Triona's Tech Tips

Finding a job can be difficult. Fortunately the Internet offers excellent tools to help you in your job search or career transition.

It’s important to think of the Internet as one of many tools in your job search arsenal. To that end, you’ll want to think of yourself as a brand, like Coca-Cola or CNN. What are your strengths? What are your skills? What sets you apart from other applicants? Write your mission statement on an index card (“I am a computer expert specializing in tech support, web design and training”) and tape it to the top of your monitor. This will help you stay focused as you visit various job sites.

Next, decide which technologies you want to incorporate into your search. Web 2.0 refers to collaborative web sites, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed if you try to be on LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, and FaceBook all at once. Some people choose to forgo a web site in favor of a blog, for example, or elect to participate in only one or two social networking sites.

Speaking of networking, it’s hard to succeed by computer alone. Meeting people face-to-face remains the best way to find employment. Create a business card for yourself with links to your online profiles. When you meet people, get their cards and send a follow-up email asking them to network with you online. And be sure to put your newly-honed Web 2.0 skills on your resume!

If you’re interested, I’ll be teaching a class on Web 2.0 For Job Search for the Cary (Illinois) Park District on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 from 9:30am-11:30am and again from 6pm-8pm. You can find registration details on my web site. I hope to see you there!

Don’t forget to subscribe to Tech Tips for the latest computer news. Next month, just in time for Hallowe’en, I’ll frighten you with Bride Of The Computer Zombies. If you have any computer questions, let me know.