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Job Search Tips
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| Have a concise (not more than two pages)
resume. |
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| The resume should document in very terse form
the major accomplishments in each position, with emphasis on the most recent
ones. |
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| Cover letters are redundant, time
consuming to process, often distract the reader from the resume, and should
be used sparingly. |
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| Don’t make the mistake of being too broad
in presenting your credentials, even when you have multiple talents. Never forget that
each job in the marketplace is very specific. Few if any potential employers are looking
for someone who can do everything. The most important thing for you is to make the connection between your background,
experience and the company’s particular need. |
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| Do your homework. You can never find out
enough about a particular situation and the more you know, the more you can intelligently
make the connection between your talents, objectives, and the opportunity. |
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 Contacting search firms is important to get into
their network, in addition to contacting professional associates, friends and leads based
on personal networking. |
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Keep careful track of individuals contacted,
phone numbers, dates of contact, name of secretary and results.  Follow-up
by telephone/voice mail after a reasonable period of time (2-4 weeks
maximum) with your best contacts, recognizing that there is a tendency by your contacts to
forget someone in the job market or assume that person has already found a new job. |
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| Even with your closest friends, many of whom will make personal introductions and
stand as references, make sure that you maximize your
exposure by taking them off the hook; indicate that although you always
appreciate their personal introductions, if they know of some situations where they
don’t want to be identified as the source, you would be happy to make a cold call.
What you are after is leads. |
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| Make sure you follow-up at the end of
your search by thanking the individuals you contacted. |
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 Save your networking list. It will be invaluable,
not only as a network of contacts but as a future source of information should you be in
the market again. |
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Last, but of critical importance, is your attitude. No matter how frustrated you may
be, always be upbeat and enthusiastic. Put
your best foot forward at all times. |
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