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Choosing the right career information  by Scott Boyd

The career information on this site has been contributed by professionals from around the world who genuinely want to share their experience to help jobseekers.  Now, there is more career information on this site than most recruitment agencies have on theirs.

But be warned - with success, breeds danger.  Recently, a number of copycat sites have turned up who are not interested in providing career information - they just want to make a quick buck!

It had to happen!

We offer a lot of career information on this site, and despite still only being relatively new, we have had dozens of career information articles contributed to the site.

I had no doubt in my mind when I started this site that it would take off and become a useful resource for jobseekers.

I did it because, I was tired of hearing the same issues brought up time and time again, and the large make enough money and helping people won't make them any more).

I also knew when I started this site that the leeches would latch on as soon as they had a sniff of money to be made.

It just happened quicker than I thought!

I suspect we will see a lot of low quality rubbish being churned out from now on - trying to capitalise on the "free and independent career information" market.  Indeed, some has already appeared!

This article will look at how you can pick the good career information from the bad (and unfortunately the difference will become increasingly more difficult to spot).

The danger of poor career information

Do I even need to explain this?

The wrong advice can turn your potentially perfect job into a black mark against you.

I don't claim to have the definitive low-down on interview skills, or how to write your CV, so that's why I can only offer points to remember and tips.  That's also why I have been encouraging others to contribute to this site - you, the jobseeker, can get multiple opinions on the best route to take and then go away and decide yourself.

Be wary of part timers just trying to make some quick cash (yes, I do run this site in my spare time, but I put in the same hours working on this site as you all do in a full time job).  The career information you get will be at best regurgitated content "borrowed" from elsewhere, or at worse an amateurish attempt to bulk out a sloppy website.

The main concern though is that those who are new to the job market will be influenced by bad advice and will be set back by it.

Career information on discussion forums

Discussion forums can be a great source of career information - you get a wide range of opinions on many subjects.

The problem is that when a discussion forum becomes popular - it gets spammed.  This has only happened a few times on our forum, but I expect it to increase in the future.

You probably haven't noticed it - as one of the moderators on the forum or myself will have removed it, but you should be aware of the issue.

A content rich, original site such as this one is a rarity on the web and less professional webmasters will try to use that originality to make some more cash.

Be careful on all forums, not just ours, of adverts for get quick rich schemes, or pyramid marketing schemes or any other scam.  Be especially wary of people offering jobs and leaving a free email address (hotmail, MSN, Yahoo, etc) as a contact.

Genuine job offers are rarely made via discussion forums.  Period.  If they are, then the employer would leave more comprehensive contact details (work email address, phone number, company name, address).

Only respond to messages on the forum and under no circumstances give out your own contact details!  Be sensible.

Spotting the quality information

If you come across a site that offers career information, then you can judge the quality of it by the following points:

• Is the site complete?  If not, then it is fairly new or hasn't had much effort put into it.

• Is the information up to date?  If not, then then very little effort is being put into maintaining it.

• Does the site look professional?  Professional sites can have bad information.  Badly designed sites can have good information.  But generally, you can tell if the site is just a hobby site or not.  Look for broken links, bad layout, spelling errors (most sites have them, but look for frequent occurrences).

• Does the information seem correct?  If you are unsure, then search for it elsewhere and compare and contrast.

Final Word

Anyone who copies the work of others just to make a quick buck is the scum of the earth in my opinion.  More so if it is premeditated and not just a opportunistic attempt.

What's worse is that in this sector, their "career information" can have a negative effect on your life.

Keep in mind what you read and what you perceive on a website is not always as it seems. 

Including on this website!  :)

I would like to claim that we are the best source of career information that there is, but there are probably better!  If we find some then we will try to collaborate with them in some way, or link to them.

But at least we're honest!

Regards

Scott Boyd - Webmaster and Founder - Jobseekers Advice

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