Overcoming the risks of online job hunting

Applying for jobs online is a handy way of sending in your application, but Victoria University of Wellington career advisor, Millie Douglas, says there are some things to watch out for.

"One thing that occurs fairly frequently is that people don't allow sufficient time. Students are busy people and often tend to leave applications to the last day or two before the close off date. That often isn't a good idea for online application forms."

Imagine contemplating for days what you're going to write with your application for your dream job only to find the website is down when you go to apply. Douglas says it does happen.

"Sites can be quite complex. Even the most effective systems a company has may not quite cope with suddenly receiving hundreds of applications over a short time period."

Douglas says the online application method is great for employers and candidates are now getting used to them.

"Most candidates now don't really question online applications. It's just a fact of life to them."

If for some technical reason an online application goes awry, Douglas says all is not lost.

"In the past we have had students panicking and ringing up saying, 'What do I do?"'

Her advice is to ring up the company and explain what happened.

A simple call to confirm receipt of your application and to check where they are in the selection process can put your worries to rest.

Sometimes even if you've done everything properly in applying for a position online and your application goes through, there is no guarantee a human will ever see it.

"Big corporate recruiters and some of the large companies will probably only review your application if it emerges based on a keyword search."

Keyword exclusions generally involve competencies or technical skills. For instance, if an employer is looking for a ColdFusion software developer, you'd better have the word ColdFusion somewhere in your CV or application.

But Don Fulford, senior consultant at H2R Consulting says any mechanised solution to staff selection is misguided.

"The key to an online application is just using it as an efficiency tool rather than taking the personal evaluation side of it out. The minute it becomes mechanical you lose all of those intuitive and human evaluation elements that often make a huge difference."

H2R does not use any keyword exclusions because that would ignore any mitigating circumstances an applicant might have, Fulford says.

"There is no automated culling. When you go to that next step of any automated process of culling out CVs, you run the risk of good people not being seen."

The online database allows recruiters to compare someone's old CV with a new one they've just sent in, but Fulford says he usually only finds constructive improvements.

At Victoria University, Douglas tells her students some recruiters are merciless and don't tolerate any typos but others are a bit more reasonable.

In the online environment, Douglas warns that employers can find out more about you than you may wish. Making an off-the-cuff statement on an online discussion board may come back to haunt you.

"If you're chatting student to student, you may make all sorts of comments on a website that you wouldn't really want to become public."

A simple search by an employer may mean you miss out. Your latest CV may not look so flash when compared with an old one of yours you left posted online somewhere.

Douglas says applicants need to control their online presence. She says to Google yourself regularly and make sure any online information about you that you don't want or is outdated is removed.