Job Search Refresher Guide For Recent Layoffs

Job Search Refresher Guide For Recent Layoffs 4 First job search in years? Use this refresher guide to get your new job search moving in the right direction. This a guest post by Pearl, a veteran Human Resources Specialist. If you’d also like to guest post here on JobMob, follow these guest post guidelines. The employee trap Searching for a new job can be very stressful and is actually a job in itself. If you are the one who just got laid off, do not forget that staying in the same job for years sometimes has its own share of disadvantages. When we know our jobs are secure and safe, we tend to become complacent and lazy and learning a new skill either never comes to mind or when we do think about it, it feels like an effort especially if it's something that has no use in our current job.eval With many companies completely going out of business or closing their plants and offices, many of your skills may also be outdated and not needed by other companies. Solution: learn new skills Treat your time out of work as an opportunity byeval enrolling at a vocational institute or take a class at a local community college doing something positive with your time instead of sulking will stand out in the stack of resumes. But what if you cannot afford to go back to school? And finding another job is the only way you and your family can survive? Start your job search off right The very first thing you will have to remember is not lose heart and stay positive. Treat this whole process of job searching as an important project and not give up until you have achieved your desired goal. There are many ways to tackle a job search project. The easiest and quickest way is to do a Google search of course. Now, most people use the Internet but not everyone knows HOW to search and find the things they are looking for. As a matter of fact, I know quite a few people who have no clue how to search through millions of pages on the Internet without giving up. If you want to learn how to get better results from Google when doing job searches, watch the following video. Don't forget that Google is a general-purpose search engine. With that in mind, you might prefer to go directly to where the jobs are being listed. There are hundreds if not thousands of job sites and resources to choose from. Make your job search activities more effective by taking the time to find the right job site for your job search goals. But how to know which is the right job site? Use these criteria to judge which are the right job sites for you 1. Look at the site's popularity. If the site is popular, it's probably because many companies regularly post their jobs there and more companies will get to see your resume. 2. See how their notifications process works. Many sites notify their candidates via email and keep them up-to-date for free about the site's various features, new companies or new jobs in your area, etc. 3. Confirm that the job site allows you to modify your resume after posting. As you look for a permanent job, you might be working on smaller projects or temp jobs during summer which should be added to your resume on an ongoing basis. Any job site that doesn't let you modify your resume after posting it is no good for your purposes. 4. Make sure the site lets you register for FREE. If they want you to use your credit card or pay them to just register and search for jobs, move on to the next job search site. 5. Check out their search process. Does the site let you search based on location, industry, years of experience, education, etc.? Once you get the search results, make sure they meet your search criteria. 6. Use job listing aggregators. Save a lot of time by using job search sites that aggregate postings from multiple search engines and companies for your location or your industry. 7. Job portals are more useful than simple job boards. Many sites have company reviews and demographic information, which are always helpful. Sites that incorporate job search articles, advice and assistance are better than the ones that just spit out the search results. 8. Make sure they let you build your profile in addition to just posting a resume. Companies sometimes don't just search for the resumes, their recruiting agent might want to view a virtual profile. 9. Pay attention to the date of posting of the job in your search results. You might get a good batch of jobs within your industry and your location, but what if those jobs are from last year? If that's the case, this job site is probably not getting new jobs posted or isn't removing old listings. 10. Most importantly: read the job search site's Privacy Policy. Especially before posting any of your personal information such as address and phone numbers you must read it first. Now that you know how to recognize good job sites, here are some recommendations. 20 top job sites With hundreds of jobs listed on these sites, there is sure to be a match with your current skills. Career Builder Monster TwitterJobSearch Google Directory Dice Indeed Yahoo Hot Jobs Craigslist College Grad College Recruiter CoolWorks One Day One Internship One Day One Job Best Jobs in USA Career Exposure Employment Guide Get the Job The Riley Guide Beyond International Job Opportunities Once you've found matching listings, learn about the hiring companies so you can approach them in the most appropriate way. Where to do company research To educate yourself further for an American job search, use the Open Business Directory which lists companies by state. The site has also business directories for: Germany Austria United Kingdom Switzerland France Canada Poland Italy Spain Portugal Also, use LinkedIn which has 160,000 profiles of different companies as well. About the Author Pearl has a Bachelor of Science and Education, Post Grad in Computer Information Science. She has many years of experience as a Human Resources Specialist with one of the Civil Service Commissions in United States. She blogs over at Interesting Observations. This article is part of the 3rd Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest. If you want Pearl to win, share this article with your friends.