Not too long ago, the foundation of your job search was the Sunday classified ads in the newspaper (i.e. the ‘Want Ads’). It was the almost the sole public place for employers to post openings, and subsequently, the main place job-searchers would certainly look. Many a job-seeker spent early Sunday mornings hunched over the classifieds section with a pen manually browsing through the sea of jobs for a match.
Time have indeed changed. With all the popularity of the net came a multitude of specialty websites focused on the job search (e.g. Monster, Careerbuilder). These websites provided search capabilities well beyond the manual scan of your newspaper, and ushered in the online job search most people are familiar with today. These websites have become so well received that many people now ignore the newspapers entirely when looking for work. The result? - missed opportunities.
The fact is that newspapers still do matter in the job search. True, the news lately is about the number of papers in financial trouble or shutting down. However, on weekly basis a large number of job opening remain posted within the newspapers classified ads (many of these postings may be only listed in the newspaper). Employers still do place open positions in the newspaper(s) in their geographic areas.
In addition to the print version of the paper, most of the largest regional or national newspapers have evolved into online posting of jobs that are searchable by the website user, just like the big online job search websites. These posting are often the same that appear in the print version of the paper, but are obviously much easier to find online. The job resources in the larger newspapers often can rival and contend with the big national job search engines. They typically have additional advanced search capabilities, online resume posting, and employer/company research.
Many local or smaller newspapers many not have the resources to build and maintain a searchable website. Often, local newspapers are managed by a single company and have pooled their job search resources into a single site for all of their newspapers. While small newspaper websites won't have all the postings on some of many larger more popular sites, they are an excellent source of strictly local or part time work that wouldn't warrant the employer placing (and paying for) an ad within a regional paper or online search engine. If you want to find part-time work in Savage Minnesota, for example, the local Savage newspaper is really an excellent resource.
Because newspapers are frequently regional in nature they often have additional city or region-specific information available. For instance, they probably have a business section that covers local companies (or leaders) that are a great source for your research prior to an interview. This information may be searchable in an online version of the paper. Their employment sections can also have information on any regional regional job fairs or career events. They’re also a good place to start almost everyone considering relocating to a new city.
Lastly, newspapers are also very easy to locate. A fast Google search of the city name and ‘newspaper’ will probably bring up what your looking for. If it’s not available online (a rarity today), the neighborhood library is almost guaranteed to possess a free copy for you to peruse.
So, they have thousands of jobs, are usually available online (most are still free), are ideal for local and part-time work, and are easy to find. Why wouldn’t you include them in your job search?
Kurt Allan publishes the Minneapolis Job Kit. A one-stop location for your Minneapolis Job Search. If you want to learn more about Minneapolis Jobs, be sure to check out the Minneapolis Job Kit.