Job Hunting on a Corporate Website

Posted on January 28, 2010
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If you’re job hunting, don’t ignore the corporate website, says this former recruiter. Yes, it’s time consuming. And tedious. But there are benefits beyond the aggravation. Here are 5 things to keep in mind while job hunting on corporate websites.

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If you’re job hunting, it’s easy to get sidetracked by all the whizbang job search technology out there (i.e. job banks, vertical search engines, etc.). Here’s a basic fact that you should never forget: most corporations have a web presence, and a web presence means information freely available to visitors. What information? Well, more often than not, a career page listing currently-available job opportunities.

Job Hunting – Start On The Corporate Website

While researching this article, I Googled up the corporate website for Marathon Oil Corporation. I clicked on the “Careers” tab, and initiated a search for all available jobs in North America. My results on this particular day was a 2-page list of positions ranging from an Attorney in Findlay, Ohio to a Process Engineer based in Cody, Wyoming. There were also Administrative Assistants and Lab Technicians and Terminal Operators and a Port Captain needed at locations throughout the country. The beauty part? On this date, we’re still in the middle of an historic recession with unemployment at 10+%.

Got a corporation in mind that you’d like to work for? A firm that might have a need for your particular professional expertise? Great, but don’t just post your resume on some job board and wait for it to attract their attention; go to the company and knock on their door. Start with their corporate website, and you’ll likely find that door is already ajar. Go ahead, walk on in.

Job Hunting – 5 Tips When Approaching the Corporate Website

You can find any corporate website easy enough now days (Google the name of the firm, and their site will usually pop up in the first one or two listings on the results page). Once there, look for the “careers” section or “jobs” or something similar. Conduct an onsite search for available positions. Find something that fits? Before you apply online and submit your resume, consider the following:

1) Page around and review the rest of the website, particularly the sections marked “Products & Services” and “Press Releases” or “News.” The more you learn about the company, it’s products/services and corporate philosophy, the better your odds of landing that interview, and wowing them across the table.

2) Study carefully the qualifications and requirements to the position you’re most interested in. Take the time to edit and customize your resume to highlight your qualifications that specifically match those requirements. For example, if the job requires a proficiency in OLAP, dig that nugget out of the bowels of your resume and present it front-and-center in your Profile Section. You don’t want to make stuff up, but you do want to extract and present every bit of your background that makes you a perfect fit for the job. By crafting a targeted resume, you’re already one leg up on your competition.

3) f you can avoid sending your resume to the HR department, do it. In most cases, it will be unavoidable. But sometimes, with a little bit of investigative work, you can identify the Hiring Official for the job you’re seeking. If the position opening lists a “reports to…” try to identify that person via a “Profiles” or “Personnel” page. When at all possible, pitch to that person.

4) Follow instructions carefully when applying online. Every company will be different, so pay attention to the fine print. Don’t ruin your chance for an interview by attaching a photo to your resume, for example, if the instructions specifically warn against doing that.

5) Once you’ve applied online, don’t sit back and wait for the phone to ring. Go out there and find the next company you’d like to work for, and repeat steps 1-5.

In a competitive job market, persistence is key. Success in landing your next job will come about by developing a campaign and working that campaign every day. Make sure your campaign includes pursuing positions that are readily detailed on corporate websites.

Former recruiter David Alan Carter compares the Web’s most popular resume writing services at the website http://TopResumeServices.com, reviewing quality of workmanship, spelling out pricing, and giving each a star ranking.