Yay, I've done it. At last I have a job! I have just spent the best part of two months with my eyes glued to the computer screen trawling through different websites and surfing the net for possible vacancies. As a language graduate from Durham with a wide and varied experience as well significant transferable skills, I thought finding a job would be relatively straight forward. I was wrong.

Why? Well, let's google "jobs UK". What comes up are 317,000,000 results all claiming the earth: "4,000 Job Opportunities", "Over 40,000 jobs online", "Look for new and exciting jobs".

Great, you think. Job done. All I need to do is click on a few of these, upload my CV and wait for employers to contact me. If I'm good, maybe I'll apply for a few vacancies while I'm at it and, before long, hey presto, I'll be earning. So, you click on the first site and have a look.

Over 3 hours later, you'll look at your watch, gasp at the time and wonder in horror at how little you've done. If you're lucky, you'll have pasted your CV on the site and have applied to a few appropriate vacancies. But, as is more likely, you'll have spent hours clicking from one job description to the next, applying to something realistic to begin with, but soon getting distracted by offers you'd never accept in places you don't want to live.

There are indeed many jobs out there. But when you put your parameters into the equation and start thinking about what you want (job type, salary, location and working hours), the options become far more limited. From knowing you are a desirable candidate, you begin to feel there is nothing out there, at least not for you. Are you ever going to find a job? Maybe you were completely disillusioned. Bearing in mind the number of jobs out there and the fact that you can't find anything suitable, are you actually unemployable?

Of course online job search engines have their uses but they should carry a health warning: liable to waste time, increase stress levels and demoralize users.

That said, if you know the dangers and exercise sufficient restraint, they can be a fantastic tool and significantly aid your job search. You just have to stay in control, be very clear about what you want and selective in what you look for. So long as you do this, the choice of which job search site to use becomes far less important. Many of them (Monster, Reed, CV-Library, Top Jobs...) actually offer the same jobs. What you must remember is that of the 40,000 jobs advertised, only a small number are worth your consideration. Maybe as few as 20. And these are rarely going to be on the homepage. Your first task is to find them by means of a selective job search, which can take some time. Next you have to decide which of these jobs you are really interested in. Then, and only then, should you start applying. Finally, as you do this, it's worth reminding yourself that just because the internet allows you to apply to jobs more quickly, it doesn't mean the selection process is any faster or less rigorous. Finding the right job takes time, and so it should. Call me old fashioned in a fast-paced world but those worn-out cliches do sometimes have a place. Here, time is NOT of the essence but patience is a virtue.

I am writing this out of having done things the wrong way round, and all but given up hope. If I ever have to look for a job again, I will know what not to do. Do use online job sites, but be selective.

Learn more about this author, Beth Kirkwood.
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