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A member of the Border Patrol's tunnel team patrols the Grand Tunnel, a 15-foot-high storm drain running under Grand Avenue in Nogales into Sonora, Mexico, in May . Last year between July and October alone, Border Patrol agents made 1,704 arrests in tunnels; they also picked up more than a ton of marijuana. Although the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection has begun filling them in, the Grand Tunnel, one of the largest on the border, must remain intact to allow water to gush north from Sonora during summer monsoons.

Using the Web to Search for a Job

Using the Web to Search for a Job

Joel Cheesman is the Cheezhead, and that's a good thing. Cheesman is the brains behind Cheezhead.com, a popular blog covering the rapidly evolving world of online recruiting. From his base in Cleveland, Cheesman gives professionals plenty to chew on, whether he's musing about the recent launch of NotchUp.com, a site that connects companies willing to pay for interviews with top candidates, or rebuking a gaming company for its less-than-stellar careers page. We asked Cheesman for some insight into the newest job-search tools. Excerpts:

Joel Cheesman

What's the biggest mistake people make when hunting for a job online these days?
Technology has made it incredibly easy to broadcast your résumé or profile to a lot of companies very quickly, easily, and for free. So I think there's probably an overreliance on technology. I think that people get lazy. They tend to think that, well, if I just put my résumé on a few job boards, then the job should come to my door. And at the end of the day, the job hunt is largely about people and it's about networking—looking at who you know and where they work.

So how can technology help us do that?
There are applications that enable you to look at your network of friends on Facebook and find out where they work. And if there's a fit—you want to work at a company, and you find out you're one or two degrees from someone who works there—that's one way to get your foot in the door and make a human connection. With Web 2.0, I think that the key to success in the future is that technology is going to have to adapt in a way that makes it easier to connect with people. You have a flurry of job sites out there that are trying to take the job search to a different level. You look at sites like itzBig, Climber, and Jobfox—which recently got $20 million in investment money—and they're trying to create assessment environments where the job seeker puts in an eHarmony-type profile and the company puts in an eHarmony-type job description. Then technology magically brings those two personalities, people, and company together—hopefully for a good match, for the perfect match. That's an example of technology trying to bring people together for a human connection.

What sorts of companies are embracing Web 2.0 applications?
You certainly find high tech does a pretty good job. Google is obviously renowned for its recruiting efforts. A lot of it is because people just want to work at Google, and they've done a really good job of building an employment brand that makes people want to work there.

Healthcare has been a real catalyst for creativity. You look at the need for radiologists, nurses, and physicians. They're kind of forced to look outside the box of just posting a job on their local newspaper site and on Monster.com. And you're seeing some anecdotal evidence of hospitals and healthcare systems doing interesting things. Johnson & Johnson has its own social network for nurses. A healthcare system in Pennsylvania is using high-tech direct mail to attract physicians to a website where they can actually interact with the recruiter.

What kinds of job seekers are using these sites and networks?
It's really interesting. One of the things I hear is: Nurses aren't going to Google and typing in "nursing jobs"—they're happily employed. They know what kinds of jobs are out there, and they go there. But if you look at some of the search data, "nursing jobs" is actually one of the top phrases around jobs, at over 1 million searches per year.

Can we really expect to see some industries, like manufacturing, finding employees through social networks?
A lot of that is supply and demand. There are people to fill the jobs, so there's less of a pain threshold to say just putting it in the paper isn't doing it, just putting it on a job board isn't doing it. So there's less of a need to think outside the box. There are certainly manufacturing jobs out there, but I think the traditional ways of recruiting are doing the job.

Are recruitment podcasts and videos meant to humanize the job-hunting process, or are companies just using them as new ways to reach people?
I think it's about finding ways to connect with people. Certainly, hearing a voice or seeing a video probably has more impact than seeing text on a website, in regards to what a company is like, what kind of culture it has, what kind of personalities work there. [But] I think mostly it's another way to connect with people. Historically, companies had newspapers, websites, and radio and the traditional marketing methods. And with the advent of MySpace, Facebook, blogging, RSS feeds, Twitter—all these things serve as new and different ways to connect with people. I think there is no home run. Marketing is becoming much more fragmented, and I think you see companies trying these different outlets, whether they be social networking or blogging or video. I think a lot of it right now is putting toes in the water and seeing if the water is warm or not.

