How To Conduct A Successful Job Search Campaign

Home
>
Careers, Jobs & Employment
>
How To Conduct A Successful Job Search Campaign

How To Conduct A Successful Job Search Campaign

1.Define your objective: Know what kind of work you most enjoy and perform the best. This requires self-evaluation, spending time looking at your interests and abilities.

2.Write an effective resume: Focus on your qualifications for the type of work you want to do. Show where you are headed, not where you have been. Look at it from an employer's perspective -- what qualities do they need for the position?

3.Prepare your references: Call or visit each person and tell them exactly what you are looking for. Ask them to let you know if they hear of anything, or to make a referral for you.

4.Research: Make a list of potential employers from the Yellow Pages or a Resource Directory and research each company. Check your library for information.

5.Network: Talk to everyone you know about the kind of work you are looking for. You never know what contact will result in a job offer. Consider neighbours, relatives, parents of friends, teachers, paper route customers, etc.

6.Set up job interviews: Either by phone contact or by sending a cover letter with your resume and indicating that you will follow up to arrange an interview.

7.Practice interview techniques: Plan what you are going to say. Discuss WHY you want to work for that particular company, WHAT you can do for them, and HOW you will fit in with the company, then practice, practice, practice. Get a list of questions and write down your answers to each one, then practice with a friend.

8.Send a follow up letter: Tell them again about your interest in the job or the company. Thank them for taking the time to interview you. Point out your special qualifications or mention something you forgot in the interview that is relevant.

9.Follow up: In person or by phone to check out the results of the interviews, and if you are not the successful candidate, ask how you could improve your chances for next time.

Fran Watson is a Career Counsellor, Workshop Developer/Facilitator and member of Toastmasters who has recently begun an ezine. You can find out more about her at www.franwatson.ca and sign up for her Free ezine

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Finger-pointing begins as Senate nixes auto vote (AP)

AP - A Democratic Congress, unwilling or unable to approve a $25 billion bailout for Detroit's Big Three, appears ready to punt the automakers' fate to a lame-duck Republican president.

Fed sees economic woes persisting into next year (AP)

AP - Pounded by a fierce financial crisis, the country is sinking deeper into economic despair and is likely to be in the hole well into next year, forcing more Americans into the ranks of the unemployed.

Calif. Supreme Court to take up gay marriage ban (AP)

AP - California's highest court agreed Wednesday to hear several legal challenges to the state's new ban on same-sex marriage but refused to allow gay couples to resume marrying before it rules.

President-elect promised change, picking insiders (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama promised the voters change but has started his Cabinet selection process by naming several Washington insiders to top posts.

Bush set to relax endangered species rules (AP)

AP - Animals and plants in danger of becoming extinct could lose the protection of government experts who make sure that dams, highways and other projects don't pose a threat, under regulations the Bush administration is set to put in place before President-elect Obama can reverse them.

Arraignment set for Cheney, Gonzales in Texas (AP)

AP - A Texas judge has set a Friday arraignment for Vice President Dick Cheney, former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and others named in indictments accusing them of responsibility for prisoner abuse in a federal detention center.

Astronauts vow remaining tool bag won't drift away (AP)

AP - Astronauts vowed to double-check, even triple-check, to make sure a bag of tools is properly tied down during a spacewalk Thursday so it doesn't float away like one did earlier this week.

Herod may have been buried among lavish artwork (AP)

AP - King Herod may have been buried in a crypt with lavish Roman-style wall paintings of a kind previously unseen in the Middle East, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday. The scientists found such paintings and signs of a regal two-story mausoleum, bolstering their conviction that the ancient Jewish monarch was buried there.

Publicist: Paris Hilton and Benji Madden split (AP)

AP - Paris Hilton and her boyfriend of nine months, Benji Madden, have broken up.

Terry leads Mavericks to 96-86 win over Rockets (AP)

AP - The Dallas Mavericks didn't need Josh Howard as much as the Houston Rockets missed Yao Ming on Wednesday night.

Global stocks hit 5-1/2 year lows (Reuters)

Reuters - A 6 percent fall in Asia pushed world stocks to their lowest in 5- years on Thursday, while oil fell below $53 and safe havens such as the yen gained on fears the global recession and a financial crisis will get uglier.

Weak Japan exports pile on economic gloom (Reuters)

Reuters - Japan's exports to Asia fell in October for the first time since 2002, showing that the fallout from the credit crisis has spread to neighbors such as China and adding momentum to investors' flight to the safety of cash.

Prospect for auto bailout dims (Reuters)

Reuters - Chances dimmed that a last-minute plan being crafted by Republican senators, with White House support, to provide $25 billion to bail out U.S. automakers would receive enough backing from Democrats to pass before the end of this week.

Financials need at least $1 trillion: analyst (Reuters)

Reuters - The U.S. financial system still needs at least $1 trillion to $1.2 trillion of tangible common equity to restore confidence and improve liquidity in the credit markets, Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Paul Miller said.

Obama taps Arizona governor for homeland security: report (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's top choice to lead the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing multiple sources.

Oil falls more than $1 as crisis crimps growth (Reuters)

Reuters - Oil fell for a fifth straight session to approach $50 a barrel on Thursday as the fallout from the credit crisis hits the global economy, crimping demand for fuel.

Small businesses feel Wall Street's pain (Reuters)

Reuters - Wall Street's pain is rippling through U.S. small businesses, as bankers who once pulled in million-dollar bonuses lose their jobs and cut back spending on everything from parties to home improvements.

California court to hear gay marriage ban case (Reuters)

Reuters - California's Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a legal challenge against the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriage and let the ban stand in the meantime.

Asian markets tumble as economic gloom deepens (AFP)

AFP - Global markets suffered fresh turmoil Thursday, with Asian stocks plunging as a sharp drop in Japanese exports added to gloom about the outlook for the faltering global economy.

Russia to send more warships to battle Somali pirates (AFP)

AFP - Russia announced Thursday it would send more warships to combat piracy in the waters around Somalia, as the Saudi owners of the Sirius Star negotiated with the pirates holding their oil tanker.

How To Conduct A Successful Job Search Campaign

Careers, Jobs & Employment Careers, Jobs & Employment