Sometimes, against all odds and due to no fault of your own, you find yourself either out of work or about to be out of work. Maybe your company has gone out of business or is taken over by another company. Sometimes a product line is eliminated or some other catastrophe has occurred.  Whatever the reason you are (or will be) out of work is really not important. What is important is that this unfortunate turn of events took you by surprise. You don’t have a “Plan B”. You are not ready to look for a job because you had no plans to make a career move. Your whole world has been turned upside down, now what?

If you are really lucky, the scenario described above won’t (and hasn’t) happen to you. But what if it does. Do you have an emergency exit plan? If not, you should (everyone should). Everyone should have an exit plan (in the event of an emergency). An emergency plan is not something you want to deploy, but you will sleep a lot easier if you have one (much like any emergency evacuation plan).

Resumes – You should always have a current version of your resume, whether or not you are looking for a job. For one, it helps ensure that you have an accurate record of your achievements and, as indicated above, you will be prepared in the event of an unplanned disaster. More than any other aspect of your job search, your resume is both the most important tool as well as the most time consuming document you will need to prepare. Having an up to date resume is 50% of the job search battle.

Keeping Your Resume Up to Date: Keeping your resume up to date is not all that difficult. You have a baseline to start with and now just need to add any new roles or achievements. Even if you don’t need (or want) to look for a job outside of your current company, an updated resume can help you get promotions or new opportunities at you current employer.

• The Importance of Keeping Your Resume Updated
• Refresh Your Resume

What, You Don’t Have a Resume?: Maybe you don’t have a resume (sounds strange, but this is not all that unusual). Well time to get that fixed. Resume writing can be a very painful process, however, once it is completed you will feel really good about your achievements. As the saying goes, the best place to start is at the beginning.

• How to Write a Resume 101
• The Essentials of Preparing a Resume

Caught by Surprise – Okay, you should have had an emergency job search plan but you don’t. Don’t panic. It is never too late to start your plan. So what do you need to do first if you’ve lost your job?

• What To Do If You Lose Your Job – This article was posted on Circleblog.com and provides 6 basic steps in getting yourself on track for finding a new job. The first tip is the most important (Don’t Panic). The other tips are also worth a read. Once you’ve gone over these basic steps, you need to really get down to work (no pun intended), and that work is to look for a new job (which is your new job until you find a paying job). While you are on the site, take a look at the Career Connection tab at the top of the page. There are links for Interviewing, Job Search

• Create a job search plan – This article, from Careerinfonet.com, will help you plan your search. From career goals to an occupation profile, there is lots of great advice and links to resources to get you started.

• Why You Need a Job Search Marketing Toolkit – This is one of my prior posts, but it is a great place to start if you are first planning your job hunt.

Where to find Help – Job hunting can be an overwhelming task, especially if you’ve lost your job and don’t yet have the resources you will need to get you started. Every piece of the puzzle you put in place will get you one step further in finding a job.

• Where Can You Find Help for Your Job Search
• Job Loss and Unemployment Stress – TIPS FOR STAYING POSITIVE DURING YOUR JOB SEARCH

Good luck in your search.

Related posts:

1. Wish Upon a Job – Executing on Your Job Search Plan – Part II
2. Wish Upon a Job – Building Your Job Search Part I
3. Patience is a Virtue (but a job would be better) – Wish Upon a Job Part III

A friend of mine has been “looking for a job” for a very long time. When I press him on what he as actually done, the answer is “I’m going to ramp it up this week. Job search by divine intervention generally doesn’t work and, at the end of the day, it’s all about getting things done. You can be an expert on a topic or have the best resume and experience in the world but if you don’t execute it doesn’t really matter.  Part I of this series (Wish Upon a Job – Building Your Job Search Part I) focused on the tools of the trade – (almost) everything you need to start your job search. But the tools are only half of the story. Executing on your job search plan is the other half (and, arguably, more important). There are many paths to take in executing on your job search plan and as many rabbit holes to avoid. Making a plan and sticking to it is the best way to find your new job.

