Resume Guide Drawing

Looking for a job on the Internet can be daunting. Where do you start? What Web sites are best for your industry?

If you’re suffering from “job search overwhelm,” take heart. Remember the adage about how to eat an elephant one bite at a time.

Your quest for employment is the same.

It’s less overwhelming if you slice the online job market into bite-sized pieces instead of trying to visit 1,000 Web sites in a single day.

Here are 4 ways to divide the online employment market into smaller niches — and get hired faster.

1) Search For Local Job Sites

Like politics, most job searches are local. You’ll likely get hired by an employer within 20-30 miles of where you are now. So it pays to find Web sites that list local job openings.

Tip: look for job listings at the Web site of your local newspaper or TV station. You’ll almost always find something. Examples: startribune.com, kstp.com, detnews.com, nytimes.com. You’ll often find links to other regional job sites this way, too.

A second tactic is to type your state or city name and the word “jobs.com” into your Web browser and see what turns up. Examples: Minnesotajobs.com, Chicagojobs.com, Phillyjobs.com.

2) Search For Jobs By Industry

No matter what line of work you’re in, there’s probably a Web site with employment postings for that industry. So doing a Google search for “job title + jobs” should produce leads.

Another good Web resource is SearchSimpleton.com. It has links to more than 1,000 industry-specific Web directories, from Accounting and Finance to Travel, Hospitality and Restaurant job sites. It’s a good place to narrow your search to a specific industry or job function.

3) Search For Unadvertised Openings

Here’s a neat trick. You can get hired by companies before they even know they need you, according to Rich Milgram, founder and CEO of the 4Jobs.com Career Network.

All you have to do is think beyond your title.

“Most people take their job searches too literally. If they don’t find an exact match for the position Software Development Manager, for example, they give up. This is a mistake. Instead, look for companies hiring lots of software engineers and go pitch yourself as a manager to that company. That’s because employers tend to fill lower-level jobs first over the Internet, so you’ll be there ahead of their need for a new team manager,” says Milgram.

How do you pitch yourself to employers before they’ve listed a job opening?

Research the company, make contact with people who work there, then send a networking letter. According to Milgram, your letter should say something like: “I’ve been in your shoes before, here’s what you’re going to experience as you hire new people, and I’d be happy to talk to you about it.”

“The successful job search is not about you, but about the growth and the future of the company you want to work for,” adds Milgram.

The sooner you realize that, the sooner you’ll get hired.

4) Contact Old Classmates

You already know that networking can uncover the best job leads. It’s essential that you tell everyone you know about your job search. But don’t stop with those people.

Talk to everyone you used to know — folks you haven’t been in touch with for years.

And the easiest way is to contact people you went to high school or college with. Even if you haven’t talked to them in 20 years, you have something in common and they ought to be glad to hear from you (unless you stole their lunch money or did something equally inapt).

Two Web sites to help make contact with old school friends are Classmates.com and Linkedin.com. Also, most college Web sites will help you get in touch with fellow alumni — try yours and see.

Now, go out and make your own luck!

Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes. Since 1996, he and his team have provided resumes, cover letters and online job-search assistance to clients in all 50 states and 23 countries. Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, CBS MarketWatch, The Wall Street Journal’s National Business Employment Weekly, CBS Radio, and many others.

Tags: careers, cover letters, employment, finding a job, job hunting, job search, resume writing, resumescareers, cover letters, employment, finding a job, job hunting, job search, resume writing, resumes

Share This

Want to get hired faster than up to 97% of other job seekers?

Well, you can. By doing two simple things almost nobody else is doing:

1) write down a job search goal and

2) read it out loud 10 times a day.

Do this and you’ll find a job faster as a result. I promise.

Here’s how …

Depending on which self-help book you read or success guru you listen to, only about 3% to 10% of the population has written goals, with deadlines. To prove this, ask yourself — do you have written goals? Probably not. Now go ask 10 friends. Only about one will answer yes, if they’re honest.

The point is this: only a tiny percentage of people take the effort to decide exactly what they want in life and then write it down in the form of clear, specific goals.

This may explain why only a tiny percentage of people rise to the top in any profession. Why a tiny percentage are truly happy in their work. Why a tiny percentage sail from one rewarding job to the next, as if they were following a blueprint for success.

Well, that’s what written goals are — mini-blueprints for success.

Think about it. Would you hire an architect to build you a home who refused to draw a blueprint? You’d think he was nuts, of course, and show him the door.

And yet, I’ll wager that more than 90% of people look for work with no written goals — blueprints — of any kind. Is it any wonder so many folks meet with so much frustration and take so long to get hired?

OK. Let’s get you a job search goal and then burn it into your brain, so you will get focused, get motivated and get hired. Fast.

There are two steps to this goal-setting process.

Step 1) Decide on the job you want and write it down

Complete the following statement and write it on a 3×5 card:

“It’s June 30. I’m an outstanding JOB TITLE who adds value to the company lucky enough to have me. I’m making $XX,XXX in a stimulating environment, doing work I love, surrounded by co-workers I enjoy.”

Now, why is this important?

Writing a goal forces you to get clear on what you want. After all, you’d never write down a goal like this: “Um, well, I’d like a job that pays the bills, maybe working in an office or something.” Yet, that’s typical of the response I get from many people when I ask, “What job are you looking for?”

So, by writing down a specific employment goal with a due date (so your subconscious knows you’re serious), you’ll be ahead of the vast majority of other job seekers.

But that’s not enough …

Step 2) Reinforce your goal

Writing down a goal is great. But if you want breakthrough results, you have to reinforce it until it’s crystal clear in your mind’s eye, like the North Star.

To do this, read your goal out loud 10 times every morning. Then, put your 3×5 “goal card” in your pocket and refer to it during the day — at least three times, if you can.

Soon, your life will organize itself around finding your ideal job, as your subconscious goes to work. You’ll start to see employment leads where before there appeared none.

Example: someone you haven’t heard from in 10 years will call, and the conversation will lead to a job interview. Or your hair dresser will volunteer the name of a hiring manager who’s looking for someone like you. Or your next-door neighbor will bring back a hammer he borrowed last year … along with a job lead.

I’ve seen this sort of thing happen too many times to dismiss it as chance.

Try this two-step process for the next 30 days and see for yourself. The worst that can happen is you’ll have a very clear idea of the job you seek. At best, you’ll be working.

What have you got to lose?

Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes. Since 1996, he and his team have provided resumes, cover letters and online job-search assistance to clients in all 50 states and 23 countries. Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, CBS MarketWatch, The Wall Street Journal’s National Business Employment Weekly, CBS Radio, and many others.

Tags: careers, cover letters, employment, finding a job, job hunting, job search, resume writing, resumescareers, cover letters, employment, finding a job, job hunting, job search, resume writing, resumes

Share This