Cardinal Points

Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Katie Khouri Resume posting Web sites like Monster.com have risen in popularity in recent years. A study in 2006 showed 69 percent of college grads used them.

A 2006 study showed that 69 percent of college grads have posted a resume online, more than doubling the number of those who posted in 2005.

The study, which was issued by the Center for Media Research, surveyed 1,500 recent graduates and found most students used Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com.

"There is a large variety of jobs that students can explore through online-job Web sites," Barbara Barry, senior career counselor at the Career Development Center, said. "Especially compared to searching through a newspaper."

Job seekers can search nationally and "to some extent, it's cheaper and easier," Barry said. "It's a big jump in how students look for jobs."

But despite these advantages, she said, it is also crucial to be aware of these sites' downfalls.

"It can be overwhelming," Barry said. "There's so much on the Web."

She also describes the sites as "fairly anonymous," meaning there is a limit to how much the job seeker knows. This could make it hard to evaluate a job opportunity for what it truly is.

Another disadvantage, Barry said, is the large number of applications received by employers.

"The volume of applications sent in makes it hard for any given candidate to stand out," she said. "(Employers) get so many applications that they search through them electronically."

Michael Bornhorst, a 2003 PSUC graduate with a bachelor's degree in secondary education and a master's degree in curriculum and instruction, said he has used job-posting sites.

He was hired through one, but said "the sites are only as good as the people using them."

In addition to Monster and CareerBuilder, Bornhorst said he used a Capital Region-based job-posting site, CapitalAreaHelpWanted.com.

"You have to have a good resume and well-written cover letter otherwise nobody will call you," he said.

Regardless, employers across the nation are posting jobs and reviewing applications via the Internet at a quick pace.

"They're a large part of our world here at Westaff," Katie McClelland, spokesperson for Plattsburgh's Westaff branch, said. "We check them daily."

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