If you graduated and have not yet landed your first dream job, here are some tips to get the post graduation job search into high gear.

Of course it goes without saying that a post graduation job search won’t be effective without a good communication package including great resumes, cover letters and thank you letters.

1. First and foremost - Do not panic! You are not alone. Keep in mind there are more than 1.5 million new college grads this year and I would venture a guess, based on 9 years as a career development professional that more than half are in the same boat. Keep in mind that even in a slowing economy, there are still great opportunities available.

2. Reconsider your options and parameters. This is the time to explore all options including relocation, salary packages and commute. Discarding options that you would not have considered a few months before graduation, isn’t wise.

3. Explore multiple industries and make the distinction between a major and career. Many new college grads make the mistake of holding on to their college major rather than exploring careers. For example, all psychology majors do not have to work in Healthcare and are very much in demand in other industries.

4. Sign up for alumni career services with your college career center. Most offer free services for new grads, but a few may offer services at reasonable rates.

5. Commit to and schedule daily job search activities. Set a minimum activity schedule daily and work on it. Let your job search be your job.

6. Consider post graduation internships and fellowships. Internships and fellowships are a great way to expand your skills and get your proverbial foot-in-the-door.

Marcia Robinson writes and trains on career, workplace and employment issues for BullsEyeResumes.com. She has more than 9 years experience in higher education and 14 years of business experience in the Hospitality and Technology sectors. Robinson holds a BS in Business Management and a MBA with emphasis in Human Resources.

Mary Ellen from the Washington Post reaffirmed an important job search notion when she was asked from some of her readers whether they should still apply to a company even if there is no advertised job opening. The answer is a resounding “YES.” Job openings are not always advertised. The truth is, you never really know until you try.

Nothing’s Posted? You Should Apply Anyway, Washington Post

There is an interesting article in The Seattle Times discussing a benefit often overlooked in terms of using headhunters. The good ones can open doors that may at first glance seem closed. For instance, there is this example of a candidate who’s application got rejected by the HR department, but that the headhunter was able to get through. As the article specified, not all headhunters can do these “magic” tricks. You need a “good” one, meaning that doing background work on your headhunter would be a good idea.

Since headhunters get paid upon results, they might have a bigger incentive to land you a job. Many job applications go through the HR department, but get lost in the shuffle or in the initial screen. Some headhunters specialize in specific industries and may have connections going beyond the HR department; therefore they can lend their weight to a job application.

Headhunter Can Open Door You Can’t Get Through, The Seattle Times

Recently, I surveyed 159 job seekers by email, asking them this question: “What is the biggest problem in your job search right now?”

The responses were intriguing and I had a hard time boiling the problems down to a manageable number to answer here.
But I did.

So, here are three of the most common job-search problems — as chosen by you, my readers — with my proposed answers.

Read on to see if your problem is solved here …

To read the rest of this article, please click here: 3 Common Job Search Problems

As a professional career marketer and coach, I have always reminded clients to market themselves into both the published and “unpublished” segments of the job market. The most effective part of reaching the unpublished segment is normally contacting potential employers with a well-crafted marketing letter.

We recently sent out 1100 mailings for a well-qualified mid-level manager, and got about the expected 2% response, with several phone calls, emails and letters. And what did half of the responses say? Basically, “Please go to our website and fill out the forms there.”

We all dread the drudgery of filling out a long list of forms on multiple websites. Here are two tricks that you can use to decrease your time in emailing resumes and cover letters in response to published openings. The best part is that both are absolutely free and one is probably already on your computer.

Responding to published openings on websites is a boring, repetitive task. But with so many openings listed, you can’t ignore this part of the job market. These tricks will speed your form-filling and emailing to a few minutes each so that you can get the coverage you need.

Write a Cover Letter with Just a Few Clicks:

Microsoft Outlook can create a cover letter for those openings that request that you send a cover letter and resume to an email address. Most of the job postings on CraigsList use this approach, so simplifying the process will allow you to respond to openings there at a rate of about one per minute. If you aren’t using CraigsList, you are missing out on a great source of immediate, local opportunities.

The exact steps will depend on what version of Outlook you are using, but the fundamentals are the same. Go to Tools/Options and click on the Mail Format tab. Click on the Signatures button to open the Create Signature dialog. Click on the “New…” button.

Enter an identifying name for the new signature, like “Employer Letter”. In the Signature Text box, write a good, basic cover letter (you can always edit it when you use it). My clients can cut-and-paste from their Published Opening cover letter into the box. You can include basic formatting here like typeface and font size, but HTML will need to be entered via the Advanced Edit button, which will open your HTML editor of choice.

Don’t let the formatting get in the way of your message though.

To use what you have created:

1. Click on the Mailto link in the job posting. This should open a new message window in Outlook with the “To:” and “Subject:” fields already filled in.
2. Click on Insert/Signature and select the signature you created in the steps above. Make any editing changes you need to make.
3. Click Insert/File (or the paper clip icon) and select the resume you want to attach. Don’t forget to attach the resume!
4. Click “Send” and you are done!

