Bookmark and Share
You are here: Home / Article / Job Search

Looking for Jobs the Old Fashioned Way

September 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

With all the advances in technology it is now commonplace for job seekers to go online in an attempt to find employment. What many are missing however, is a time tested method for getting a job that still works today.

If you are looking for a job, then consider going to the source. In other words, go to the places you are interested in working. This will require a great deal more energy on your part versus sitting at a computer and uploading your resume, but the result you get may surprise you.

This method is as easy as printing up about 20 resumes and creating a plan to visit a few places you would like to work at. Then you get into your car and off you go.

Be sure you dress to impress with this method and always put on a smile. Once you are inside, ask to speak to a manager. Once you see the manager, introduce yourself and hand them a resume as you are explaining to them that you are seeking employment.

Sometimes this can get you an interview in the near future and sometimes even right away. Therefore, you should be ready to interview should the manager feel the urge to do so with you.

Again, this method is more work as opposed to the digital way, but this approach often leaves potential employers with a great impression of you. Your go-getter attitude may be just what they want to see in a potential hire.

Gaining employment is often about making connections. That’s what’s great about this old fashioned approach. At the very least, you will be getting your name out there. So, the places you visit may not be looking to hire, but they just might know other places that are and those types of connections can end up meaning a great paying job for you.

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With:

Job Board Posting Fees

July 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Job boards are generally free to use for those who are looking for a job, but for those who are looking to post an employment opportunity on a job board there is almost always going to be a job board posting fee. The fee you might expect to pay to post a job opening for your business will vary from job board to job board and really depends on several factors.

Cost for 30 Day Listing
City -->NYLAChicagoDenversmall town
Job Board:Review
Monster.com$375
$375$365$365$210Free hiring tools to manage and screen candidates. Unlimited ad space. Discounts for multiple listings.
Careerbuilder$419$419$419$419$419Have one year from purchase date to use. Unlimited edits during 30 days. Discounts for multiple listings.
Craigslist$25$25$25$25freeEdit/update at any time.
IndeedOnly pay when your ad is clicked. Set PPC (min $0.25) and total budget (min. $25)Jobs appear on Indeed and across their network of sites.

Here are some of the variables that might affect how much of a job board posting fee you may have to pay:

•    The Company: Typically, the bigger name you go with, the more money you can expect to pay. So, you may only pay $10 to post your job opportunity on Phil’s Job Board, but you can expect to pay a lot more if you post your job opening to a company like LinkedIn for example. Sometimes, you may even be able to use two lesser known job posting boards for the same price as one of the big boys. In the end, who you go with is all a personal preference though results may vary.
•    Amount of Exposure: This sort of goes hand in hand with the first point. The more exposure you can expect to get from your job posting, the more you can expect to pay. Usually, larger companies will be able to offer you a much higher level of exposure so the fee is somewhat in line with that fact. Whether or not a higher fee for more exposure is acceptable to you all depends on how quickly you wish to get the position filled in which you are hiring for.
•    Type of Posting: You can also expect to pay more for a job posting that is long. Some companies will charge a flat fee for a job posting no matter what the length, but many will charge more if the posting exceeds a certain length. In order to avoid sticker shock, you should find out ahead of time what the limits to your posting might be.
•    Total Time: You may additionally see a big difference in job posting fees according to how long you want your job opening posted. Many companies allow you to post your job for as little as a few days to up to a few months. So, depending on how quickly you feel that your job offer may get filled, you can usually save a few bucks by going with a job posting that isn’t all that long.

The days of putting a classified advertisement in your local newspaper for a job opening with you business and then having to hold your breath and hope for the best have come and gone. Now it is just as economical to use a job board to get the word out to the masses that you are in fact hiring. While there is generally no way around the job board posting fees, you can minimize your expense if you  know what you are looking for and then take some time and consider all the variables involved.

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: ,

Online Job Searches: Do They Really Work?

