At a job fair, he scribbled the address of his home page on printed resumes, hoping prospective employers would follow links to pictures of compact-disc covers he designed and letters of recommendation from former employers. If companies did not list fax numbers or e-mail addresses in their employment ads, he did not respond. After several months of searching, the e-mails paid off. Three weeks after responding to a Microsoft ad in The Seattle Times classifieds Web page, he was hired for the job he started last month. But don't throw away that expensive resume paper yet, career counselors caution.
Most companies still receive most of their applications by traditional mail or fax.
Even companies that advertise online may not be prepared to accept applications electronically. But for those with computer access, the Internet offers a slew of additional ways to impress potential employers. With the resources available, job seekers can market their skills faster, farther and more cheaply than ever before. With a few clicks of the mouse, job seekers hoping to give recruiters easy access to their qualifications are posting resumes on Web databases and personal home pages. They're using corporate home pages to research potential employers, and networking through Internet newsgroups and electronic mailing lists.