Searching for that one job could be time consuming. We post some jobs that are submitted to help with this adventure in our publications. We at H.M.E.A. try to help by making the resources available. You know that the Internet is the way to go to expand your job search. Where do you start? What is special for Hotel and Motel chief engineers?

  Sometimes we feel that in the Hotel industry, Internet job search, belongs to the chefs and general managers who have refined their knowledge of how to do it to a fine art. Engineers, housekeepers and to a lesser extent hotel sales managers are at the bottom.

  This creates a problem for both the employer who wants to find a chief engineer as well as the engineer who is looking for a job. Posting a chief engineer’s job on the Internet will bring few responses. It doesn’t have to be like this.

   With a few tips hotel engineers can become skilled Internet job surfers.

  First you have to decide which search engines to use. If your Internet Service Provider is AOL don’t limit yourself to searching only through AOL’s search. In fact, AOL is one of the worst when it comes to searching for hotel jobs

  Do not rely on a single search engine. You should regularly use at least 4 or five. Here are some I recommend:

WEB SITES-
www.Google.com is the largest by far; it also indexes every word.
www.MSN.com is one of the largest.
www.AOL.com is large.
www.AltaVista.com is one of the largest.
www.Alltheweb.com is the largest in Europe and markets through www.lycos.com in the U.S.
www.Excite.com
www.yahoo.com is one of the largest.
www.Overture.com provides many search engines with pay-per-click search word advertising. Hotel recruiters and job boards are well represented here.
www.findwhat.com  is #2 in this league.
www.Netscape.com
www.mamma.com is a meta search engine that searches several other search engines.

Next, what are you looking for? There are two branches to a job search, headhunters and job boards. You need to be on both.

Headhunters
  If you are building a career in the Hotel Industry it is important to stay in it. Concentrate on finding headhunters in this industry and list with no more than 3. If you list with too many you will get downgraded through overexposure “I have seen his resume from all over the place.” If you come from a 4 or 5 Diamond hotel, stay in that league. It will pay off over time.

  Instead of generalized hospitality recruiters go for hotel recruiters. Key words you put in the search engines for finding them: “hotel recruiter” “hotel headhunter”. Some of these searches will point to job boards. Ignore these for the moment.

  Don’t expect too much from headhunters in a short time. There are no large firms around anymore. Chances are they will not have more than 3 chief engineer positions open at any given time. Your resume should always be posted, in the sense of registering your credentials at a reputable search firm. They will not send your resume to anyone without checking with you first. Looking for a headhunter when you are already out of a job is often too late.

  Job Boards
  Even headhunters post most of their jobs. Don’t use the big job boards like monster or hotjobs to look for hotel engineer jobs. You need to find job boards that are hotel specific. Key words for finding them: “hotel job” “hotel jobs” “hotel manager jobs” “hotel management jobs” “ and if you are with a 5/4 Diamond hotel “luxury hotel job” or “5 star job” or “five diamond job”.

  If you try “hotel engineer” or “chief engineer” you will not come up with much since this is not a popular search term.

  Post your resume at four or five places. You have to know how to copy and paste your resume into text boxes provided during sign-up. Text boxes instead ways of attaching your resume are used by job boards to avoid spreading viruses to clients. Viruses are usually attachments to e-mail. Text boxes avoid attachments altogether. If you don’t know how to copy and paste you will have to learn.

  Once you have posted your resume, you can search the job board for jobs. In some cases you can see the jobs before even signing up. You may be automatically logged in as “guest”. If this allows you to search jobs, now is the time to use your key word “chief engineer”,  or just “engineer” in general.

  To see how many jobs the job board has, place a blank in the “keywords” box and select all categories and all locations. If the job board is very new but promising, do not be discouraged if there is nothing listed to your liking. You will now use the “Job Agent.”

  Your personal  job agent or detective is a software utility that lets you select keywords or job categories and/or geographic locations that you are interested in. Most job boards have one. Your keywords should be “engineer” and “chief engineer” and “facilities”. As soon as an employer lists a job with these items you will be automatically e-mailed.

  You can then choose to have the job board automatically e-mail you already posted resume and cover letter to this employer. You will have responded to a new posting within hours getting a jump on the competition.

  This goes without saying, but is often ignored. Make sure you have a valid e-mail address that does not expire. Choose a free web based e-mail provider which stays with you for life. Since it is free you don’t have to worry about losing it because you forgot to pay. Since it is web based you can access it from Africa as well as Peoria.

  Never use your e-mail address at work. Network administrators can and do read your e-mail. If your employer suspects you may be looking elsewhere, all your workplace computer and telephone access is no longer secure. You should not even type your resume at work.

  Hotmail and Yahoo provide free web based e-mail but there are others. Choose one that will not go out of business. One in five job board registrants provide an incorrect e-mail address. Common mistakes are forgetting to type the .com in myname@hotmail.com. Another is providing an e-mail address that has expired.

  If you fail to use a free e-mail address within the last so many days as specified by the provider, they erase it. If you have one that you forgot to pay it is gone. Make sure you enter a working e-mail address, one that will be good even if you change your residence street address or state.

  Another note on confidentiality: Employers who have paid for the privilege may view a job board-posted resume. If you are still employed, you may avoid using your name. Private is a common substitute. Don’t give the name and address of your current employer. Write your current job up in general terms. Also make sure your e-mail address is such that it does not disclose your real name.

  Now what? So what if the other hotel engineers don’t know how to find a job through the Internet. You do now, and having posted your resume at several Internet job boards and recruiters, you will have an edge over your competition.

  Modris Reinbergs, B Comm, M.A. (econ), is an executive search hotel recruiter to 4 and 5 diamond hotels. He has nineteen years of consulting experience throughout North America, Africa, and Asia. His headhunting practice is through www.hospitalityexecutive.com He also has a hotel job board: www.luxuryhoteljobs.com He can be reached at Tel. 800-506-2641, FAX 888-351-9181 and by e-mail at mo@hospitalityexecutive.com

  This area is for employers looking for employees, and employees looking for employers. To have your ad run in the HMEA Magazine and on this Web site Call HMEA at  1-800-222-8134. Check below for the current postings. Here is a list of web sites you can click on that may have job opportunities. If you are aware of others please let us know.