy, career columnist for the Los Angeles Times Syndicate and author of Hook Up, Get Hired! and The Internet Job Search Revolution (John Wiley & Sons, 800-225-5945). It's also important to periodically check your online resume to be sure it's error-free.

But what if someone steals your resume? Earnest employers looking for new hires aren't the only ones tapping into resume banks. Headhunters, public employers and others can access your resume too. "Some people are taking [other people's] resumes off job banks and presenting them as their own in other countries,like Mexico," Kennedy says. There is no real safeguard against others using your resume as though it's their own, but you should use a service that at least requires your permission before distributing your resume.

If you need your resume to receive high visibility, post it on Usenet--Internet newsgroups of job and career services. Read the "welcome" posting for each newsgroup for guidelines on how to post your resume. Many of the jobs are listed by employment agencies or recruiters. Dane Spearing, assistant director of residential computing at Stanford University, has set up a resource that lists links to other job resources on the Internet (http://rescomp.stanford. edu/jobs.html). It is a must for those just starting out and provides addresses to various company home pages, newsgroups, recruiters, industry BBSs and resume banks. Another choice is the Online Career Center (http://www.occ. com/occ/. Tel: [phone]), which provides a database, resume files and other job-related information. Resumes can be entered for free and stay on the system for 90 days. If renewed, they can remain on indefinitely.

JOB MATCHING SERVICES

Job matching services are probably the best. Usually free to the job seeker, a few charge $10 to $50. These services act as liaisons between online resume candidates and employers. When a match is made, a good job-matching service will call and ask if you want your resume to be given to a prospective employer. This safeguard is important to ensure that your resume doesn't get in the hands of your current boss! Ask if you can "block out" certain employers. Some services, like Job Referral Service (212-705-7525), which caters to chemical engineers, allow you to post anonymously or with a code name, but your qualifications could be telling.

Be suspicious of any electronic service that doesn't provide an actual street address and customer service phone number--it might not be legitimate. Access point (212-475-1001), a community job matching service, caters but is not limited to jobs in health care, finance and law. The company also finds people to serve on boards of directors.

"Essentially, you've got to use your head when you're doing your job search," Lauber says. "Use a variety of tools. Someone who relies exclusively on print, or job hotlines or electronic job-search tools is going to be missing out on a huge proportion of available jobs." You have to decide what works for you.

Electronic hiring is most certainly going to be an important part of the job search process in the next decade, but do not make it your only means of getting a job, warns hauber. "You'll be cutting yourself off from many potential jobs," he says. "Combining the electronic job search with networking, job hotlines, and trade and specialty publications, will greatly enhance your chances of finding a job that appeals to you."

RELATED ARTICLE: HOW TO PLUG IN

THE INTERNET Accessing sites requires an address. Try Career-Path (http://www.careerpath.com/).

AMERICA ONLINE (800-827-6364) Choose "reference desk" from the main menu and then "career center" to access the various career services.

COMPUSERVE (800-848-8199) "corporate affiliations" offers profiles on most of the large U.S. public companies and their affiliates.

PRODIGY (800-776-3449) The command "jump classifieds" will access the "browse ads" and "help wanted" job listings.