Other Job Search Tools...
and Employment Help

RingCentral.com  | If you're running yourself ragged and spending a small fortune at Kinko's every time you need to FAX your resume to someone, consider the following. With RingCentral, you can send a fax to any fax machine in the U.S. or overseas one of 4 ways: by email, by your online account, by Microsoft application (Word, Outlook, etc.), or even by phone. Outgoing faxes don't tie up your computer or phone line. There are no busy signals and no waiting for the fax to transmit. Plus, you can create custom cover sheets with a signature, graphics or a personalized logo. Incoming faxes are just as easy to retrieve; there's no tying up the phone line, and no caller to you will ever get a busy signal.

All this, and pricing plans start at $7.99 per month - and that one buys you 300 free pages a month. Try it for FREE for 30 days. Say bye bye Kinko's.  http://www.ringcentral.com/

Secrets of a Successful Job Search  | Acclaimed career marketing expert Michelle Dumas (contributor to more than 10 top-selling, career-related books) has put together a no-holds-barred program to guide job seekers through every phase of the job search--from setting career targets to negotiating multiple job offers.

This is not your father's 'How to Get A Job' sleeper of a textbook. Michelle has crafted fresh, ingenious and easy-to-follow techniques for conducting a professional job search in today's tough market -- and accessing the hidden job market (where 80% of jobs are never advertised).

The program can be downloaded for $77.00. That includes almost 3 hours of professionally-recorded audio covering each of 7 steps that will, she says, "land you the job you want in half the time." Plus a 110-page companion workbook, exercises, worksheets and templates. Michelle personally offers a 100% money-back guarantee for 30 days if her program doesn't live up to your expectations.  http://www.job-search-secrets.com/

Monster.com  |  You know you can't avoid the Monster any longer. With several hundred thousand job postings worldwide, you need to jump in and join the fray. It's free to sign up. It's free to post your resume. You'll benefit from extensive job search tools, job hunting tips and strategies, salary calculators, and forums and communities that speak to your profession. We're not saying it's perfect: you'll fight pop-up ads and more email than you bargained for. But it's the 800-pound gorilla of job sites. Time to put the gloves on and fight the good fight.

Tip: don't just submit your resume to a job posting and sit back on your laurels. Follow up with the recruiter or contact person - call the company to get a name, if one isn't provided in the posting. Persistence gets the interview.  http://monster.com/ 

WorkTree.com  |  This company is one of the larger job aggregators. These are vertical job search engines that consolidate job postings from the big job boards (like Monster), as well as niche job boards, company websites, etc. In the case of WorkTree, for example, initiate a simple keyword search for the position you want, and within seconds the company's technology powers through 300+ job sites. More impressive, they claim to have researched and indexed over 50,000 places on the web to search for jobs. Those kind of numbers make it virtually impossible for the average job seeker to learn about every relevant job that's out there -- without the help of an aggregator.  

The service is not free, but we think it's priced reasonably given the time and aggravation saved. $47 buys 3 months of access. Or for the best value, pay just $20 more and get a full year of benefits (working out to $5.58 per month). They also make this guarantee: if you don't find a job by the time your membership expires, they'll give you another 3 months membership free.  http://www.worktree.com/

RiseSmart  |  If you're looking for a job in the $100K salary range, forget Monster (I know, we just made a case for Monster). Instead, consider RiseSmart. Unlike all other job boards which are "self service" models (of which Monster is one, meaning you need to find jobs yourself), this company utilizes a concierge model. What does that mean? It means that real people at the company identify and screen job openings for $100K+ job seekers, saving real managers and executives time and aggravation.

"The biggest problem for job seekers is that finding the right job using job boards is extremely time-consuming and inefficient," says Sanjay Sathe, CEO of RiseSmart. "It's like searching for a needle in a haystack. This is the problem RiseSmart was created to solve." 

While not a free service (it's $43.95/mo), the company uses proprietary tools for discovering, filtering and matching jobs with clients. New jobs are sent out each week via email, matching your preferences. A free trial gets you the first set of hand-picked jobs at no charge.   http://www.risesmart.com/consumer/

HomeJobGroup.com  |  If you've ever tried to find a work-at-home job, you've likely discovered yourself hip-deep in scams. The industry is a magnet for shysters peddling pyramid schemes and phony "typing" jobs that pay $500 a day. Sorting through the junk becomes the full-time job, and you never get around to actually earning any money.

It doesn't have to be that way. This company is the only one that we would recommend to those who are serious about working from home. What makes this company different? For starters, it's a membership-only site, and a limited membership at that. This does something interesting: it provides the company with a well of committed members who have demonstrated an eagerness to get down to business, something the company then leverages to the benefit of those members when they approach employers looking for contract help.

To date, they've compiled a list of 1,500 companies needing people to complete jobs ranging from clerical to proofreading, assembly to packaging, article writing to photography, graphic design to web design.

Note: This is NOT for folks looking for business opportunities. Rather, it's for people looking for home jobs. Basic membership will cost you $14.95/mo. But the better deal is their lifetime membership for $49.95. Try the service for a full 8 weeks; if you decide that it's just not worth it, they'll refund 100% of your money, no questions asked. Doesn't get any more risk-free than that.  http://homejobgroup.com/

 TrainingCenter.com  |  In business for 21 years, this company provides computer training online. Brush up on a rusty skill, or learn a new computer skill to add heft to your resume. Individual courses are priced at $37 or $67 each, with packages available at huge discounts. Courses run the gamut from computer basics to off-the-shelf software (i.e. Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, etc.) to programming languages, HTML, server administration, and on and on. Courses are interactive. Work at your own pace. No textbooks or software to download -- just need a Windows PC and Internet Explorer. You have unlimited access to a course for an entire year.

Money-back guarantee if you're not thrilled with the quality of the course. One million people and counting have completed courses. Might be your turn.  http://www.trainingcenter.com/

© David Alan Carter
All Rights Reserved

David Alan Carter is a former technical recruiter (headhunter) and the founder of Resume One of Cincinnati. For more than ten years, he personally crafted thousands of resumes for satisfied clients from all occupational walks of life, grad and entry-level to senior executive.