Equal Opportunity Career Resources for HBCU Students

The information boom has been nonstop for years. The Internet is a veritable Wild West of information. Off line, information is typically more managed and manageable. There is even an international organization, International Standards Organization (ISO), to help corporate America and others lasso knowledge and information into some form of uniformity. Because it can be a tough road to sift quality information from the rest that clogs the Internet, many people rely on information wranglers to steer them to a good cut of info. Quality information available in a timely manner with low fat content can be beneficial to college students embarking on a career. The Internet has you more than covered. Whether targeting Career Resources for HBCU students or not, the following offer equal opportunity access:
1. SOCIAL MEDIA
Social networks have sprung up all over the internet like crabgrass. Everyone is familiar with MySpace, Facebook and a few others, but LinkedIn and Mashable rise to the top for different reasons.
*LinkedIn provides a network of people from around the world who have professional goals in mind. While it has social elements, these benefits are secondary. It effectively pivots the fun of Facebook to capture practical business needs. Anyone can apply to join a network or set up their own network. Special interest networks are present, as well as employment vacancy notices. According to research, nearly 40% of human resources staff and other hiring bodies surf the Internet to inform their applicant selection process. Why not set up your personal branding scheme and represent your own interests in the best light?
*Mashable is a social and digital media, technology and web aggregation portal. It conveniently funnels blogs, videos, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, business and specialty pop review sites like Technorati, Crunchbase, Techcrunch and CNET, among other forms of social media. Users can stay up on what's going on in social media through this site. Users can sign up for alerts or notices. Users can find tons of critical info like "70+ Tools for Job Hunting 2.0".
*JobRadio.FM career advice is a 24 hour internet radio stream of all things about jobs. Topics run the gamut and include topics such as how to handle a job offer, stressful occupations, and using LinkedIn for job hunting.
*Meetup.com takes social media to a higher level by fostering social networking beyond virtual connections. Users can meet online and meet off line in a variety of social, niche, or business groups. Anyone can form a group, and anyone can apply for inclusion in a group.
2. GOVERNMENT WEBSITES
*USAJobs.gov is the U.S. federal government job board. It can be used to target classes and training, as well as find summer employment or Stay in School positions. Its students.gov guides users with a variety of topics. Users can plan their education, pay for education, get online study help, locate internships, fellowship, and jobs. Users can find out about study abroad and graduate education.
*U.S. Department of Labor.
Its site map can direct users to a student section. Looking for employment, research tools, wages information are linked. The website has the infinitely useful "Occupational Outlook Handbook," "Career Guide to Industries," employment projections and its spin sites Occupational Outlook Quarterly, and O*NET, Occupational Employment Statistics. The information is encyclopedic in volume and current with in depth detail including training, education, working conditions, job growth, salary and related occupations.
*Careeronestop.org is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
It covers general interests, career exploration, resume writing, school selection decisions. Salary information, relocation, paying for education, health benefits, green careers, training, employment, and cost of living information are provided. Users can link into state job banks. DirectJobs, a job search portal for associations, is linked to Careeronestop.org, among others. Search by title, location, company.
3. CAREER EMPLOYMENT WEBSITES
Everyone is familiar with Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com, but what about SimplyHired, Indeed or Idealist.org? SimplyHired is a feast of employment. It includes salaries and general information related to positions that have openings. The search features are leading edge and user friendly, spanning the world. Idealist is a leader in the nonprofit community for job leads. It is akin to the periodical "Chronicle of Philanthropy", sister paper of "The Chronicle of Higher Education."
4. DIRECTORIES
Yahoo! Directory can locate trade Business and Economy trade associations, classifieds, or employment and work related websites. Employment and work related business sites will net SimplyHired, Indeed, Snagajob, eLance, Careermag, Careerjournal, Vault, Flipdog and Collegegrad websites. Drill down by selecting key topics to find career, employment and job fair sites. CareeFairs, CFG Career Fairs, Job Fair USA, Monster Job Fair and HealthExpoUSA job fairs are listed.
5. WEBSITE RANKING PORTALS
Alexa.com and Quantcast can provide a website's analytical report guard, and help locate top traffic websites using key words. The sites link to referenced websites, and cross reference to sites that are similar to the one originally referenced. Type in "career" or "job" and discover links.