How to find a job in any job market
Help to find a job, resumes, applications, interview tips. Step by step job search help
Now it is time to search for that job that is out there waiting for you. Where do you go to find jobs? First, start with the local papers, check the local job fairs. A lot of areas have a government agency available to assist with your job search. Check online for jobs in and if needed or desired, out of your area. The internet has made job searching much easier and yet it has its drawback. Now a lot more people are searching online for jobs and the competition in tough times in much more stiff.
Find a Federal Job
Find federal jobs at usajobs.gov. Make sure that when you do a job search your pick you standing. Some jobs are available to the public, some are for current or former federal employees and some require military or special certifications. Typically, there are thousands of jobs on their site.
Find A State Job. Check these links to apply for state jobs
Local Government jobs
To find a job with a local city, you often have to look at the municipalities website. Since, of course, there are to many for me to list, you will have to do an online search for the city's main website. This can sometimes be harder than it sounds since searching can bring up thousands of sites and you have to look for the right one that the municipality has put online. It sometimes helps to use the term "official" in your search. For instance. "Irvine California official website" or even drop the "website" when you search. If the town doesn't have a web presence, there is nothing wrong with making a call or dropping by to see if they are hiring. If you are going to drop by, I would highly recommend being clean and well dressed. First impressions may be lasting and in a lot of small towns, the clerk you meet may have a lot of pull in the hiring process. Be polite, cordial and friendly. A lot of people walk in with an attitude and look down on the clerk when they ask for the city manager or the mayor. This can be one of you biggest mistakes. Also, remember to have a resume in hand and ask if you can leave it no matter if there are current openings or not. A good, professional impression may lead to employment down the road.
Keep up the job search
You can find a lot of search sites for jobs online and it is best to check as many as possible as no site can catch them all and most job search sites have employers that use them exclusively. Some newspapers and job banks use different ones as well so if you don't find what you are looking for on one, keep on trying. Keep that positive attitude and you will succeed. Remember to look closely at the jobs. There are some sites that let "work from
There are a lot of other online job search sites as well. You really need to check them all out as no single site will have them all. While you check out these sites, keep in mind that there going to be a lot of work at home offers that in my experience usually require an investment and aren't true jobs.
Other job sources
There are a lot of other job searches that you can do. We like Indeed.com and their search tool is here for you. They pull jobs from thousands of web sites, as well as major job boards, newspapers as well as associations and career pages of numerous companies.
Job search tool for indeed.com.
home" offers post to their site. These can be self employment investment type jobs or even scams. Also, you can apply online to the vast majority of the jobs on these sites, but beware of where they take you. If it goes to a site that asks for your personal information and then asks you how interested you are in advancing your education level, be weary about going on. You are looking for a job, not to continue your education. I have seen some advertise security guard positions at wages of $ 25.00 per hour. Then when you click, it takes you to a site that doesn't tell you anything about the employer but they want your information. The safest way to go is with a reputable company that answers your questions and provides a contact so you can get any other job details that you want. Some sites have searches that include just the job keyword and the location or area that you are interested in working. You can also add the job type that you want between part time, fulltime seasonal etc.
Contacting an employer by email
If you decide to contact a company that has posted an online job opportunity that you are interested in, keep these points in mind:
1. Keep it brief. It is usually safe to assume that a company contact person is hearing from dozens and maybe even hundreds of potential applicants with a whole bunch of questions about a particular job. If you send a long email just to ask a few questions, the first impression that you have just left is that you are already a pain in the butt.
2. Ask questions that are relevant. I have done a lot of hiring over the years and it always amazed me when I would get an email from someone asking if their bachelors degree that they are hoping to receive in 1 1/2 years would be sufficient for a job now when the requirement clearly stated that a bachelors degree was required for any applicant to even apply and be considered. Another thing that always amazed me was an applicant (and this happened twice in all my years, but it still happened) would send an email stating that he or she felt that the two weeks vacation per year to start was not sufficient and wanting to know if we would offer them 4 weeks. One even wanted eight because they taught school and wanted to enjoy their summers off. Read the job description and if doesn't tell you something, then by all means, make contact and ask. Just remember that this email may be waiting for you the day you go to interview, if you get an interview at all.
3. Be polite and professional. Thank the contact person for their time and effort and ask questions in a professional way. To send an email like this will get you no where:
"Yeah, my name is __________ and i was jus wondarin if this job offered free medicl and stuff four my family to or would it be jus for me cause i need healthcar for my children cause they keep getting sick all of the time and i cant take them to the doctor cauz i cant afford it now. right me back cause i needto no before i apply caus you got a long applcasion." No joke. Just wait until you get to the interview page and see some of the great job applicants we have crossed paths with over the years. Needless to say, this email sender didn't get a job and while I certainly sympathize with the applicant, any employer will try to take an applicant that they believe will help them, quite frankly, get the job done.
The online questionnaire
If there is an online questionnaire for the job, think the question through, answer in detail and be honest. If there is a spellchecker, use it or if it is possible to leave the page and go to a word program to type in your answers and edit them, do so. Just a note to all of you that are thinking "what good are the online questionnaires when they have no clue who is really answering them?" Simply put, when we used online questionnaires it was so we could use them in interviews to help us find out how honest a person was, as well as how professional and thoughtful they were. It may also help you get an interview depending on your response. A typical question would be "when did you ever have to change something or some way that you were doing a job to better the outcome?" Imagine asking a interviewee to elaborate on the answer and having them look across the desk and say..."huh?" My point here is simple, fill out the questionnaire yourself and be honest. Get caught in one lie and you are done as a potential job winner. In this case, the truth will truly set you free.
Here, we have listed the main employment page for all 50 states for you. All you need to do is click on the link for the state or states that interest you and you can search the job bank from there.
Help With The Job Search. More job search help tips
Others will let you add things like how much you want to travel, from none to road warrior and more. Look each job over closely and decide if you are a good fit. Feel free to contact the company with any questions that you may have. Most employers that we have talked to prefer emails as opposed to phone calls and the email that you send them is important. It has now become your first impression on them.
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