1. Set specific job search targets. Before you do anything in a job search, take time to decide what kind of job you really want, based on your interests, education, career goals, financial needs, and your willingness to relocate. These all will play a part in the choices you make. To clarify these targets, be prepared to do some research, talk to people, network, work with a career counselor. You can try some temporary work in some of the industries you might be interested in and that might give you a feel for that particular industry.

2. Get a sense of the marketplace. Be as objective as you can about your own marketability, based on the number of available jobs in your field. The race in today’s job market favors skilled candidates who are ready to step in and make an immediate contribution, without having to go through a lengthy training period. Familiarize yourself with the critical skills required for the type of jobs you are going after.

3. Get yourself geared up. If you can afford it, think about investing in some job search tools, such as your own phone line or a computer that will enable you to operate more productively. Always have a professional voice message on your phone as well as a professional email address.

4. Think of job hunting as your full-time job. Searching for a job these days is a tough job … very well may be the toughest job you’ll ever have. Treat the job search like a full-time job. Set aside certain hours in the day just for job searching. Approach the task of finding a job as if it were a job unto itself …with you as your own boss. Work at it full-time (or part-time if you’re still employed). Give it 100 percent of your effort and commitment.

5. Interviewing boils down to just two fundamental issues. Here are two critical questions that every job seeker must be able to address before going on an interview: 1) What is the company proud of? and 2) What is the company worried about? Be able to answer these two questions in detail. Whether you’re meeting the CEO or a screener in HR, you’ll be able to think and talk from the corporation’s own mindset. Your first and best place to get information is on the company website. If it’s a public company, you’ll find its recent years of operating results, a chart of its stock performance, recent annual reports, profiles of its key executives and board members, and – best of all – an archive of its press releases. Read every release available on the site. In less that an hour of reading you’ll find out what the company wanted the outside world to know.

Okay, but what is the company worried about? Surprisingly, the press releases may reveal problems too. For example, predicted achievements, financings, and transactions may actually be announced later than promised…or not at all. Read between the lines. To gather less happy specifics about the company you will, of course, also go to Google or Yahoo! and see what the outside world is saying. Don’t just look up the parent company. Check out its main operating units and its principal products and services. Totally immerse yourself in the company’s mentality. Then your interview can become almost a peer-to-peer conversation.

6. Develop a PowerPoint or whiteboard presentation in your head. What’s your interviewing plan for communicating the answers to the two questions posed in #5? Outline the steps that you would take to solve the company’s problems. The exact number or sequence of steps doesn’t have to be perfectly correct, but you the candidate should be able to defend them intelligently. If you can demonstrate an understanding of the corporate culture and the company’s competitors, and lay out a plan of attack for solving those problems, you have made a compelling case as to why they should hire you.

Remember, an interview should be a roll-up-your-sleeves, hands-on meeting between you and the company representative, where all of the focus is on the ability to do the job. At the interview, you should expect (or hope) to hear the most riveting question that any company wants to know – How can I benefit from hiring you?

7. Think small when you’re targeting companies. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, companies with fewer than 500 employees create two of every three new jobs. Adjust your job search strategy accordingly.

8. Network. Network. Network. Make it a daily goal to call, write, or meet at least three people you haven’t yet contacted who may be able (now or two months from now) to tell you about a job lead or introduce you to someone who could do the same.

9. Read the right stuff. Submerge yourself in information relating to the fields you’ve targeted or the companies for which you would like to work. Read the key trade publications in your field and stay current on trends and issues that professionals in your field deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Joe Hodowanes, a career strategy adviser in Tampa, Florida, offers a free resume and career analysis. Fax your resume to (813) 936-0201 or email it to jmwanes@jmwanes.com For questions, call Joe at (813) 936-0091 or visit www.jmwanes.com on the Web. All Job Search Advisor articles on this website are the property of www.jmwanes.com (J.M. Wanes & Associates). You may download
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© 2005 J.M. Wanes & Associates.