Internet Magic Fridays

Jane Booras is the Editor of numerous newsletters including our Campus Times. She will be sharing how you can find whatever you need - photos, clipart, information, maps, phone numbers - on the Internet.

TURTLES, TERRIERS & TIGERS

It used to be that when you wanted to find a job, you would go to the “want ads” in the Classified section of the newspaper. Not anymore. You go to the Internet. The most popular sites for finding a job, or a career for that matter, are websites such as:

http://www.monster.com/
http://www.careerbuilder.com/

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/

In the search box for all of these sites, you can select an industry, category, location, salary range etc. and when you “hit enter,” you are guided to any number of opportunities for full time, part time or contract employment.

In fact, if you are interested in occasional or “freelance” projects, you can look them up on the Internet too. Some of the popular and interesting sites are:

http://www.directfreelance.com/projects.aspx
http://www.gofreelance.com/freelance-work.html

So if you’re looking for a job, a project, or a way to supplement your income, these are some of the places to start. Just click around and look at what is available and who knows what you might uncover? You’ll find a whole new world of opportunities at your fingertips. Do beware of the “earn big dollars at home” opportunities, though. Check them out very carefully.

On the other side of the coin, if you’re looking for an employee, project manager or volunteer for a committee, you need to know that all people are not suited for all jobs! For instance you wouldn’t want Rumpelstiltskin (who sits in the back room and spins straw into gold) sitting at your front desk.

He doesn’t want to be bothered or interrupted for any reason while “on task.” And if Dolly Levi (the meet and greet “Hello Dolly” type) is in your Data Processing Dept, she won’t sit still at the computer for two minutes!

Obviously, we’re all suited for different tasks. In a company we owned once, we referred to job prospects as turtles, terriers or tigers.

Turtles are well suited for detailed work. They pay attention to every small detail and plod along quietly until the job is done, and done well. They are good accountants and data processors.

Terriers are always looking for approval. They need to be stroked. They are well suited for telephone work because they will do anything for a compliment. All they want is to please everyone.

Tigers are your sales people – or ideal for the marketing department. Need somebody to sell sponsorships or tables for a charity event? Find a tiger. They don’t wait for people to come to them, they go out and hunt for what they need.

Whether for a job or a project, it’s important not to try and pound the square peg into the round hole, as the old saying goes, or you’re in for a lot of grief.

Happy people, that is, those who are asked to perform in sync with their skills and interests, are the most productive. Of course once in a while you are blessed to bump into that rare bird that is part turtle, part terrier and part tiger – the one who can do it all!

Pounce on it!

Jane Booras is Editor of the Campus Times Newsletter for Computer School for Seniors (http://www.cs4seniors.com/)