150 JOB HUNTING TIPS

JOB SEARCH AND SUCCESS TIPS

1. Make your job search a top priority activity.
2. Organize your job search as a seven-step sequential process.
3. Take sufficient time to organize and implement your job search.
4. Commit yourself in writing by signing a job search contract and completing weekly performance and planning reports.
5. Approach your job search for positive rather than negative reasons.
6. Don't spend a great deal of time looking for jobs in newspapers or on the Internet.
7. Learn to find jobs on the hidden job market.
8. Use the Internet to research jobs and employers, acquire career advice, and communicate by e-mail.
9. Treat your job search as a people process rather than a paper and e-mail exercise.
10. Apply for jobs that match your qualifications.
11. Choose your language carefully. A positive attitude should communicate energy and enthusiasm and command the attention of others.
12. Don't assume too much about employers and the competition.
13. Seek professional help if necessary - don't play Lone Ranger all the time.
14. Conduct your job search while being employed.
15. Check the quality of your writing, interpersonal communication, and public speaking skills.
16. Keep enthusiastic and motivated throughout your job search.
17. Try to mend any broken fences with previous employers.
18. Pick your references carefully, make them aware of your job search, and ask them for assistance.
19. Join or organize a job search club or support group.
20. Try to find a job that's fit for you rather than one you feel you can fit into.
21. Use a temporary employment agency for quickly finding employment and acquiring experience and contacts.
22. Always ask questions.
23. Be a good listener.
24. Prepare to handle rejections with a positive attitude and plan of action.
25. Don't buy into the snake oil approaches of motivational gurus and positive thinkers for conducting a job search.
26. Put together a list of red flags that could become potential job knockouts.
27. Test your ability to conduct a well-organized job search.
28. Follow 20 key principles to job search success.
29. Always focus on your achievements.
30. Position yourself as a problem solver - someone who can solve the employer's problems.
31. Be prepared to be tested.
32. Don't lie about your past or exaggerate your future performance.
33. Don't take a job that requires a long commute.
34. Avoid jobs and employers you know you'll probably dislike.
35. Turn potential weaknesses into strengths.
36. Avoid jobs that are beneath your current salary or level of authority.
37. Always research the company and employer before applying for a position.

SELF-ASSESSMENT TIPS

38. Use a variety of approaches to identify your interests, skills, and abilities.
39. Focus on understanding your motivated abilities and skills (MAS).
40. Consider taking the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Self-Directed Search, and Strong Interest Inventory.
41. Contact a certified career counselor or testing expert to administer various testing instruments if necessary.
42. Consult various books that include self-directed assessment tools.
43. Explore several online assessment tools.
44. Expect employers to subject you to different tests to assess your suitability for a job.
45. Take the self-assessment information seriously in organizing all phases of your job search.

GOAL AND OBJECTIVE SETTING TIPS

46. Take time to develop a powerful objective.
47. Your objective will give you certain advantages in the job market.
48. Your objective should directly relate to your self-assessment information.
49. A job or objective is not the same as a mission statement.
50. Relate your objective to both your interests and employers' needs.
51. Your objective should be realistic.
52. Your objective should be employer-centered rather than self-centered.
53. Always include an objective on your resume.
54. Avoid putting a trite objective on your resume.
55. Make your objective the central organizing principle for implementing your job search.

RESEARCH AND INFORMATION TIPS

56. Make research a central and daily activity throughout your job search.
57. Use the Internet and telephone for much of your research.
58. Investigate alternative jobs and careers.
59. Consult the right resources for uncovering information on specific organizations or companies.
60. Contact people who can provide useful information.
61. Ask the right questions of the right people.
62. Investigate alternative communities.

JOB APPLICATION TIPS

63. Prepare to complete each section of a job application.
64. Answer all questions as completely as possible.
65. Select your references carefully.
66. Handle sensitive red flag questions honestly and tactfully.
67. Attach an achievement-oriented resume if appropriate.
68. Ask about the selection process and hiring decision.
69. Follow up your application with a telephone call.