Your Job Search Plan – You can’t execute on a plan if you don’t have one. Don’t worry, this is not about spending all of your time creating a plan, but you do need to know how, where and what you will do in your job search. Your “plan” is essentially to create the lists you will need to get your job search started. You need to create lists of (don’t forget to prioritize within each list):

• Recruiters for your industry/field
• Companies where you would like to work (or are in your industry)
• Your Network (friends, family, current and former coworkers)
• Job search boards (keep this list short)
• Other Stuff you will need:
• References
• A short list of your resume (company names, education and internships with start and end dates)

Getting Started – What you do next depends on how much time you have for your job search. Whether you are unemployed and can spend all of your waking hours on your search or you only have 15 minutes a day, the key to success is to “spread the wealth”. That is, don’t get caught up in spending too much time on any one of your lists (from above). Now, with your completed lists in hand:

• “One Per Day” – Everyone knows that job search is incredibly time consuming and can be overwhelming. My rule of thumb is to do at least one job search activity per day. While “less” is not necessarily “more” in this case, “one” is certainly better than “none”. This is, of course, where your “time available to job search” comes in. Select one (recruiter, company, contact, job search board, etc.) from your list and execute (contact, register, apply, etc.). Whether it’s one a day or 5 a day, you will have made an impressive start to your search after just a few weeks.

• Keeping Track – Sounds basic, but it is not. You need to keep track of who you speak with, jobs you’ve applied for, follow-ups, etc. You should also keep a pdf copy of the job descriptions for jobs for which you’ve applied. The easiest way to keep track is to create a spreadsheet with tabs for “companies”, “recruiters”, “job search boards”, etc. Include your user name and password where necessary as well as the date of last update.

Check back for Part III of this series, where we will focus on the detailed approach for each of your lists.

Good luck in your search.


Visit me on Facebook

Related posts:

1. Wish Upon a Job – Building Your Job Search Part I
2. Patience is a Virtue (but a job would be better) – Wish Upon a Job Part III
3. Reinvent Your Career and Job Search – Part 2

Not likely to help. Wishing for a job, that is. Wishing is nice from a “positive thinking” point of view but it won’t get you a job without putting in the time. Kind of like wishing to win the lottery when you haven’t bought a ticket. If you are first starting your job search, you have a lot of homework to do before you can effectively start the job search process. The good news is that once you are all set-up, the bulk of your job search time can be spent on looking for opportunities. Building your Job Search Toolkit should be your first priority. Depending on the circumstances leading up to your job search (such as job loss), you may want to hit the ground running as quickly as possible. So what can you do to begin your search immediately while continuing to build out your Job Search Tool Kit? Read on.

Resumes – the Lynchpin of Your Job Search -  If you could only have one job search document it would, of course, be your resume. Whether you are brushing up an old resume or starting from a blank piece of paper, you need to spend the time to get it right. There are tools that can help you quickly build the framework for what will become a great resume. Your resume is a living document that will change as your job search progresses. And while you want to get some version done as quickly as possible in order to get into the market, you should balance quality with speed. If you are new to resume writing (or just need some help), you should use a checklist process (what to include). Once you have what you think is a good working copy, compare it to other resumes and ask some of your friends and relatives to give an honest critique (painful but helpful). Now, as if all that work writing one resume isn’t enough, many people have multiple resumes each geared to specific jobs (see the link below).

• 10 Quick Resume Fixes in Less Than 10 Minutes
• Free Resume Resources
• How Many Resumes Do You Have?

Cover Letters – Introducing Your Resume – Yeah, a great resume is really important, but if no one reads it then what’s the point? While a resume on its own may get read by the hiring manager, there is a chance that it won’t just due to the shear volume of resumes. A cover letter provides a brief introduction and let’s the hiring manager know why you may be a good fit for the job (and why he should bother reading your resume). So, that being said, your cover letter is an important key to opening job opportunity doors. As with resumes, you will need several versions of your cover letters: one for recruiters, one for specific jobs and one for “generic” jobs (to name a few).

