How To Find Work

Being unemployed is difficult enough but not knowing where to look for a new job is even more challenging. Up until last year anyone looking for employment turned to the internet. Sites such as Careerbuilder, Jobing, Craigslist, and Monster were the place to post resumes to get noticed or to view companies advertising for open positions. These sites provided a passive approach to finding new employment, but what do you do in an economy that is scaling back?

Times like these require hitting the basics. Still post your resume on all the employment sites available, but expand your efforts. Start by setting yourself apart from everyone else by having a polished well designed resume. There are professional resume writers, books, and free resume builder sites to help. It is always best to have at least (3) variations of a resume. Variations are used to help career transitions from one field to another, they can be used to help summarize job duties giving the hiring manager a better idea of the scope of your jobs, and they can be designed to give minimal job duty descriptions for those looking to take a step back in their career and not be deemed "over qualified". Resumes strictly help the job seeker sell themselves on paper.

Next, make a list of companies you are interested in working for and contact them directly. Ask who handles the hiring for their company and introduce yourself to this person. Briefly explain you are interested in working with their company and inquire how to submit your resume. It is always best to ask for the email address of the person you are speaking with and follow-up with a "thank you for your time" email.

If you are unsure as to the companies you want to work for then target a specific industry by sourcing through the yellow pages or internet business directories. Contact all the companies you find and submit your resume. For those who have the flexibility of relocation source companies outside your area.

Depending on the nature of the position, businesses will post help wanted signs in or around their place of business. Signs are a welcome for anyone to come in and apply. All too often the downfall of an applicant is their appearance meaning they treat the walk in application process as casual losing emphasis on standing out amongst other applicants. It is best to carry clean copies of your resume, carry a couple of ink pens, dress in an appropriate manner making sure clothes are nicely pressed and paying close attention to personal hygiene.

Another great way to help promote yourself to employers is ask your friends and family to help. Give them copies of your resume, ask them to contact everyone they know whether the company is hiring or not and have them give you a referral. One of the best ways to get recognized is when the hiring manager hears about how great you are and your skill-set from someone other than you directly. 

Finally, contact multiple recruiters and never settle with just one. Being a former recruiter myself I witnessed many recruiters who only collected resumes building a pipeline until a job order would come available matching these candidate skill sets. Recruiters are great connections though because many companies have turned to outsourcing their recruitment team to an outside party. Outside recruiters are generally 100% commissioned base making their drive to place candidates greater than in-house recruiters who get paid whether a position is filled or not.

If you or anyone you know is needing a professional resume built, please email us at fasttrackinsider@yahoo.com and we can create professional resumes without cover letters for $25.00 or $50.00 with cover letters.

Sincerely,
The Editor