Career Path

Although their new-age TV ads seem to say that finding a career is a dream we've all had since birth, Careerpath.com is a website geared toward the less self-assured twenty-something nomadic newspaper-shy job hunter.

Experience shows that the only thing rivaling the terror of actually getting a job is the thankless task of finding a job. Despite its few omissions, Careerpath is a free first resource in finding employment outside of your own piddling little town. The setup is not difficult to follow: Careerpath culls about 100 newspapers for their "For Hire" ads, sorting them according to geographic location and general field of employment, from "Publishing" to "Social Services" to "Air Conditioning." The user can also enter keywords, such as "German" or "MacIntosh" or "Clown" to pare down their search.

Finally, the job-seeker chooses from a variety of local newspapers from across the country. Careerpath spits out a listing of classifieds from all the information entered, returning any ads that fit the criteria, such as this San Diego gem: "CLOWNS & Clown Trainees, classes starting 3/16. Earn $20-$30/hr."

Or try this hipster ad from the Boston area: "GO GETTERS Young successful eyewear co. seeks several hip individuals for ft work. No exp. nec., we train, must be into $$$, music & casual dress. Call 781-xxx-xxxx." Or perhaps a big time BMW-style position in New York? "INTERNET WEB DESIGNER/ PRODUCTION SPECIALIST wanted to work on extranet for major German luxury car mfr. Great oppty to work for a hi-profile client on dynamic & rapidly-growing project. On-site work pref'd but negotiable for right candidate. Send resume, salary history & URLS to ..."

While catering to the unfocused, Careerpath is a serious place to look for a job. There are a few drawbacks, however. Some regions of the country, such as the San Francisco Bay Area and smaller urban areas like Madison, WI and Portland, OR, are sorely underrepresented. The newspapers are heavily focused (and turn up the best results, it seems) for New York City, Washington DC and Boston, so if you're looking to settle down in Topeka, you're going to have to do some extra searching.

Another problem lies in the classified ads themselves. Many that advertise temp companies or employment agencies are indistinguishable from actual permanent employment ads. Some do not include the name of the company and some only publish fax numbers, putting person-to-person contact with a potential employer at a minimum. These holes in the system make sending off a cover letter and resume somewhat of a crap shoot, as if it weren't that already.

Still, compared to other national job-listings online, Careerpath is one of the best and most inclusive. Job hunts with Yahoo and other Web employment services (see Resources for Job Seekers and Employers for a whole slew of them) turned up listings for only a handful of big corporations (and who wants to work for Rand these days anyway?) in big cities for mainly unadulterated business positions.

The interesting jobs seem to be buried in the classifieds of the Sacramento Bee, the Wichita Eagle and the Daily Oklahoman, all available on Careerpath. In case you're wondering, I did indeed find a job using my fax-modem, catchy cover letters and the listings in Careerpath. Of course, then I had to interview, move to New York, interview again, take the job and, finally, work...that last step being perhaps the hardest part in the whole endeavor.

— Sara J. Brenneis (sara at flakmag dot com)