If you are targeting a specific type of job, you may only need to change “Dear Sirs” to “Dear Mr. Jones”.

Use Roboform to Auto-Fill Your Resume into Web Forms:

We have recommended the free Roboform password and form-filling software for several months. Beyond the fact that you can (and should) use different login/password combinations on different boards to avoid your personal information being stolen, you can create custom form fields and have Roboform fill them in for you. Here is how we get Roboform to automatically fill your resume into websites:

1. In Roboform, edit the Identity you are using for your job search. In the free version, you may want to have an identity called “Personal” and another called “job search”. If you have the Roboform toolbar in your browser, left-click the first icon and select Identities/Edit. This will open a tabbed window in the Identity Editor.
2. Fill out as many of the fields as you can. Phone, address, email, position, salary, etc., using the information you want to submit for job applications. This may be very different from your personal information. For example the “Business” tab will typically populate fields asking for your current position information, so change them as needed. On the “Authentication” tab, be sure to leave the “Favorite Password” field blank.
3. Select the “Custom” tab. This tab should show fields for “Field Name”, “Field Value” and “Other Match Strings”.
4. In the Field Name box, type “resume”.
5. In the Field Value box, cut and paste the text version of your resume. It may look a little strange, since the box will stretch to show the entire resume.
6. In the Other Match Strings Box, type “paste”. Since most web forms indicate “Paste your resume here”, Roboform will paste your resume into any boxes it finds asking for either “resume” or “paste”.
7. When filling out an application on Monster, CareerBuilder or employer website, Roboform should automatically populate much of the application when you select the “Job Search” identity. If it doesn’t right-click an empty part of the page, and select “Fill Forms” from the menu.

Finally, be sure to use the services on the big boards. Set search agents and post profiles/resumes on SimplyHired, Indeed, Monster, CareerBuilder, and others related to your profession, like Dice.com and JobsInTheMoney.com as appropriate. Be sure to use a separate email address when publishing your credentials publicly so you won’t have to live with the inevitable spam forever. Your ISP offers multiple email addresses, so use them. Yahoo and Hotmail email addresses are not recommended.

Websites made recruiting fast and easy for employers and search firms. There is no reason is should be any more boring and difficult for you than necessary!

Peter Dunn publishes www.Career-Hunter.info, a collection of websites and blogs aimed at providing the best career marketing techniques available to seasoned professionals.

It’s almost that time of year again, when newly graduating seniors hit the job market in search of a paycheck.

I don’t know about you, but everything I know about job hunting I learned after college. Like how to network and write an effective resume, for example.

So, to give you graduating seniors a leg up, I interviewed two career experts to uncover 5 ways for new grads to find a job faster. This is the stuff I wish they taught in school …

1) Cast a wide net

In a declining economy such as we face now, you have to expand your options. If you’ve looked only at large corporations, start looking at small businesses, non-profits, universities, government jobs — a huge area of job growth — and other types of employers,” advises Lindsey Pollak, Author of “Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World.”

To read the rest of this article, please click here: 5 Job-Search Tips for New Grads

Before you get hired for a new job, you have to get found by a hiring manager.

That’s obvious.

But how do you get found? How can you get on the radar of top employers and make them call you for an interview?

That’s not so obvious.

You could troll the Web and apply for posted jobs, but those are just the tip of the iceberg. For every advertised opening there may be five or more “hidden” ones.

To solve this problem, here are three simple ways to get noticed — and get hired — by your next boss.

1) Temp is Not a Four-Letter Word

If you’ve never considered taking a temporary or contract position, you should rethink that attitude, according to Jackie Engmark, Executive Director of the Minnesota Recruiting & Staffing Association (www.mnrsa.org).

To read the rest of this article, please click here: Three Ways to Get Found and Hired

When leaving a job, the best is to do a smooth transition so you leave in good terms.  Don’t make the mistake of disregarding your current employment on the rationale that you will leave anyways.  Following are some tips:

• Keep giving your 100% at work and maintain a good attitude.
• Don’t look for jobs while at work.
• Don’t use your work contact information when applying for a new job.
• Discuss of possible opportunities with potential employers outside of work hours.
• Be honest with your current employer as to your discontentment.  This may allow you to change job within the same organization.

Don’t Annoy the Boss When Looking for a New Job, Ohio.com

Among New Year’s resolutions, finding a new job is right up there in popularity with losing weight, reducing debt, and spending more time with loved ones.

If you’ve resolved to find a new and better job, you can do it faster by using your time more effectively. Here are three suggestions …

To read the rest of this article, please click here: New Year’s Job Hunting: It’s About Time

The conventional job-search wisdom used to be that, if you weren’t hired by late October, you were out of luck until after the first of the year.

But times have changed.

Today, there are plenty of jobs to be had between Thanksgiving and the middle of January, according to human resource expert Susan M. Heathfield. “During the holiday season, you enjoy reduced competition for jobs and easier access to decision makers who are actually in the office,” says Heathfield.

To read the rest of this article, please click here: The Holiday Job Hunting Season