So, another crack at this online job finding business...

In a previous post I talked about how it was very unlikely for me or generally ANYONE to get a job from just submitting their resume' online. Well, my good friend, former roommate, and hetero-life partner asked me to give the online route of finding a job another try. He suggested that I give his company Zoominfo.com a try.

What it is

Zoominfo is essentially a search engine for people. Instead of looking for pictures of Halle Berry or the latest on Fed-Ex, this search engine will find staff for people in different industries via any number of variables. For example, I looked up Marketing Directors for Technology Industry in California and immediatly received an avalanche of names and contact numbers. The results are incredible and there is more information there than I could possibly sift through over my entire Christmas break.

Why this is a good thing

Instead of going through the normal route of submitting your resume via the company web site, you can now contact the decision maker directly and tell them who you are, what you are about, and why you are wonderful and excited about working for their company. This gets you past the HR Directors who are already immune to your witty coverletter and dazzling resume' and puts you right in the face of your potential employer.

User's Review

Using the Zoominfo system is a little like filling out a profile for Facebook, or MySpace, or Orkut. But instead of cruising for women to spend money on you are looking for jobs, which avail you of the means to spend said money on said women. You can even "friend up" with other people you know that have profiles on Zoominfo's network.

Filling out the profile starts with your basic contact info, employment history, organizations / professional associations, and biography. The biography is what sealed the deal for me. It is so easy to just fill the normal stuff out and leave it be, however, Zoominfo likes to give you a little more leeway and provide a personable part of the profile that shows just how brilliant you are. A resume and cover letter will only go so far when it comes to displaying your writing ability so this is just more pie on the plate.

While the idea of adopting social networks for other purposes is not new, this is by far the best execution of a user driven site that is meant for something other than bolstering your imagined social status. The interface had a very... Web 2.0 feel, which is strange to say because I don't thing there is really a clear standard for what this means but Zoominfo seems to have captured its essence. How? Well, the icons and colors are all very organic, and there is a direct emphasis on the user and their experience. I could almost liken it to having a sumptuous personal masseuse for your job search. Maybe that is why I spent two hours playing with it last night.

If you are interested, here is a link to my profile. Hopefully by the time any sane person gets a chance to examine it the errors that I had on it last night will be corrected in my job title. Feel free to friend up with me or leave a link to your profile in the comments.