| It can be a daunting experience, for many reasons, | | | | they are-unlike a lot of advertising that drives us |
| to do an employment search. Equally challenging, you | | | | nuts-most valuable sources. Besides plugs for |
| might feel, is the employment search you do online. | | | | doo-dads and stuff to buy or pay for, they have |
| You might have caught on by now to Craigslist, but if | | | | advice columns, special interest sections, and calls for |
| not-or if you want to extend the search-you either | | | | experts/job announcements. And they are free! |
| start there and/ then consider the many kinds of | | | | I subscribe to five different newsletters for writers. |
| networks and job banks and boards that fit your skill | | | | Because of those, and because I read every little |
| sets, income needs, and other particulars. | | | | box, frame, passage, entry in every one, I have |
| This can get intense. Employment searches can lead | | | | garnered about 50% of the job/gig leads I followed |
| you to agencies, advice, and attitudes you feel | | | | up on and landed. |
| overwhelmed by. Breathe. There's a way to "narrow" | | | | 4) GO DIRECTLY to the SOURCE |
| your search, making efforts pay off, literally and | | | | Well, sort of directly. The newsletter editor is the |
| figuratively. | | | | one who runs a site that centers on your field. Visit |
| Now, as a freelance writer, I access specific banks | | | | the website. (Don't gloss over the many links that |
| and boards, but my example will hopefully help you | | | | say "click here", in other words, no matter how many |
| clarify your own employment search process. | | | | filters you have up to visually block all that linkage.) |
| 1) COMPANY and LOCATION SEARCHES | | | | Those same writer newsletters have vested interest |
| Find job boards that have updated classified for | | | | (creative, intellectual, financial) in doing the same work |
| employment in your area and in major companies you | | | | you are making an employment search for, and |
| might be interested in working with. | | | | typically feature a job board exclusively for |
| For the Bay Area, for instance, Tribe | | | | professionals in your field. A daily newsletter with |
| (sanfrancisco.tribe.net) features a search engine and | | | | writing leads also features high-paying and low-paying |
| drop-down menu to look for jobs by company and | | | | (ugh) job sections on the parent site, In fact, besides |
| category (field). | | | | a super archive of articles on writing, the site is |
| Considering your area of expertise, find the | | | | primarily one great, great (in size and quality) job |
| companies who employ your type, and visit their help | | | | bank. I have gotten at least 25% of my gigs there. |
| wanted/employment search/seeking XYZ pages. For | | | | 5) OPTION: NETWORKERS |
| example, I consult many sites-like Pearson Education-- | | | | Just as many other professionals care enough about |
| belonging to publishers, visit their employment/jobs | | | | humans in the workforce and getting them into that |
| section, and look from there for any gigs I might be | | | | workforce that they have built businesses to |
| good for. | | | | connect employers with employees and free agents |
| 2) CAREER SEARCHES | | | | with clients. Yes, they usually cost something, so you |
| That is, for example, if you are a journalist, seek | | | | might want to be the kind of person who believes |
| journalist, press, news, magazine, periodical ads at | | | | that it takes money to make money. But many are |
| such places as NewsJobs.net, which offers postings | | | | quite successful at what they do. I have-in my |
| for NewsJobs in the U.S., NewsJobs in Canada, and | | | | reading and employment searching and career |
| NewsJobs in the U.K.. | | | | developing hours-read many accounts of how |
| In the same respect, when you do an employment | | | | beneficial these networks are…networks such |
| search on a major search engine and are typing in | | | | as ScriptLance.com, Guru.com, ELance.com, for |
| different and varied words and phrases, be as | | | | specific types, and, for general sources, such |
| thorough and thoughtful as you can. If you are a | | | | network solutions planners as Careers.com, |
| carpenter, look for more than just carpenter jobs. | | | | HotJobs.com, JobSeeker, and Jobvertise will work for |
| Type in all the variations you can think of for the | | | | you and with you to find you a job in your area of |
| word carpenter-"carpentry," "builder," "building," | | | | expertise, location, emotional and intellectual setting, |
| "construction"-and all the different words you can | | | | and income bracket. |
| think of for jobs-"careers," "help wanted," "needed," | | | | Of course, the other 25% of my income comes |
| "places for." I found, for instance, a great publication | | | | from doing my own employment search elsewhere: |
| called Places for Writers, which is not dens and | | | | in-person networking, word-of-mouth (be good at |
| coffee shops and what we would likely first think of | | | | what you do every time you do it!), and, of course, |
| when we read the word "places", but which is places | | | | the beneficent, beneficial, benefiting and fitting |
| calling for submissions. | | | | Craigslist!!!! |
| 3) SUBSCRIBE to NEWSLETTERS in YOUR FIELD | | | | Muna wa Wanjiru is a Web Administrator and has |
| Newsletters are one of the greatest cogs in the | | | | been researching and reporting on Internet Marketing |
| Internet machine. They are used by webmasters and | | | | for years. |
| web mistresses to get visitors to their sites, but | | | | |