Paying for My Job Search

Posted by Paym Bergson Apr 18, 2007

As a contract/freelance worker (self-employed as per the taxman), I must constantly be on the lookout for my next contract - both major (right now it is the College) and minor (those fill-ins such as Resume Filters, Technical Writer, Office Procedure Writer, Research Writer, Computer training/programmer - hey, ANYTHING that pays the bills that I can do, um, legally).

And yes, I do a lot of surfing for jobs via the internet - and yes, I HAVE found minor contracts through those sites, but it ain't as easy as it sounds, and it takes a lot of time to sift through the junk. I have occassionally paid for the privilege of being a member or getting access to the jobs - and have found it to be a hit-and-miss situation for myself. Yes, I have received a couple of minor contracts that way - but I tend now to shy away from those "payment" memberships. I have noticed an increase in job boards requesting payment, and I have also noticed an increase in general newspapers requesting payment for anything but some headlines and quick articles. So it may be the times, or the trend. And no, I will not pay for an online subscription for a newspaper (I can pick up almost any newspaper via the local Chapters, when I want, as I want) - so why should I now pay for a job board subscription?

Perhaps if I was an Engineer - and needed a select market. Or if I was in the Movie/Theatre industry - where it is important to know where the filming/preproduction/poduction etc. was happening - an "in" to the jobs for that market.

Anyone out there use/ have used/have been happy with/been burned by those premium or membership services? Let's hear from you - good, bad, happy or sad - fill us in on your experiences.

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Copyright April 18, 2007. Paym Bergson and Suite 101. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized use of this material will constitute an infringement of copyright.