As 2008 is approaching at fast pace, Joe Turner offered six resolutions that, if implemented, should catapult your job search in the new year.  The trick is to stick to those resolutions and be rigorous about it: 6 New Year’s Resolutions to Catapult Your Job Search in 2008, by Joe Turner.

Job searching is something that we all dread, yet something that we must do. The longer we wait, the longer the uncertainty will take a toll on our morale, and that’s simply not good. Kevin Donlin gives four simple tips to get your job search on track and help you accomplish more:

1. Plan Every Day
2. Prioritize Your Tasks
3. Work on Top Priorities First
4. Plan for the Long Haul

To read the rest of this article, please go to: 4 Ways to Get More Done in Your Job Search, by Kevin Donlin.

Finding a job can be a lot like running for public office … without the lying, pandering or attack ads, that is.

To succeed in both arenas, you need to tell people what they want to hear, then convince them you’re the one who can deliver as promised.

When it comes to telling employers what they want to hear, you can never go wrong if you emphasize “You-ability” in everything you do.

I’ve written before about Elmer Wheeler and the concept of “You-ability” he put forth in his 1937 book, “Tested Sentences That Sell.”

Wheeler tested 105,000 word combinations on 19 million people over 10 years, to find the phrases that worked best in retail and door-to-door selling. (Know this: If it’s possible to sell vacuum cleaners door-to-door during the Depression, it’s possible to sell an employer on hiring you today.)

One of Wheeler’s findings, on page 208, will help you find a job faster.

It’s this: “Don’t think so much about what you want to say as about what the prospect wants to hear — then the response you get will more often be the one you are aiming for.”

The prospect in this case is the employer, of course. And Wheeler’s advice is right on target. Because, if you think first — before opening your mouth — about what an employer wants to hear, the words you need to say will become obvious.

Let’s look at how this thinking will affect your resumes, cover letters and job interviewing …

Resume example — instead of writing this sort of piffle:

Ability to set realistic goals with staff, supervise and evaluate performance, build cohesion and maintain motivation while managing projects.

… you should write this, which is what employers want to hear, because it’s chock full of specific, convincing detail:

Proven project management skills. Experienced leading teams of up to 27 employees, with perfect record of managing 88 projects to on-time, on-budget completion since 2003.

Cover letter example — instead of writing rubbish like this:

Dear Sir or Madam,

In today’s market, employers are seeking the most qualified candidate to bridge the gap between what is needed and what it takes to get the job done. My resume reflects experience and diversity, including customer service skills in diversified industries that have permitted me …

… write something with meat on it, like this:

Dear Mr. Jones,

I’m applying for a job where my customer service skills will increase profits for you. Since 1999, I’ve saved an average of 14% — up to $37,500 per year — for three companies, by enhancing their customer service departments.

Please consider the following …

See the difference?

Now for the interview. When you say what the hiring manager wants to hear, you almost always get a job offer. But how do you know what to say? It’s simple. Ask!

You see, in every job interview — often near the end — the hiring authority will say: “Do you have any questions?” This is your opening! Ask: “What is the #1 thing you want the person you hire to do in this job?”

This prompts employers to tell you exactly what they want to hear. All you have to do is match your skills and experience to their #1 desire!

Let me illustrate with two examples …

The hiring manager might say, “We want the person we hire to hit the ground running and put at least 100 leads in our pipeline within 30 days.”

Ideally, you answer: “I can do that. In fact, I’ve done it twice in the last two years. It’s mentioned on my resume, but let me tell you in detail how I can do this for you ….”

Or, the hiring manager might say: “We want someone adaptable whom we can train quickly and who will work well with our team.”

You could answer: “I can do that. When I completed a six-month internship at ABC Corp. in San Diego, I had to adapt to a new city, master new accounting software and start assisting their client service team in only three days. Here’s a letter of recommendation from my supervisor about how well I did that ….”

Of course, for you to perform smoothly in the interview, you must do two things beforehand. First, know yourself and your skills. Second, practice matching your experience to the requirements you think employers will have in mind. (If you’re not sure what they want to hear, look hard at the job posting, if you applied in answer to one. Hiring managers put a lot of effort into writing job postings that highlight their top desires in a candidate.)

When you do emphasize “You-ability” in your resumes, cover letters and job interviews, you will almost certainly get hired faster for the job you really want.

Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes. Since 1996, he has provided job-search help to more than 10,000 people. Author of “51 Ways to Find a Job Fast — Guaranteed,” Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, CBS Radio and others. His latest product, The Instant Job Search System, is available at www.gresumes.com/instant.

The bestseller, The Secret, became a phenomenal success in 2007. Its message is that we are all governed by the Law of Attraction, through which whatever we are holding in our mind and feeling is attracted to us. Author Bob Doyle puts it this way: “Like attracts like at a thought level, and so as you think a thought, you are also attracting like thoughts to you.”

It’s a safe bet that you’re not thrilled with the prospect of job search. Who is? The good news is that you can harness the power of the Universe to streamline and improve your job search.

