Once upon a time, conducting a job search was relatively straightforward: You’d ask friends and acquaintances if they knew of any openings, peruse the Classified Ads section of the local newspaper, and send resumes along with a nice cover letter. It was even permissible, if not advisable, to follow up with a telephone call. No longer. The Internet has completely (and likely irreversibly) altered the job search...

The marketing of products and services is all about building brand identification. So, too, is personal marketing, whether you’re looking for a job or otherwise advancing your professional career. Gone are the days when you could rely on just your resume and some good old-fashioned references to get you where you wanted to go. Today, building your personal brand requires creativity, attention to detail and extensive use...

The Internet has significantly altered the job search landscape. Easy online availability of information about industries, professions and companies have created a very small world, essentially rendering physical distance irrelevant when it comes to looking for employment. Now, someone in Los Angeles can not only find about a job opening in New York, but can apply for the position just as easily as someone who lives acros...

Conventional business wisdom holds that without a comprehensive online strategy, your business is like a shark that stops swimming: It sinks slowly and lifelessly to the bottom of the sea. Online presence is critical to commercial success. Interestingly, the same can be said for your job search. If you don’t engage in online networking (e.g., use social networking sites (SNS) to look for work, all prospective employe...

With apologies to Mick Jagger, while an informational interview may not get you the job you want, you just might find you get what you need: Useful, insightful information about a job, a career or an industry; information that has the potential of yielding both short and long-term benefits, not only with respect to any job search you may currently be conducting but for long-term professional development as well. Befor...

Networking can be the difference between a successful job search and one that remains stagnant. Networking can give you a leg up on your competitors and get you hired faster, even when jobs are scarce and competition is at all-time highs. So how do you turbo charge your networking results to get hired? Here are 5 strategies you can incorporate into your networking plan: 1. Good times, bad times: Although the first reaction...

“Interviewing”. Yes, we know. We feel your pain. No matter how much we try to tell ourselves otherwise, a job interview is usually not a good time, ranking somewhere below attending traffic school among things we look forward to. Sure, interviewing for a new job can be exciting, but it’s hardly ever fun (an example of how those two words don’t mean the same thing). Now, we’re not suggesting that a job interview shou...

“Take this job and shove it”! The title of a popular 1977 country song (sung by someone ironically named Johnny Paycheck), it describes a feeling many, if not most, of us have felt at least once in our professional lives. Life isn’t perfect, and neither is employment. Dissatisfaction with a job may be so great that you just don’t feel you have any option other than to quit. Or maybe you’ve just simply found something be...

Let’s be honest: Job searching is rarely enjoyable. However, like paying taxes or seeing the dentist, we all have to do it from time to time. Sometimes job searching is necessary because of lay-offs (those who suffered as a result of “downsizing” during the most recent financial crisis know what that looks like). There are, however, other situations when job searching isn’t necessarily forced upon us, but the handwriting...

With your excellent skills, detailed knowledge, and vast experience, you may think that your job search will be smooth sailing, even in the current economic times. But don’t be too complacent. Given the numbers of people who are out of work or underemployed, the likelihood of getting hired quickly may not be as easy as you think. To differentiate yourself in your job search and get hired quickly, here are 5 tips to stand ou...