Job Search Techniques That Work - Finding the Right Job For You

Finding the right job is as much art as it is science but mainly it's a lot of hard work. I'm going to share with you the secrets to finding the right job and then getting it.

Being unemployed is hard. It is especially hard in an economy like we live in today. It almost seems hopeless. But, the truth is it is neither hopeless nor impossible. If you are willing to work to find your next assignment you can find it. So, what is the formula?

1. 
   Understand that your job is to find a job. Get up every morning with the understanding that you have to go to work and stay with it for eight to ten hours a day just like you did when you were employed. If you have an office or study in your house use it. Go to the office every morning. Be in there by 8:00 a.m. or whatever time you choose but be consistent and treat it like a responsibility because it is.


2. 
   Turn off the television. You didn't watch television at work and you shouldn't be watching Oprah or whatever it is that you watch while you are working at home. You have to focus on finding a job.


3. 
   Write your resume. There are as many opinions on how to write a resume as their are people offering it. And, most people don't have a clue how to write a resume, even resume writing companies. Don't pay to have someone write your resume. You can do it yourself. It's not easy. If it were anyone could do it successfully. Its hard work but you can do it if you are willing to invest the time, energy and mental resources to make it happen.
   
   
   
   • Write down without regard to organization or grammar or anything else, everything you have ever done. Imagine someone is following you around with a video camera and write down what they would see you do. This is not projects or even technical data this is tasks.
   
   
   • Write down every project you ever worked on and what your role was in that project.
   
   
   • Write down all of the successes you have ever had. These should include money saving suggestions, new program implementations, project management that resulted in the project coming in on time and budget, new contracts awarded, complex tasks you were able to conquer and so forth.
   
   
   • Write down all of your education including seminars and training events as well as any certifications you might have.
   
   
   • Write down your employment record.
   
   
   • Organize all of this into chronological order in each segment. Put down dates. Don't just use years but rather actual dates.
   
   
   • Create your resume in this format:
     
     
     
     1. Name, Address, City, State, Zip, Phone, Email
     
     
     2. Objective or Summary-this is going to be determined by how much experience you have and what specific position you are going to apply for. You are going to want to write a different resume for each kind of position you are qualified for and would like to have.
     
     
     3. Experience starting with the most recent employment and going back to the first job out of college. List the dates, the company and address, your position or title and then your work history at that company. Again if you were there a long time start with the most recent responsibilities and work backward. List in bullet point fashion your successes and other things you want to highlight. Remember if you have been in the workforce for a while you can't list everything so focus on those things that are pertinent to the kind of position and company that you would like to work for next.
     
     
     4. Education starting with the highest degree and working backward.
     
     
     5. Training/Certifications and so forth
     
     
     6. Reference statement: "References Provided Upon Request."
     
     
   
   
   
   
4. 
   Make a list. Make a list of the companies that have people working there that do what you do or want to do. Be comprehensive. If this is a massive list reduce it by being selective geographically. Don't rule out any company in the geography that you would like to consider. Even if you are sure you don't want to work for the company list it on your paper. Put them in a spread sheet with the following headings: Company; Contact; Phone Number; Email Address; Date of First Contact; Date of Last Contact; Presentation Made; Resume Sent; Interview Scheduled; Interview Completed; Thank You's Sent; Offer Made; Accepted or Rejected; Notes
5. 
   Write a one minute presentation on your experience. This should be a presentation that hits the highlights of who you are professionally and your accomplishments. Share it with friends, former co-workers and family. Ask them to critique it for you. Massage it until it is the best you can make it. Memorize it.
6. Make another list. This list should be a list of everyone you have worked for and everyone you have worked with. List their telephone number and email address if you have it. Put this in a spread sheet. Use these headers: Name; Phone; Email; Date Contacted; Presentation Made; Meeting Scheduled; Meeting Held, Referrals Given; Thank You Sent.
7. 
   Start calling your list of people you have worked with. You have three objectives to this call. First, determine if their company is hiring and get all the information you can about those positions and the hiring managers including name, phone and email as well as all the information you can ascertain about the positions that need to be filled. Second, determine what other companies they know of that are hiring along with anybody they know that works there. Many of these, hopefully all of them will already be on your list of companies. If they are not, add them. If they are, add the names of the contacts along with the name of the person that referred them to you. Third, gain every contact name, phone number and email that you can get from them even if they work for companies that are not hiring. The people to whom you are speaking may not know if that company is hiring or not and the people at those companies may know people from other companies that are hiring that your initial contact may not know.
8. 
   When you are referred to a company this is hiring the kind of talent you represent call the contact you have within that company and do the following: Introduce yourself; Tell them you got their name from whomever it is that gave it to you; Ask them if you have caught them at a bad time; When given permission make your one minute presentation; Ask for contacts within the company that are in the area that you have skills and interest; Thank them for their time and help.
9. 
   When you find names of people that are in the area that would be most likely to need your talent call them and do the following: Introduce yourself; tell them who referred you to them; make your presentation (don't ask if it's a good time); ask if they are in need of someone with your talent (this is only if they don't immediately asking questions. If they do start asking questions, answer them and let them begin to take the lead.) Start to ask questions about the position; Get as much information as you can about the position; Ask for an opportunity to interview with them.
10. 
    Don't stop calling when you get an interview. Keep calling until you have exhausted the list or have been offered THE job that you want.
11. 
    After an interview send a thank you note to EVERYONE you met with. If you meet with more than one person be sure that everyone gets a thank you. Don't send the thank you via email. Send it by mail unless they are going to make a decision in the next 24 hours. If they are then you can send an email but most of the time it's going to be longer than that. If they are not making a decision for a few days send the note regular mail. If it's a relatively short time before they are going to make the decision send it via overnight mail. I have even sent a telegram to get it there quickly. I got the job by the way.

Again this is hard work. But, it works. If you will follow these steps you will find the right job for you and your skills. You must sell yourself. You sell yourself in your resume, in your presentation and in the interview. You may not like selling but you better be good at it if you want to land a good job. Employers can afford to be picky in these economic times. You have to do these kinds of things to set yourself apart from the crowd.

D. Bruce Scott is an author, consultant and internet wealth advocate. He uses his resources to help others save money when they shop and to earn additional revenue streams to not only survive but to thrive in these difficult economic times. He has more than 20 years of experience in recruiting and sales. His website is http://www.amazingshoppingfun.com

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