NEW YORK (CNNfn) - If you're looking for a job using the information superhighway, be prepared to yield to some 18-wheelers who've been cruising the Web the same reason.
In the past, the career opportunities to be found on the Internet have been almost exclusively geared toward sysops and other computer-minded employment seekers.
However, as more and more people take to the World Wide Web, job listings have responded to the varied market, offering everybody from ministers to midwives a chance to find their dream jobs.
It's not just white collar positions. TruckNet, for example, looks to hook up companies that need their products shipped with people who have the big rigs to take those shipments across the country.
The trucking industry has been faced with too few drivers for too many shipments for years and TruckNet president Craig Zweiner explained that, despite trucker stereotypes, the Web was the best place to find these folks.
"We are finding out that the veteran drivers are logging onto the Internet," said Zweiner. "They may be looking for a change and with TruckNet they can fill out one application and send it to many companies."
Zweiner said truckers' interest in the Internet is unsurprising since many are away from their families for long periods of time and e-mail is gradually replacing phone calls as the preferred mode of keeping in touch.
The blue-collar job listings aren't limited to just truck drivers. HVACjob lets people who fix heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration equipment find the best positions available. Manufacturing Marketplace allows you to look for a wider variety of manufacturing-related positions.
If your job search is looking to take you to a higher plane, consider MinistryLink. Sponsored by Saint John's School of Theology & Seminary in Collegeville, Minn., MinistryLink seeks to pair up those people interested in a religious career with appropriate openings all over the world.
"It was a matter where we saw a need and asked how we could help connect those who are looking with openings," said Linda Schreiber, coordinator of the Web site which was established in 1994.
While St. John's is a Catholic school, the site advertises positions from various faiths. Most postings, though, are Catholic.
Many of the job openings are in the Midwest but MinistryLink could set you up with a position in more remote climes. For example, an Alaskan Diocese is looking for a campus minister to "carry out adult religious education in Eskimo bush villages."
Perhaps no non-computer industry has embraced Web-based job listings more than health care.
A widely expanding array of job opportunities has led the industry to seek out applicants in every corner and the Web provides a way to find those qualified for health care work. Among the top health care job posting sites are Allied Health Opportunities, Health Care Recruitment Online and Medsearch.
Some health care sites have gotten even more specific, however. The American College of Nurse-Midwives are looking for a few good people to care for women during labor and birth.
The time is now
It would be a mistake to think if your career doesn't involve computer code or HTML you don't need to be ready for how the Internet is changing job searches, said Pam Dixon.
Dixon, the author of "Job Searching Online for Dummies" said Web-based employment ads aren't just for techies anymore. "If you want to look for a job, you'd best be online."
"If you want to look for a job, you'd best be online."
Pam Dixon
Author, "Job Searching Online for Dummies"
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She sees a trend toward more specific, niche type of job posting sites and away from increasingly huge warehouses of searchable job listings such as Monster Board.
Your first step if you are in a non-tech career, she said, should still start with these larger forums, however. These sites provide you with a sense of the lingo and requirements of the types of jobs you are looking for.
Next, you should put together an electronic resume, something you can e-mail to prospective employers or post on the more specific job sites.
Many of the job posting sites have do-it-yourself resume forms available for you to use but you'll want to make your own electronic version.
In addition to a regular paper resume, you'll want both a scannable and a plain-text version.
A scannable resume is scanned into the firm's computer as an image. Companies often use software to sift through these scannable resumes, separating those which contain keywords appropriate to the jobs.
This is where your previous knowledge of buzzwords from larger job sites becomes important. Put in as many as you can while still maintaining a readable, cohesive resume.
A plain-text resume can be e-mailed and does not contain any kind of formatting. This is important because this type of resume allows the recipient to read it regardless of her type of computer.
Now you're all set for your Web job hunt. However, you don't have to limit yourself exclusively to employment within your current career.
If double-backflips and flaming hoops are for you, you may want to run off and join the circus. Cirque du Soleil to be exact. Cirque du Soleil is currently looking for performers with talents in acrobatics, circus arts, singing, dancing, music and theater.
-- by staff writer Randall J Schultz
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