Use Job Search E-mail Alerts

The job search process can be complicated and time-consuming. But let’s be honest; there are some job search activities that are more effective than others. It’s better to spend time on activities that are high-yield (are more likely to result in actual job offers) than on ones that are low-yield. Scouring online job boards is a time-consuming, low-yield activity. So here’s a tip for freeing up some of your time: use job search email alerts.

• Many job search engines, including two of our favorites, Indeed.com and Idealist.org, provide some way to email jobs that meet your interests directly to your inbox. These are sometimes called job search email alerts or job search agents.

• Save multiple alerts for different search criteria you may have, such as ones by geographic location, by position type, and by keyword. For example, you may have one alert searching for graphic design internships in the Los Angeles area and a second alert searching for museum internships in Seattle.
• If the email alerts you begin receiving are not quite the type you are looking for, go back to the original alert you created and revise it.
• Once you’ve saved, and possible refined, your alerts, stop scouring the job boards – let the search engine do that work for you.  Just check the emails you receive, and apply to the ones that are of most interest.
• The key to this tip is to use the time you might have used searching job boards to focus on high-yield activities – attend networking events, initiate informational interviews, conduct in-depth employer research, and write tailored resumes and cover letters.