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Successful job seekers need to clearly understand what makes their work and abilities
valuable to companies in a particular field. This means more than mere skills, it encompasses
how these help an employer succeed and be more profitable. You need to package the information
in a way that says to a prospective employer: This is what I can do for YOU.
To do that, you need to understand what an employer's needs are. That means understanding the
problems and challenges his company faces. Do some research. Most companies in an industry face
the same general problems. You can learn about these by reading industry publications, talking
with key people in the field and talking to professional organizations.
Before you send in your resume and cover letter, try to obtain a job description, financial
reports, public relations materials and the like. Often this is not possible if the company
uses an agency for its hiring purposes. If so, research the market sector. These materials are
instrumental in customizing your approach, finding the needs of the employer, and most
importantly, how you can best solve their problems given the position offered.
The Internet provides an ideal opportunity to prosective job seekers to access information
about companies and market sectors. Check the
Business Times Top 100 Companies
Listings or its surveys of various companies and market sectors, or perform
a search on the company name or market
sector. Researchers can also examine the company's website.
The Internet can also be helpful in searching for people contacts -- that is, for links between
you and an employer, or between you and clients. Contacts are the name of the game of creative
job hunting. The Internet allows you to contact people all over the globe, instantly.
If you don't know who (or whom) you want to reach, you can locate people through:
- Gopher sites: gopher is a menu-driven system of getting information; it pre-dates the
Web, but its sites are accessible through your Web browser
- Newsgroups: a newsgroup is like a discussion group that meets on an electronic
bulletin board -- devoted to some field of interest -- where each of you leaves messages for
one another on that bulletin board. These newsgroups are located on a part of the Internet
called 'Usenet' and are accessible through your Web browser if your Internet service provider
gives you Usenet access.
- Mailing lists: These are discussion groups like Usenet's, except that all messages
to the list are automatically sent to your e-mail address.
- Chat rooms: There are chat-rooms on the Internet and the commercial services where
you meet with other people, online, and chat in real time via keyboard input.
- In the USA particularly, there are a number of comprehensive online person searches and
directories which assist users in locating people on the Web.
Sources: JobSmart, What Color Is your Parachute? and Career Magazine.
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