In today's job market, recruiters must wade through hundreds of resumes. Resumes that appear to have little to do with the positions for which they are submitted generally make it no further than the slush pile. The problem is you can't target your resume if you don't know the type of position you would like and for which you are likely to be hired. That is why one of the most important skills in a job search is targeting the type of position your want.
Here are five tools that will prove invaluable in helping you narrow down your job search.
- mySkills myFuture: http://www.myskillsmyfuture.org
If you are an experienced job seeker, this site sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor will help you determine what types of positions you may qualify for based on your previous experience. To use this tool, you simply enter your current or previous job title, and the database will return a list of positions that may interest you and for which you may have transferable skills. Some information about the positions and links to job listings may be available, but you should always do further research to find out more about these careers. - My Next Move: http://www.mynextmove.org
My Next Move is the sister site of mySkills myFuture and allows those launching a career for the first time to explore various types of careers. You can find jobs through keyword searches, exploring categories, or taking an interest profiler. - Holland Codes Quiz: http://www.roguecc.edu/counseling/hollandcodes/about.asp
This community college site allows you to take a free career profiler quiz to determine what categories of positions interest you based on categories developed by John Holland. Once you learn your profile, you can read about Holland categories on this site or search the Web for other sites discussing the Holland system and the positions for which you might be suited. - O*NET OnLine: http://www.onetonline.org
Another Department of Labor site, O*NET OnLine might be considered the parent site for My Next Move and mySkills myFuture. It offers a wealth of information about the types of positions available in today's job market. - Indeed.com
Indeed.com is a metasearch engine that culls job listings from various job sites around the Web. Once you have identified positions based on your interests and skills, you will want to search Indeed.com to find out whether the positions you have selected are available in the current job market. If there are few listings in the geographic area where you seek employment, you may need to refocus your search.
Otherwise, you now know the type of position you will be targeting in your job search and have valuable information to use in preparing your resume. Having passed this first, most difficult step in the job search, you can now proceed with confidence to resume building, interviewing, and starting your new job.
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