Job Search Tips

Here are some quick time-saving job search tips that will help your hunt for a new job go smoothly:

Be Prepared. Acquire a telephone answering machine or voice mail system in place and sign-up for a professional sounding email address. You must publish your cell phone number on your resume so you can follow up in a timely manner.

Be More Than Prepared. Always keep an up-to-date resume available to send, even if you are not looking for work. You never know when a chance that is too excellent to pass up might come along. Have a supply of good quality resume paper, envelopes and stamps on hand.

Don't Wait. If you are fired, solicit for unemployment benefits right away. You may be able to file online or by phone. Waiting could delay your benefits check.

Get Help. Use free or inexpensive services that offer career counseling and job search assistance such as college career offices, state Department of Labor offices or your local public library.

Create Your Own Templates. Have email and paper versions of your resume and cover letter available to edit. That way you can modify the content to adapt the requirements of the job you're applying for, but, the contact information and your opening and closing paragraphs won't need to be changed.

Use Job Search Engines. Search the job search engines. Use the sites that search the main job banks, employer sites and electronic news groups for you.

Jobs by Email. Let the jobs come to you. Use job search agents to sign up and acquire job listings by email. All the principal job sites enjoy of search agents and some web sites specialize in sending announcements.

Time Savers. If you have no time. Consider to get help writing or editing your resume. Resume posting services that post your resume to multiple job sites at once can save hours of data entry.

References Ready. Have a list of three references including name, job title, company, phone number and email address ready to give to interviewers.

Use Your Network. Know that the most job openings aren't advertised. Talk everyone you know that you are looking for job. Ask if they can help. This advice isn't a time saver, but, it will broaden your online job search resources.

Don't Stop. Don't confine only your job searching to the top sites like Monster, CareerBuilder and HotJobs. Verify the smaller niche sites that center the attention on a particular geographic location or career field and you will find plenty of job listings.

Back: Cover Letters