We have all been there, we find the perfect job, we apply, we wait… then days, or in some cases weeks later, we get the rejection confirmation.

But why?

This can be a difficult question to answer. There can be a wide range of reasons for a company not proceeding with your application for employment. Sometimes we can get frustrated with the process and quickly try to blame something or someone for our lack of progress in our job search.

So, take a deep breath and lets focus on some of the issues or problems that could be holding us back!

What are some of the reasons why you keep getting rejections?

While this is not an extensive list, there are some basic things that we can and should consider. Take a considered approach as you work through them…

Job Advertisement

An important part of the process is looking at the details contained in the job advertisement. Do you have a full understanding of the role and the specific requirements the company is looking for?

For Example: while a company may advertise for an Administration Assistant, something you may have done in the past, there might be some specific skills, tasks or experiences they are looking for that may not be obvious from the position title.

In my many years of recruitment, you will be surprised how many applications are received from individuals that don’t meet the requirements of the role, or come from completely different backgrounds and sectors.

While there is nothing wrong in crossing sectors or taking another career path, in fact it can be a very positive move, you need to understand the skills you have to offer, what is cross transferable and what skills meet the requirements of the role. You need to clearly highlight those transferable skills in your resume and cover letter, these may not be immediately clear to the recruiter or hiring manager.

If you are unsure if your skills meet the requirements of the role, why not call their HR team and ask. Tell them you want to clarify your fit for the role and have an open discussion about it. During such conversations, you can get access to key information that will allow you to fine tune your resume/cover letter to further enhance your prospects of moving to the next stage.

Check the Application Process/Requirements!

At the end of each advertisement, there is often a piece of information on how to apply. This can be a simple send your resume and cover letter by clicking the apply now button.

However, make sure you follow any specific requests. If you apply for a role that specifies “send a cover letter outlining what specifically prompted you to apply for this position with company x along with your resume”, make sure you have the appropriate content in your cover letter.

If the advertisement requests a cover letter, then do send one.

You want to show that you can follow instructions and that you have an eye for detail.

I recall one specific role that I was recruiting for, I asked for a resume, cover letter and a two page statement asking the applicant to address how their skills met the specific requirements of the role. The role was a very specific position and required exceptional attention to detail skills. Out of 70+ applicants, only 5 followed the process, and thus, demonstrated attention to detail.

Is your resume and cover letter fit for purpose?

Seems simple, right?

Well… only if they are. They need to be easy to navigate, the key information needs to be readable within 5 – 20 seconds of someone viewing the document.

If you’ve held a number of specific careers, you should have stand-alone focused resumes that allow you to truly demonstrate your specific skills and experiences to that sector with depth, rather than a wide-ranging overly general resume.

Are your contact details correct?

Basic, I know, but…

You will be surprised how many times I’ve tried to contact an applicant and they have had the wrong mobile number, and or email contacts on their documents. This simply sets the wrong impression and shows a lack of attention to detail.

Are you sending the right version of your resume/cover letter?

Before you send your application, check your resume and cover letter. You may have done some updates and you could send an old version missing key information.

When recruiting, I would receive at least 10 resumes a day that had been checked by a friend that added tracked changes. The applicant did not review or accept the changes and would simply apply with the resume with the changes, clearly highlighted… often showing grammar and spelling errors. So, always check before you apply.

Your Cover Letter, have you addressed it to the right business and person. This is something that is often forgotten. People tailor their cover letter, forget about it and a few weeks later use that cover letter to apply for a new role – this error can ruin your application chances.

Any Suggestions?

There can be a wide range of reasons why you may not be moving forward in your job search. We recommend speaking with an expert and ask them to complete a resume review/health check.

A recruitment agency, or a resume services agency could assist you with this and often the service can be free of charge.

If you consistently receive rejections, the best thing you can do is step back, and take some time to build and improve your resume and cover letter and seek out expert advice.

SMBs and other middle-sized businesses have taken a resting breath after the moment Intuit, the designer of QuickBooks, declared cloud deployment in the QuickBooks software range. For business industry, the time is not less than a revolution period where most of the SMBs got the chance to cut out unwanted IT expenses. Intuit, the leader of wisest decisions & strategies, chose third parties for server alike needs and soon got success in naming cloud network handling platforms as QuickBooks server. Presumably, the main vision of hand over hosting related tasks to third parties is to boost their future projects and focus on goals precisely.

