
                    >>>>  JobHunt 6-in-1  <<<<
               A Resume Program With Employer Database

   How would you like to save over $2500? You can when you buy JobHunt, 
a $29.95 program -- according to the people at Scope International. 
Their program contains a database of 10,000 top U.S. companies, and the 
reasoning is that if you had purchased a mailing list of the companies, 
at $0.25 per record, it would've cost you over $2500.

   JobHunt 6-in-1 is a Windows program with a mission -- to land you a 
job. The database is a big part of that. So are the other five 
components: a resume builder, a word processor, a set of "PowerTips" 
(advice on how to behave during an interview), a label/envelope printer, 
and a phone dialer.

   The database is the powerful core of the program. It provides full 
contact information on 10,000 companies: contact names, addresses, 
phone/fax numbers, an estimate of the number of people employed there, 
and an estimate of the company's annual sales. On the main screen are 
two large scrolling windows: "State" and "Standard Industrial 
Classification (SIC)." To get at the companies in your areas of interest 
-- in your desired areas of the country -- you click. Namely, you click 
to tag the states in which you'd consider taking a job, then you tag the 
work areas you're interested in. (Construction, Petroleum Refining, Food 
Stores, Insurance Carriers, Security/Commodity Brokers, Hotels, Real 
Estate, Administration and Communication are just a few of the dozens of 
specific categories listed.)

   When you've selected your states and categories, click on the View 
Data button to let the database churn out a sorted list of potential 
employers you can scroll through.

   Wouldn't it be nice if you could zip out custom-printed letters to 
those potential employers -- with just a few keystrokes? Well, you can! 
(You knew that was coming, didn't you?) A bundled word processor works 
hand-in-hand with the database to print not only prospective employment 
letters, but also matching envelopes (or labels). The program includes a 
variety of prewritten letters, with employer name/address/etc. field 
codes already plugged in; you can easily customize these letters with 
your name and address and the position you're seeking. If you want to 
start a letter from scratch, that's cool too. It's easy to add field 
codes -- just point at what you want in the Format/Insert Fields menu. 
You can use any Windows-supported font in your document, plus apply 
bold/italic/underline attributes. If you have a good color printer, you 
may want to highlight parts of your letter with color.

   The word processor, with its handy toolbar and WYSIWYG editing 
screen, is quite serviceable -- but if offers no spelling checker. You 
can block-copy the letter to the clipboard for pasting into your regular 
Windows word processor and do a spelling check there, if you like. You 
can also export the data to a delimited ASCII file for import into 
another database if you'd rather work with your regular database and 
mail-merge setup.

   It's easy to complete a resume in JobHunt. The program merely asks 
you to fill in the blanks with your name, address, education, experience 
and other qualifications. When you're finished, print! JobHunt supports 
color as well as black-and-white printers, so you can splash on the 
color if you think that will help your resume stand out in the pile.

   Unfortunately, the resume part of the program is the weakest. It's 
very basic, workmanlike and rigid. It uses the plain-vanilla block 
format with headings for objective, education, experience and 
"professional and computer skills." (The headings go at the left, your 
answers appear aligned to the right.) You're limited to a certain amount 
of space and no more to fill in your experience and professional/ 
computer skills info.

   The resume's text-entry scheme is disappointing. It's basically line 
editing -- no word wrap. When the line ends, it ends, so you must back 
up and plan your word breaks accordingly before pressing ENTER to get to 
the next line. You're given no hints on how to write the information or 
what to incldue. There are no style selections to choose (except to pick 
a font and an optional border). I must admit, the layout does look good. 
It works, but it won't suit everybody. If you need something a little 
spiffier, type the info into your word processor or desktop-publishing 
program.

   The PowerTips offer common-sense advice on how to act in an interview 
and what to wear (hint: it's better to dress more conservatively than 
the interviewers; you never want to appear under-dressed in comparison). 
Another interesting piece of advice is to make sure your critically 
important first utterances are of a positive nature (don't complain 
about weather or traffic). Also hidden in this section are tips on ways 
to improve your resume (use action verbs with quantitative descriptions; 
e.g., "Accomplished a 50% increase in sales by ...").

   JobHunt is a boon to those looking for jobs or to shift careers. 
It'll let you print hundreds of custom employment letters in less time 
than it takes to watch a sitcom. The hardest, most time-consuming part 
will be to sign the letters and lick the envelopes. But think of how 
you'll increase your odds by mass-mailing!

   JobHunt is an interesting package. It comes in a big, glossy box -- 
which holds three floppy disks, a brochure and a typed instruction sheet 
(no manual). The installation status display gives away the fact that 
JobHunt is written in Visual BASIC 3, but don't let that keep you away.

{Scope Intl., P.O. Box 25252, Charlotte, NC 28229-5252, sales (800) 843-
5627, voice (704) 535-0614, BBS (704) 535-0610; $29.95. REQUIRES: 
Windows 3.1, 4MB RAM, hard disk.}

                                 -=*=-
