Job Search Tips

Searching for a new job is becoming a much more common occurrence these days, especially with all the layoffs from companies downsizing or even going out of business.  But searching for a job doesn’t need to be too painful, and there are many ways to make your job search easier.   Here are some job search tips:

Treat job hunting as though it is a full time job
You need to work on your job search every day, just as you would do a job.  If  it will help you, get dressed in work attire, sit down in your home office, and then start making those phone calls, searching online, networking, sending out your resume and cover letter, etc.
Don’t wait until the last minute to find a job
Even if you’ve been given a nice severance package, don’t wait.  You have no idea how long finding a new job will take, and you don’t want to run out of money before you find that job.  It may be beneficial to take some courses to ensure you are completely upto date in your chosen industry.  The sooner you know you have to do this, the sooner you can sort it out.

Create or get help to create an e-resume
It will pay you to make one master e-resume, and then you can adapt it to suit any different job positions you’re applying for.  This is much easier to do if you can work off a master copy rather than to have to recreate it each time. The same applies to your cover letter.

Research the company
It will really help you in any interview if you try to learn all you can about the company you’re applying to.  This way you can showcase your knowledge and gear your resume and interview answers around the company’s business direction and philosophies.  This should go down well with the company that are interviewing you.

Don’t be afraid to get help
There are lots of resources available, both online and offline, so use them.  You can send your resume to posting services, job boards, speak to career counselors, visit your State Department of Labor and many more.

Know who you are going to give for a reference
Have a list with all the details of your references, their names, the companies they’re employed by, their business titles, plus email addresses and phone numbers.  Once you know you are going to be attending an interview, do let your references know that they may well be contacted – this way they won’t get a call out of the blue, and they will be prepared and ready to talk about how great you are!

Let everyone know of your job search
Don’t forget to let everyone know that you are looking for a new job – this includes friends, neighbors, past co-workers,  fellow church and organization members, and anyone else you know.   You can use social media like LinkedIn to list your credentials and resume.  Network with LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.  You’d be surprised at justs how many people have found jobs via Twitter by simply tweeting what their area of expertise is and asking people to “retweet” their message.

Have a plan and stick to it
Use your computer to start a spreadsheet. Use this to keep track of what you’ve done and where exactly you are with your job searching.  This way you won’t find that you are duplicating your efforts and you have a clear idea of what to do next.  Also taking positive action will help you from becoming too discouraged.

If you want help in producing the best resume possible click here, and for assistance with writing a good, strong covering letter click here.  Armed with these you are going to be giving yourself the best chance of securing an interview.  If you feel you may need help with interview questions and how to deal with them, click here.  You can also give yourself a head start by using personal job search software visit this website.