Cool Tools IV
Part I

Dateline: 8/17/98

I continue to collect interesting, entertaining, useful, and unique links to include in this series. I hope you find them helpful. If so, keep an eye open for "Cool Tools V."

Make Job Searching Easier

Download Wanted Jobs 98 for Windows 95, 98 and NT, and install it on your computer. Enter your search criteria and off goes your personal agent, searching up to 32 job sites simultaneously and returning job links to your screen. Best of all, it's free from Wanted Technologies.

Well, almost free. They do pester you to register. When I first published this feature, as a champion of privacy on the Net, I suggested you might register your Web handle instead of your name. But, Wanted Technologies contacted me (busted!) and politely asked that you register your real name. They say registration is confidential, and only for updates and demography. They also want to develop a relationship with you, to fine-tune upcoming products. (More on those below.) Since they're giving us this cool tool for free, I guess it won't hurt to take their word for it and honor their request.

You also have to put up with banner ads, but they're all over the Web. They're not so bad considering that they pay for all the stuff we Webbers get for free, like this cool tool. Umm...not to mention, my site. ;-)

For some unexplained reason, the software locked up the first time I tried it. It's worked fairly well since, but it's a little bit buggy. For example, it sort of freaked for awhile when I stopped a search. Since they're looking to improve their product, customer support welcomes your feedback and questions. If you find bugs, let them know so they can fix them. But, play nice! After all, it is free.

Although it can search up to 32 job sites simultaneously, there's only 25 at this time. I suspect we might get more in our updates. The search categories are generic and limited, and the keyword field doesn't support Boolean searches. That's for protocol compatibility with all the differences at multiple job sites. It's only a minor drawback, unless it upsets you to be overwhelmed with jobs that only kind of, sort of, match what you're looking for, along with a few that aren't even close and several that are right on the money. This data overload occurs at job sites and search engines too, even with Boolean searching.

The good part is, you may compensate by further refining relevancy with a text search, once the job links come in. You may also create new searches using different categories and keywords, and choose which job ads you want to save to your disk for offline browsing and record keeping. There are a few more cool features, too. Don't forget to try right-clicking with your mouse.

An online user's manual is available for free, but if you prefer a hard copy, it prints well straight from the site, typos and all. All things considered, it's a fairly cool, time-saving tool. ZDNet gives it .

Wanted Jobs 99 is one of their upcoming products. It's a multilingual version with enhancements and bug fixes.

Westech recently released its online, cool tool called Career Index. Filter through over a million jobs all in one place, by selecting the job sites you want to search. Westech includes healthcare, specialty, and international sites, and even job newsgroups. In some cases, you may submit your résumé directly to an employer, simply by checking the box next to the job description.

Westech is the producer of some of the best, high-tech career expos in the US. Their Web site includes tons of jobs, resources and career advice, and the dates and locations of their career expos. You may even research the job offers of participating employers in advance of the expos, to make the most of your time on the floor. I found this cool tool to be particularly useful for the recent, Westech Career Expo in my area. I was in and out of there in under two hours, yet spent quality time with the employers I targeted, out of the hundreds participating.

Part II: Practice Interviewing Online

Comments, suggestions or questions? Found a great career resource and want to share it? Send feedback. Want to network and discuss technical job searching, employment, and careers with others? Go to the chat room or bulletin board, both open 24 hours daily.

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Job Searching - Technical supports Equal-Opportunity Employment.
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Copyright © 1998, J. Steven Niznik. All Rights Reserved.