This week we were asked to post a review of a web application that we have had experience with, and to provide feedback regarding other people's experiences.
I chose to post about monster.com. Monster.com provides a way to get your resume published, and also allows you to look at jobs that are open and decide whether or not you want to submit your resume for consideration. I've been told that it's considered a search engine, because you can look for jobs, but it's also a web application because you can build a resume online and cover letters and get career advice.
Monster.com is free, and helps you go through all the steps to build one resume or several, and design cover letters that you can also save. It's pretty convenient, and you can update new information to your online resume(s), or customize the content for particular jobs.
You can allow it to be published, in which case you might get lots of emails from employers that you are not interested in, as well as advertisements from schools, etc. which can clog your inbox. That part is annoying. Another downside is if your current employer happens to come across your resume, you might get in trouble.
An alternative is to just keep your resume private, and only submit it to the positions that you're interested in.
On monster.com you can select search features for jobs available in a particular industry, and/or a geographic area, as well as for your experience level. A list of jobs matching your search criteria will come up (hopefully), and you can see the date that they were published, so you know how long the search has been open. A downside here is if you apply to positions that have been open for a while, it might already be closed, but the employer hasn't updated that information yet. You can also research about the company (if it's revealed), or read more about the job description and qualifications.
The most convenient part is that you can upload your saved resume and immediately apply to any job opening that you are interested in.
One classmate posted a reply to my review. He said:
I used Monster.com in the past and I always thought it was a very user-friendly application. I think I used it for the first time in 2000, and even back then it provided most of the main features found on the current site. I really like the career advice section of the site, which helps you write your resume and prepare for an interview. A lot of other sites have either copied or linked to Monster's database for posting jobs. A good example of that is the USAJOBS.gov website, which I have been using frequently in the last few years. The design for this site was based on Monster's, and if I remember correctly, they used to link to Monster's database in the past, but now they host the data in their own servers. The process for posting your resume on this site is almost identical to the steps you follow in Monster.
Another posted this reply:
I used Monster.com when I was searching for a job a couple of years ago and found the most frustrating aspect of this site (like you stated) was the fact that many of the position that were out there were older positions that had already been closed. However, through searching this site, I gained a better perspective of what employers were looking for and what I might actually qualify for.
One classmate posted about the Turbo Tax application. He said:
I chose to review Turbo Tax for PC simply because I used it in the past and am planning on using it again this year. Unlike my “go to guy” on taxes, who interrogates me before choosing the right form, Turbo Tax software will have enabled me to skip questions that do not apply to my situation, thus expediting the process. The IRS forms such as 1040 EZ and 1040 are filled out step by step, eliminating a possibility of missing a question. Many employers participate in the Turbotax programs, so information pertaining to the employer is often filled in automatically, without the need to type it in. Turbo Tax is compatible with other PC software as well, so the data from such programs as Quicken loans and Microsoft Money can be imported and used during the process. To decrease the likelihood of a mistake, Turbo Tax has a Smart Check Scan aimed at identifying various errors and, in the event that IRS penalizes me, Turbo Tax will pay it in full. One feature I myself like in particular, is that Turbo Tax allows to see the amount of a refund while working on the return, so I understand what fluctuations in my refund are due to.
My reply to his review was:
My family members and I have also been using Turbo Tax for several years and it is pretty easy to use. My tax situation is not at all complicated, so it makes more sense to use Turbo Tax than pay money to an accountant to fill out the form. However, if you have any kinds of complications, you have to be careful. As an example, when my dad retired, there was some confusion about his retirement income on the form for the state of NJ, (not the federal), and that resulted in a penalty that Turbo Tax did not cover. The way the questions were worded on the form weren't very helpful, but ambiguous enough that they claimed no liability. It wasn't a big deal money wise, but if your tax situation is not fairly routine, you might need more advice.
Another student posted this review about the web application called "Quicken":
After many years of trying to keep track of our finances through excel spread sheets, my husband and decided to use Quicken 2011 as our online financial manager, albeit with a lot of frustration. With Quicken we are suppose to be able to organize/manage our finances through our bank online. However, this software is lacking. Quicken advertises that you can view all of your debts and accounts in one location, which is true, if you have the time/patience to type this information into Quicken yourself. We have also had issues downloading our financial information from our bank through this program and when this occurs a lot of confusion comes about as to what we really have and don't have in our accounts. The customer service between Amazon and Quicken is lacking as well. If you download the software through Amazon it is definitely cheaper but you get what you pay for. In my case, I had to chase Quicken down for any questions I had regarding the program. I emailed Quicken recently but have yet to receive a response from them. Amazon is difficult to get in touch with as well and not very helpful. If you decide to purchase Quicken 2011, take my advice and physically purchase the software.
My reply was:
I went to their official site - quicken.intuit.com - and decided that I really don't need anything like this right now. I've only got one credit card, and can keep track of my expenses by looking at my bank statements, as I have everything set up for automatic payments, deposits, etc. My life is pretty simple at this point, and you make a good case for keeping it that way!
There's another, similar website at www.manilla.com that claims to be a free way to manage bills and so on, but I'm always a little skeptical about giving out too much of my financial information online. Bad enough I have to do it with the bank.
Another classmate posted this review about EZtaxreturn.com:
I chose EZ Tax return as my web application. Before I got married in 2006 I always went to H&R block or Jackson Hewitt to have my taxes done. I always had the fear of the IRS coming to get me if I didn’t input the right information since I never did the taxes on my own. My wife introduced me to EZ Tax return when it was time for do our taxes together and after sitting down with her while she did our taxes, I must say it’s not that hard to complete them once you get the hang of it. Only if I knew about the site before I could have saved $120.00 to $130.00 every year before I got married. Here is the website.
www.eztaxreturn.com
My reply to his post was:
I've been using TurboTax and this looks similar. I think these are useful tools for people who have simple tax situations. I know that Turbo Tax recently upgraded to having a "help" line where you can ask questions, and they have a tutorial to help newbies navigate tax forms. EZ tax doesn't require downloading any software, while Turbo Tax does. The software for simple, federal forms is free, but you have to pay for electronic filing anyway. That's included in the EZ tax price of 29.95 for federal (state is extra). With EZ tax you can upload a prior year's data, but I know Turbo Tax keeps all prior tax forms that you can reference, and in fact, it lets you know if things changed from the year before as you're filling out the form. I know TurboTax also has upgrades you can purchase if your tax situation is more complicated, for instance if you own your own business or something like that. They both claim to be secure, fast and "best" at getting you the most money back from the IRS. I'm not sure I would change since I'm used to working with TurboTax, but I agree that either of these options is better than paying an accountant, for folks who don't have any tax complications.
In conclusion, there were many interesting reviews of available web applications in this weeks Discussion Forum.
We were also asked to think of a web application that would be helpful for our chosen topic. I am blogging about what I'm learning about Nazi Germany this semester. Since most of what I'm doing involves writing papers, I think the application of "Open Office" that one of my classmates reviewed would be the only thing I could use. It is like MS Office but free. I have it on my personal lap top because I can't afford MS Office.
No comments:
Post a Comment