More job-hunters surfing the web fantastic

By VIKKI BLAND

When 27-year-old software engineer Robert Lancaster went on his big OE last year, he used internet job sites to look for employment in England.

Ten months and four unsuccessful interviews later, he returned unimpressed with the English IT job market but was sold on using the internet as a job-seeking channel.

He began searching for a local job by typing "embedded software engineer" into the search window of New Zealand job sites, and responding to positions that interested him. Within four weeks he was employed.

Lancaster was recruited as a senior software engineer for BTW Navigation Systems, a New Plymouth-based software developer. The position was posted on job websites by IT recruitment firm Duncan and Ryan.

"After England, I expected it to take longer than it did. English recruitment agencies never contact you as a result of your online applications or inquiries; you have to apply online and then keep calling them," says Lancaster.

By comparison, he says New Zealand agencies are a joy.

"All the agencies I emailed through New Zealand job sites responded within hours or by the next day. I would recommend New Zealand IT job seekers use the internet."

So how common is it for IT job seekers to search and apply for jobs using the internet in place of, or alongside, traditional channels such as print media?

The answer is: increasingly so.

Sarah Calkin, business development director for the web traffic research firm Red Sheriff, says the company's research indicates more people are using the internet to look for jobs, the demographics of New Zealand online job seekers are similar and a job seeker will visit more than one job site on a regular basis.

Calkin says internet traffic to job sites increases at peak job times of the year and while individual promotions can skew results, traffic trends tend to be uniform across all job sites.

In other words, New Zealand jobs sites all do about as well as each other.

"This is a very competitive market and job sites can tend to specialise according to industry," says Calkin.

James Cozens, president of the New Zealand division of the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association, concurs and says the internet is an increasingly complementary job market channel to print advertising.

"The advantage for the applicant is speed and ease of response. Plus sending a CV in electronic format is now the norm."

He says the IT industry is ahead of other industries in making employment opportunities available online, and recalls working for an IT recruitment firm in London some years ago.

"Even then they were advertising IT jobs on the net. Applicants had to send in their CVs on a floppy disk."

So which local job sites are most successful and how can job seekers ensure their online applications are noticed?

Red Sheriff researched New Zealand job sites in August and came up with a listing of the top seven based on qualified internet traffic.

IT job seekers visiting these sites will find positions in the IT industry well catered for, with the top sites offering dedicated IT sections. IT recruitment firms also post their listings on general job sites in addition to their own websites. Some job sites offer applicants free advice on how to place an online application, or include industry specific news. Most allow the option of sending a personal CV in addition to completing a pre-defined template.

Online job seekers do not always need to register with a job site to browse jobs, although registration has its advantages. Some sites allow registered users to store their CV on the site or will keep track of applications for an individual.

Job seekers can also subscribe to a site's email service, which alerts applicants to newly advertised positions.

As for getting noticed, as Lancaster found, the New Zealand IT job market is smaller than the English job market. Providing applicants follow a few key rules applications that contain in-demand IT skills are not likely to be overlooked.

Do's and don'ts

DO attach a cover letter.

DO attach a CV.

DO personalise your application to each position.

DON'T mass email employers, agencies or sites with your CV and a standard letter.

DON'T attach PDF files, large documents or graphics to your online applications. They annoy the advertiser or agency by taking too long to download.

Top job sites

seek.co.nz

nzjobs.co.nz

jobstuff.co.nz

nzherald.co.nz

netcheck.co.nz

workingin.com

jobuniverse.co.nz

*Research by Red Sheriff, August 2003