• Introduction to Cover Letters
• Why You Need a Cover Letter

References – Who Will Put in the Good Word for You – You will need references at some point and it’s better to get your list together at the start of your job search. This gives you the opportunity to create a list of 4-6 people who you know will put in the good word for you. More importantly, you need to talk to your potential references to get their “buy-in”. The list should be a mix of former (or current) co-workers, former managers and other professional contacts who work at other companies. Most importantly (and to be further reviewed in a future post), is the power of your LinkedIn contacts.

• References for Employment
• Making Sure You Get a Good Reference

Good luck in your search.

Visit me on Facebook

Related posts:

1. Wish Upon a Job – Executing on Your Job Search Plan – Part II
2. Reinvent Your Career and Job Search – Part 2
3. Patience is a Virtue (but a job would be better) – Wish Upon a Job Part III

You are somewhere in your (hopefully) four year college career and, if you’ve not already figured this out, the experience is likely to be different than you envisioned when you began. Whatever your major (and no matter how many times you change your major), your ultimate goal is to have a career in the field of your choice (which is hopefully your dream career). But your four years of college may not be enough to land the job of your choice. Graduation does guarantee a job. On the contrary, your college diploma just means you are now qualified to look for a job. But why wait until you graduate. Why not get a head start on the job hunting process?  To do this, you need to add a second major as early in your college career as possible. Your second major should be Job Search Preparation.

Learn Everything You Can About Your Major – No, this is not about taking “Your Major 101“, this is about understanding how and where your major is applied in the working world. Now is the time to explore the types of careers and jobs that use your major. Use your college years to research companies, connect with industry groups and start to build the network you will need when you graduate.

• Career Research Checklist
• Company Research
• Major & Career Profiles

Experience, Experience, Experience – Need I say more? Education is great, but experience is even better. Use your four years at college to get some work experience in your major. This can be done in many different ways. Internships (as many as you can do), Work/Study, volunteering, etc. There are many ways to get experience before you graduate and hands-on experience is what will give you an advantage over those graduates who’ve not done the same.

• Ways to get career-related experience during college
• Internships as Career Experience
• How to Find an Internship

Job Search Marketing Toolkit – If you are a regular reader of my blog, then you are familiar with my Job Search Marketing Toolkit approach. While most of the “tools” look like they are geared towards experienced workers, this is not always the case. You should start building your resume, cover letters, interview skills and elevator speech now (see the next topic for Networking). Yes, these tools will change as you gain experience, but by creating these documents early in your college career you will have well defined tools by the time you graduate.

• Critical steps for building a resume in college and landing a job after graduation
• Top 5 Reasons You Should Build Your LinkedIn Profile While You Are In College
• Building Your Resume for Life After College

Networking – Build Yours Now – It is never too early to build your network, arguably the most valuable tool during your entire career. So, you may ask, how do you build a network in college? Everyone you meet potentially becomes part of your network. Your family, your classmates, your roommates, your professors, and so on. Build your network now.

• 6 Ways to Network While You’re in College
• How to Quickly Build Your Professional Network in College
• Tips on How to Network While Still in College

Good luck in your search.


Visit me on Facebook

Related posts:

1. The Last Spring Break – Tips for College Grad Job Search
2. College Grad Job Search – Home for the Holidays
3. College Grad – Will Work for Food

A friend of mine recently lost his job (his company shut down, no severance and no benefits) and, while he was “fine” financially while he was working, he is in financial distress now that he is out of work. While unemployment benefits covers a part of the salary gap, there is still a gaping hole for most people. Short of filing for bankruptcy, which is more difficult in recent years and certainly an embarrassing and drastic step, there are some things that you can do to ease some of the financial pain. Looking for a new job is stressful and time consuming enough, you want to minimize the time spent on financial difficulties so that you have time to look for a job (which will also help your financial situation. Today’s post is focused both on, easing the financial pain and first steps in job search when losing your job.

