CSULB workshop teaches Internet job search tactics

By clicking their way around a vast landscape of information, students can find whatever they need at any time on the Internet, including a career.

At a job-placement workshop in the Career Development Center last Wednesday, students learned the basic skills needed for using the Internet to find a job.

Facilitated by Carol Brown Elston, a career counselor at the center, the workshop was part of a summer-long series of placement workshops designed to teach students the basic skills for employment.

"Job Search on the Web," presented a doorway to possibilities that have seen considerable traffic in recent times; a door that opens to a wealth of jobs that now exist exclusively on Internet job-search databases.

"I have all the resources, I just don't know how to use them," said Ebaristo Sorola, a fine arts major who came to the class to learn more about finding a job on the Internet.

Jobtrak, a search engine for job listings on the Internet, was the first resource Elston explained. By registering with the Career Development Center and setting up a Social Security number as a password, any Cal State Long Beach student can access the search engine from computers located on campus for one year. Students must access the center's web site at www.careers.csulb.edu.

"I have a tendency to leave things open," Elston said, of the criteria selection process. "I want to see what happens." 

Some online job databases, such as Jobtrak, allow for keyword searches. In this, a specific word related to a job can be used to initiate a search. But it's not always easy to find what you're looking for right away.

"Don't get frustrated," Elston said. "You have to play around with it to see what you can get."

An abundance of online job-search databases have appeared in the last few years.

The volume of information offered by the Internet may intimidate some students. For those who have not searched the web for a job before, Jobtrak is a simple and easy way to start and learn. For those with a little more Internet savvy, the possibilities are endless.