Plenty businesses of today are unable to figure out the real aspects of profitability which in turns making it quite difficult for businesses to earn well. However, Job Costing is the accurate way to know the exact pay for each job and thus it is very popular among task-based businesses. SMBs and even huge enterprises find job costing as one of the most intact ways to cut the unnecessary wages that a company asks to pay to their employees in return for the work they had done. Construction firms, Professional service provider companies & other non-profit organizations are the major sectors that can have the pure benefit of job costing.

Steps To Setup QuickBooks Job Costing & Item Track paycheck Expenses!!

In order to get full benefits of job costing feature within your business premises, you need to first search out all the difficult job that is needy as per your business requirements but not necessarily require full-time worker. Afterwhile, identifying jobs that are not so profitable for your business could also help to figure out where all the profit actually going!

However, these are the quick steps using which you can start job costing smart strategy within your business as well.

1. Choose “Edit” from the top menu bar and then click “preferences”.
2. Select “Accounting” from the pane opened on the left.
3. Then, click on the “Company Preferences” tab.
4. Ensure that the Use class tracking box is marked with a tick and Click “OK”.

Note: Mistakenly, If the checkbox remains unchecked then the options to Assign one class per Entire paycheck or Earnings item will not be available.

5. Similarly, Revise Step 1 and select “Payroll and Employees”.
6. Then, put the check mark in the Job Costing box and click”OK”.
7. Further, checkmark on class and Item checking for paycheck expenses and decide how you want to track via Entire Paycheck or Earnings Item.

It is equally important to keep in mind that whenever you create or edit payroll items in the QuickBooks software, one checkbox “Track Expenses” is being displayed on the desktop. On selecting this checkbox, QuickBooks desktop shifts all the items on employees paychecks just the way it does company-paid taxes.

Quick Points To Remember While Implementing Job Costing In QuickBooks

• Commitment to understanding the perks job costing going to offer to your business.
• Enabling Estimates in your QuickBooks software and also selecting Yes under “Do you create estimates?” and “Do you use progress invoicing?”.
• Assigning Expense Account to subcontractor items to make fetching of working hours easy and hassle-free.
• Create jobs for your business by noticing each and every expense that you need to pay while serving customers.
• Use Estimates and Progress Invoicing to change orders correctly and consistently right after knowing the issues.

Without asking for extra expense and effort and integrating into the ongoing accounting software, Job costing let you have the rewards of enabling cost tracker for manufacturing jobs and saves you from the long process of calculating.

In your job search, a resume and cover letter is often your first contact with a potential employer. When they read them for the first time they learn your name and they get an idea about your qualifications. They will then make a decision about calling you to arrange an interview. That’s a very important fact to consider when you write your resume.

So, making your resume and cover letter the best they can be can mean the difference between getting the call for an interview and your resume going into the recycle bin. The sad thing is you’ll most likely never know why you didn’t get a call.

Have someone your trust review your resume. How do you know if your resume is a keeper? Even if you have your resume and cover letter professionally prepared they still may not stand out. If it looks like every other resume the employer sees, it will be harder to distinguish yourself from the crowd. If you have someone you trust look your resume over, that’s a step in the right direction.

Actually the more people that you can get to give you direct feedback on your resume, the better. If you know people that work in the same industry you should start with them. Listen to their feedback and note any changes they suggest. You don’t have to follow every piece of advice, but don’t argue with the person about their opinion. It is, after all, their opinion and you asked for it.

Once you have a resume that gets good feedback from most, if not all of the people that look at it, you probably have a good resume. You can send it out knowing you have an outstanding resume.

This open-ended question, and others like; “Where do you see yourself in five years?” throw most candidates off balance. The object of the question is to check for your self-awareness and communication skills.

Dan Harrison is the staffing manager for Wesco Corporation and is about to interview three candidates for a project manager position. He is looking for someone with planning and long-range vision skills.

Phil Holmes describes his goal – “To be a Marketing Manager within five years, and have a hand picked team reporting to him.”

This is a very specific and narrow goal, which may not be an option at this company. The “hand picked” team demonstrates a lack of flexibility. Best to stay away from too specific a goal.

Shawna Green answers – “I have been so busy with my responsibilities and achieving company goals, that I have not focused on personal long-term goals.

While a strong work ethic is certainly desirable, this answer does not demonstrate vision or planning.

Marsha Severson states- “I plan to return to school to earn my MBA, and have my own consulting business one day.

