Considering all the layoffs in the corporate world these days, I thought this would be the right time to look at online job hunting. Even if you aren't currently looking for work, it's worth your while to be familiar with the five sites below.

It would have been hard to miss the big advertising campaigns over the last couple of years for sites like Monster.com and Hotjobs.com. They make it sound like finding jobs using the Web is very simple and that they have changed the world of old-fashioned job hunting.

The second statement is true, but the first one not quite so.

Finding a job still involves traditional ingredients:
Having valued skills, a willingness to work hard, selling yourself well, enough job openings, and, of course, lots of luck. But using the Web can make tracking down jobs faster and to some extent easier. Also, because so many recruiters now prefer to get electronic resumes -- which allow for quick sorting -- not being aware of these sites does put you at a disadvantage.

Two of the larges sites are Monster.com, a pure Web-only site and CareerBuilder.com, a network of more than 70 online newspaper classifieds sites, including the Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune. Monster recently bought its biggest rival, Hotjobs.com and intends, at least so far, to maintain the separate identity.

Both sites allow you to post your resume and track thousands of jobs in different parts of the country. They also allow you to keep track of where you've applied -- a major time-saver. One problem of posting your resume is that if you are still working, there's a chance your current employer may run into your resume and then you might have some explaining to do.

Another site to be aware of is CareerJournal.com, a site produced by The Wall Street Journal that's aimed, not surprisingly, more at executives and MBA-types. Lots of useful articles in addition to the listings.

Another site, thought smaller in scope, is called the JobHuntersBible.com, an online companion to a bestselling book called "What Color Is Your Parachute? - A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers," by job hunting guru Richard Nelson Bolles. Filled with practical tips about using the Web and going about your search, I strongly recommend this site and its contents.

Do write in to techguru@sree.net and let me know about your online job hunting tips.

Resources:

Monster.com
http://www.moster.com

HotJobs.com
http://www.hotjobs.com

CareerBuilder.com
http://www.careerbuilder.com

CareerJournal.com
http://www.careerjournal.com

Job Hunters Bible
http://www.jobhuntersbible.com

Send your feedback -- and ideas for coverage: techguru@sree.net

Sree's Site of The Week
Dictonary.com
http://www.dictionary.com

You probably have a nice leather-bound dictionary and wonder why you would ever need an online dictionary. One thing: in an office, dictionaries tend to grow legs and walk away. An online dictionary can solve that problem.

It can also solve another problem. Since I was about nine, I have found it odd that when using a dictionary, you need to know how to spell a word before you look it up. Online dictionaries allow you to misspell a word and they will try to guess what word you were trying to look up. They provide a list of approximate words and you can then find the right one.

Dicionary.com is an excellent online dictionary site. It has a clean design and an easy search interface that allows you to lookup words instantly by linking to well-known dictionaries like the American Heritage Dictionary.

Dictonary.com
http://www.dictionary.com

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