We keeps saying that we’re going to put together a “One Day, One Job Book Store” with our recommendations for job search related reading, but we keep putting it off for other projects. Well, our hand was forced when we came across Alison Doyle’s new book, Internet Your Way to a New Job. It’s a great resource for any job searcher, but it is especially helpful for new grads who have never been through the process before. This is our first book review, but it certainly won’t be the last. As we build the One Day, One Job Book Store, these reviews will be integrated into it.

Who Is Alison Doyle?

We met Alison Doyle when we contacted her to tell her about One Day, One Job. She’s not only the editor of the About.com Guide to Job Searching, but she’s also works in Skidmore College’s Career Services Office. That means that she knows job search in and out. She told us about her new book, and being online job search experts ourselves, we had to read it. It’s only 110 pages, so it’s a very quick read. You can read it from start to finish to get a complete idea of how to plan and manage your online job search, or you can skim for quick useful tips. The format of the book easily allows both types of reading. Beyond her work on About.com, Alison Doyle also has her own blog where she talks about job search and career related issues.

What’s It All About?

Internet Your Way to a New Job consists of 10 chapters that follow a very logical order for how you should pursue your job search. Alison starts with two chapters that focus on things that everyone should be doing, even if they’re not currently looking for a job: Building Your Professional Brand and Online Career Networking. She then jumps into Resumes and Cover Letters and how to tailor them to applying for jobs online. The next four chapters are all about job search, but they’re split up into How to Job Search Online, Where to Find Jobs, Active vs. Passive Job Seeking, and Online Job Search Management Tools. She then covers Online Communications and Privacy and Safety Issues before finishing with a wrap up chapter called Online Job Searching Trends, where she explores the direction that online job search is moving in.

What We Think

Alison writes intelligently about all the topics covered in the book, and her advice is dead on. It certainly jives with the job search tips that we offer. Alison leaves few stones unturned, which means that Internet Your Way to a New Job truly is a comprehensive guide on how to find a job online. The only con to this book is that you can’t click the links in it. Alison has done a great job of including the URLs for all of the resources that she mentions, and Internet Your Way to a New Job is available as an e-book, but it’s still a little awkward. As nice as it is to get away from the computer and read an actual book, you’ll be hard pressed to get the full value out of this book without keeping it right next to your keyboard.

The only glaring omission is the lack of an index. As a resource guide, we’re sure that many job searchers will want to use this book to answer specific questions. An index would go a long way in helping readers find what they’re looking for. It’s not a huge problem, because the book is short and well organized, but it would certainly be a welcome inclusion.

Despite the fact that we consider ourselves job search experts, we still learned a few things from Alison. Her advice on following up and what to do when you don’t get a reply from an employer is especially helpful. We also like that she uses real life examples to prove that her tips actually work in real life situations.

Internet Your Way to a New Job is a worthwhile investment for any new college grad who is pursuing his or her job search online. Great job, Alison!

How Do I Get It?

There are a number of ways to get a hold of Alison’s Book. Our first recommendation is to buy Internet Your Way to a New Job from Better World, since the proceeds go to non-profit literacy programs and the shipping is carbon-free. Since Better World was out of stock when we last checked, you might want to try Amazon instead. If you’re looking for the E-Book, you can buy it directly from the publisher.

Jobs Near You

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2 responses to “Book Review: Internet Your Way to a New Job”

1. Tracy Mccormick says:

   May 15, 2008 at 8:16 pm

   I just read an article on Venture Beat about a site a new career site that doesnt use resumes but some kinf os skill tags. Here’s the article: http://venturebeat.com/2008/05/13/realmatch-offers-a-fresh-take-on-job-sites

   Reply
2. Fay says:

   May 3, 2009 at 8:40 pm

   I found my job online too! First job I got off craigs list (www.craigslist.org) and my second job, that I have now, I got off of Meta Job Search(http://www.metajobsearch.110mb.com). That site was pretty easy to use too.

   Reply