While it pays to be honest, this answer could turn the interview in the wrong direction very quickly. The employer is looking for someone to stick around for the long run, not to stop over on the way to a new career.

Focus – Exercise

If you are the type of person who prefers an organized way of life, you may find this question a “piece of cake”. But, if you are among the majority of persons who let life happen as it comes along, you will probably not have a smooth answer without some forethought.

* What are your goals? – The best answers will come from you thinking about what you want. Most successful business people will tell you that a key success factor is the ability to set and achieve goals.

Begin by setting short-term goals. Right now your goal may be “to get a job”. But, what kind of job? And, where do you go from there?

* Be employer-centered – The employer is looking for someone to come in and solve problems. Since planning is a key factor in this job, think of examples where your planning has made a difference in results.

Scripting

After giving some thought to where you want to go and how you can help the employer achieve results, try scripting your answer to focus.

I have learned that long-term goals are best achieved when I break them into shorter goals. My short-term goal is to find a position that will place me in a forward-moving company with solid performance and future projections. As part of a team, I want to add value and continue to grow the company. My long-term goal will depend on where the company goes. My plan is to move into a position of responsibility where I can lead a team.

No one can tell you exactly how to answer this question – it will come from what is important to you. However, the more and focused and employer centered you can be about your goal, the better your chances will be of steering the interview in the right direction.

Increase Employee Performance by Harnessing the Power of Motivation

Employee motivation and productivity can be enhanced and improved by creating a work environment that maximizes the factors that affect performance. These factors are simple to understand, easy to measure, and can add tremendous value to any organization that is willing to implement them. Use these 10 tips to make sure that your employees are energized and inspired to produce the best results possible.

1. Interesting Work

Intrinsic motivation comes from the shear joy and pleasure of doing a task. When you read a great book, no one has to pay for each page you read. It is a pleasure to learn how the story unfolds and watch the plot develop. It is the same way with employee motivation. To maximize employee performance, find out what employees like about their jobs and then try to add more tasks that align with their own natural interests and talents.

2. Appreciation & Recognition

William James said, “The deepest desire in human nature is to be appreciated.” It does not matter how much you pay someone, everyone want to know that their efforts are being seen and appreciated, especially by their manager. Don’t just send them a thank you e-mail – that just means you care enough to hit the “Enter” key. If you really want to thank someone buy them a real “Thank You” card and describe how their behavior and performance has added value to the team and organization. Make it a point to catch people doing things right and they will inevitably do things right more often.

3. Feeling Involved In the Work Process

Research shows that when people get to participate in creating a system or process, they are much more likely to follow it than one simply imposed upon them by an outside expert. Recognize that the people doing the job have the knowledge of how things can be done better, faster, and cheaper. If you want them to tell you, then make it easy for them to offer suggestions and reward employees who contribute ideas that add value to the bottom line.

4. Achievement

Napoleon once remarked, “It is amazing how willing men are to risk their lives for a little bit of tin and ribbon to wear upon their chest.” Awards and prizes can serve as a great motivator to harness the power of healthy competition. It is always better to use rewards that are meaningful and inspiring. When an employee exceeds your expectations, then make sure you recognize their achievement. On the day someone retires, they will pack up these awards and prizes to serve as fond reminders of a wonderful career.

5. Job Security

If everybody had what it takes to be an entrepreneur, then there would be no General Electric or Toyota and we would all be buying products from artisans and craftworkers. Thankfully, many people prefer to be part of a large organization and can be more productive when they get to focus on doing their job instead of worrying about developing a business plan or marketing strategy. Telling people that they are lucky to have a job creates an atmosphere of fear and worry that decreases job performance. Instead, tell your employees that the company is lucky to have such a skilled and committed workforce and people will take pride in their work and their company.

6. Increased Responsibility

We all know that some employees lack ambition and have no desire to advance on the job, but the vast majority of workers want a chance to take on more responsibility and add more value to the organization. Always be aware of opportunities for training that will equip your employees with the skills and tools they will need to advance in their career. Always try to fill open positions with internal applicants before looking for an outside candidate. This will create a culture of career development and preserve institutional memory and organizational knowledge so that it can be transferred to rising employees as they advance in their own career.

7. Good Wages

Robert Bosch, founder of the world’s largest automobile parts supplier, said, “I do not pay good wages because I have a lot of money; I have a lot of money because I pay good wages.” If you want motivated, high productive employees you have to pay such people according to their ability and performance. Good employees are motivated by more than just good wages, but never allow low wages to be the wedge a competitor can use to steal away your best people.