June 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

With the unemployment rate hovering around the 10% mark, millions of Americans are looking for work online. The question is: Do online job searches really work? There is no doubt that in theory, looking for work on a social media site positively impacts your chances of getting a job. Tens of thousands of organizations are online right now with senior executives making themselves available to applicants. The impact of social networking is considerable. Facebook has more than 500 million users, Twitter is taking on thousands of new users a day and LinkedIn, a social network specifically designed for professionals has more than 100 million members. With these kind of figures, it is hard to imagine online job searches being anything but successful.

That said, you will not have much joy from any site if you fail to use it properly. Take LinkedIn for example. It has a helpful feature that shows how many degrees of separation you are from influential figures in your field. If it transpires that you are only one of two degrees away, you are likely to have a number of mutual friends. This means you could well be an introduction away from a meeting.

Online job searches are also useful for companies. It saves them thousands of dollars and months of fruitless searching for the right candidates. They may see someone on a site like Twitter or LinkedIn who seems suitable and ask them for an interview. Instead of having to interview countless candidates on the strength of their résumés  alone, companies can view a handful of elite professionals online and quickly find a good match for their company.

Professionals should also be warned about their online conduct. Companies are monitoring the activity of their employees on social networking sites more vigorously than ever before. This is because of hundreds of stories relating to employees having their contracts terminated after they were found to be insulting their boss or colleagues online. Poor social networking behavior can also negatively impact the chances of someone seeking a job. In the United States, 70% of companies have rejected candidates because of information they found relating to that person online.

When it comes to sending résumés online, it seems like you will be as unsuccessful as you would be when sending them in written form. Few résumés sent online are read by humans. Instead, there are looked at by computers. Applications that don’t have the requisite keywords will be rejected. With some companies receiving several hundred applications, it is no surprise. Indeed, most candidates who look for jobs online in this manner report receiving either no response at all or a generic e-mail.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. While online job searches are not the answer to your prayers, looking for work on social networking sites is a good idea. Sending applications to a faceless entity with email is probably. However, no matter how many jobs you look for online, nothing should stop you applying for jobs the old-fashioned way. In times of recession, you need to use every avenue that is open in order to secure employment.

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With:

Summer Jobs

June 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There are a variety of reasons that you might be looking for summer jobs.  If you don’t take a moment to think about what you can gain from picking up a short term job, then you might end up losing out in the end.  There are a number of different reasons that people choose one summer job over another and by understanding them, it will be easier for you to decide what summer jobs are best suited to your needs.  Here is a quick look at some of the different things that you should consider before making your final decision.

The first reason that you might be looking into summer jobs is solely for the money.  You may need to get some extra cash to cover expenses throughout the rest of the year or maybe you just need another source of income.  If money is your primary motivator, then there is a good chance that you get a high paying summer job fairly quickly.  However, you will definitely earn every dollar of it.  Normally these jobs involved some form of manual labor such as painting houses or working with on a construction site.

Another reason that people look for summer jobs is to gain experience.  If you are currently in school, then it is always beneficial to get some real world experience under your belt.  Not only can it help you decide if you are going down the right career path, but it can also help you land a job once you graduate.  If this is your primary goal, then focusing on business that offer internships is a great place to start.  Even if they don’t offer internships in the summer, they will likely hire summer help to cover the work done by interns during the school year.

Believe it or not, some people look for summer jobs that provide some sort of personal fulfillment  This could be working or volunteering with local efforts or even working abroad in at-risk areas.  Another option is to find a job that give you an experience or adventure that you otherwise wouldn’t get.  People interested in these types of summer jobs tend to go to vacation destinations or areas that have a lot of outdoor jobs during the summer.  Cruise ships or resorts tend to be popular targets for this purpose.  If this the path you take, it is important to note that many times, you will end up spending as much (if not more) than you make once you consider the additional living expenses.

