Why Advanced Search Doesn’t Advance Your Search

There’s something job boards aren’t telling you.

Have you ever thought that if you figured out the search techniques, you would be able to find your dream job?

You click on the advanced-search function, fill in the blanks and hit return. But the matches still aren’t what you’re looking for. Despite improved functionality on many leading job sites, advanced-search functions are overwhelmingly under-used.

In fact, only about five percent of job seekers use advanced search functions, says Jonathan Duarte, founder of online job board GO Jobs.

Duarte attributes the low usage of advanced-search functions to several factors, namely that they involve too many steps and that many job seekers are not trained in Boolean searching, the use of “and” and “or.”

“If a job seeker performs an ‘advanced search’ without Boolean training, they are often frustrated with the results, and then leave the site,” Duarte says. “This is the worst case scenario for the job board.”

Job seekers can also get discouraged if the job search becomes too narrow and draws too few results. Another problem, say job board experts, is that position descriptions are not regularly updated and often do not reflect the true job expectations.

Many job boards have an intermediate search function, which asks for zip code, location and job category. This often gets job seekers close enough to what they are looking for.

Still, trolling job boards remains a very time consuming process, contends Richard H. Beatty, author of “The Ultimate Job Search.” There are over 40,000 career websites, including mega job boards, industry-specific sites and listings on company sites.

“Job seekers are faced with the daunting task of somehow screening through this bewildering array to discover those sites that will prove most productive for them,” Beatty says. “Huge amounts of precious job-search time can be completely wasted.”

Even with all of those sites, still only one-third of jobs are found through the internet.

Some, such as Beatty, are starting to advocate so-called job aggregators, a kind of Google for job searches that includes postings from big and small job boards as well as Fortune 500 companies.
Sites like Indeed, Jobster and SimplyHired are quickly winning admiration. These sites also have advanced search functions that have a more user-friendly feel than even the most well-travelled job boards.

And, Duarte points out, “chances are you don’t need to use it, because the programmers and engineers [who] built the intelligent search engine anticipate what you are searching for.”

Advanced search is an active, rather than a passive way of finding the right career opportunities.
It’s worth the investment of time to figure out how to make it work for you.

What Will Human Resources Look Like in 2010

Earlier this month I indicated that I would identify 5 major changes to HR that will dramatically change how HR professionals do their work. Some are top of mind, some on the cusp of change, and some you have not seen yet. Here they are in no particular order:
Administrivia will reside fully with managers and employees through self service and HRIS systems will be a thing of the past for HR. There will be no such thing as an HR assistant or administrative assistant in HR.
HR as we know it will become a profit center and be measured on profit success.
Entire benefit packages will totally be outsourced to third party vendors and employees will have an a la carte menu. Health care providers will provide light workout equipment that is ergonomically designed to fit in the workplace so workers can get exercise and work simultaneously.
There will be at least 2 senior HR professionals today that will run companies in excess of $100M by 2010.
All data will flow through handhelds on the go rather than through desktops/laptops and the typical HR department as you know it today will not exist.
You will notice that I did not mention talent management or succession planning. Those topics will be dealt with early in 2009.
What do you think of these changes and do you agree or disagree? I would appreciate your opinions. Please send your comments to wgstevens2@gmail.com.

Now Is the Time for Managers to Step Up

If I go back over my 25+ years of HR experience when times are tough managers tend to really find any little thing to ding employees performance. It is natural since at some point as sales decline and profits dwindle that managers are asked to identify poor performers and to make cuts. I found out that managers take the easy way out and my job was to manage them so they had successful people.

Well, it is really the time for managers to mentor, guide, and depart knowledge so their employees will excel during those hard times. So instead of dinging managers should be helping employees and bring out the best in them. Sure there are always those who are slackers and were hired into the wrong job. Find out where those who were hired into the wrong job may fit into the organization and move them there, for those slackers, get them off your books through performance management.

So I ask the readers what kind of manager are you? Do you take the easy way out and just let employees fail or do you guide them to success?

I would like to hear your thoughts, email me at wgstevens2@gmail.com