Job Search Tips

Ten Time Saving Tips to Speed Up Your Job Search

Here are some quick time-saving job search tips that will help your hunt for a new job go smoothly.

BE PREPARED. Have a telephone answering machine or voice mail system in place and sign-up for a professional sounding email address.

BE MORE THAN PREPARED. Always have an up-to-date resume ready to send - even if you are not currently looking for work. You never know when an opportunity that is too good to pass up might come along. Have a supply of good quality resume paper, envelopes and stamps on hand.

DON'T WAIT. If you are laid-off, file for unemployment benefits right away. You may be able to file online or by phone. Waiting could delay your benefits check.

GET HELP. Utilize free or inexpensive services that provide career counseling and job search assistance such as college career offices, state Department of Labor offices or your local public library.

CREATE YOUR OWN TEMPLATES. Have email and paper versions of your cover letter ready to edit. That way you can change the content to match the requirements of the job you're applying for, but, the contact information and your opening and closing paragraphs won't need to be changed. The same holds true for your resume if you use different versions for different types of jobs.

JOB SEARCH ENGINES. Search the job search engines. Use the sites that search the major job banks, employer sites and electronic news groups for you.

JOBS BY EMAIL. Let the jobs come to you. Use job search agents to sign up and receive job listings by email. All the major job sites have search agents and some web sites specialize in sending announcements.

TIME SAVERS. Strapped for time? Consider using a resume writing service or resume writing software to help write or edit your resume. Resume posting services that post your resume to multiple job sites at once can save hours of data entry.

REFERENCES READY. Have a list of three references including name, job title, company, phone number and email address ready to give to interviewers.

USE YOUR NETWORK. Be cognizant of the fact that many, if not most, job openings aren't advertising. Tell everyone you know that you are looking for work. Ask if they can help.

This tip isn't a time saver, but, it will broaden your online job search resources.

DON'T STOP. Don't limit your job searching to the top sites like Monster, CareerBuilder and HotJobs. Check the smaller niche sites that focus on a particular geographic location or career field and you will find plenty of job listings