Job Hunt Strategies
Reliable Tips
Tip #1
If you don't have time to visit a job Web site everyday to look for work, try using a company's virtual recruiter. Select this option to have their virtual recruiter schedule a recurring search for job openings that meet your qualifications. The recruiter isn't a real person but an automated response from their database that you need to request. In this way, you'll receive "batches" of job listings each week that match your profile. If the batches don't match, then this means you should edit your profile on their Web site.
Tip #2
Check out the local state employment offices online. There's no need to stand in line or view job postings on their office bulletin boards like in the past. For example, through the federal Workforce Initiatives, each state has set up an employment Web site. In Florida, it is called www.employflorida.com. This site provides listing of all jobs in the state of Florida. Specifically, if you are an educator, you wouldn't need to look at the Web sites for each university or school district in your county. Instead, the Workforce Board in your state has all the jobs listed on its site. Locate a One Stop Career Center near you: http://www.servicelocator.org/
Tip #3
Have you tried looking for work on Indeed.com? This Web site lists all the jobs posted on other company Web sites and job search engines. Wikipedia describe it as: "Indeed.com is a metasearch engine for job listings, launched in November 2004. It is also an example of vertical search. The site aggregates job listings from thousands of websites including job boards, newspapers, associations, and company career pages. Job seekers do not apply for jobs through Indeed, just receive the listing as to where the job is posted. Applicants can then decide which jobs are of interest and go to the corresponding sites to apply." Go to our Job Board to look for work on Indeed.com.
Tip #4
A simple and dynamic way to reconnect with your career is to join the professional organization associated with that type of job. Generally for less than one hundred dollars, your membership provides you with access to the latest research in the field, free or low cost training programs, opportunities to attend their regional, state or national conferences, and access to job fairs. Furthermore, you can interact with peers via the listserves, volunteering to serve on a committee, or writing an article for their newsletter.
Tip #5
Phone and Web-based interviews appear to be the latest time and money saving trend for those hiring. Don't get caught off guard! Many people have difficulty doing well on interviews over the phone. Here's some good advice on how to prepare for a phone interview: http://www.himjobs.com/interview_tips/phoneinterviews.htm. Some of the advice is fairly basic like “Be up, enthusiastic,” while other strategies may surprise you. For example, it states that you should be standing up when you do the phone interview in order to allow your voice to sound more confident. Read more on this topic on our blog.
Tip #6
The Department of Labor produces the Occupational Outlook Handbook every two years. The latest version, 2010-2011, has data on careers and the necessary training associated with each career. They list the following locations to look for a job: http://www.bls.gov/OCO/
1) personal contacts, 2) school career planning and placement offices, 3) employers, 4) classified ads in national and local newspapers, 5) professional journals, 6) trade magazines, 7) Internet resources, 8) professional associations, 9) labor unions, 10) state employment service offices,
11) federal government, 12) community agencies, 13) private employment agencies and career consultants, and 14) internships.Tip #7
Twitter.com has several companies and organizations involved in social media that post jobs via "tweets," as text messages. There is no cost to join Twitter, and it's a relatively simple platform to use for the job hunt. Our organization has a Twitter account, @Broke4Jobs, that tweets job-related resources that we discover or retweets information from the organizations that we follow. View our twitter account to see the 1000+ tweets without becoming a member. We have several reputable companies and organizations following us, such as ATT, AOL, the city of Fairfax, Virginia that post jobs. To learn more, read Marci Reynolds' Tweet Sheet that she developed as part of her eBook, How To Use Twitter For Your Job Search: http://www.job-hunt.org/guides/Tweet-Sheet.pdf.
Tip #8
Contact your former employers to see if they have any openings. You should be in contact with them anyway to ask for references and/or to send them thank-you notes. Many employers are not able to advertise if a position is available for part-time employment during any full-time job hiring freezes, so give them a call or send an email. Let them know some of your accomplishments since you last worked for them, so they can be a good reference or find new employment for you.
Contact us with your tips on landing the right job.
Tip #9
Tell everyone you know that you're looking for a job, even your preacher, because you never know where the leads will take you. The founder shared her resume and past job leads in a blog series titled, Diary of a Resume.
Tip # 10
Have you considered working part-time? How about taking on an internship? These are great opportunities to get your foot in the door and to demonstrate your skills. The downside is having to juggle several part-time jobs to make all your payments. Take a look at our Web page on Best Job Sites. It has a great site specifically for part-timers and/or freelancers called FlexJobs.com.