Submitted by: Matt Warzel

When a job seeker says “I don’t have Internet access or I’m not Internet savvy,” it cannot be an excuse in this competitive environment the job market has become. Here are some quick thoughts:

– Sorry, but faxing doesn’t cut it anymore

– Get email account for FREE at Yahoo, Hotmail or Google

– Go to a friend’s house with Internet or to your local library because THEY HAVE INTERNET!

– Enroll in a free or sometimes VERY cheap, local “Learn How to Use Internet” classes at Library or community colleges, high schools, etc. – sign up for a $25/class to learn basics of internet terms, navigation, etc. Even Microsoft Word to develop your resume and cover lette

– Post your resume onto general and niche specific job boards as well as company portals. Almost all companies post their job openings on their website…so go to a company website, find the CAREERS section and enter that career section (called a portal)…sometimes you can even setup an account before applying to a job, post your resume onto that company career account and setup keyword alerts….thus, if you’re a mechanical engineer and they post a job a month later for an mechanical engineer, the company will let you know via this alert to your email, which will allow for you to apply as soon as it’s posted…this can allow for you to be on top of the application list too for recruiters, because sometimes recruiters at companies will only look at the top 100 applicants as opposed to all 1000 candidates who applied (and being one of the 1st to apply, can make you higher on that list, thus in the top 100)

– Setup Google news and Yahoo news alerts for the word “‘relocating’ or ‘relocation’ and the job seeker’s city or near-city’s name” to find companies who are relocating to the job seeker’s area; “expansion” and “growth” to identify growth companies and emerging opportunities for you to seek out hiring decision makers and recruiters at those companies

– Review leading online and published newspapers like Forbes and Wall St. Journal to keep up on those growth industries (as well as your local paper)

– DON’T BE INTIMIDATED OR ASHAMED! YOU WANT/NEED TO LEARN! YOU ARE BETTERING YOURSELF! THIS IS THE RIGHT STEP FORWARD! IF YOU AREN’T DOING IT, YOUR COMPETITION IS!

– Finally (non-Internet related), try to place yourself into growth industries (biotech, nutrition, energy & renewable energies, photonics, and IT) that you can fit into in respect to your transferable skills as opposed to dying industries (textile, printing, apparel manufacturing & general manufacturing such as steel, and airlines)

Unemployment advice general basic advice to get started week 1

o File for unemployment immediately

o Find out about your qualifications for Cobra from your previous employer and ensure you contact the right people to enroll you into Cobra health insurance

o Life insurance see if you can roll over your life insurance from your company into your own account

o Take care of your company investments such as stock options and the 401k program find out from your financial house at the company, such as Fidelity

o Take a small couple days to a week break clear your mindset of what was and what needs to be reflect on your immediate thoughts and get a home office together to use while you re looking for work — you need to be organized and ready to make looking for a new job, your new jo

o Talk to people who have job titles you think you would like to do

o Contact friends, family, old colleagues and bosses and let them know what happened and see if there s potential there for another job; even if not, it can be very therapeutic

o Get your budget together with what income/savings/investments you have vs. expenses

o Get your resume & cover letter up to date

o Get your resume up to date and post to general and niche industry specific web boards, setup job alerts, join social networking sites, local community networking events, local career fairs, and send resume/cover letter to recruiting/staffing/temp agencies as well as job listings online

o Take initiative to make looking for a job an 8 hour work day in itself finding a job is a job!

o Look into cutting some bills you might not need anymore, like HBO cable TV and the ultra high speed internet package…try basic cable and regular high speed internet

About the Author: Matthew WarzelPresident, MJW Careers

mjwcareers.com

Source:

isnare.com

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