As you can see, there are a lot of different reasons that people take summer resort jobs.  The key is deciding how important these three factors are to you.  Once you do that, it will be easier to find the perfect job to fill the summer months.  Keep in mind that there is a good chance that you will be able to find jobs that appeal to more than one of these desires, so make sure to do your research to find the best possible options.

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With:

Job Search Guide – Resume Keywords

July 31, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Keywords can be used to help you find jobs, as well as to help prospective employers and headhunters find you.  Here’s how.

Finding a job right now is difficult, what with all the current competition.  Your resume may land in a pile with dozens of other jobseekers’, which seriously detracts from your likelihood of getting noticed.  To increase your chances of finding a job, it is important to expand your job search and apply for as many positions as you can find for which you are qualified.

Simple mathematics tells us that, sure, the more jobs you apply to, the better your odds are of finding one.  But finding more jobs to apply for is the trick.  Here are some suggestions for how to use keywords to expand your job search and improve your chances.

Identify Important Key Phrases

Next time you are searching the online job boards, pay close attention to key phrases employers use in your resume.  You can use these phrases to find other jobs you might be just as qualified for.

Come up with a list of keywords or phrases that you frequently find in ads for the sort of job you are looking for, making sure of course that they describe skills you already have.  Then plug these terms into your favorite job search engines, and you may be surprised at the range of jobs that come up which require the same skills!

Ignore Job Titles

Have you heard the saying that you should never judge a book by its cover?  Likewise, you should never judge a job by its title.  The title is usually chosen by the company, and may actually be a very poor representation of what the job actually entails — or what skills it requires.  This is why identifying keywords and phrases to search for, instead of the job title itself, is a good strategy to use in your job search.

For example, say you are looking for a job as a technical writer.  Not all jobs that utilize this particular skill set may be listed as a technical writer.  For instance, you might find that a position for a human resources person or a new employee trainer might be very similar, requiring many of the same skills you already have.

Get Creative with Your Searches

The key to a good job search is thinking outside of the box.  Using a job search website is really no different than using a regular search engine like Yahoo! or Google.  Think about it: When you search for something on the Internet, you often add or delete words or use quotes, depending on what search results you get back the first time.  The same is true for searching for a job.

Take a close look at the results you get back, and determine if there are specific keywords you should be including in your search terms in order to narrow your results, or if you should be removing words in order to get more results back.  Putting a specific phrase in quotes, such as the name of software that is often used in your line of work, can also help to identify jobs you might be qualified for.

Include Key Phrases in Your Resume

Once you have identified what key phrases to search for, be sure that you put them to further use in order to help recruiters and potential employers find you.  Although it is a less common way to find a job, some employers and headhunters search resumes on job search websites, looking for jobseekers that have a very particular skill set.  However, if you don’t use the right keywords in your resume, you may not turn up in their search results.

Remember that list of keywords you made while you were searching for jobs?  These are key phrases that frequently appear in job ads seeking people with your talents and experience.  It only stands to reason that employers and recruiters will use these same terms in their searches, as well.  Go through your resume and replace your descriptive terms with these frequently used key phrases, and don’t worry about sounding like a copycat — potential employers are more concerned about whether you have the skills they are looking for, and using industry accepted terms is the best way to show that you do.

As you can tell, keywords are an important part of any serious job search.  Jobseekers who utilize keywords and phrases may be able to find a broader selection of jobs to apply for; likewise, you can use keywords to narrow your search results to just those jobs you are exceptionally qualified for.  Incorporating this concept into your job search will vastly improve your odds of finding a job!

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: ,

The Best Job Search Sites

July 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Everyone’s looking for work these days it seems and with all the ways to go about it, newspaper ads, local ads, the Internet, it can be an overwhelming task deciding which is the best way to go about it. Herein I will list for you the top rated online job search websites as well as their pros and cons so you can get the best results during your job-hunt and get to work faster.

