Online Job Sources and
Newspaper Classified Ads

These include Monster.com, HotJobs.com and a multitude of other web sites with job postings.  If you believe the commercials, they will have you anticipating a flood of offers with no effort. 

During a bull market, if you've posted your resume online, you will receive several calls, from recruiters at search firms.  During a bear market, you'll wonder if there is anyone out there as your phone and e-mail box remain eerily quiet after you've submitted your resume to 100's of companies without a single bite. TOP

Interview HR executives during a bear market (where these online and newspaper response resumes go) and they'll tell you that in the first day they generally receive over 100 resumes.  This means after a few days, if your responding to the ad your resume is going into the abyss, never to be seen or heard from again.   So much for that great job, that is if it was really available in the first place. There is a strong possibility the ad is placed to satisfy fair hiring practices and the position was, at least mentally filled weeks before.

Temp agencies and recruiters place many of those ads and many times they are not for real positions but simply to collect the resumes of people who might fit other positions.   The idea is to get you into their database.  Many times they will also advertise jobs in salary and experience ranges they do not handle just to get your name into their system so they can go after those types of employers by showing them a backlog of demand. TOP

Given all this, why would you even want to look at online or newspaper ads?   Because, you still have approximately a 1-3% chance of getting a job through them and you don't want to miss an opportunity at this point, no matter how insignificant.   It's also the best way to find jobs with small companies that you would never hear about otherwise. To increase your chances, try the following:

• Do post your resume, but choose the  hide your contact information online option. This way employers must request it from you before you reveal it. Hide it because there are predators out there who may use your home information to their advantage.

• Do check the new listings every morning and respond that day.  You have a much better chance of being noticed if you submit the first day.

• Do jot down the company name of positions you really want and follow-up by phone with the tactics described on the previous page under "Smiling & Dialing". 

• Do be proactive.  The jobs aren't going to find you.  You need to find the job TOP

• Do monitor the web site job postings of the company's you want to work for.  Many of these never make it in the papers.

Trade and Employment Magazines

Newspapers and online job boards tend to be geared at the masses.  Trade magazines tend to be better places to look for premium industry positions and resumes coming in from them have higher credibility because they show a person is knowledgeable about his industry.  You will find some middle and upper management positions in trade magazines but most will be for sales, support and technical positions.

Employment Magazines like Working World tend to be geared at clerical and lower paying jobs and are best used if you are fresh out of college, work in a support capacity or on an assistant career path. TOP

People like to hire and work with people they know and respect.  It's human nature.  Building a network will benefit you in a number of ways, but it's not an overnight fix.  You can't just start collecting business cards and names.  It's a little more complicated than that.  Networks are about personal relationships with people and relationships require work.  TOP

The best way to build a network is through organizations.  These can be business, religious or common interests.  In Los Angeles, I am constantly amazed at how many high level people met each other through their children's private schools, children's sporting events, synagogue or church group. 

There are also professional organizations devoted to networking like PNG (Professional Networking Group) or university alumni organizations.  Also, keep in mind what you can do for someone rather than what they can do for you.  The higher level someone is, the quicker they are to smell out an opportunist..  People are looking for ways to enhance their lives, not complicate them.
NEED A MENTOR?  HOW TO GET ONE

Recruiters

A general misconception about recruiters is that job seekers use them to find jobs.    Recruiters work for the companies hiring them, not the job seeker. They are either retained (on long term contract) or hired for specific searches.  Most focus on specific industries like High Tech or Consumer Products.  Others focus on specific positions like The Sales Athlete, a Beverly Hills company that places sales management and account staff.  Generally, the companies focus on specific regions of the country. Once you hit middle management, if you don't receive your leads through your network, they will likely come from recruiters.

To locate the Executive Recruiters in your area, ask your peers or former supervisor whom they would recommend.  If that doesn't work, check the yellow pages or better yet, the local Business Journal's Book of Lists.

Options for Making Money Now
On the next page we go into detail on some of the actions you can take right now to bring money in while you search for your ideal position.  In Section III deals with psychological issues and anxieties that accompany unemployment.

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