On a job hunt? It's a whole new world out there

PRIME – May 2014 Editor's Note: This article is from an eight-part careers advice series on www.retirementjobs.com, and was written by the website's staff writers. Remember when a job search meant sitting with the local newspaper or the Wall Street Journal and red-circling the openings you had an interest in? Or you could go to the library and check reference books that listed employers by industry or geographic area? Why you could even walk into the lobby of a company and fill out an application. Those days are over - welcome to the brave new world of searching for a job. Here's how you research job opportunities today. Online job posting boards Employers now post their job ads on the Internet. Think of them as the electronic version of the help wanted pages. They are that and so much more. You can search for jobs by location, profession, industry, occupation, full time or part time and even your home zip code. They all function in similar fashion – but there are subtle differences. Large, generalized boards such as Monster and CareerBuilder post many jobs for a broad range of job seekers. There are specialized boards for industries and occupations such as HotelsJobs.com and TeacherJobs.com . There are also jobs based on expected income level such as TheLadders.com which only promotes to people earning "over $100,000." Finally, there are job boards specializing in age 50-plus worker including RetirementJobs.com . Job boards focused on older candidates are apt to have jobs more appropriate to age 50-plus workers needs and interests from employers who are actively seeking older workers. What job boards you use is determined on what kind of job you're looking for, for instance: Hourly wage positions: (administrative, clerical, manual, trades, personal service and technical) Whether full time or part time, year round or seasonal, individuals searching for hourly paid jobs are advised to visit RetirementJobs.com , Monster and CareerBuilder; and possibly SnagAJob. Salaried positions: (professional, senior technical, sales, supervisory, managerial). Salaried positions typically paying $30,000 to $70,000, will be found at the same job boards as hourly positions but the search should be extended to include profession, occupation and industry-specific job boards. Also be sure to check the job boards at the website of your industry or profession. If you have an interest in a public service or government position, try USAJobs.gov , the official jobs website for the US Government. Higher paid salaried positions: (senior professional, upper management executive). These are salaried positions paying more than $70,000 and sometimes, much more. You may find these jobs on some of the sites as lower paying salaried positions but more likely you have to look at others as well. One of better sites is TheLadders.com ($100,000-plus only jobs). There is also 6figurejobs, Execunet and ExecutiveSearchOnline. Employment agencies and placement firms Employment agencies, placement firm and "headhunters" are firms that search for candidates to fill open positions on behalf of employers. You should never pay such firms for their services – they are paid substantial fees by the hiring company. The agency's job is to locate and screen candidates for presentation to the employer. What type of agency you use is once again dependent on the job you're looking for. Hourly wage positions: (administrative, clerical, manual, trades, personal service and technical). You can locate agencies in the yellow pages, online or through the services of your State Career One Stop branch or Employment Services Agency. Many community-based social service agencies also maintain job referral listing of employers. The most common employment agency is the so called temporary staffing agency. These firms hire you and then place you out on short term assignments. They often provide "temp to perm" jobs which begin as temporary assignments and may convert to regular employment directly with the employer. Salaried positions: (professional, senior technical, sales, supervisory, managerial). Employment agencies for higher paying positions often have specific industry or professional specialization though there are major firms that perform employment services to broad occupational areas. The yellow pages, Internet or networking should reveal the most reputable and effective agencies in your location, industry or profession. These agencies are called "contingent fee placement" firms because those typically get paid only if they place a candidate in a job. Government run employment services seldom offer jobs at this or higher pay levels. There is also an emerging pattern of temporary or contract staffing agencies that represent higher paid positions and assist candidates find professional and managerial positions that are paid by the hour under contract for a fixed period of time. Higher paid salaried positions: (senior professional, upper management executive). These jobs are generally found only at specialized employment agencies and retained search or "headhunter" firms. Retained search refers to how they are paid for their services – they are paid an advance retainer to generate candidates and they keep part, or all, of the retainer even if they do not produce the final candidate. There are online lists of retained search and specialized employment agencies. Personal networking is the most common route to become known to such firms. Traditional print advertising Job advertising has not been totally displaced by online services. Newspapers, trade magazines and professional journals continue to post job ads for positions. Where you should look is based on what you're looking for once again: Hourly wage positions: (administrative, clerical, manual, trades, personal service and technical). The best pace to look is the classified or help wanted section of major and local newspapers. Smaller employers in particular still use newspapers because they are low cost and reach specific labor markets. Larger employers will often post online and in newspapers so don't overlook the good old Sunday Want Ads. Salaried positions:(professional, senior technical, sales, supervisory, managerial). You will still find openings in the newspaper but more likely you'll also want to look in the trade journals and professional journals relevant to your specific search. So for example, if your searching for a sales management position, in addition to SalesJobs.com online, you'll want to review Sales & Marketing Management Magazine. There's an association and magazine for every industry, professional and major occupation - go find them. Higher paid salaried positions: (senior professional, upper management executive). It's pretty unlikely that you'll find job ads for highly paid positions though they often appear for non-profit, education and healthcare positions. You may have better luck with trade magazines and professional journals. The old-fashioned way – contact employers directly! It requires more advance research, but many people find their new job by contacting the employer directly. You may spend some time in the local library or online searching for address, phone and email information for local employers. How you do it will vary again by the job you want: Hourly wage positions: (administrative, clerical, manual, trades, personal service and technical). You can sometimes walk into the employer's facility, be it a store, factory or office. You may be given an application to complete in writing and you may be asked for a resume or work history. You can also expect to be placed at a computer and asked to complete your application electronically – you should expect this to be the case at most larger employers. Salaried positions: (professional, senior technical, sales, supervisory, managerial). Be prepared to do more research for these jobs if you are going to apply directly. You will probably be directed to apply at the employer's employment web page. Don't stop there. Find out who is handling the recruiting for the position and if possible, the name of the hiring manager. This will take plain old phone calling, emailing and networking but don't quit. Your chances of securing an interview are much better if you can communicate with an actual person – and it feels better to. Continue on to research the employer's business. Learn everything you can and call or send follow up emails and letters. You have to walk the line between being persistent and being a pain in the neck – but know that persistence pays off. Higher paid salaried positions: (senior professional, upper management executive). You can try the methods suggested for lower paying positions, but the time proven way to get an interview for higher paying jobs is through networking and connections. Start working the phones and social networking sites such as linkedin.com . It's amazing how often you will find someone who knows someone at the employer you are investigating. Target employer list From all these sources and through your research, develop a list of employers you want to target, or focus your efforts on. Perhaps your list will include five to 20 possible employers. Better to keep your target list short – you want to be able to really spend time pursuing each one. People who report sending 300 and 400 resumes and applications are probably wasting a great deal of their time – and getting awfully frustrated. Employers don't appreciate getting flooded with resumes that are of no interest either. Another way to improve your chances, as an older candidate, is to include in your target employer list as many "age friendly," "age-positive" or "preferred" employers as you can. You can find these companies at RetirementJobs.com (Certified Age Friendly Employers) and at AARP.org (AARP National Employer Team and AARP's 50 Best Employers for Workers 50+). Look in local business magazine and Fortune magazine for their list of "best employers" or "preferred employers." If you're going to get a job, why not get it with an employer who values workers in general, and older workers in particular. This article was reprinted with permission from retirementjobs.com .