For more detailed construction industry data, specialty construction search engines are often better sources of information. The Building Industry Exchange at www.building.org is perhaps the largest directory and search engine on the Net for construction information. Designed in a Yahoo style format, users can browse specific categories or keyword search the entire database. Another good search engine is Buildnet at www.abuildnet.com, and Buildingonline at www.buildingonline.com which utilize the Alta Vista style format. Both the Building Industry Exchange and BuildNET are powered by the enormous reach of Builders Data at www.buildersdata.com.

Currently the largest construction job and resume databases is the "A/E/C JobBank" at www.aecjobbank.com, a true interactive resource. This massive database contains thousands of worldwide resumes and job opportunities specifically for the architecture, engineering, construction and real estate community. Visitors can keyword search for listings, or browse through the many categories and subcategories that are industry specific. Listings allow for graphics, and jobs can be linked both on-site to customized company profiles, or to a company's off-site web page. There are also provisions for confidential listings and private messaging that protects a candidate or employer's anonymity.

Other popular construction employment databases include www.building.org, www.abuildnet.com, www.constructiononly.com, www.building.com, www.constructionexchange.com, www.constructionjobstore.com, www.realestatejobstore.com, www.jobsite.com, www.careersinconstruction.com, www.construction-careers.com, www.constructiongigs.com, www.hardhatsonline.com, www.engineeringjobs.com, www.constructionclassified.com and www.online-jobs.com/.

Newsgroups (also called Usenet) are a network of discussion groups containing opinions and information on almost every subject. Some of the more popular construction employment newsgroups can be found at Builder News at www.buildernews.com which provides a comprehensive listing of building industry newsgroups including alt.building.resumes and alt.building.jobs. For a comprehensive general listing of newsgroups visit Usenet Job Search at www.careermosaic.com/cm/usenet.html, a searchable index of over 20 job-related newsgroups maintained by Career Mosaic.

There are many construction industry and job related chat rooms on the Net. Build Talk at www.buildtalk.com contains a listing of over 150 building industry related message boards and chat forums that are keyword searchable. This site also provides the famous "Instant Messenger" software for private real-time chat with single or multiple users. Another resource for construction students and recent college graduates is the message board at the Construction Education Connection, www.constructioneducation.com. To learn how to use a chat room, visit www.otn.net/chatroom/help.html.

Mailing Lists (or List Serves) are private online discussion groups who exchange email about a subject of mutual interest. Builder News at www.buildernews.com has a good list serve for the construction industry. A good announcement resource that does not require a response from subscribers is AEC Notify at www.aecnotify.com, which provides construction press releases to subscribers at no cost. Liszt at www.liszt.com has a directory of over 70,000 mailing lists. Reference Com at www.reference.com/ is a good search engine for newsgroups and mail lists.

Many of the major construction industry associations do not provide a resume or job database, however some do including the Construction Financial Management Association at www.cfma.org, the National Association of Home Builders at www.nahb.com, the American Society of Professional Estimators www.cmpi.com\aspe the Society of Marketing Professional Services at www.smps.org, the American Institute of Architects at aia.org, the International Association of Corporate Real Estate Executives at www.nacore.com, and the National Society of Professional Engineering at www.nspe.org.

For job postings there are classified resources like Construction Classifieds at www.constructionclassified.com, Engineering News Record magazine classified at www.enr.com, NY Times at www.nytimes.com, and Wall Street Journal Interactive Careers at www.careers.wsj.com. There are also multiple job-posting resources such as Career Path, at www.careerpath.com and the Classified Advertising Network at www.texoma.com/donrey/classified/newspaper/advertising/ where one can place classified ads in 57 newspapers.

Top construction and home remodeling products store

One of the leading online stores for contractors and do-it-yourselfers for the construction, home repair, lawn and garden markets is Builder's Central, at www.builderscentral.com. This online superstore serves both commercial and consumer products at an exceptional value, and manages hundreds of thousands of industry specific products from contractor supplies, tools, and hardware to dish washers and consumer yard rakes.

Top Web site promotion and marketing resources

A/E/C Media Network promotes your firm through Internet banner advertising. This resource is the largest advertising network of construction web directories in the world, including many of the industry's most prominent search engines, associations, and publishers. (www.aecmedia.net)

A/E/C Notify is an online news and press release service. (www.aecnotify.com)

eContractor is an Internet marketing resource for promoting your firm's web site to 12 major search engines and directories, and provides Internet marketing advice. (www.econtractor.net)

• Top Web portal for the construction industry

Top home remodeling, renovation, lawn and garden resources

One of the best resources on the Internet for the home renovation, lawn and garden information is Remodel Online at www.remodelonline.com. With more than 500,000 pages of do-it-yourself home improvement ideas and gardening tips, Remodel Online offers a vast selection of information drawing from a virtually endless list of resources including: Classified Ads, Remodeling Forums, Construction Chats and Books for the Home and Garden Enthusiast.

BuildNET is the largest and most active search engine for the construction, and home improvement markets at www.abuildnet.com. BuildNET serves as a portal for the building industry offering dozens of resources including free email and web sites, chat, job bank, classified advertising and much more.

Another resource that can provide consumers and vendors instant access to a database of over 600,000 industry-specific, contractors is Contractor Locate at www.contractorlocate.com.



The previous information is written and copyrighted by Frederick C. Hornberger, Jr., president of Hornberger Management Company, a national board and executive search firm specializing in the construction industry. This information is provided for personal use only. It may not be copied, printed or distributed to anyone other than you the reader, for any reason without permission from the author. Contact the author at address One Commerce Center, #747, Wilmington, Delaware 19801, phone 302-573-2541, email [email protected], or through the company web site at www.hmc.com.

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