Preparing for Job Loss: While some of these tips won’t help if you lose your job suddenly, many times people are aware that their job is at risk and some of these tips will help you prepare for the worst.

• ADVANCE PREPARATION CAN EASE THE FINANCIAL PAIN OF JOB LOSS – This article is posted on the National Foundation for Credit Counseling website (www.nfcc.org) and provides a number of tips on preparing for job loss. Even if you lose your job suddenly you can use some of these tips (such as track you spending and research government assistance). Lots of good tips here, take a look.

• What to Do If You Lose Your Job – If you are lucky, you will get a severance package and be eligible for medical coverage under COBRA. This article is posted on www.schwabmoneywise.com and provides 7 action points for immediate action. The article covers a variety of topics, all are important if they apply to you (such as 401k, creating a budget, looking at other forms of assistance, etc.). The article also has embedded links for additional information. Also take a look at the “Changing Jobs” link on the left hand side of the page.

You’ve lost your job, what you need to do: Losing your job can put you in a “deer caught in the headlights” situation where you are so overwhelmed you not only don’t know what to do first, you actually don’t do anything. The posts below will help you make a plan, and then it is a matter of executing on that plan. Remember, having an action plan will make you feel a little less stressed and, once you start ticking off some of the completed items you will become even more motivated and focused.

• I lost my job, now what? – This one is from CareerAlley and is my short list of 7 things to do once you’ve lost your job. This is the short list, but includes the important items to think about, starting with coming to terms with your loss (and yes, it is very similar to losing a loved one). While you need to do all of the items on this list, the most important item is making a plan.

• 10 Things To Do After You Lose Your Job – Once you’ve lost your job, you need to get mobilized. This article, from Forbes.com, provides their list of 10 things to do after losing your job. Very different than the list from the paragraph above, these tips are mostly focused on making sure you are in the right frame of mind to “get back on the horse”.

Filling in the gaps – While having all of the right tools (please see Job Search Marketing Toolkit) is a given in terms of being prepared, there are some other things to consider. Over a prolonged job search, maximizing your inflow of cash is as important as looking for a job. And, while you will have more time to look for a job if you are unemployed (as opposed to looking for a job while you are still employed), this is hardly a first choice strategy. So, in an effort to fill in the gaps and stay current, you should consider working as a consultant or contractor until you find your full time job.

• Stop Searching, Start Working: 2 Things You Should do while Unemployed – Freelancing is one of the best ways to fill the gap while unemployed. In addition to extra cash, freelancing will keep you current and introduce you to people who may just decide to hire you. This article provides a few tips on how to approach freelancing (which is better than freeloading!).

Good luck in your search.

Visit me on Facebook

Related posts:

1. Wrong Place, Wrong Time, Wrong Job
2. Job Search Success = 50% Perseverance, 50% Luck
3. Job Search Marketing 101 – Battling for Prime Shelf Space

It’s getting close to the “most wonderful time of the year”. Thanksgiving turkey followed by the festive gift giving Holiday Season and then New Years Eve and all of those resolutions none of us will keep. If you are searching for a job as a new college grad, the holidays can be a bit stressful. Way too much time with your relatives who don’t seem to have a problem asking (for the 100th time) -  “Do you have a job yet?”. The good news is, you are not alone (yes, misery loves company). If you can believe the news reports, the last few years have been rough times for college grads. That being said, there are jobs out there. Today’s post will give you some job search stuff to do over the holidays.

Companies that are Hiring College Grads:

• Internal Revenue Service: Yes, the IRS is hiring. Check out their job search page (IRS Jobs) to find your job. And, they have great benefits like work/life balance, Federal health care, life insurance, a retirement program and more.  While you are on the page, check out their search tools.

• Verizon – Over 300 job opportunities (through-out the US) when I checked, 62 of which are marked as entry level. Check out their “Who we Are” and “Working Here” tabs, career areas and career events. You can also search by division, location and job title.

