The Career Search database assumes that the user has already clearly identified his or her career objectives. This is not an instrument for helping a client choose a career suited to his or her particular interests, neither does it give information about what is necessary to prepare or qualify for a certain occupation. It also does not contain information about particular current job openings. It is simply a database of employer information, containing data on businesses in a wide variety of industries, though it does contain some projection data for particular industries, geographic areas, and products.
This database is useful for those who are in the final stages of career preparation and are ready to search for a job opening. Using the database is simple and intuitive for Windows users and even those who have not used Windows should be able to make use of it with little or no training. One can select businesses by geographic location, company size, and type of industry (advertising, construction, college/university, etc.). Choice of geographic location is quite flexible as one can even choose to narrow the search to a particular city or even a particular zip code. Output includes not only the name, address, and short description of the company but also the name of the CEO, human resources department head, and other important officials.
Once the selections have been made, the program generates a list of hits which can be output in a report format to a printer or in comma‐delimited ASCII text, Foxpro or dBase database formats, or even Word or WordPerfect Mail Merge formats. The Mail Merge formats facilitate the computer generation of multiple letters of inquiry using a single template letter.
A full subscription to the database includes over 500,000 employer listings. Regional subscriptions that contain one, two or three regions of the country are also available. Regional subscriptions receive only quarterly updates while full subscriptions receive monthly updates. The product divides the country into eight geographic groupings for this purpose. A full annual subscription with monthly updates costs $8,700 and is networkable for a further fee, with costs rising for each additional simultaneous user. One networked user license costs $9,700, three simultaneous users $16,000, and ten users $25,000 per year. The software is certified for use on any network that supports Microsoft Windows.
Data resources come from American Business Information, Reed Reference Publishing, Columbia Books, Peterson’s, Gale Research, Custom DataBank, Thomson Financial, SMG Marketing Group, Billian Publishing, Chain Store Guide, Sportsguide, CorpTech, Commerce Register, Manufacturers News, M. Lee Smith, Gold Hill, Database Publishing, and Hawaii Business Directory. Types of employers covered in the database represent a wide variety of fields including advertisers, colleges/universities, K‐12 education, construction, consultants, entertainment/recreation, financial institutions, health care, hospitality, insurance, manufacturing, oil & gas, public safety, technology, transportation, utilities, and others. Manufacturing employers are by far the largest group, comprising nearly half of the employers on the disc reviewed.
Recommended minimum requirements include a 486/33 PC with 4 megabytes of RAM, a double‐speed CD‐ROM player, Windows 3.1 (Windows 95 compatible), a VGA monitor, mouse, printer, and 10 megabytes of hard drive space for the minimum installation. A medium installation requires 82 megabytes, and a large installation 375 megabytes. The more data installed on the hard disk, the faster the response time. The large installation downloads the entire database to the hard drive; so the speed of the CD‐ROM drive becomes irrelevant with this installation option.
This database is probably most useful for those whose career objectives take them into a particular industry or who are looking for information in particular companies. For job seekers with more general aspirations, such as those desiring careers in management or accounting, the database is probably not going to prove as helpful since it is organized by industry. In addition, there is no guarantee that any particular company listed has job openings. With reservations about its high cost, this database is recommended for large career placement offices and employment services.
