By Mars W. Mosqueda Jr.

Gone were the days when you have to go from one office to another, or climb seemingly endless stairs in a corporate building hoping to get a job. With the advent of Internet technology, searching for jobs has become an easy, comfortable task.

If you already have an electronic copy of your CV and cover letter, sit down in front of your computer and start your search online. But before you do that, here are some points to remember when looking for jobs online.

SEARCH ENGINES

Most companies nowadays have website or are connected online. This means most of their job vacancies are also posted on line. If you know how to use the search engine well in your search, finding the perfect job will be very easy.

There are several excellent search engines online aside from Google. Vivisimo.com and alltheweb.com may not be at par with Google but for sure they are second bests. Using different search engines could sometimes (not really very often!) could lead to different results so it will be best to try searching for jobs in other engines.

USE SPECIFIC KEYWORDS

If you want to work as Computer Programmer, use “Computer Programming Jobs” or “Computer Programmer Jobs” as your keywords. It makes a difference as against using “Computer Jobs” or “IT Jobs”. Try typing the keywords in the search box and you will see different results. The first set of keywords as being more specific. So if you are looking for writing jobs in Singapore, typing “Writing jobs” will not be as effective as using “Writing Jobs Singapore”.

USE JOB SITES

There are a lot of legitimate websites that posts legitimate job vacancies. Look for job sites in places where you want to work. But be careful. There also sites that are not legitimate and could be ran by scammers. Don’t give out personal information immediately if you are not comfortable with the site.

BE WARY OF DATES

Some job vacancies online may be outdated because webmasters failed to delete them from the site even as the position has been filled up. Observe carefully the dates of posting and expiry dates to ensure that the vacancies are still available. If no dates are included, begin your cover letter with question on whether or not the posted job is still available.

BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR DOCUMENTS

Sometimes, because of the ease of ‘cut and paste’ method, we tend to forget that the HRD name in our letter has not been changed even if the letter is sent to other companies. Whoa! Would you expect an invitation for interview from Company A when what you mentioned in your letter is the name of the Manager of Company B? Be careful with this.

BE RESPONSIBLE

Apply only to jobs that you are really are interested in. Sending out application letters online just for the sake of applying is discourteous and unethical. Make sure also that you are qualified for the job that you are applying to avoid hassle in the future.

Most importantly, use your common sense when using the Internet in your job search. Several scammers and fraudsters are lurking online waiting for victims. When someone asks for a fee in exchange of your application, immediately report the scam to authorities.