What will job searches look like 10 years from now?
I think that technology will continue to personalize. And I think that your connections will mean more. I can see a day where interviews are conducted online. You know, a company is in New York, and they're looking for a VP of marketing, and they funnel it down to 10 candidates, and they interview those candidates via webcam. Then, when it funnels down to the top three, they bring those three in to their headquarters. I think the video résumé debate is going to be hot for the next few years. Typically, they're frowned upon because of [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] regulation. Companies are scared to death of getting sued. My hope is in the next few years, something comes down in [the courts] that says it's OK to view video résumés, or it's OK to look at a Facebook profile as a résumé.

4 Tips for Hiring Someone Who Will Stay

Employees leave jobs for many reasons, so predicting who will stay for the long term is more than a little challenging for hiring managers. Here are some tips that can increase an interviewer's chances of getting it right:

) Don't rush the process: "When people don't work out, the first question I ask them is 'How long did you spend with your boss at any single meeting in the interview process?' " says Bernadette Kenny, chief career officer of the recruitment firm Adecco Group North America. The answer is usually less than 90 minutes. "I think one of the biggest mistakes the job search process does is shortchange the time you need to spend with your boss," she says. "Not enough time was spent upfront in checking each other out."

2) Keep fit in mind: Last spring OfficeTeam, which specializes in the temporary placement of administrative professionals, found that 85 percent of human-resources managers polled said their companies have lost an employee who wasn't a good fit with the work environment. To help you find a good match, Reesa Staten, director of workplace research for OfficeTeam's parent company, Robert Half International, suggests asking candidates to describe the environments likely to bring out their best—and worst—performances.

3) Scrutinize a person's work history: Ask why candidates moved from one job to another, and look for patterns. If a person has changed jobs every few years over a long period, for instance, the candidate may already have an expiration date with your firm, too.

4) Identify the important traits: Consider the characteristics of those who have succeeded in the role to know which qualities to look for in candidates. Depending on the position, those may include attention to detail, persuasiveness, and ability to deal with ambiguity. "If you don't define what you're looking for," says Steve Gross, global leader of broad-based rewards at the human-resources consulting firm Mercer, "you run the risk of getting very much of a surface impression—how they speak, what their technical skills are—without getting to those behaviors that drive long-term success."

What to Do When You Hate Your Job

If fix-it strategies don't do the trick, here's how to find better work

By Marty Nemko

Posted September 21, 2007

Do you dread going to the office on Monday morning? If so, you've got lots of company.

With the unemployment rate quite low, you'd think job satisfaction would be high, since employers, theoretically, would have to coddle their workers to avoid losing them. But the opposite seems to be true. Employees are increasingly unhappy at work, according to the Conference Board, with only 50 percent of people satisfied with their jobs today. That's down from 79 percent in 1985. And if a recession is on the horizon, as many economists think it may be, the job market is sure to get tighter—and workers even edgier.

(bilderlounge/Getty Images)

Related News

A few obvious factors, like low pay or excessive hours, drive down job satisfaction, but our global, technology-driven economy is also making it harder to find fulfilling work. Many of the pleasant parts of a job, such as dealing one-on-one with people, are being replaced by machines or more efficient processes. Sales junkets are being replaced by teleconferences, for instance; gut feeling is often overruled by computer modeling. Global competition often whittles down companies' profit margins, forcing them to ask their best professionals to work longer hours. Among people earning $100,000 or more, for instance, one third work more than 50 hours a week, according to polls by Zogby/MSN.

To get ahead, workers increasingly need multiple skills. In addition to a core competency—accounting, say, or software engineering—many companies expect their employees to be entrepreneurial and IT savvy and speak another language. To be able to keep up with all that, of course, you must be a master of stress management, too. And even talented employees are increasingly being hired as temps, dumped when a project is over or the job is shipped overseas. With employers demanding more, job security declining, and the need for efficiency squeezing fun out of the job, it's not surprising that ever more workers are unhappy.

