When the Internet Job Sites Just Aren’t Working…

…you need to get creative and take alternative actions. Here are five tried and true steps that you can take that may help you uncover the harder-to-find job opportunities.

1. http://www.jobcentral.com/ – Unlike Monster, Hotjobs, and Careerbuilder, jobcentral.com spiders corporate career pages and pulls job openings. A search on jobcentral.com will uncover positions that exist on corporate sites but not necessarily on the more popular job sites.

2. Professional society job pages – Almost every major professional society will have a Career or Jobs section on their web sites. While most job seekers will check the main society sites, many will not check the local chapter web sites. In many instances these local chapters will have job postings not found on the society’s main web site. Be sure to check out: http://www.astd.org/, http://www.ispi.org/, http://www.shrm.org/, http://www.odnetwork.org/.

3. Attend professional society meetings. At most meetings members are given an opportunity to make announcements and you can often hear about job opportunities that aren’t otherwise published or promoted.

4. Leverage your professional society investment. Most professional societies will provide an online directory of members. In some cases, these members can represent a pipeline to consulting and permanent job opportunities.

5. Scour corporate career pages. Here are the steps that I would take to maximize my time investment.

** Develop a list of the corporations that are the major employers in your area

** Develop a list of the corporations in your area that are the major employers within the industries that you have worked (you are most marketable to these corporations)

** Develop a list of corporations in your area that appear to be doing well (increased stock price, positive press, awarding of contracts, etc.)

** Visit the career pages of the corporations on your list to see what jobs they may have posted.

** Submit your resume or better yet attempt to speak with a hiring manager within the corporation (HINT: don’t forget about those membership directories).