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Articles on Jobseekers Advice If you would like to submit an article to Jobseekers Advice, then please feel free to contact us. We are always looking for a wide range of articles dealing with career advice, CV advice, interview advice, working abroad, employment issues, education and training and other recruitment or careers related topics. The articles can be the result of professional experience or personal insight - we are looking to offer all points of view.
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Surfing the web 6 - Directories by Scott Boyd Directories differ from Search Engines (as covered in Surfing the web 5), but both usually come together.
A directory will list websites by category (but usually has some sort of search function) in a hierarchal structure. There are very large directories which cover many (if not all) subject areas, such as www.dmoz.org, and a few more specific directories that tend to cover specific subject areas (for example, "freelance work", "real estate", "IT").
How does this help you? If you are looking for something specific on the web, then your first port of call should be a search engine. For example, if you wanted to find the BBC news website, then a quick search for "BBC News" will quickly find you what you are looking for.
On the other hand, you may be looking for something very general, or perhaps lots of websites (eg, you may be looking for all the recruitment agencies in London). In this case a directory will help you as it will display a list of links to the subject area you are looking for.
It's convenience more than anything - most search engines can display strange results depending on what you search for. This is because it is difficult for a computer to know what you want (remember - different people search for the same thing in different ways).
On the other hand, a directory is very logical and your options are limited. So by starting at the top of the hierarchy (eg, "Careers") and selection the various sub categories (eg "Careers Advice", "Recruitment Agencies", "CV Advice", etc) you will eventually end up with something pretty close to what you were looking for - a listing of websites that deal with that subject area.
Thinking of directories as a way of logically structuring and categorising the web. In the same way as your Yellow Pages lists businesses by category, a directory lists websites in a similar manner.
Searching for a directory OK, learning how to use a directory effectively is one thing, but how do you find them?
A search for your subject area and the word "directory" will usually present you with a list of directories. For example, a search for "directory of recruitment agencies in London" may bring you what you are looking for (although this search may give a lot of recruitment agencies in the results too).
Summary Directories are not a hugely brilliant tool to use. They can be helpful if you use them correctly. Like Search Engines, Directories are just another part of the web.
Regards Scott Boyd - Webmaster and Founder - Jobseekers Advice
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