Do you realize how much the computer has influenced how we do job searches? I was thinking about the changes just in the last 20 years and it really amazed me. I did my first real job search as I was finishing college in 1984. As was the practice then and had been for decades, I created a resume and cover letter which was printed about 500 times. All resumes and letters exactly the same, no possibility of adaptation for the employer or the task. Each cover letter and resume was folded into an envelope and sent via the post office. Once it was received, you didn’t hear back unless they wanted an interview.

By my next major job search in 1990, we had our own Mac. I was able to print off letters and resumes, but the distribution method hadn’t changed much. Resumes and cover letters were sent via the mail. I had started to attend job fairs, so resume copies were distributed there as well. But everything was still done on paper and company by company.

By the mid-1990s, a few companies were accepting e-mail resumes, but text only. Sending out a Word or other formatted document was really frowned upon. Most of the contact was still via postal mail, even if the application was done via e-mail. By 2000, there was a new wrinkle in the job search process: Online employee/employer connection companies like Monster were starting to show up. You set up your contact information and experience and put yourself out there for companies to find. You sent e-mails and made phone calls. Few contacts were made via the post office, but your follow up thank you was still mailed.

Fast forward to 2004. My hubby (also a techie) is starting a whole new job search. All the research is done online. Most of his applications are done via the big job sites like Monster and Dice. Each company he applies to is checked out via the Web. Most have their own Web sites to check. For the others, he uses Google to look for reputation information. He goes to job fairs, but he knows before he goes which companies are looking for what people. He also knows that many of the places will not take a resume. Instead they want you to apply online, via their site, Dice, Monster, etc.

To add one more step to the process, most companies now want to see what you can do. They want to know if you have a Web site where you can be checked out. They want to see code or tests you have run. They want to know details of what systems you have worked on. Those questions have always been asked, but they used to be asked during the interview. Now they are asked before you are even considered.

When I did my first job search in 1984, I never would have imagined the job search process would be the way it is today. I can’t imagine where we are going from here. Can you? If you can, let me know!