8. Good Working Conditions

If you want to get the most out of people you need to create an environment that facilitates success. At the minimum, you must offer a safe, clean, and sanitary work site. To get the most out of employees, help them take pride in their workspace, even if it is only a cubicle or workstation. Allow people to personalize their own work sites with photos or small trinkets so they will feel like they have a place that belongs solely to them.

9. Being Part of a Team

Being part of a dysfunctional team is an emotionally draining experience that results in low morale, low productivity, and high turnover. The great coach, Vince Lombardi, once remarked, “Individual commitment to a group effort — that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” We are all social beings and we all want to be part of a healthy team where we can give and receive support, help, and encouragement. Organizations can harness this natural human desire by aligning employee efforts to achieve goals that are mutually beneficial to both the organization and its employees.

10. Help with Personal Problems

How many times have you heard about a bad boss who told their employees to leave their problems at the door so they could focus on their job? Unfortunately, they probably left their motivation and productivity at the door as well. Smart managers know that it is not their job to be a counselor or therapist, but it is there job to recognize when one of their employees is having personal problems that are affecting their job performance. They need to have open lines of honest communication so that employees can feel encouraged to ask for help and then be directed to their Human Resources Department or their Employee Assistance Programs.

One aspect of meaningful work is being compensated adequately for the work that you do. Whether you are currently in a practice having survived a lay off or negotiating for a new job, you are probably finding that raises are small or nonexistent and offers are lower than what you were used to. Even if you did not get all the money that you wanted, there are other perks that can be negotiated. 

 

Don’t give up what is critical to you but find other ways to make the job more attractive. Now may be the time you actually negotiate work/life balance into your job! A firm needs people who are happy, energetic and enthusiastic to develop the business and do the work. Here are 10 ideas to help you to negotiate a really great offer. 

 

1. Use your strengths. If the job description includes pieces that do not play to your strengths and you can see a way to show that the piece that you do want is important enough to be your primary responsibility, negotiate dropping the less attractive pieces. (You will need to show them that focusing on this piece is important to the company.)

 

2. New to the firm? Ask for an introduction from the firm leader or someone high enough up in the organization that can transmit power to you. This will make managing a team easier and will help you get the kinds of work you want.

 

3. Improve your performance through better resources. Ask for more people, more budget for your department/group, or other resources for you and your department/group to help you perform better, faster and more thoroughly.

 

4. Get customized hours for your situation. Ask for different hours than are normal for the organization. For example: Come in earlier and leave earlier. (This can help with work/life balance)

 

5. Increase the vacation time or get vacation when you need it. Ask for specific vacation dates (vacation during school vacations) or extra vacation time (4 weeks instead of 3). (This can help with work/life balance)

 

6. Set an objective that is important to the firm. Determine a time frame in which you could accomplish a key goal and ask for a bonus upon completion.

 

7. Telecommute from home full time or part time. Ask for the ability to telecommute a certain number of times during the week or month. (This can help with work/life balance)

 

8. Improve your skills. Think about becoming a “Thought Leader” or “Subject Matter Expert”. Look for possible training in skills where you want to develop expertise or ask for a tuition reimbursement plan if you want to pursue an advanced degree. Get the company to cover memberships to professional associations and subscriptions to professional and business magazines and newspapers.

 

9. Ask for a specific job title. If your firm puts value on a particular title, ask for that title.

 

10. If this is a new job for you, ask for a signing bonus. Add a signing bonus to a bonus on completion of the key goal may get you close to the salary you were asking for. Of course next year you’ll drop back to the salary but by then you can be looking for other ways to increase your salary.

A job interview is among the most important phase in the job seeking process. It is through job interview only that you can win the confidence of the potential employer and enter into the dream job of your choice. Prepare your interview questions well and rehearse your role before the show to avoid anxiety and nervousness when you face the actual employer. In addition to the interview questions you also required to keep other things in mind. The most important thing is to believe in yourself and the job position you aim for. While answering the questions it is essential to follow the interview tips like maintaining a proper eye contact, paying attention to the body language etc. Here are a few important common interview questions that can help you a lot in your job seeking process.

Introduce Yourself

This is the most important and frequently asked interview question. Answer this question by giving the basic information about your portfolio. Tell the recruiter that whether you are a student, a graduate, or an experienced applicant. Make sure that you don’t go into too much detail on your family and personal life.

