SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA JOB MARKET : A USER’S GUIDE : HIGH-TECH WAY TO JOB HUNT : COMPUTER BULLETIN BOARDS ARE A VALUABLE RESOURCE

Conducting an electronic job search is no longer a pipe dream. While classified ads and printed resumes have not yet been rendered completely obsolete, there are now many high-tech ways to find and apply for high-tech job openings directly by computer.

Employment listings in newspapers already routinely list electronic mail box numbers that allow applicants to send resumes by modem. And a growing number of employers are advertising technical job openings and searching for potential applicants through on-line computer services.

This new, faster mode of electronic job search bypasses the mails and provides a direct link between the applicant and the employer.

Most on-line services can be accessed with a personal computer equipped with a modem and a standard communications program like ProComm or CrossTalk. (Settings are typically: parity, none; data bits, 8; stop bit, 1.)

Here are summaries of a few of the services available:

* LA Online, an innovative computer information service based in Hermosa Beach, offers a free on-line Electronic Job Fair that posts job listings from such high-tech companies as Northrop’s Aircraft Division. It also serves as a liaison between employers and applicants.

Users can apply for specific openings by responding to a series of questions about a particular job. The service, in turn, compiles the answers into an applicant profile, which the staff of LA Online then sends to the employer, said David Silverberg, president of American TeleWeb, the parent company, and the service’s founder.

“We usually get about 2,000 calls per month,� Silverberg said. “I send out resumes almost every day.�

Since LA Online charges its advertisers rather than callers, accessing the system only costs the price of a local phone call.

LA Online also features a programmers’ registry in conjunction with Computer Currents magazine. Free-lance computer programmers can use it to advertise their services to prospective clients, Silverberg added.

* ECHO. Another recently established computerized employment service called the Extended Career Hotline Option, or ECHO, enables job seekers in the information systems field to scan career openings at a variety of financial, retail and travel-related companies, according to Jay Barnett, a Santa Monica-based executive recruiter who is the service’s co-founder.

During a search, ECHO allows job hunters to leave their name and phone number as well as information about their background and qualifications, which Barnett then forwards to employers. In addition to a job description, the Santa Monica-based service lists the salary range and type of working environment for each opening. Like LA Online, ECHO is free to the user.

* Standard, fee-based, on-line services such as CompuServe and Prodigy also offer electronic job listings. The classified section of CompuServe posts a wide assortment of job openings, both domestic and foreign.

“Since our membership is worldwide, employers and job listings are potentially worldwide,� said CompuServe spokeswoman Debra Young.

If an employer is a member of CompuServe, applicants can send their resumes directly via CompuServe’s electronic mail. CompuServe’s basic rate is $12.50 per hour at 1,200 or 2,400 baud (bits per second), with no extra charge to access the classified section, Young said.

Although CompuServe’s mainframe computers are in Ohio, it is possible to connect them through a local modem call from most areas.

For additional fees, job seekers can also peruse the Thomas Register and Disclosure II databases, which provide financial profiles of more than 160,000 public and private companies across North America.

* New Jersey-based Peterson’s Inc. has an employment service that will be offered through Prodigy beginning in April called Connexion. The service, which is already available at nearly 500 college and university career-placement offices, matches college students, veterans, career changers and victims of corporate downsizings with potential employers in a range of industries.

Connexion’s international resume database enables public, private and academic organizations to locate candidates with particular skills and credentials for employment, research, consulting, teaching, internships or graduate study, said Peterson’s spokeswoman Lisa Garb.

Some of the high-tech companies who regularly use Connexion include AT&T;, Rockwell International, NASA, Union Oil and Xerox, Garb said.

Connexion charges a one-time registration fee of $40.

* Most college and university placement offices offer one or more computerized employment services to their students and alumni.

UCLA offers several, including one called ProNet, that matches science, engineering and business graduates of UCLA, MIT, Stanford and UC Berkeley with job openings at such companies as ARCO, Computer Sciences Corp., Hughes Aircraft and Northrop Corp.

In addition, anyone can join the UCLA Alumni Assn. for $40 a year and use the full range of services at the on-campus Placement and Career Planning Center, said UCLA spokeswoman Karen Mack.

“Job candidate databases are starting to mushroom,� said Jerry Houser, director of USC’s Career Development Center. “If you can get your qualifications on some of these databases, your chances of getting called are improved. Even so, this should only be one component of a comprehensive job search.�

* The public sector is also venturing into computerized employment services.

The city of Santa Monica, for example, has an on-line information service called Public Electronic Network, which enables job-seekers to scan openings in city government and complete a form showing their interest. When openings occur, the city notifies interested parties by mail to come in and fill out an application in person, said Ken Phillips, director of the city’s information systems department. The city typically has five to 15 jobs listed at any one time, Phillips said.

SALARY SURVEY

Job Description Annual Salary Range Beginning computer operator Low $20,000s Lead computer operator Mid- to high-$20,000s Entry-level engineer, systems analyst or applications programmer Low- to mid-$30,000s Lead systems analyst Mid- to high-$40,000s Information security manager $50,000-$60,000 Management information strategies director $70,000-$80,000

Sources: American Assn. of Engineering Societies; Administrative Management Society, Trevose, Pa.; Robert Half International, Los Angeles.