Employment Search

The very definition of an employment search has changed radically and should continue to do so as the world becomes even more closely wired together. In the old days, an employment search meant breaking out the Sharpie or highlighter in addition to the "Classifieds" section of the local paper. Seekers circled jobs in their field that had roughly the salaries and benefits they were after. They then shipped off an appropriate resume and cover letter or simply made a phone call.

These days, more people conduct their employment searches online, where there's greater access to information and resources such as job lists, resume tutorials, and e-mail correspondence. Instead of waiting weeks or even months for a company to reply to your query, you may now receive an e-mail follow-up from a company's Human Resources department within mere hours. Naturally, that doesn't mean you'll be hired within hours, just that an initial contact may be made.

More on Today's Employment Search

The modern-day employment search is also markedly different in that new fields are constantly opening while others are growing obsolete. Looking for a career as a travel agent working in an office somewhere selling deluxe vacation packages to the tropics? Keep looking. How about jobs as HTML or CSS programmers? Now you may be getting somewhere.

Gone are the days in which corporations hire aboard rookie staffers, train them, give them modest annual raises to keep apace with inflation, then throw them a retirement party 45 years later. The average person has about seven careers nowadays, which means, in turn, a minimum of seven job searches. It's much easier to master the technique once, then adapt it to suit your changing career urges rather than rest on your laurels once you've landed your first gig and hope for job longevity and company loyalty.