Why you want to Work with us?

In order to answer this question you must be familiar with the organization beforehand. You should put some effort in gathering the details about the organization; its core values, types of services they deal, customers they target, their competitors, etc. Always highlight the positive aspects of the company and never give self made reasons, such as you are financially weak and need money, etc.

Tell us about your Strengths and Weaknesses?

It is important to have an awareness about your personal qualities; both strengths and weaknesses. Do mention about the skills that you utilized and developed while you were in the college or in the previous job. Try to illustrate each and every point to the interviewer with the suitable example. This will help the interviewer to remember you and judge you later on from the rest of the crowd. As far as weaknesses is concerned try not to admit deepest mistakes and confessions.

Why you Left the Last Job Position?

This is a tricky question and it is advisable to not to deliver each and every minutest detail for leaving the job. You can handle such questions by saying that previous job did not offer you the opportunity to grow and you felt as if you were in a dead end position. Furthermore, you can also say that you are in search of better career opportunities that can help to utilize your skills and experience to its fullest.

Your cover letters for your 100k job search are one of the essential elements that cannot be overlooked. Without a winning cover letter it is quite likely no one will ever even look at your resume or consider you for their 100k jobs. There are volumes of job career advice on the Internet but your first step must be to create a cover letter that sells. Below are a few points that you must consider when drafting your cover letter for your job search.

Research

You may have already heard this repeated again and again while looking at job career advice, but it is absolutely essential. What happens if you get through to an interview for a six figure job and are asked to do a presentation on the spot for one of the company’s products or services? Researching now shows an employer you took the time to look them up and want to work for this company and are not just desperate to work for anyone. It also tells a potential hiring manager that you are familiar with their business and are confident you will fit in. Before drafting your cover letter make sure you have done your research on the company and it’s executives and demonstrate this throughout out your cover letter for your next 100k job.

Targeted & Original

No matter how good you are, if you haven’t taken the time to draft a targeted and original letter for your 100k job search your resume will probably just land in the trash. If you are applying for any executive jobs or 100k jobs you should be an expert. If you are too lazy to write a targeted cover letter how can you expect an employer to believe you are going to work hard on the job? Forget all the cover letter templates out there, there are so many job seekers for 100k jobs that they have probably seen the same outline again and again. Show an employer that you have read their job posting thoroughly and that this is the job you want and that you are qualified for it.

Words That Sell

Regardless of whether this cover letter is for finance jobs or a sales executive job the cover letter for this 6 figure job is a sales piece. It must spike interest and demand that the recruiter or hiring manager take the time to review your resume or call you for an interview. Consider stating your number of years in the industry but not your previous employer information so they must turn to your resume. Use words and techniques that sell without being cliche. One sales technique to use throughout your 100k job search is ‘mirroring’. This can be done using the exact same words and terms they use in the 100k job posting. Repeat phrases or include technical terms that the employer used make them feel you are an instant match.

Highlights

Include a few bullets of what you have achieved in your previous 100k jobs. How many years experience do you have, have you successfully completed projects for their competitors who they envy, have you saved a company $100k, have you received any awards?

Hiring A Pro

If you really feel that you do not have the writing skills to make your cover letter shine for your 100k job search then consider hiring someone else to do it for you. How much is this new 100k job worth? Certainly a few dollars invested to ensure you get the job will return an incredible yield.

After graduating or obtaining a degree in nursing, the next thing to do is to get ready for job hunting. On the other hand, if you are an experienced nurse the next step is to find for a challenging new place, such as a higher spot in the medical field. In spite of the range of your nursing background, the process of seeking for a new career is time-consuming and a bit exasperating. The main thing you need to consider in the entire job search procedure is finding for the vacant nursing positions.

Following are rules and guidelines created to cut career search problem and to give you proper idea on how to get your dream-nursing job.

Set an appointment and visit the recruiting agencies and departments of local hospitals, medical centers, and doctor’s offices to find out the vacant positions available. If ever there are no open spot, ask if you can send your application or resume for future job opening.

Call recruitment and contract employment agencies and make sure to get in touch with a recruiter in the agency to give you information about several job openings, and even some not advertised vacant job. Through recruiting agencies, your chance of finding a job increase for you got the opportunity to apply for positions at multiple companies at the same time with single resume submission.

Search on major job boards online. You could visit job sites such as Monster.com and Hotjobs.com and get the chance to work on several available job vacancies. One piece of advice, keep in mind that due to a lot of number of applicants this kind of search would be very competitive.

