ONLINE JOB SEARCH GUIDE from Job-Hunt.Org
April 11, 2002

1. Insider Information - 7 Secrets to Search-Optimize Your Resume Web Page by Susan Joyce, Job-Hunt's Webmaster
   
2. New, Newsworthy, and/or Interesting Web Sites - 32 sites specifically for the accounting, banking, and financial services industries
3. Subscribing and Unsubscribing - Directions for unsubscribing from (or subscribing to) the ONLINE JOB SEARCH GUIDE

FREE! 15 Critical Criteria for Choosing a Job Site - PDF file, download from Job-Hunt, by Susan Joyce, Job-Hunt's Webmaster.

1. INSIDER INFORMATION - 7 Secrets to Search-Optimize Your Resume Web Page

You should design your resume to meet the needs of the Web search engines because recruiters DO search the Web for resumes (it's free vs. Web job sites), and, in some ways, it's more effective for them than posting a job opportunity.

When Webmasters design a Web site to be found by the search engines, they call the process (science? art? skill?) "search engine optimization." Appropriate placement of the "right" words is critical to search engine placement. Those words are called "keywords." They are the words searchers type into search engines to find want they want.

[If you need help defining YOUR keywords, see Job-Hunt's keyword resume section - Resume Keywords.]

After you have defined the appropriate keywords for your resume, do your own search optimization:

1)   Use Your Keywords INconsistently.

Different recruiters will type the keywords into their searches differently, so use common variations of the keywords in your resume. For example, if you want a job in Massachusetts, use the word "Massachusetts," the abbreviation "Mass" and the postal code "MA" on your resume. They are each a different way to type the same state name. A recruiter could type any of those variations into his/her search to find someone for a job in Massachusetts.

2)   Put the Word "Resume" on Your Resume.

On the Web, many recruiters search for resumes using the keyword "resume," so at the top of your resume, type the words "Resume of [your name]" on a line.

3)   Put Keywords in Your Resume's File Name.

Name your resume's file something that has both marketing and identification qualities, a combination of keywords and your name, like "IEEE_MJSmith_resume.html." (Note: don't leave blank spaces, or use punctuation other than a hyphen or underscore in the file name to maximize the probability that a computer will read the file name easily.)

4)   Optimize the Top of Your Web Page.

Search engines "read" the HTML behind your resume. They don't look at the pictures or read the text on graphics.

MOST search engines view the text at the top of the page as "important," so don't waste it. Put as many keywords there as you can, in an objective and skill summary, perhaps.

For help with HTML and adding keyword Meta tags to your resume, check out Job-Hunt's Internet Resume section.

5)   Register a Personal Domain Name.

If you decide to do a personal resume Web page, go first class, and register a domain name for yourself. They are inexpensive, and usually give you much better search engine positioning than a free site which will have a complicated URL (e.g. www.bigISP.com/~users/yournaume.html.). Register [yourname].com, [yourname].net, or [your name]-resume.com.

6)   Add "Meta" Tags, if You Want.

They may help with search results placement with some search engines, but they don't help as much as they did a couple of years ago. If you have the time and inclination, you can add these "invisible" collection of relevant keywords to your resume's HTML file. See Job-Hunt's section on Meta tags for your resume.

7)   Register Your Personal Resume Web Page.

If you go to the effort to transform your resume into a Web page, register it with Yahoo! and the Open Directory Project. Look for an appropriate "individual resumes" sub-category, and follow the submission directions very carefully.

Yahoo's expedited review will get you listed, or rejected, within 7 days at a cost of $299/year (or, for free, you can wait for them to get around to your resume, which may happen some day - but don't hold you breath). Yahoo! will send you an email when your Web site is accepted. Your resume is "in" the Yahoo! directory when you can find it IN A YAHOO SUB-CATEGORY, not just in a search of Web pages.

After it has been accepted by Yahoo, register it with Google (free!). The Open Directory Project is also free, and will positively impact your resume's placement in Google search results.

USABILITY HINT: It's easy and fun to play with the colors on a Web page, but resist temptation. Don't have a dark background with light-colored letters! Your resume may be printed by someone, and light letters on a dark background is a disastrous combination for most printers.

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2. NEW, NEWSWORTHY, AND INTERESTING SITES - 32 Web Sites for the Accounting, Banking, and Financial Services Industries

In a tough job market, like we have today, being creative is the key. So look for jobs and networking opportunities in new places, like professional and industry associations and societies.

Many association Web sites have job postings. They may also contain lists of potential employers, chapter meetings where you can connect with a potential coworker or employer, and news about your profession or industry so you can stay "current" even if you are not employed.

Listed below are the Web sites of associations and societies for members of the various branches of the accounting, banking, and financial services professions.

32 Accounting, Banking, and Financial Services Associations:

• American Academy of Actuaries - JOBS plus news and events
• American Accounting Association - no jobs, but meeting/educational calendar and directories
• American Association of Managing General Agents - no jobs, but meetings and member directory
• American Bankers Association - JOBS plus conferences, news, and other information
• American Council of Life Insurers - no jobs, but conferences and meetings calendar
• Association for Accounting Administration - JOBS by region in the U.S. plus directory of local chapters
• Association for Accounting Marketing - JOBS plus local chapter directory
• Association for Investment Management and Research - JOBS (JobLine for members only), plus chapter directory
• Association of Financial Technology - no jobs, but useful list of members and some events
• Association of Government Accountants - JOBS plus conferences
• Certified Commercial Investment Member - no jobs, but chapters, member directory, and conferences
• Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Association - JOBS (after April 12), plus local chapters
• Consumer Bankers Association - no jobs, but conferences and news
• Independent Community Bankers of America - no jobs, but searchable database of member banks and a directory of vendors
• Institute of Management Accountants - JOBS plus news, conferences, chapters, and conferences
• Insurance Accounting and Systems Association - no jobs, but chapter directory and conferences
• International Affiliation of Accounting Firms - JOBS plus an international directory of accounting firms
• International Federation of Accountants - no jobs, but news and other professional resources
• Mortgage Bankers Association of America - JOBS, news, and more
• National Association of Black Accountants, Inc. - no jobs, but a national conference and other programs
• National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors - no jobs but extensive detailed calendar of events
• National Association of Insurance Women - JOBS (members have special access) plus local chapters and conventions
• National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies - JOBS, news, convention, seminars, and more
• National Association of Personal Financial Advisors - JOBS (few), events, and conferences
• National Association of Small Business Investment Companies - no jobs, but resources including event calendar, member links, and industry links
• National Association of Venture Forums - no jobs, but links to venture forums by state
• National Society of Accountants - no jobs, but a national convention and member directory
• National Venture Capital Association - no jobs, but events, research, membership list, and other resources
• Professional Insurance Marketing Association - no jobs, but member directories, news, etc.
• Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. - JOBS (members get access to newest jobs) plus chapter directory, events calendar, news and more
• Society of Actuaries - no jobs, but meetings, seminars, and events calendars and discussion forum

The next newsletter will have more associations in it, for law and law enforcement, and we'll have associations available on Job-Hunt, too, by category. The list above will be on the Finance, Accounting, and Banking page of Job-Hunt next month (May, 2002).

[For more tips on leveraging association Web sites, as well as association sites for engineers and medicine/healthcare, see the March 14 (engineering) and March 28 (medical and healthcare) issues of the Online Job Search Guide.]

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