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CNN Live Saturday
Interview with Richard Nelson Bowles
Aired May 11, 2002 - 22:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Given the current state of the economy, these are certainly not the best days to be looking for work. But many economists say that things are getting better. And there are many more resources out there to help you on your job search. One of them is this book, "Job Hunting on the Internet." It's out now in paperback. And in it, author Richard Nelson Bolles, outlines the key benefits gained online. It's a great place to find job listings, post your resume, pick up career advice, research jobs, and find contacts.
Richard Bolles is joining us now. He is also the author, I must say, of "What Color is Your Parachute?" Great book. Thank you so much for being with us tonight.
RICHARD NELSON BOWLES, AUTHOR, JOB HUNTING ON THE INTERNET: You're welcome.
CALLAWAY: I just ripped through some of the headlines in your book, "Job hunting on the Internet." And -- now this is a helpful book because there's so much information out there on the Internet, it's hard to know how to use it correctly and what really can help you find a job.
BOLLES: Right.
CALLAWAY: One of the things that you said is to look for job listings, but that's not really the best place to look for a job listing, is it?
BOLLES: No, in fact, I recommend that people don't put their whole faith in that. You have to consider that the worst thing that can happen to you during your job hunt is that you will lose yourself self-esteem. People always think, well, the worst thing it will be, I won't find a job.
CALLAWAY: Right.
BOLLES: But eventually you will. But if you lose your self- esteem along the way, that's absolutely the worst outcome of a job hunt. And with the hype about the Internet that's so current in all the media and so on today, people get to believe, well, it's practically infallible. If I go on the Internet, I'm going to find a job.
CALLAWAY: Right. BOLLES: And the actual statistic is that 10 percent of those that go on the Internet looking for a job actually find one there.
CALLAWAY: Now you say in your book that it's not really the best place to look for a job listing, or even to post your resume, but it's a great place to go on and find information about a prospective company, right?
BOLLES: Right. Right. There are three uses of the Internet that people don't usually think about when they're talking about its usefulness to the job hunter. The first is testing and counseling. If they are uncertain what to do next, and maybe their field is kind of dried up in the area where they live, they can always look at other alternatives, things they can do with the skills they presently have without going back, necessarily, for retraining.
And so, that in fact, on my website, I have my own website that's a guide to all of this. And the pages on testing and counseling are the most popular. They're the ones that get visited the most. Second use of the Internet is research, researching fields, researching companies, researching geographical areas. And the third is contacts, where people develop -- say they want to move from New York City to Seattle, they can often get in the chat place where they can talk to somebody from Seattle and get some hints about what's going on there.
CALLAWAY: Yes, I want to examine that a little bit with you, but I want to back up a little bit here. What -- you're talking about jobhuntersbible.com is the address that you're mentioning, where you can also have connections to other sites. There it is, right there. I know you like hotjobs and monster.com. And you just said there's a lot of postings on there, but really, the best way to use the Internet might be to do what you just said, go into some of these chatrooms and check out a certain city you want to live in or a certain company.
I know in broadcasting, it's nice to be able to go in these chatrooms. And if you're thinking about going to a particular station, a lot of broadcasters get in there and give you the goods on that particular station and who to send your resume to, right? That's an important thing?
BOLLES: And what stations to avoid.
CALLAWAY: Yes, what news directions to avoid, exactly. And that is so with just about any other company as well, isn't it?
BOLLES: Absolutely.
CALLAWAY: What do you think is the best advice to someone who plans to use -- wants to use the Internet to help them find a job?
BOLLES: Well, the first thing, I've already to. So I'll say the second thing first. They need to know what it is they want to use the Internet for. What information do they lack or what kind of contact are they trying to establish? What place are they trying to research? It's silly to go on the Internet, just to say, "I went on the Internet." It's endlessly fascinating, of course. And you get off on sites that deal with your favorite hobby, collecting butterflies or whatever. But it doesn't necessarily add to your job hunt.
So the Internet should be one part of your job hunt in strategy, not the whole of it. And the second, of course, is also that you have to know the statistics. What are the likely success rates if you say go to the resume sites and post your resume, or if you go to the employers' job listing sites, what kind of odds are there? And then give it that amount of time that it deserves. So 10 percent of people that visit the job boards and the employer sites, only 10 percent, find a job, give it 10 percent of your time out of your total job hunting plan.
CALLAWAY: You said something that's interesting in your book. And you also said it in our pre-interview, that really, you should not use the resume to open the door for you. You need to get in the door another way, and use the resume to impress people. I thought that was a great statement on how to look for a job.
BOLLES: Yes, and of course, that's been my advice for 30 years in "What Color is Your Parachute?"
CALLAWAY: Right, and I got to tell you...
BOLLES: I just...
CALLAWAY: I gush here, but Richard Nelson Bolles, author of "What Color of Parachute." I loved that book. And it was so much help for me in a difficult time and job transition, and helped me tremendously. It was almost like something a dad would write to help their kids out when they're in a bad situation and looking for a job. And I just want to you thank you for that book.
BOLLES: You're very welcome.
CALLAWAY: And...
BOLLES: Uncle is usually the metaphor they use. It's a friendly uncle.
CALLAWAY: All right, let's get back to the resume. Now how can someone build the best resume? I mean, can they get on the Internet and find out how to build that resume, the best way?
BOLLES: Yes.
CALLAWAY: There's a lot of advice out there.
BOLLES: Yes, there's a lot. How to write a resume, type it into your search engine, metacrawler.com or whatever search engine you like the most. And it'll pop up all kinds of sites. Also on my own site, I tell people what sites to go to get instructions and help in writing a resume, if that's the thing they want to do. I also tell them that one job offer gets tendered for every 1400 resumes that are floating around out there. And if you knew that going into some venture of yours, there is only 1 out of 1470 chances it would succeed, you probably wouldn't use it. Yet people have this kind of divine faith in resumes. Well, I know I'm going to get a job using my resume. And that isn't the most fruitful way.
The most fruitful way to approach an employer, frankly, is to go door to door.
CALLAWAY: Yes.
BOLLES: It's smaller companies, 20 or less employees, often turn up jobs where the large companies just don't have any.
CALLAWAY: But use the Internet to investigate the company and the market?
BOLLES: Absolutely.
CALLAWAY: All right, sir. Thank you so much for being with us tonight.
BOLLES: You're welcome.
CALLAWAY: Richard Bolles.
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