We've done our best to point you to good resources, BUT...

Read critically, and act carefully on the information you find here, and understand that we present this site as a public service. We don't necessarily agree with any advice you'll find, nor do we give a blanket approval of all or any sites that are linked, either directly or indirectly.

Understand that the rules about job search are NOT different on the Internet. Be careful what information you supply to prospective contacts and be aware that scam artists and get-rich-quick schemes are no more rare (nor more common) on the 'Net than they are on the street. As well, be creative and pro-active in your job search or career development. A passive approach to job search or career development doesn't work any better on the 'Net than it does on the street.

Don't use the 'Net as a replacement for the help of good employment counselling or career counselling service providers. The assistance of trained professionals can be a great help, notably when it comes to understanding and dealing the specific conditions of any given local employment market and your relationship to it. Individual or group counselling can make a huge difference, too, especially if you find that you are in a rut or getting discouraged. The help is out there--and the quality of the help is generally high. Take advantage of it.

Don't simply post a few resumes and wait for results. Simply--unless your skills are extremely marketable or quite rare--it is unlikely that there are lots of folks taking the time to look through huge banks of resumes looking for you. That doesn't mean not to post your resume in any appropriate place--you might be lucky and it can't hurt. But, as we said, the rules on the 'Net are not different than the rules on the street. When was the last time some employer walked up to you on the street, without knowing you, and asked for your resume?

Understand also that maybe 10%--20% of all available jobs are posted anywhere (on the 'Net or off), and that's estimating on the high side. The rest of the jobs (80%--90%) are found by, and the positions are filled by, those who are out there--on the street--networking, marketing themselves, making contacts, asking questions, looking for so-called hidden opportunities (like searching the papers and TV radio information for items that might lead to new or expanding businesses, construction, changes in the market and so on).

Also, posted positions generally get lots of reponses--including many responses from applicants that are not anywhere realistically suitable for the position. Do what you can to make sure that your application is appropriate and (just as importantly) that it lets the employer know that it's appropriate, right up front.

Take heart, though...for some places and some types of job search, the 'Net is the absolute best place or way to find what you want (for instance: if your skills are rare or extremely and widely marketable, or if you are looking for work that is geographically distant from where you live right now). Further, the best 'Net employment and career sites are full of good ideas regarding networking and marketing yourself, building resumes, handling interviews and they also generally point you to the pro's in your area that are there to help.

One other thing, and this is a good thing...it's very hard to look for work or career information on the 'Net and come away with the impression that there's no work out there. That's simply not true.The world of work has changed remarkably over the past few decades, but there is no shortage of things that need to be done--or folks looking for help doing it.

As a final point, we highly recommend that anybody looking for work or looking to enter or change a career go now and spend some time looking at Wired Magazine's terrific article:

New Rules for the New Economy: Twelve dependable principles for thriving in a turbulent world

or, for that matter, the entire collection of Wired Magazine's articles on the new economy. We don't work for Wired Magazine, we have no affiliation with them at all. Also, we don't necessarily agree with everything we ever read that was printed in these articles, but we know of no better place to get a good, fairly quick, handle on what changes technology is making to our culture, our economy or the world of work as we enter the next century--and we don't mean only for those who work directly or predominantly in the high tech or computer industries..

Good luck and best wishes,

the folks at Datadigr.

Back to Top of page or or to Career & Employment Sites & Resources

---