JobGoRound.Com – This website has the ability to find job openings with just a click or two of the mouse. All you need to do is enter a keyword, set your location and you can see hundreds of offers. That is the upside to the service, the downside is that you have no means to post a resume on the website for potential companies to find you and offer you a position. You can; however, use a job search assistant to find places and post your resume with them and the site offers some advice on resumes as well as interviews.

Monster.Com – Everyone’s heard of Monster, it’s one of the premier job search sites and it offers a great deal of options for helping people find jobs as well as helping recruiters find people for their company. You can use a job search assistant to scour the service for jobs that match your skills and have to postings emailed to you as they appear. You can also post your resume online for companies to view and you are given the ability to share that resume at will when you apply for any jobs. Monster also has the luxury, because of their well-known name, to attract one of the largest databases on jobs online, which means the choices are almost endless.

HotJobs.Com – Yahoo’s HotJobs.Com pretty has everything you can think of under the sun to help you find that one perfect job you need. The system they use makes separating job search types by skill, location and pay easier than any other site online at this time. You can get assistance that is as detailed as you want it to be through their search assistants and email notifications. There is online resume assistance as well as the ability to store and update your resume whenever needed. You can also save the searches you have done so that, instead of having to look all over again, you simply return to your previous searches which saves a great deal of time and stress.

Job openings are updated constantly and using the saved searches on these types of websites makes looking for jobs easier than ever. There are also a ton of tools on these sites to help with interviews from tips to things you should practice as well as things you never want to do during an interview.

The best part of these types of search engines is the time it saves you. Looking for work in the newspaper is time consuming and not very effective anymore as most companies are placing their ads almost exclusively online.

Read resume service reviews of the top professional resume writing services.

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: ,

How to Find a Job

July 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Whether you’re just out of college or have been in the workforce for decades, it’s typically not easy to find a new job. If you’re currently job hunting, you’re not alone. Some studies suggest that as many as 75 percent of people are looking for a job at any given time. That’s a lot of competition. The best way to increase the odds that you land a job you’re interested in is to make sure that you know about them in the first place. Here are some good places to start:

Spread it around. It’s a lot of work, but blanketing your geographic area with your resume is an old standby for a reason: it sometimes works. Why send your resume to a company that hasn’t advertised any open positions? Because they may not ever advertise—even if a position comes open. Or, a position could open up the day after you submit your resume, and guess who will have a leg up in the selection process? Why, the person whose resume just came across the hiring manager’s desk the previous day, of course. Identify the companies for whom you would like to work, and create a general resume (with specifics such as the company and recipient’s name) that showcases your abilities and interests. You may not get a call even if you send out 200 of these, but then again, you might get 10 calls.

Apply for open jobs. It sounds like a no-brainer, but lots of people today skip the newspaper and online classifieds because they assume that the company will be deluged with resumes. And that’s true. But if you’re qualified, there’s no reason not to apply and one very good reason to do so: you know they have an open position. Take the time to personalize your resume and cover letter as much as possible, as well as proof it thoroughly, and you’ll already be in the top tier of candidates because too many people fail to take these easy steps.

Contact your old university. Most colleges, universities, and technical schools offer graduates and alumni job placement services. Just because you’ve been out in the work world for a decade doesn’t mean that State U can’t help you. The best career centers ask alums to let them know when jobs become available within their companies so they can pass those leads on to other alums. And having an alma mater in common is a great jumping off point with a potential boss.

Talk to a recruiter. Headhunters are one of the most under-utilized job hunting tools. Some people believe that headhunters only work for high-dollar professionals like doctors; others believe that recruiters only work for blue collar companies needing cheap labor. The truth is that headhunters are employed by companies across the board—and they always want to meet quality professionals like you. Legitimate headhunters don’t charge job seekers a fee (they make money from the companies who hire the candidates they provide), so what do you have to lose?

Ask your friends. You’ll probably talk to your pals about your desire to get a new job anyway, so why not employ their help in the process? Ask them to think about possibilities within their own company, in companies that do business with their firm, their spouse’s company, and anyone else in their social circle who could be a lead for you. Even if they can’t come up with anything solid right then, it will put the idea in their brain so that if they hear of anything, you’ll be the first person they call.

