Clever Job Searching Techniques

In today’s economic environment it can be difficult to find a job. One thing that has caught my eye has been the sheer laziness regarding the standard job search. An employed person wants to help out her friends, so I’ve asked many people how they've been looking for a job. Many say that they have emailed only their standard resume to a job posting, without even an accompanying cover letter.

The early bird truly gets the worm, so here’s a few job search tips to get you started. They come from a job search class I took while in college. I actually found my job by being exceptionally clever and you can too!

You’ll need to be sending out 2000 resumes a month, not one or two. Do research online and choose several companies that you may be interested in working for. A quick telephone call can even get you the hiring manager’s name. When I was calling around I never actually had anyone hang up on me. If you are friendly and keep the inquiry short, most people are happy to help out.

Be sure to include a tailored cover letter and resume for the pertinent job, even when you are emailing. I know it’ll take an hour of your time, but employers throw out those generalized resumes. Plus, once you have one resume tailored for one type of job you can keep it on file and apply for more of those jobs. It’ll save you time in the long run. 

Have a friend go over your letter and resume. A friend of mine couldn’t even get one interview, until I saw his letter and resume, full of spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. No wonder he was skipped over! Once I fixed them he got three interview offers in one week and found employment. Good thing he didn’t need to know how to spell on the job!

Go onto Craigslist and go about three months back into the Help Wanted section. Send a query email asking if the job has been filled yet. If not, tell them feel you would be the perfect fit. I actually found my own job this way. Who would have thought I’d find a job through an old listing that was going to be pulled shortly! I’ll bet not many people have tried this technique, hence wonder woman wins again!

Ask your friends if their office is hiring. It’s actually hard to fill those mid-range jobs as people are too scared to apply. They feel they aren’t qualified. Well, unless the posting wants a doctor, lawyer, or engineer, you likely are qualified or can be trained to do almost any job so it can’t hurt to apply for all that interest you. Be sure to mention your friend’s name in the cover letter, or during the interview. They love to hear that you know someone within their company.

Make your job search a 9 to 5 job. The clever person who spends all day on a job search will have the new job sooner than someone who spent half an hour mailing out resumes.

Unfortunately, nowadays the lazy method is guaranteed to keep you unemployed for a long length of time, as there is one job opening with 2000 people applying. You really need to stand out and be willing to go that extra mile. I wish you good luck in your job search!