At this time of year, thousands of people return from holiday refreshed, revitalised... and determined to find a new job.

Workers who barely had time to eat and sleep during their daily routine suddenly find themselves with a fortnight to reflect on their career, their family and their aspirations. No wonder, then, that their annual break from the rat race leads many of them to decide they need a change.

So, if you've returned from holiday with a tan and a yearning for a change of scene, or if you are planning to use the bank holiday to take stock of your career as you paint the garden fence, you'll be job hunting in the coming weeks.

This used to be a long and painful process, but now one of the simplest and fastest ways to test the market and explore the career options open to you is the internet.

Guardian Unlimited has just revamped its recruitment site to provide an even better service and you can now search the Guardian Unlimited database of jobs more quickly and precisely.

To make life easier, we've also upgraded the technology which allows you to save searches in your own personalised section of the site.

If you don't find what you are looking for straight away, you can choose to receive daily emails with jobs that fit your search criteria.

Many employers are waking up to the benefits of the internet and it is now easy to apply for jobs online via the Guardian Unlimited site. If you've been out of the country and missed job ads you can find them in the online database, where they are stored for several weeks.

The site carries every job ad posted in the Guardian and the Observer, plus many more online-only job ads. It is a great opportunity to search through past and present jobs and compare pay and opportunities, not just by job name but also by sector.

The interactive tools help you filter out posts that you are not interested in and save you time by delivering to your computer the range of jobs by which you will really be excited. It's this interactivity which makes job hunting on the web so much quicker and easier than the traditional process.

There are several ways to find the vacancies that interest you most. If you are inter ested in the media, society or education sectors, there are special sites for these sectors where you'll find vacancies organised in a way that suits you (it's essentially like browsing through the ads in the relevant section of the Guardian newspaper).

For this service go to: www.EducationGuardian.co.uk/jobs, www.Media Guardian.co.uk/jobs or www. SocietyGuardian.co.uk/jobs

Alternatively, you can also browse by sector by clicking on one of the sector links on the homepage of Guardian Unlimited Jobs. Each link will take you to a page where you can search for jobs within that sector.

The third option is to search the entire jobs site by keyword, or by using our detailed search.

The Guardian has long been a pioneer in online recruitment. Its first recruitment site was launched in 1996 and Guardian Unlimited Jobs is among the top 10 recruitment sites in the UK.

It carries more than 2,500 Guardian and online-only quality jobs for ABC1 professionals and graduates in 14 categories including media, marketing and PR, secretarial, IT&T, finance, government, graduates, charities, health and social care.

But finding the job you want is only the start. A good CV can get you short-listed for interview, but unless you prepare properly, nervousness and tough questions can mean you miss out.

To help you cope with this, Guardian Unlimited Jobs incorporates a dedicated career centre, where you can work through the whole process from using a recruitment agency, finding a job, preparing for interview, getting the job and negotiating salaries and benefits.

If you feel you need a new challenge but you are not sure whether you should move to a new employer or go for an internal promotion, there is also advice from experts on how to build your career, plus tips on how to go freelance, motivate your team and develop charisma.