So should you quit a job you hate? Maybe—but many disgruntled workers bail out too fast, mistakenly assuming there's nothing they can do to make their current job better. Simply switching jobs doesn't always make people happier, either. Sometimes it's not the job or the company that's the problem, but the individual. So before quitting, consider some practical steps to help deal with these common scenarios:

You're overwhelmed. Maybe the work is too hard, or there's just too much of it. Possible fixes: Hire a tutor or take a short, pragmatic course to help improve your knowledge. Ask for help—it sounds obvious, but many people don't do it. Trade some of your most onerous duties with a coworker who finds them easier. Avoid needless perfectionism and put aside the things that can wait (possibly forever). You can even hire a "virtual assistant"—usually, a live person in India—for $6 to $15 per hour, at sites like Brickwork India and Your Man in India.

You're not up to the job. Tempting as it is to blame others, sometimes employees just don't have the skills, smarts, or drive required to thrive at their jobs. But that doesn't mean solutions are out of reach. If tasks continually seem too difficult, for example, start or join an online professional group like those on Yahoo!, where people help each other solve thorny problems. Find a smart retiree who might tutor you. Tweak your job to make it more interesting; you'll be more likely to succeed. Ask trusted friends and coworkers to list your weaknesses—and insist that they be honest. Then gulp hard, and carefully consider their advice.

You have a nightmare boss. It often takes gumption—and humility—to work with someone like that, but it might be better than the alternatives. Instead of confronting a cranky boss, ask what you could do better; if nothing else, you'll earn a bit of respect for soliciting feedback. To deal with a hothead, have a tepid response ready so you don't react impulsively: "You make some good points. Can we meet later to discuss them?" If you feel you have to go over your boss's head, develop a face-saving premise for doing so: You'd like to approach a senior executive, say, because he's an expert in a subject you're working on.

If none of that works, and you've concluded that you have no choice but to quit, here's how to do it:
Negotiate a layoff. It's better than just quitting. You might be able to negotiate a severance package, including a one-time payment of a portion of your annual salary and an extension of your health insurance. Plus, a layoff might make you eligible for unemployment benefits. In exchange, you'll probably have to agree not to claim wrongful termination.

Network for a new job—before you leave. Hit up your best contacts—sometimes, that can help land a new job quickly. Make the time to research jobs and careers that might best fit your skills or personality, to make your networking more effective. But if you're tempted to shirk at a job you know you'll be leaving, don't. It's unfair to your coworkers and could lower the quality of your references.

Prepare for a long job hunt. It might take a few months, so even though it's not ideal, you'll probably have to quit before you've lined up your next gig. Many people find that it's easier to stay upbeat by joining a job-seeker group. My favorite is the Five O'Clock Club.

Secure good references. If possible, get reference letters before you leave, so you can hand them out on the spot if necessary. Before asking your boss for a recommendation, set the stage by first finding something nice to say about him or her or the company. Reminisce about projects that worked well.

Hold your tongue. Don't bash your boss or your company in chats with coworkers, and try to stay positive in a resignation letter or exit interview—you never know when you'll need to ask for a favor. Don't bad-mouth your employer in job interviews either; it could get back to your former colleagues and ruin your reference. Besides, it's unseemly. If you can't resist dispensing a lecture on how to improve that asinine organization you used to work for, at least wait until you're firmly installed in your new job.

Worst Work Spaces in Tech

What makes a work space terrible? Is it the gray-beige color scheme, the industrial-grade carpet, or the chipped Formica desks and fluorescent lights? Or is it the opposite, when a company is so desperate to keep up with the Googles that they try a little too hard--filling the offices with ping-pong tables, plastic toys and a few too many "chill-out rooms" for most grown-ups' comfort? Valleywag, a tech gossip blog, on the heels of choosing The Best Workplaces in Tech, set out to find the ten worst, topping the list with Yahoo's New York offices, replete with employees sleeping uncomfortably in some cubes and the curious use of white-picket fences around others. Google did not escape their clutches, which a surprise given that most media outlets cannot say enough good things about Google's offices. Valleywag called them out for having gray cubicles despite the "kindergarten campus color scheme," lamps, scooters and ball pool. LinkedIn's offices were criticized for being "just like LinkedIn: utilitarian and utterly boring." The graffiti at Jahjah, an Internet-phone company, is mocked for trying way too hard, and Facebook's offices are taunted for looking just like the college dorm rooms where their product gets the most attention. It's easy for Valleywag to point fingers when they get to work in an office that looks like this though.

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