Job Hunting Resources

I think there is a lack of a certain type of resource which would make job hunting much easier. I also feel that the internet should be a useful tool for finding a job. Unfortunately, statistics show that finding a job through internet job search sites is quite long odds. The best way to find a job is apparently to find the company you want to work for by word of mouth and see if they will consider employing you, rather than waiting for a company to desperately need someone and place an advert somewhere. This is where the problem starts. If I want to move to a different country/area or wish to change to a slightly different field of work, I may not know whom to ask. Also, if I do get an offer from a company, it may be hard for me to find out what the company is really like to work for.

The existing resources available for those recruiting and those job hunting seem to be as follows

places for employers to advertise open positions JobListingServices
places for job hunters to advertise themselves by posting a cv and recruitment agencies
employee references shared by employers and reference checking services
word of mouth about good employers

What I think is needed is a net-based service to bring the last one into the 21st century. I imagine it would take the form of an online database where anyone can offer a review of a company and anyone can search the database for companies with particular jobs/locations/other conditions, etc. - the technology side seems easy to do this. Slightly harder would be that it needs to gain a community of employees to work. Harder again may be preventing companies spamming the site to skew their results (although I imagine this won't become an issue initially).

Anyhow, I guess the purpose of putting this page up was to see if people thought this idea was (a) useful and (b) achievable, and (c) to see if anyone knows if it's been done already (couldn't find anything via google so far), so please comment on it. -- JamesKeogh

Shmoozing and word of mouth are probably the most effective approaches. Unfortunately, that is not something many in the IT industry are good at or like.

Exactly - hence I think a site where you can see what previous employees thought of a place would be a good idea.

ToxicEmployers seems to get some of the idea - except I want to hear the good ones as well as the bad ones, I think that's important because you want to hear several opinions so that you can judge for yourself how you would feel if you were at that company. -- jk

I'm pretty sure that people here are going to find it offensive, but most employers will want people with all round skills. Programming will be foremost, but an ability to communicate clearly is usually high on the list. Clear writing is considered a necessary skill in many jobs. [ProjectManagement experience appear to be getting more important as well.]

OK, so you might not be the world's best speller, but if you are intelligent, and you want that job, make sure you check a dictionary occasionally. Yes, this wiki does accept typos and spelling errors, but some potential employers will look for your name on the web and use what evidence they find to make decisions about your skills.

This is good advice and I don't think it's offensive (I'm not offended). I would guess that most employers are looking for something more scandalous then a typo on a wiki. It isn't really about finding a job, though, more about getting a job you have already found. -- JamesKeogh

ThinkWinWin. An older but still relevant advice for the fastdraw programmers. See http://www.zdnet.com.au/jobs/news_trends/soa/Turn_a_clueless_recruiter_into_a_job_search_asset/0,2000056653,20275388,00.htm

CategoryEmployment