The ultimate job search guide: Your dream job is out there somewhere, but a successful expedition takes time, a thorough exploration, and the proper tools

Careers and Colleges, Jan-Feb, 2002 by Tracey Randinelli

Not only are most college career centers free to use, they are stuffed with job search-related aids--from career assessment tools to resume and cover letter-writing services. Counselors can also put you in touch with graduates who may be working in your field.

Internet Job Boards

Call them the classified ads of the new millennium. Internet job boards allow you to search through thousands of job opportunities and target positions you're interested in. "You can type in the type of job you're looking for and see all the jobs that meet your criteria in one second," says Lee of CollegeJournal.com. Most job boards also post resumes, which employers scan when searching for applicants.

Besides the larger, better known boards like Monster. corn and HotJobs.com, there are thousands of smaller ones that specialize in particular fields like science (newscientistjobs.com), publishing (mediabistro.com), or health care (healthcarejobstore.com).

Online job ads tend to be much more detailed than classified ads; they often include information on the company itself or a link to the company's Web site.

Because 40,000 job boards currently flood the Internet, there's no way to search through every single one. Instead, Rothberg suggests choosing half a dozen boards geared toward college students or general employment and a half dozen industry-specific sires. Just male sure you search the sites' job listings periodically--posting your resume does not guarantee that you will automatically be considered for every job listed.

And don't forget about the Internet's value as a research tool. If you pinpoint a company you would like to work for, you usually can get a summary of what a company does, read its latest annual report, see how they might be expanding-all from your home computer.

Internships

If you love your college internship, it could become a permanent gig. According to the WerFeet.com survey, 45 percent of interns were offered full-time positions at the companies they worked for last year.

The simplest way to turn your internship into something full-time? Do a good job--no matter how mundane or silly the task. When John Shabe graduated from Syracuse University in New York, he took on a post-grad internship at a local daily paper. As a general assignment sports reporter, his duties were far from glamorous. He remembers spending a day covering a 60-year-old man who was trying to break a record by swimming the length of a 22-mile lake. But his story was so well-written that it made it onto page one the next morning. That quality-in-the-face-of-drudgery attitude scored the sports reporter a full-time position by the end of the summer.

During your internship, periodically ask for feedback from your supervisor or other employees. Network like crazy--at least a few times a week, try to go to lunch with a different person from the company. Stay in touch with employees after you finish the internship, even if it's just dropping them an occasional email. And make it known that you're interested in continuing at the company full-time.