Students have been job-searching online for years, posting resumes on job-centric websites such as Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com. Recently, however, students may be turning to websites like Craigslist and Twitter to network, administrators said.
Twitter currently seems more geared toward social networking than professional networking, but Craigslist and similar websites have become important job-hunting tools for students seeking employment with start-up and small to mid-sized companies, Gary Bergmann, Senior Consultant for Graduate Career Services at the School of Management’s Feld Career Center, said.
‘The positions are real, and the need to fill those positions is generally urgent, so it can be a valuable resource,’ he said.
But online networking should be a small portion of the entire search process, Bergman said. The most effective way to find jobs is to utilize career centers and extensive interpersonal networking, he said.
‘We preach networking as a lifelong process and not just a job search event,’ he said.
BU Director of Career Services Richard Leger agreed that networking in person is critical to finding a job and maintaining a career.
‘The best way to job hunt is to meet and talk to as many people as you can, person to person,’ he said.
Leger said that he believes social networking websites can be used to find jobs as long as students use them appropriately.
‘Social-oriented sites that can connect you are an excellent thing to use, just so long as you are careful about what you say and how you say it,’ he said. ‘Make sure your act is very clean and that there is nothing inappropriate.’
Justin McCummings, the associate director of Undergraduate Career Services at Feld, said that he has not seen students using Twitter as a medium for job searches or seen an increase in students using Craigslist.
But regardless of the websites, he said students need to be careful about the positions to which they apply online and avoid anything ‘they feel unsettled about.’
‘Any posting that requires you to provide money or ask for personal information, such as social security numbers and date of births, we highly recommend students to not apply,’ he said.
College of Communication senior Jimmy Doyle said he prefers to get assistance from professors, but is not opposed to online methods.
‘I have friends who have made excellent connections through Twitter, so it’s something I should seriously consider using,’ he said.
College of Arts and Sciences senior Roz Palmer said she is trying to use Craigslist only to find ‘a mindless, paying’ summer job, and does not believe the Internet is a particularly beneficial means of job-hunting.
‘I haven’t been successful with it yet,’ she said. ‘For all the hours I spend searching on the computer screen, I am always wondering if it would be more efficient to go out and knock on some people’s doors.’