Career Tools for College Grads:

• Nuresume – Nuresume.com is a network for college students which allows them to build an online resume portfolio. They can include photos, blogs, videos, chat, groups, forums, instant messaging, job alerts and social networking. The site is jam packed with resources and options. There are links at the top of the page which provide access to the main areas (including Join and Invite links). The site integrates students, recruiters and employers and provides the tools you need to launch your online marketing campaign. The site is very impressive and well thought out. There is not enough space in this review to give justice to the site, so check it out today.

• How To Find a Job or Internship Through Your Campus Career Center – You can use your college career center even after you graduate and, in fact, you shouldn’t. Besides the fact that they can help you prep for your job search prior to graduation, what about those internships? Better yet, this article (posted on hercampus.com), also provides the “do’s and dont’s” when working with college career enters (such as don’t wait until the last minute.

• College Graduate Jobs – From Simplyhired.com, this specialized search indicated that there were over 66,000 job opportunities for College Grads on this site. You can narrow your search by typing in your location at the top of the page and by using the filters on the left hand side of the page. But that is not all. There are additional links on the bottom left hand side of the screen for Job Search Tools. As with many of the job search boards, you can create your own profile.

• Your Job Search Tool Kit – What better place to help college grads look for jobs than Collegegrad.com? The article tells you what you need to purchase (or should already have) at the minimum as well as other items you should consider buying for your search. But, that is not all, take a look at all of the tools on this site like the featured articles (right hand side of the page) and the related links on the left hand side of the page.

Good luck in you search.

Visit me on Facebook

More From careeralley

• The Best College Grad Job Search Sites – Vol 1
• College Grad Job Search Resources – What You Think | CareerAlley
• College Grad Job Search – Home for the Holidays – Vol 3

careeralley Recommends

• Top 7 Survival Tips For New Grads In The Workplace  (YouTern)
• Unload the Resume Shotgun: 12 Steps to a Targeted Job Search  (YouTern)

Ask careeralley To Recommend Your Posts

Related posts:

1. College Grad – Will Work for Food
2. College Grad Job Search – The Dog Days of Summer
3. The Last Spring Break – Tips for College Grad Job Search

Books, movies, TV shows and a computer game, the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” has many forms. Not to disappoint, but my guide is not so bold or interesting. Unless, of course, you are looking for a job and don’t have a clue (meant in only the nicest way). Even for those who have looked for jobs in the recent past, job search can seem daunting at best and lifestyle threatening at worst. Overwhelming as it may seem, your approach will be most influenced by the driver (do you have a job and are looking to make a change or are you already unemployed). First and foremost, you are not alone. But most importantly, a structured approach to your search will provide the best chance for finding your new job more quickly. The basics have not changed. You will need:

A Job Search Plan: Simple as it may sound, sitting down and writing your plan can be time consuming. It does not have to (and should not) be “War and Peace”, but it should be comprehensive and well thought out.

• Job search planning – steps, tips and tricks

A Job Search Marketing Toolkit: Your job search marketing toolkit includes: your resume, Cover letters, References, Thank you letters, Target market, Elevator speech, Network and Your experience.

• Job Search Marketing Toolkit
• Modern Tools for Modern Job Search

A Focused Approach: If you are not organized, your search will be difficult at best. Who have you called, who do you need to follow-up with, what jobs have you applied for and a thousand other things to organized. Keeping track is key to a successful search:

• Quintcareers.com has a free follow-up log – Sample Job Lead Follow-up Log and their article “Follow Up All Job Leads: Don’t Wait by the Phone (or Computer)” is definitely worth a read.
• The University of North Dakota’s Career Site has an article and tracking tool – Job Search Tracking as well.
• Tracking your search – CareerAlley Website Tracking Tool.

Good luck in your search.

