Online tools for organizing your job search

Your job search is all about (pick one):

• Marketing yourself
  
• Selling yourself

I tend to focus on the marketing aspect of the job search, but the sales aspect is where you actually close the deal. It can also be a process that generates a lot of details that you have to track, such as contact details and job leads. I have an Excel workbook to track job-search activities, but better tools are out there. The professional-strength approach to tracking detailed information in sales is to use specialized software, such as GoldMine (PC) or Daylite (Mac), but new, web-based services designed just for the job search offer many of the same benefits. Most offer free versions of their services, too.

• Backpack is a web-based organizer that could be useful for keeping to-do lists and notes. A paid version adds photo and file upload capabilities. It's not a specialized job search tool, but it has some interesting capabilities, such as sending reminders to your email and cell phone (via Career Hub).
  
  
• Emurse is an online tool for creating, sending and tracking résumés. Once you build your résumé, Emurse generates DOC, PDF, RTF, ODT, HTML or text versions as required, helps you send them to employers, and keeps track of where you've sent it. Emurse includes an web-based résumé option with optional password protection, if you want to be found by web-searching recruiters.
  
  
• Isabont has all the features you want for keeping track of your search. You enter your contacts, events, and to-do lists, upload your résumé and cover letter, and start tracking job postings. A free account gets you access to most of Isabont's features; the $9.95/month premium level adds email and cell phone reminders, email attachments and data export features (via Secrets of the Job Hunt).
  
  
• JibberJobber is another complete job-search organizer, tracking contacts, jobs, and applications. It also offers a library with links, articles, and personal stories. The free version offers most of the benefits of the paid version ($9.95/month, $105/year, $190/2 years).
  
  
• Job Search Log manages bookmarks for the job boards and searches you use, remembers the postings you select, and helps you track applications through the entire process. The free service also includes a contact database, customized letters, and mail merge and reporting functions (via Secrets of the Job Hunt).
  
  
• Myjobtips ($14.95 for three months or $29.95/year) tracks jobs posted on the Internet and adds notes, events and reminders. A free version allows you to track up to three active jobs at a time.

It doesn't matter which tool you use—even paper and pencil can work, if you insist. But an active job search generates a lot of information, and you need quick, easy access. It's just not good form to be unable to remember that you applied for a job at a company when the recruiter calls to schedule an interview.