Will The Job Search Site Die Off?

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Will the job search engine die off?

This question comes up occasionally, fueled by two things – the changes in job search technology and the fact that the importance of networking, which is often hammered on in good times, is pretty much repeated constantly in this economy.  Add in the fact some job search engines aren't quite what they used to be, and I think it's a legitimate question.

The short answer is "no" in my mind.  But WHAT search engines and tools survive is a different factor.

  1. Some general sites will survive on their merits.  Craigslist, for instance is a tool I know most everyone uses.
  2. Specialty sites will do well.  Dice.com is an excellent search site but is technically-biased, obviously.  Some regional job search tools seem good, if varying in quality for obvious reasons.
  3. Companies will continue to post jobs online because its easy, cheap, and because many people target specific companies in their job searches.  Also it lets aggregators like www.indeed.com and www.simplyhired.com get ahold of the posts.
  4. Building on #3, I think job search aggregators will be a big thing in the future – yanking data from many sites and sources.
  5. There is going to be a lot of experimentation in job search sites to make better tools to produce better connections.  Having seen a few experimental sites, I haven't been too impressed with efforts so far (I come to look for jobs, not watch an arcane mathematical analysis).

There's a place for job search/posting tools out there – its simple, fast, and expected, and companies cannot count on networking to fill every position.  But I think it's going to change into a mix of specialty sites, aggregators, and maybe some odd new tools.

For you, the careerist, you want to locate good job search sites, and review them reguarly to see if they're still useful.  Make a project out of it and try out new ones reguarly just to stay on top.

– Steven Savage

Book Review: Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success

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Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success
by Dan Schwabel
# ISBN-10: 1427798206
# ISBN-13: 978-1427798206

PRO: A snappy, positive, clever book on personal branding that makes it exciting and interesting, explains its importance, and has a lot of good advice.  Helps anyone get going into personal branding in the internet age.

CONS: An erratic writing style.  Depth of information varies erratically.  Its pitch to Gen Y may turn off Gen Xers who would benefit.  Some questionable social conclusions.

SUMMARY: Me 2.0 is an excellent guide to personal branding in the internet age – what it is, how to do it, why to do it, and its impact.  A must-buy for serious professionals.

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Extend Your Life Lessons

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When Jason Alba of JibberJobber.com hurt his calf, it made him think over how similarly he'd taken care of himself and his career (and not in a good way).

This is an excellent example of extending life lessons, and it's one relevant to one's career – and of course, one's life. I often preach leading an integrated life, and this is a good example.

We're going to encounter many lessons in our life – but it's all too easy to think they only teach us something about a specialized area of our life. Instead, I find it useful to try and apply any lessons we learn to the whole of my life, and see what we can learn.

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