Network with everyone. This means both inside and outside of your field. Many people think that colleagues in the same field will have an inside track on open jobs, but think about it: if a great job comes along, why wouldn’t your colleague apply for it instead of telling you about it? Same-field networking works best when you know people who are at least one rung above you on the professional ladder. That way, you won’t be applying for the same jobs, and they’re more likely to know about job openings at your level. It may actually be more productive to network outside of your field, and the good news is that you can do this anywhere, not just those uncomfortable after-hours networking socials. Wherever you go—cocktail parties, your child’s baseball game, church—make sure to mention that you may be in the market for a change. You never know when an acquaintance will say, “What a coincidence; my brother is looking for a new graphic designer.”

Search for jobs on the JobGoRound job search board.

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: ,

Resume Distribution Methods

July 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Once you have your resume completed, it won’t be able to help you get a job until it is in the hands of potential employers.  The only way to ensure that your resume is put to good use is to distribute it effectively and efficiently.  There are a variety of resume distribution methods that you can utilize, however some are markedly better than others.  In order to choose the best distribution methods for you, it is important to understand the advantages and drawbacks of each method.

Resume Distribution Methods

1.    All You – While the internet makes searching for jobs easier than ever before, manually distributing your resume in response to job postings remains a common option.  Newspapers carry far less job openings now that the internet has taken control.  The biggest benefit of researching job openings and manually distributing your resume is that your resume is only given to openings that interest you.  Additionally, you can personalize and tailor each resume to individual jobs.  The main drawback is that this process can quickly become very time consuming.

2.    Recruiters/Staffing Services – Using recruiters and staffing agencies have become extremely popular over the last decade.  One reason for this is that staffing services and recruiters often have specialized to fit certain industries.  Additionally, they will often hear of open positions much quicker than you could find them on your own.  It is important to keep in mind that in order to get good results, using multiple recruiters and staffing services is a must.

3.    Job Fairs – Job fairs, also known as career fairs, are scheduled gatherings that are designed for employers and potential employees to meet in one place.  They are often held in hotel ballrooms or convention centers.  The biggest benefit of attending job fairs is that they give you access to dozens of employers all at once.  Additionally, they are great for creating a face to face meeting.  The biggest drawback to job fairs is that in order to stand out, you really need to stand out.  Employers will see hundreds of potential employees and getting ahead of the pack can be difficult.

4.    Resume Posting – There are a variety of different online websites that allow people to post their resumes and then employers can browse them as needed.  Many of the most popular job boards include Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com, and Craigslist.  Posting your resume is often offered as a free service, however keep in mind that they contain thousands or hundreds of thousands of resumes.  This means that an employer may have to dig a little in order to see your resume.  Keep in mind that this is a very passive tactic.  Once you post your resume, it is left up to the employer to contact you.

5.    Resume Distribution Services – There are more and more resume distribution services available on line.  These services blast out your resume to thousands of recruiters and employers simultaneously.  This approach is involves minimal time, however can get expensive over time.  Additionally, you have little choice in who will get your resume, which means that 80%+ of the people who receive your resume will not be a good match.

There are a variety of resume distribution methods available, in order to get the best results, using a compilation of methods is often the best.

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: ,

Job Search Tips for Veterans

July 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

When it comes to a career transition, nothing compares to transitioning from a military career to a civilian career.  However as long as you go into your job search with a game plan, a job search doesn’t have to be difficult.  Lets take a look at some simple job search tips for veterans that can simplify the process of finding your next career.

Job Search Tips for Veterans

1.    Re-asses Yourself - Giving a decent part of your life to the military has changed you in one way or another.  To make sure that you job search heads in the right direction, it is important to asses who you are now and how these changes could affect your career choice.  For example, you now must consider factors like: where you want to live, is there a civilian career that correlates with your military career, what skills have you gained, what skills do you plan on learning, and do you still want to work for the government.  You must also determine if you sustained any injuries during your military career that could potentially hinder your ability to pursue certain careers.  Use this self assessment to guide you towards a particular career path or industry.

