UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 29, Page TT-1
April 25, 1996
TechTalk
Career opportunities on the Web

     Graduating next month? It used to mean pounding the pavement,
driving or walking from potential employer to employer, searching for
the perfect position to begin your career.
     "Finding a job still requires a lot of hard work," Jack Townsend,
Career Services Center, said. "But, the electronic tools that are now
available are making it easier for students to conduct their job
searches."
     "This semester, we've heard from two to three employers every
week, announcing their company's Web site. It's become a wonderful
resource," Lynn Jacobson, Career Services, said.
     Students find the Internet helps with two things.
     First, more and more companies are listing their employment
opportunities online. "Some companies even put a link to their job
openings right on their home pages. Others post their openings to
clearinghouse Web sites or to USENET newsgroups," Jacobson said.
     Chris Perkins, a graduating senior, said she and many of her
friends "have done a good part of our job search using the Web and
newsgroups."
     Second, in addition to finding which companies have openings,
students are using the Internet to learn more about the companies in
which they are interested, becoming better prepared for their
interviews, getting a sense of a company's culture.
     Perkins said she also has used the Web to "find out about a
company before I talk to someone there. It's always better to be
informed about what a company does before you interview."
     Recently, Jacobson learned of Web sites from FORTUNE 500
companies such as Proctor & Gamble and from small companies. "Students
are finding that it's not just the Raytheon's and the IBM's that have
published information electronically. And, recruiters and students
alike are finding it very efficient to communicate electronically."
     "I posted my resume on Yahoo! hoping someone would find it and
fall in love with my talents," Perkins said. "There wasn't a category
that really fit 'human factors/usability engineering,' so I posted it
under computer science. One night, I received e-mail from a Navy
commander telling me about a new group they're establishing for
cockpit design engineering, and he'd like to speak with me."
     Perkins said this potential interview really "was pure luck. The
commander was not too familiar with the Internet and had never used it
as a tool for recruiting. He was looking at Yahoo! and just entered
'human factors' on a whim. He got my resume and followed the link to
send me e-mail. He didn't even know you could do that from a Web
browser! So, I now have a prospective employer-simply because of
someone's curiosity about the Internet."
      "More and more students are using online resources," Jacobson
said. She indicated that many use the Career Services' home page as
the starting place for their electronic exploration.
     "We've put up links to a variety of resources for students and
alumni looking for permanent jobs, graduate and professional schools,
summer jobs or part-time jobs while still in school," she said.
     "Students are very eager to learn about the online resources,"
senior Jamie Murray said. Murray teaches a Career Services seminar
entitled, "Using the Internet in Your Job Search," which includes
basic instructions about using Netscape, looking for job listings and
searching for information about a company. He also helps participants
look for information germane to their career interests.
     Murray uses the Career Services' home page not only as the
starting place for the class but also for his own career search.
     "I want to pursue a career that combines counseling students and
administrative work. I've been using several of the links from the
home page to help me find graduate programs that will help me pursue
that goal."
     "The Internet has not replaced 'traditional methods,'" Townsend
said, "but, it certainly has enhanced our students' ability to prepare
themselves for their careers."


To view the Career Services Center's home page, link to the URL
http://www.udel.edu/CSC/career.html