Last week I attended a great presentation conducted by Karen Quesnel, a Business Services Professional with CTWorks. She showed members of the JETS Schmoozers Network for Job Seekers how to use the great job seeker tools on the CT DOL website. I was very impressed with the wealth of employment resources (in both English and Spanish) they have brought together in one portal. I strongly encourage you to check out the site and bookmark it for future use. Here are a few of my favorite features.
CT.jobs allows jobseekers to set up an account in which they can store a resume, save searches and set up personalized job search agents. I was very impressed to hear that they vet the employers who post jobs on their site, so there are no fictitious or scam postings like on some of the large paid-for-post job boards.
Job & Career Connection and O*NET Online provide occupational information that you can use to identify the necessary skill and qualifications for a particular profession including current salary data. You can also use it to find other professions to which you might apply your transferable skills. (Note: this is a great source of keywords to use in your resume, cover letter and LinkedIn profile.)
One of my favorite tools is the Potential Employer Search, which allows you to find contact information for hiring managers! The easiest way to get your resume tossed into the trash is to address your cover letter to “Dear Hiring Manager” or worse yet “To Whom It May Concern” (NEVER use that!)
There are so many helpful tools here — you would not want me to list them all. Check out My Next Move, My Next Move for Veterans, the links to apprenticeship programs, State jobs and exam schedules, career fairs and employer recruiting sessions at CTWorks centers. You can even sign up to receive the Business Service Weekly listing of newly open positions via email.
This is one of the most comprehensive jobseeker resource sites I have found. Visit the CT DOL online today and accelerate your job search!
Trish Thomas founded The Resume Resource in 2009 to help people develop the tools, strategies and confidence to build satisfying careers. As a Career Coach and Resume Writer, she helps her clients articulate their unique value to stand out from the competition, and guides them through the job search process to make it less overwhelming and more successful. www.the-resume-resource.com