RESUME TIPS

70. Understand the critical role your resume plays in the whole job search process.
71. Write your own resume but seek assistance if necessary.
72. Spend sufficient time to craft a resume that represents the real you.
73. Keep your resume to one or two pages.
74. Avoid common resume errors.
75. Include and exclude key information categories on your resume. (Objective vs. salary and references.)
76. Choose an appropriate resume format and language.
77. Emphasize your skills and accomplishments throughout your resume.
78. Be honest but not stupid on your resume.
79. Produce both a paper and electronic resume.
80. Prepare to mail, fax, and e-mail your resume.
81. Project a professional image with a first-class resume.
82. Conduct an internal evaluation of your resume.
83. Subject your resume to an external evaluation.
84. Send your resume to a real person.
85. Post your resume to various employment websites.
86. Avoid broadcasting your resume to hundreds of potential employers.
87. If appropriate, send your resume to executive recruiters.
88. Develop a good record-keeping system for following up your resume.
89. Quickly follow up each resume with a telephone call or e-mail.

COVER AND JOB SEARCH LETTER TIPS

90. Your resume always should be accompanied by a cover letter.
91. Carefully craft and proofread every word, sentence, and paragraph.
92. Avoid repeating the content of your resume in a cover letter.
93. Write a variety of job search letters appropriate for different job search situations.
94. Avoid using canned language in your letters.
95. Use positive and performance-oriented language throughout your letters.
96. Structure your cover letter for action.
97. Make your letters unique by expressing your personality, energy, and enthusiasm.
98. Include a follow-up/action statement indicating what you intend to do next.

NETWORKING TIPS

99. Test your networking I.Q.
100. Make networking a centerpiece activity throughout your job search.
101. Develop a clear understanding of networking, but be sure to make it happen on a day-to-day basis.
102. Make sure your networking involves three major activities - building, expanding, and nurturing your networks.
103. Cast as large a net as possible in your job search.
104. Avoid 10 common networking errors.
105. Include an active online networking campaign.
106. Schedule numerous interviews as you practice the 5Rs of informational interviewing.

INTERVIEW TIPS

107. Test your interviewing I.Q.
108. Avoid common interviewing errors.
109. Use both print and online resources to prepare for the job interview.
110. Approach the interview as an important information exchange.
111. Expect several interviews with the same employer.
112. Prepare for different types of interviews.
113. Anticipate and prepare for questions.
114. Prepare to deal with illegal questions.
115. Prepare a list of questions you need to ask.
116. Prepare for different questioning techniques.
117. Know how to communicate verbally to others.
118. Know how you communicate nonverbally to others.
119. Dress appropriately for the interview.
120. Be sure to arrive on time.
121. Treat everyone you meet as potentially important to the interview.
122. Greet the interviewer properly.
123. Communicate positive behaviors during the first five minutes.
124. Let the interviewer initiate the openers but take initiative in offering some of your own openers.
125. Answer questions with complete sentences and with substance.
126. Be sure to close the interview properly.
127. Reduce your nervousness by practicing a few stress reduction techniques.
128. Emphasize the positive.
129. Turn potential negatives into positives.
130. Delay salary considerations as long as possible.
131. Record information about the interview for your future reference.

FOLLOW-UP AND FOLLOW-THROUGH TIPS

132. Be sure to follow up.
133. Develop an effective follow-up system.
134. Send thank-you letters.
135. Be pleasant and persistent when you follow up.
136. Follow up your follow-up.
137. Do what you say you will do.
138. Follow through with a telephone call when the decision date has passed.
139. Evaluate your follow-up competencies.

SALARY NEGOTIATION AND JOB OFFER TIPS

1. Conduct Salary research.
2. Avoid discussing salary before being offered the job.
3. Be careful in addressing "salary history" and "salary requirements" questions.
4. Let the employer volunteer salary information.
5. Look at the total compensation package.
6. Negotiate from a position of strength.
7. Focus on salary ranges.
8. Use timing to your advantage. (Pregnant pause.)
9. Avoid playing hard-to-get and other unprofessional games.
10. Negotiate in a manner that will communicate respect and professionalism. (How you negotiate will set the tone for your future on-the-job relationships.)
11. Delay accepting an offer until you can consider it.

SOURCE: Ron and Caryl Krannich, Ph.Ds, Job Hunting Tips for People With Hot and Not-So-Hot Backgrounds (Impact Publications, Manassas Park, VA), copyright 2005. All rights reserved.

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