In this article, you’ll learn how to navigate the mountains of online information to find a job that’s right for you. Part one will show you how to uncover and apply for job openings. Part two will teach you how to make employers on the Internet beat a path to your door.

Part 1: The Hunter

First, begin at an employment Web site where you can search a database of job openings. Two excellent choices are JobOptions and the Online Career Center. At either site, you can search for jobs by title, salary and geographic area. Searches are free.

Let's say you want a computer programming job in Chicago. Searching for keywords such as "program" and "Chicago," would probably yield a glut of job postings. Refine your search; change "program" to "programmer" or "programming." Next, search for specific computer languages, like "C++" or "Visual Basic." You could even narrow your search to openings with a particular company, such as "IBM."

You can also use Web search engines to find job postings on Usenet. Go to AltaVista or DejaNews. Both let you search newsgroups by keyword, to uncover job openings posted worldwide. While your first searches may not find jobs that match your career goals, that's OK. Keep experimenting until you find the right combination of keywords, then search at least twice a week.

A third job-hunting method is to contact companies directly via the Web. Let's say you have a burning desire to work for the Ace Novelty Company. Go to Yahoo and search for "Ace Novelty," or just browse the Business hierarchy of Web sites there. Once at the Ace Novelty Web site, look for an e-mail link to the company; links usually have names like "Feedback" or "Comments." Compose a brief cover letter and send it, along with an ASCII version of your résumé, to the Webmaster at Ace. In your letter, politely ask that your résumé be forwarded to the Personnel Department. Better yet, address it by name to the person who can hire you. In either case, submitting your résumé through a company's Web site shows you understand the Internet, which can set you apart from most job hunters.

Part 2: The Hunted

Now it’s time to become the hunted and have employers find YOU.

There are two main ways to do this: upload your résumé to an online database, and create a Web page résumé.

To upload your résumé, it's best to use a keyword version of it. A keyword résumé is a noun-intensive document containing buzzwords or "keywords" describing you and your experience.

When employers search résumé databases for candidates, they use keywords pertaining to the position they want to fill. If their keywords don't match those in your résumé, you won't be found. For this reason, traditional résumés are often ineffective.

For example, the phrase, "managed mechanical engineering projects" would fail compared to "MBA, mechanical engineer, manager." So be sure to rewrite your résumé accordingly. (If you’re unsure of your writing abilities or don't have the time, you may wish to work with a professional résumé writer. Please click here to learn how to order a keyword résumé.)

Once you have a keyword résumé, format it as an ASCII text file. Doing so means you can safely upload it to any Internet database without it appearing illegible. Now, you're ready to upload your résumé. Free.

On the Web, upload your résumé to JOBTRAK. Point your browser to:
http://www.jobtrak.com/resumes/
Follow the directions to copy and paste the text of your keyword résumé into JOBTRAK's database.

Another excellent places to post your résumé is http://www.HeadHunter.net.
Again, just follow the directions to copy and paste the text of your keyword résumé into this database.

Next, upload your résumé to the Usenet newsgroup misc.jobs.resumes, which is nothing but résumés. Tip: recruiters around the world comb this newsgroup for people they can represent to employers. So your résumé will do double duty -- it will be seen by employers and head-hunters.

To upload your résumé using your Usenet newsreader software (free with most ISP accounts), simply post your résumé to

misc.jobs.resumes
Subject: (your job title)
Body: (text of your keyword résumé)

Now, the second technique: creating a Web page résumé. With a basic knowledge of HTML programming, you can create a stellar résumé and post it on your own Web site or on a host's.

Your résumé Web page should follow the keyword format mentioned earlier. Replace action verbs with appropriate nouns -- this is your most important task. Also, your Web résumé should have an e-mail link so that employers can quickly get in touch with you. And your résumé should have a counter at the bottom of the page to show how many times it has been visited.

Some things to avoid: pictures, audio files and anything else that may make your résumé Web page slow to load. Unless you're trying to find a job as an HTML programmer or graphic artist, don't showcase your design skills. Stick to your keywords, follow the above guidelines and you could make the Internet work for you -- literally.