[This article is from the August 11, 2004, issue of the Online Job Search Guide, Job-Hunt's free twice-a-month e-mailed newsletter.]

Related Articles: Using Google Alerts Google-izing Your Job Search Great Google Toolbar Tricks Finding Jobs on Employer Websites

Get the Google Toolbar

     Assuming that you are using a Windows computer and Microsoft's Internet Explorer version 6 or better, go to toolbar.google.com and download it. Google also offers a Google Toolbar for the Firefox browser, too. Be sure to review Google's Privacy Policy to be sure it's OK with you before you complete the installation.

     [Mac users and those using older versions of Internet Explorer can use most of the functions described below by going to the Google Website.]

     You'll find the Toolbar infinitely useful. It's like having a Google window permanently open. No matter what site you are visiting, you can do a quick search just by typing into the Toolbar's search window.

     Use the "Options" button on the Toolbar to customize your Google Toolbar. One option that I've found very useful is the "Search Site" button, described below. [Another extremely useful option is the Popup Blocker, which doesn't make your job search easier, but it does get rid of a major nuisance while you are online. Find it by clicking on the Toolbar's "Options" button.]

Using the Google Toolbar

     "Search Web." This is the default Toolbar search. Just type something into the Toolbar, hit the Enter key, and your browser will take you to the usual Google search results page. With the exception of "Search Site" (immediately below), all of the other Toolbar functions described in this article use the Search Web search.

     "Search Site." This is a very handy search function, but it requires you to click on the "Search Site" button rather than just hitting the Enter key.

     Search Site allows you to use Google to search through a site that does not have a search function (or doesn't have one that works well), assuming that the site has been pulled into Google's database.

     You can install "Search Site" on newer versions of the Google Toolbar by clicking on the Toolbar's "Settings" button (far right on the Toolbar, usually). Select "Options" from the dropdown menu. Then, click on the "Buttons" tab and select "Search Site" with the icon you see at the top of this section. On older versions of the Toolbar, click on the Toolbar's "Options" button. Then, select the "More" tab, and click on "Search Site" in the "Extra search buttons" grouping. Click "OK" and it will be added to your Toolbar.

     For example, I often look through company Web sites for their job postings. Usually, the jobs are fairly easy to find. But not always. When I can't find the job postings, I'll type "jobs" (without the quotes) in the Google Toolbar, and then click on the "Search Site" button. The results will be displayed on they typical Google search results page, but they will only be from the site I am visiting. If "jobs" doesn't work, I'll try "careers," "opportunities," and "human resources." Usually one of those queries works.

     Highlight Button. This little rascal is very useful for job hunters. Say you're looking for a job description that specifies some unique skill or credential that you have or a location where you want to work. You can type that term or location into the Google Toolbar (one or two words work best) and then click on the Highlight Button when you are viewing a job description. If the words are on the page you are viewing, Google will highlight them in the browser window for you.

     To install that button, if it's not already on your Toolbar, click on the Toolbar's "Settings" button (far right on the Toolbar, usually). Select "Options" from the dropdown menu. Then, click on the "More" tab, and from the "Find on Page" options, click on "Highlight" beside an image like the icon at the top of this section choose. When you click "OK" it will be added to your Toolbar.

     Instant Spell Check. Since I'm a terrible speller, this is a life saver for me. When I am completing an online form, like a resume submission, and I'm not sure how to spell a word, I type it into the Google Toolbar and hit the Enter key. If I've spelled it correctly, I get standard Google search results. If I've spelled it wrong, good old Google does its usual "Did you mean:..." and gives me the correct spelling

     Instant Word and Acronym Definitions. Is there a word or an acronym in a job description that is unfamiliar to you? Just type it in to your Google Toolbar, and you'll get to a page that has both search results (providing you with more information on the topic) and a link to the Definition in the very top line, above the search results on the right end of the line that tells you how many results were found.

     Phone Number Lookup. Have a phone number but not sure who's number it is or where they are located?

     Type the phone number into the Google Toolbar, and the "Phonebook results for" will probably tell you who the number belongs to and gives you a couple of map links to see exactly where the phone number is located. If the phone number is unlisted, an internal phone number in a big company, a cell phone number, or one that has been removed from Google's database, you won't get any results.

     [Note: This is a little scary on a personal privacy level. So, Google offers you a way to remove your phone numbers from the Google Phonebook. Go to www.google.com/help/pbremoval.html and complete the form. That page also lists the other databases that have the same (or similar) information for you to contact.]

Google Toolbar - Outside the U.S.A.

     If you are not in the U.S., you can specify that the Toolbar use your local Google by clicking on the "Options" Toolbar button and selecting your country's Google (e.g. Google.ca for Canada) as the site visible in the "Use Google site:" window at the top of the Options tab page.

Google without the Toolbar

     Most of the functions described above (except the Highlight) can be accomplished without the Google Toolbar, just not as conveniently or quickly.

     For more information about using Google for your job search, see Job-Hunt's Google-izing Your Job Search article.

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About the author...

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff "graduate" who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 1998, her company, NETability, Inc. purchased Job-Hunt.org, and Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt since then.

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