7 Hot Job Hunting Tips

The recession has made the want ads shrink to a single page or even less in many locations, but that doesn’t mean jobs aren’t out there: It just means they aren’t being advertised. The following 7 job hunting tips will help you flush them out even in the worst economy: 

Network! Tell everyone you know that you are looking for work. Ask for their personal job-hunting tips and for three contacts. Then follow up and repeat.

Show up in person at companies where you’d like to work. Dress for an interview, bring resumes, and ask to see an HR person or make an appointment with HR.

Take any job while you look for your dream job. No matter what you do, even if it is just freelancing for cash, some kind of work looks better on your resume than a prolonged period of unemployment.

Check out temporary agencies. Often they can place you on a trial basis with a good company that will hire you permanently once your trial is over.

Check out your state government website for training opportunities and civil service jobs. Do the same with your city and county websites.

Follow up. Whenever you fill out an application or send a resume, ask when you can expect to hear back, and then follow up if you don’t.

Don’t give up. It’s easy to take the process personally. The average person spends six to eight months looking in this economy. Keep looking.

Even in a bad economy companies have to replace employees who become ill or retire. They just don’t post the openings. Go to them, ask for job hunting tips, and keep at it and you might just find a great job in spite of the recession!