First, what is iGoogle?

iGoogle is a Web browser start page tool for combining many Google resources for ease-of-use on your online desktop. Tabs are used with iGoogle to have multiple views of your content.  For example, you can include – on one tab – email, your calendar,  the phases of the moon, various Twitter “gadgets” …  well, your get the idea.

In summary, iGoogle is a “personal homepage” where you  have immediate access to content of your choosing; example: your RSS feeds, news headlines, weather forecasts, etc.

It’s a “one-stop-shop” for access all kind of information.

Set up a Tab in iGoogle for job searching.

Although I use Google Reader for most of my casual blog reading, I use an iGoogle tab specifically for Job Searching:

• Every job search result is available to me in one place!
• Easy, one-click access to the latest openings.

All your job seaching activities at a glance, w

hat a deal!  Just a quick set of gadgets to set up and you’re done!

How to set it up:

Technology today allows you to receive current, up-to-the-second results (RSS feeds) that are specific to your job search …every hour of any day … when you open my browser.

Everything you add to iGoogle shows up as a draggable widget, so you can design your own layout, organize your content into one Tab.  Setting up a dashboard page in a tab on your iGoogle page to create a custom job searching page – all in one screen!

Step 1) Add Your Favorite Job Boards to iGoogle

Note: I will be featuring a Human Resources – Project Manager targeted search theme as an example, but you can follow along with any industry, topic, or job type that you want.  Go to a job board that you frequently use; for example:  SimplyHired

Step 2) Look for the RSS feeds ICON.

Right click and copy the RSS feed via “Copy link location”. That RSS link is now on your computer’s clipboard.

Step 3) Open your iGoogle dashboard, and in the upper right hand side click on the “Add Stuff” link.

Click on “Add feed or gadget” in the lower part of the left column.  You will see an open box screen where you can paste in the RSS url that in in your computer clipboard.

Repeat for each of job board (with an RSS feed option) you want to be part of your iGoogle Search screen.

Add a gadget or two. There are a lot of other gadgets out there made specifically for iGoogle, and you can find all of them with the “Add Stuff” link. Some of them can help with your job search, like the Indeed.com job search gadget

Add Custom Twitter Search

The first step is to go to search.twitter.com and test a few search phrases to see which results work well.

Copy the RSS link for your search. In the upper right corner of twitter search results page you’ll see a link that says “Feed for this query.”   Right click on that link and copy it to your clipboard, like we did with each of the job boards.

Done!

Now you’ve got both customized job board feeds and specific twitter search results showing in one place.

Bonus Information

A link to refer to for more information:    http://tinyurl.com/yzsv85l … this “How To”  link for help is an excellent blog post with superb detail on how to create a job-search dashboard, from setting up a new dedicated tab to adding searches for everywhere from your favorite job boards to Twitter.