workin' for a living

I'm searching for the next step in my career. It was 1994 the last time I enacted a major job search (other than the occasional change within the company where I worked for 13 years). Back then, the best tools in one's job-searching arsenal were access to a nice word processing typewriter, a stack of 24# eggshell linen paper (with matching 9" x 12" envelopes), and a copy of What Color is My Parachute? When all was said and done, I landed a position at the aforementioned company through a temp agency.

The tools this time around are much more interesting. There are websites like LinkedIn, The Ladders, and Jobs 4.0. There's the more casual online connectivity of Facebook, MySpace, and Plaxo. And what if a potential employer finds this silly little blog? But wait, that's a conversation for another day.

So, one of the sites I found is Jobfox. It differentiates itself from the others by bombarding the potential candidate with approximately two kajillion questions and analyzes the results. Apparently, it does something similar with job postings from potential employers, and then magically finds the strongest points of similarity, thus directing the perfect candidate to the perfect job (or the perfect employer to the perfect candidate). Kind of like eJobHarmony.

Amongst the tools Jobfox provides for the eager jobseeker is this interactive chart.



Ooooo... cool. Now, what do I do with it? Oh well. Off to do some more work.

But before I go, Happy April Fool's Day! Here are a couple things I found online that were particularly amusing:

A collaborative effort from Richard Branson and our friends at Google: Virgle. You simply must read the detail on every page. Follow every link.

And the always entertaining Motley Fool, whose entire site was loaded with silliness such as sections on "Kittens and Puppies," "Guitar Hero 101," and "Spatulas and You: A Buying Guide." This "ad" is also on the home page.