Visit me on Facebook

Related posts:

1. Job Search Success = 50% Perseverance, 50% Luck
2. Job Search Marketing 101 – Battling for Prime Shelf Space
3. When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going – Job Search in Difficult Times

I remember a story that a friend of mine told me about one of the products they covered at their advertising agency. This particular product was part of a well known brand, let’s call it Brand A. Anyway, my friend told me how retail products battle for shelf space. Not knowing anything about advertising (or shelf space for that matter), I asked him what he meant. Basically, every product battles for space on the shelf. There are so many brands for a particular product (and so many products), that most manufacturers of new products have to battle just to get space on the shelf at the supermarket or major retailer. Even if they get space, the don’t want the bottom shelf, they want the shelf that is at eye level. Eye level products are the ones that sell the best (or maybe they sell the best because they are at eye level). So, you may ask, what does this have to do with job search? Everything. Just like products competing for shelf space at the store, you are competing with other job seekers for a limited number of roles. Your “shelf space” is getting your resume to the right people who can ensure you are considered for the right job opportunities.

• Build Your Personal Brand, Get Hired – This article, from Recruiter.com, provides information on helping you build your personal brand for job search without making it your full time job. The article provides four steps to help you build your personal brand. Tips on “getting your name out there”, including building your web presence (see the next point below). While you are on the site, take a look at the job seekers tab at the top of the page as well as the links to Jobs and Find a Recruiter.

• Protecting Your Image – Too much information is not a good thing, and protecting your Internet presence is as important as building your personal Brand. Questionable pictures and social network information that may lead others to think you live a less than “straight and narrow” lifestyle can hurt your chances of finding a job. You know the old saying (slightly modified for current times) “if it would embarrass your mother to see it on the Internet, don’t do it”. You should regularly check your profile on the Internet. You can do this in several ways:
• Google yourself - Run a Google search on yourself (regularly)
• Check your Name – use services such as Spokeo.com, Zabasearch.com and 123people.com
• Understanding Social Networking Site Privacy Settings – Make sure your privacy settings on your social network sites are set to protect your privacy (take a look at this article).

• Brand-driven vs. Bland-driven Resumes – The difference could cost you the job! – This article is a guest post by Jessica Hernandez posted on my  site and is worth a look. Specifically, the article is focused on helping you build a brand driven resume. This is an important part of building your overall personal brand.

Good luck in your search.

Visit me on Facebook

Related posts:

1. Why You Need a Job Search Marketing Toolkit
2. Limited Shelf life – Is Your Job About to Expire?
3. Wish Upon a Job – Building Your Job Search Part I

“I told a girl I can start right away
And she said listen babe I got something to say
I got no car and it’s breaking my heart
But I’ve found a driver and that’s a start” – Lennon and McCartney

Author: Dr. Jeelani

What is CAR?

Most of us know that CAR is an acronym for Challenge, Action and Results. It’s like FAB: Features, Advantages and Benefits of a product.

Features are different characteristics of a product like size, color, price, shape etc. Advantages come out of the features, and benefits are the result of advantages, e.g. ‘the king size (feature) will bring you additional profits (benefit) because it is the fastest growing (advantage) and more economical size (feature)’. People are interested in what the product will do for them. People want advantages but buy benefits.

Now think of yourself as a product and try to market it to a customer, the prospective employer. Wait, before you start are you clear on the objective of your marketing campaign and what tools are you going to use?

Your Marketing Campaign and Tools 

The objective of your marketing campaign is to get the interview, and the tools are your cover letter and resume. Remember the purpose of your cover letter is to persuade the reader to read your resume and the purpose of your resume is to persuade the reader to call you for an interview.

If you can meet the needs of your prospective employer by showing the relevant benefits and the required skills the chances are they will call you for an interview.

Needs of Your Customer

You already know the needs of your customer. How? Yes, you guessed it right, through the Job Description.  That job description gives you the ‘Key Words’; the words on which you need to develop your CAR Stories. You can also identify generic keywords for your kind of job.

How to Develop A CAR Story?

Identify all the key words in the Job Description, write each one on a separate sheet of paper as a title, along with the name of the company, your position and dates, and start developing your CAR story.

Challenge:

Write down what was the challenge, problem or situation for that keyword.

Actions:

What actions you took to realize the challenge, solve the problem or improve the situation.