2.    Create a Civilian Friendly Marketing Portfolio – Many veterans state that this is the most difficult aspect of the transition from a military to civilian career.  The reason that this is so difficult is that it requires a change in mindset.  You need to adjust to what a civilian employer wants and can understand.  It is critical to remove military jargon and acronyms, because they will not carry any meaning to your employer.  The easiest way to do this, is to write down what you want to say on your resume and have civilian friends and family read it.  If they can understand it, then you are off to a great start.

3.    Identify Transitional Skills – Some transitional skills are very easy to identify, if you worked with computers, then these skills would easily translate.  However, it is important to not forget about “soft” transitional skills, otherwise known as intangible qualities.  Military training provides a number of intangibles that can be easily illustrated with specific examples throughout your resume, as well as during the interview process. Military transition resume writers can help with this.

4.    Staying With the Government? – There are a number of civilian government positions that favor veterans.  If you are still interested in working for the government, then there are a number of excellent resources that you can use.  Some of the most common include: FedsHireVets.gov, USAJobs.gov, and JobHunt’s jobs by state.  These jobs often make the transition from military to civil service easier because they are geared toward veterans.

There are a lot of job search tips for veterans, but these 4 are consistently regarded as incredibly important.  By keeping these 4 tips in mind when searching for your first civil job since leaving the military, the entire process will be much more stress free and much more successful.

Filed Under: Job Search

Resume Distribution: Save Time Job Searching

April 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Job seekers everywhere are trying to find new and innovative ways to improve their job search efforts. In an economy where unemployment is rising, companies are cutting back, fewer businesses than usual are starting up and downsizing is the norm, there are more people searching for work than there has been in quite a while. Families are tightening their belts and spending less, while trying to reduce debt they accumulated when the economy was good. More and more people who depend on commission are finding that their household income has dropped significantly. Many households that had a stay at home parent are now faced with that person needing to return to the workforce in order to make ends meet. For all these reasons and more, competition in the job market is fierce.

Resume distribution is one of those relatively new services that developed along with the rise in Internet use for finding jobs. Today’s job seekers use the Internet almost exclusively in their job search efforts. There are online job boards that are updated in real time with new jobs as they become available. Professional recruiting services all have web sites and do much of their work online. Individual company websites list job openings, as do online classifieds and many other sites. For the job seeker however, visiting all the possibly pertinent sites and posting your resume can be extremely time consuming.

That’s where resume distribution services come into play. In exchange for paying a small but reasonable fee, a resume distribution service will blast your resume to multiple sites at once. They will target hundreds and possibly even thousands of recruiting firms, corporations, hospitals, large businesses and other employers. This helps to save an incredible amount of time in your job search because you reach a huge number of possible employers at once. It is an especially useful option for anyone who is looking for any job that comes along and fast. The downside is that you have no say in where your resume is sent and it may or may not end up helping you get a job.

To overcome the problems associated with widely blasting a resume, targeted resume distribution services began. While basically the same as the regular resume distribution service, the targeted one gives you the option of selecting who will receive your resume. You can narrow down the recipients according to industry, salary level, position types and more. You even have the option of specifying the companies and recruiters you truly want to have your resume. While a much more effective way of finding a job you actually want, this service is more costly than the original resume distribution service.

If you are out of a job or simply looking for a new one, put technology to work for you. Select the type of resume distribution service that fits your needs and get started. In no time your job search will be wide open and you’ll be on the fast track to being amongst the newly employed.

Filed Under: Job Search Tagged With: ,
« Older Posts
About | Contact | Terms | Privacy | Sitemap | Forum | Resources | Coupons | Resume Service Reviews | Resume Distribution