Cool jobs are hard to score
Written: Apr 14 '00 (Updated May 25 '00)
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About three months ago, I began my online job hunt during an intolerable temp assignment. I had just discovered Fast Company magazine, and was roaming around their web site, thinking that if anyone had a lead on cool jobs, they would. When I searched for jobs through their site, though, I noticed it said it was powered by Hot Jobs. So instead of going through the middleman, I decided to move straight to the real thing.
When I first visited, I read a letter that had won $1000 from a woman who had found her job through Hot Jobs. Thinking back to her letter, the initial parts of her story remind me of my own situation. She applied for jobs through snail mail and never heard back from people. She started faxing her resumes and still didn't get a response. Then she posted her resume on Hot Jobs and landed her dream position - without even turning in an application!
Well, I haven't landed my dream position. But I have posted my resume, and it has been viewed - 10 times out of 123 search matches in about three months. And at least three of those views have probably been from jobs for which I applied. Maybe others have better luck.
Being able to view your stats is one of the neatest things about Hot Jobs. That's why it's frustrating that after you log in, you don't move immediately to a screen that displays your stats. The post login screen gives many options, and it's sometimes hard to remember where to find what you want to see. For instance, if you want to view your resume, you have to choose "resume privacy settings," whereas you choose a different option for editing your resume, and a different one for stats. You cannot view your resume while you're editing it, unless you have your resume's URL bookmarked.
Another downside to Hot Jobs is that they don't have a convenient Resume Builder like Monster.com does. Some people may not like the Resume Builder; ideally, both sites would offer visitors a choice. When I tried to copy the code from my Monster resume into the Hot Jobs text box (maybe that's lazy of me, but I thought Monster's Builder was fairly comprehensive), my resume was rejected as having too many characters. After I deleted a bunch of extraneous HTML, it finally fit.
Another great thing about Hot Jobs is that it posts a lot of jobs. It updates daily, but sometimes jobs repeat from day to day. Perhaps that's a matter of overeager employers, however.
Hot Jobs also makes it easier to apply for jobs than on Monster.com because it allows you to type a cover letter while you're viewing the job description. With Monster, you have to type a cover letter separately and then select it before you apply. I actually even heard back from one of the jobs I applied for on Hot Jobs, which has been a rarity during my search. So I can testify that when you apply, employers do receive your resume.
Lastly, Hot Jobs lets you create search agents and gives you options on whether you want the agents' results to be e-mailed to you, and if so, how often, etc. It's a convenient feature that saves users from re-entering their search info every time they want to see new job openings.
Overall, Hot Jobs isn't bad, but if you're looking for jobs primarily online, I recommend using it in conjunction with other job search engines.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
bethy
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Member: Beth
Location: NY
Reviews written: 60
Trusted by: 36 members
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