How to Find a New Job

• "Take inventory of your talents and what you're looking for.
  
  
• Join a job club that identifies prospects in your field or area.
  
  
• Working alone, identify prosepcts and go visit them to see if they're hiring.
  
  
• Knock on doors of any office, factory or employer that interests you to see if they have openings.
  
  
• Ask people in your network for any job leads."
  
  

This from an article and sidebar in today's Washington Post on Richard Bolles.

Richard Bolles' book What Color is Your Parachute? is the best thing I've ever read in this area and Richard updates it annually. He also recently released another book in light of the current crisis called The Job Hunter's Survival Guide.

Finally, Richard's website - JobHuntersBible.com - is just amazing.

My $.02: With Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and email, Richard's advice to utilize your network is that much more potentially powerful. However, the more personal the contact, the more fruitful the result. I do not suggest job hunters post broadcast Facebook or Twitter announcements asking for folks to contact them with potential leads. This will provide diminishing returns.

If I lost my job on Monday, I would 1) be really sad (because I love my job!) and, then, 2) I would review

• my Outlook contacts,
  
  
• my Facebook contacts,
  
  
• my Twitter contacts, and
  
  
• and my LinkedIn contacts.

Then I would divide them into three groups:

• Those close friends or associates I visit personally to find out about any positions of which they may be aware,
  
  
• Those in this same category that I call instead of visit because of time limitations or geography,
  
  
• And those that I email individually with the same question.
  

The other thing that I would do is to check the company's of my LinkedIn contacts and their contacts to see if there are any organizations in which I have any interest. Then I would work those specific contacts for any particular positions with which they might have some influential connection.

The frustrating thing about finding a new job is that it's a bit like sales and requires a lot of psychological hardiness and emotional resiliance: 95% of every thing you do will end up being worthless. 5% of your effort will yield fruit. The problem is that you don't know what 5% of effort will bear positive results so you have to do all 100%!

One thing that Richard says with which I absolutely agree: There are always people hiring.

The most important things to do while looking for a job are to stay persistent, remain active, and maintain hope!