Accept training or contract work for the mean time, for these chances sometimes serve as a good opportunity for a long-term career in the medical profession. Furthermore, this also provides you proper training on the field at the same time it gives you the time to test your skills before committing in the job for a full-time position.

Consider seeking a career to colleges and universities that offers nursing degrees, for often they have a record of vacant positions in the school itself. Connect with the career center advisory of the school to acquire more information on how to connect with other people in the industry that could give career opportunity.

Use your connections, the more connected you are with friends, family and casual acquaintances the number of chances you get to let them know you are aspiring for a job. Recommendation from a related friend or family member helps a lot especially if it gives you the chance for an interview with the particular company or institution you seek. If you have a close friend or relative working in a hospital or institution, you wish to apply. Do not hesitate to ask them for help. They can make the hiring process easier for you.

Research more on often disregarded nursing job possibilities including opening for school nurses, health department staff vacancies on other state or county, health insurance institutions, assisted living facilities and retirement homes, teaching career for nursing school programs at universities and colleges, mentor-ship programs, and programs for traveling nurse that assigns you on varied locations locally.

After covering the above mentioned job search suggestions on how to get your ideal nursing job, one last piece of advice is to keep on researching about the background of companies where you want to apply. Finally, make sure to customize your own resume as well as your cover letter for this could be the best weapon you could present aside the skills you could give once hired.

Job hunting will always be stressful, particularly in times like these, but there are ways to reduce the stress and shorten the search. Success is a matter of knowing what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Here are three steps to super-charge your search for a new job.

STEP 1 ASSUME THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE

There are dozens of small steps in a successful job search campaign. Many of them will lead to nothing, but each will add to the momentum of your search… and it is momentum that ultimately leads to success. Success is attracted to speed! Focus on the big picture and commit yourself to acquiring the right tools, developing a plan, and executing the plan relentlessly until you have received an offer you like. Remember, even in a bad market, you can track down good job openings and gain interviews — if you go about it the right way.

STEP 2 GATHER THE RIGHT TOOLS

A paper resume, an electronic resume, good cover letters, resume cards, marketing lists and a plan. These are the tools you will use.

A resume is probably your most important tool, so keep in mind that it is better to have no resume at all than to have a bad one. If possible, have your resume, both paper and electronic, prepared by a professional resume writer (not typist).

Resume cards are equally important as they are able to go places your resume alone never could. They can open new doors and pave the way to getting your resume read… which must be accomplished in order to land interviews and job offers. Professional resume cards are opportunity stalkers!

A target marketing list, for the most part researched and developed online, is best described as a list of employers who are not necessarily advertising new positions, but are known to employ persons with your background and skills. This list is your pathway to the invisible (hidden) job market.

You should also compile a networking list (past supervisors, peers, customers, your banker, insurance agent… every professional person in your sphere with whom you enjoy good relations). Next come your personal reference list, the placement (employment) agencies you will contact, the websites you will use to post your resume and check job openings, plus any newspapers you will follow to check job advertisements and learn of new business start-ups or expansions.

Finally, we come to your self-marketing plan. Without a written, comprehensive job search plan to which you are committed, you will do one thing today, something else tomorrow and perhaps nothing at all the following day. Consequently, you will build no momentum, which will lead to a lot of frustration and a prolonged job search. Job search should be a full-time job if you are unemployed and a regular part-time job otherwise.

Develop a formal schedule for daily/weekly job search activities, giving top priority to tasks, such as telephoning, that must be handled during normal business hours. Computer and administrative work can be handled in the evening or as time permits during the day. Any job search must be flexible as there will be job fairs, networking events, employer interviews and other important functions that require time away from your desk… however, it’s equally important to stay current with your job search plan.

STEP 3 EXECUTE YOUR PLAN

Begin making daily networking contacts, applying online, posting your resume, handing out resume cards, answering advertisements — in general following your formal job search plan. There are two important rules when applying online or mailing your resume to a prospective employer: first, visit and study their website so you will be equipped to write a compelling cover letter. Second, follow the employer’s posted application instructions exactly as stated. Keep meticulous notes regarding all contacts and follow up each one with a telephone call, note or email. Maintain control by working your various lists in sections.

The secret is to keep working the weekly schedule until you have been hired into a new position. Never break your momentum by waiting to hear from a job interview. Send thank-you notes to the interviewer(s) and get back to work.