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Job hunting confidentially
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December 4, 2000: 9:15 a.m. ET
Internet job agents can help you get a lot closer to that dream job
By Peter Weddle
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Wouldn't it be great if you could keep an eye on the job market and not have to do any work or worry about protecting your confidentiality? Well, now you can -- with a job agent on the Internet.
Job agents are software programs that act as "personal shoppers" for your dream job. They're available at a growing number of commercial employment sites, including CareerBuilder.com, Nation Job (www.nationjob.com), FlipDog.com and Monster.com. Job agents are free to use and take much of the work, hassle and anxiety out of looking for a new or better job. 
To put one of these little "shoppers" to work for you, simply visit a site and click on its job agent feature. You may have to look around a bit, as the names that sites give their agents aren't always intuitive. For example, at CareerBuilder.com, the agent is called Mega Job Search; at Nation Job, on the other hand, it's known as P.J. Scout. At FlipDog.com, the name of the agent is JobHunter, while at Monster.com, it's called -- yep, you guessed it -- My Monster.
Once you've found and opened the agent at a particular site, you simply complete a short profile that describes the kind of job you'd like to have. After that, the computer does all the work. While you're off shopping for presents or planning a Holiday get-away, the computer will compare your profile to new job openings posted online. When it finds a match, it will send you a private e-mail message that contains either the position description or directions to where it can be found on the site. It doesn't get any easier than that!
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 SOME FREE INTERNET JOB AGENTS:
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CareerBuilder.com
Nation Job
FlipDog.com
Monster.com
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Helpful as they are, however, job agents are also very parochial. With one exception (CareerBuilder.com), they track only the postings at their particular site. Therefore, to get the best results from these programs, you should either use the agents at several sites or pick the one site that seems to offer the best opportunities for you.
And finally, a word of caution is in order. As powerful and convenient as they are, job agents can't shoulder all of the load. They are not a substitute for the host of other activities involved in an effective job search. Job agents are a new and very helpful tool, but just one of many that you should use to find your dream job.
Peter Weddle is one of the nation's leading experts in online job searching. He has written numerous books, including "Career Fitness" and "CliffsNotes: Finding a Job on the Web." For more information, please visit his site at http://www.weddles.com/. 
* Disclaimer
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