Results:

Quantify your results where possible in terms of percentages or figures, show increases or decreases.

Once you are through, summarize the story in two or three lines, reverse the sequence i.e. write the Results first followed by Actions and omit challenges as they are already implied in your actions. This summarized version is what you need to write in your resume as and where appropriate.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/resumes-articles/how-to-develop-car-stories-for-your-resume-5186983.html

About the Author

Dr. Jeelani is an MBA and Ph.D with extensive experience in the life sciences industry. His area of expertise include strategic marketing, sales, business, human resource training and development. He is also a trained homeopath, reflexologist, hynotherapist and Graduate Silva Mind Control.

Also take a look at: Job Search Marketing Toolkit

Good luck in your search.

Visit me on Facebook

Related posts:

1. Ugly Job Search – Horror Stories – Grim but True
2. 5 Reasons Why You Need More Than a Good Resume to Stand Out from the Crowd
3. 5 Cover Letter Tips to Get Your Resume Noticed

Have you ever seen someone’s career take a really bad turn for the worse? Not by imploding (you know, committing  a crime or something stupid like that), but things suddenly not going well. Missed deadlines or responsibilities that are not met. This may happen over a period of time. Everyone else notices but (seemingly) not the person it is happening to. It may have happened to you (or not). There are so many things that are outside of our control, new bosses, new direction, companies not doing as well, mergers, down sizing, and the list goes on. Often, in retrospect (but rarely while it is happening), we can see what really happened. Where did we go wrong? Why didn’t we fix it? What would we do differently? No sense dwelling on the past. Everything that happens to you in your job and career (good, bad or indifferent) is part of the path that will lead you to your next opportunity. Whether that opportunity exists where you currently work or elsewhere. And, as the title of this post indicates, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.

• Picking Up The Pieces When You Find Yourself Jobless – This article, from Vault.com, provides some great advice for moving on after losing your job (no matter what the reason). Most of the steps focus on what to do from the moment you are told to severing your ties cleanly. That last step, sometimes the hardest, is your final walk out the door and what you will say to your now former coworkers. While you are on the site, take a look at the other great job search resources with the links at the top of the page

• I lost my job, now what? – Posted by yours truly, this is one of the first posts by me on CareerAlley. There are the initial stages of recognition when you lose your job (not dissimilar to losing a loved one). But, once you’ve taken the appropriate amount of time (and it is different for all of us), it’s time to get back on that horse. When you lose your job, your full time job is now finding another one and you must approach it in that way. The article then goes on to list the seven steps for finding your next job. This is my favorite post and forms the basis for so much of what is included on CareerAlley.

• For Job-Hunting Success, Develop a Comprehensive Job-Search Plan – A comprehensive 10-step plan from Quintcareers.com, this article provides 10 steps to creating a great job search plan. Each step (such as make the time, reflect on what you want, etc.) provides a great overview along with embedded links to related information including creating the basic tools in your Job Search Marketing Toolkit. There are additional tabs at the top of the page for Students, Job-Seekers and Career Changers. Additionally, there are related links on the top left hand side of the page.

• The Riley Guide: How to Job Search – One of the best sources on the Internet for job search, the Riley Guide has what seems like the answer to every job search question and resource you may need. This particular page is subtitled “Job Search Guidance”. Starting with a list of advice and advisors (with embedded links) and following with guides and articles and the list goes on. The “hidden job market” and “online search” are also included. This is a great place to put together the plans for your search.

• 5 Ways to Not Feel Overwhelmed By Your Job Search – Looking for a job can be very stressful, especially if you are out of work and have been looking for any length of time. This article, from careersparx.com, has a short list to get you blood pressure back to normal. Tips such as “do one thing every day” and “make a list” are just two of the basics that should become a regular part of your routine.

Good luck in your search.

Visit me on Facebook

Related posts:

1. Job Search Success = 50% Perseverance, 50% Luck
2. Why You Need a Job Search Marketing Toolkit
3. How to Develop CAR Stories for Your Resume