By harnessing the Law of Attraction you’ll:

• Feel more positive and energized about your job search.
• Shorten the time it takes to find a suitable job.
• Attract more positive people and better networking contacts.
• Attract opportunities that are a better match to your job goal.
• Land the right job for you.

Applying the Principles of the Law of Attraction to Your Job Search:

1. ASK

The first step in manifesting what you want is simply to ask.

Lisa Nichols, author, suggested in The Secret that when you make a command to the Universe, indicating exactly what you want, the Universe will respond to your thoughts.

Robert Collier, author, The Secret of the Ages, described this principle: “See the things that you want as already yours. Know that they will come to you at need. Then let them come. Don’t fret and worry about them. Don’t think about your lack of them. Think of them as yours, as belonging to you, as already in your possession.”

Become as clear as a clean window about what you want. If you send out a mixed message, you’ll receive mixed results. Know that you can have, be or do anything and there are no limits.

Action Steps

• Focus specifically on what you want. Picture your ideal job and see it in your mind.
• Write a description including job title, salary, benefits, duties, type of company, etc.
• Draw a picture of your ideal job to engage your right brain.
• Hold the vision of that job, no matter what obstacles you encounter.
• Include the clause, “this or better”. Allow the Universe to deliver the “right” job to you. Detach from a specific outcome.

2. BELIEVE

You must, in the moment you ask for something, believe and know you already have it in the unseen. When you believe and know that you have it in the unseen, a shift occurs in the entire Universe to bring it into the seen.

Job search is a journey of faith, when you have to believe that something you want is up ahead, even when you can’t see it. Everything that you are and have now is the result of the Law of Attraction. This universal law determines what you bring into your life. If you focus on negatives such as fear, you will attract circumstances and people that are fear-based.

Action Steps

• Act, speak and think as though you are receiving it right now. The Universe mirrors back to you your dominant thoughts. If they contain the recognition that you don’t have something, you continue to attract “not having it”.
• Believe that you already have it and have already received it.

3. RECEIVE

Receiving involves beginning to feel wonderful about the subject of your manifestation. Nichols suggests that you emit the feeling frequency of having already received it.

Action Steps

• Feel as if you have the job you want right now. What does it feel like working at your new job? Imagine it.

In The Secret, Marci Shimoff, author, adds that it’s important to feel good and to be happy. Feeling good puts you in the frequency of what you want to manifest.

It’s important to both believe and feel in order to have enough power to manifest whatever it is that you want in your life, says Michael Bernard Beckwith, another Secret contributor. Is there a fast track to get onto that frequency? Beckwith says it’s necessary to:

• Say to yourself, “I am receiving now. I am receiving all the good in my life, now. I am (fill in your desire) now.” He adds you must feel it as though you have already received it.

Summary

Conduct your job search by harnessing the power of the Universe through applying these principles of the Law of Attraction and see the differences that can transpire over the next several weeks in your search.

As a recruiter, Joe Turner has spent the past 15 years finding and placing top candidates in some of the best jobs of their careers. Known on the Internet as “The Job Search Guy”, Joe has also authored Job Search Secrets Unlocked as well as other ‘how-to’ books and resources on interviewing and job search. He’s been interviewed on several radio talk shows. Discover more insider job search secrets by visiting: http://www.jobchangesecrets.com.

Frank J. Giudice wrote an article in which he mentioned 10 things to keep in mind during a job search:

1. 86% of employers base their hiring decisions mainly on soft skills.
2. 70% to 80% of openings are filled through word of mouth.
3. 78% of employers prefer chronological resumes.
4. Around 90% of executives ask their administrative assistants their input on hiring decisions.
5. Expect at least two interviews before a hiring decision is made.
6. Hiring managers believe that about one-third of applicants have some sort of lie on their resume.
7. Try not to be the first person to be interviewed.
8. Top three qualities recruiters look for are: honesty, enthusiasm, and verbal skills.
9. If you want an edge during the interview, research the employer and the position.
10. Five words to use when describing yourself: teamwork, flexibility, creative, detail-oriented, and motivated.

10 Things to Think About When Looking for That New Job, Chicago Sun-Times

To find your next job, you goal is to meet the right people and convince them to hire you.

It’s just that simple.

Best part: There are more ways to meet hiring authorities today than ever before.

For example, want ads used to be found only in newspapers. Now they’re online, too. And you can network your way into an employer using free Web sites like Linkedin.com, a route to employment that was inconceivable 15 years ago.

But not every job-search idea is new. Sometimes old methods work just as well.

To illustrate, here are two ways to find a job: one is at least 71 years old, and the other, about 71 months …

1) Something Old: Create a Mastermind Group

The idea of a “mastermind” is found in the book, “Think and Grow Rich,” written by Napoleon Hill in 1937. It’s a brainstorming and problem-solving technique used by Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Andrew Carnegie and others, to create some of history’s greatest inventions and biggest fortunes.

And it can help you find a new job, too.

Here’s how it works. A mastermind is a group of likeminded people who meet, once or twice a month for an hour or two, to discuss and solve each other’s problems.

You’ve heard the phrase, “Two heads are better than one.” Well, a mastermind group involves three, four or five heads. Each person has a few minutes to state their problem. In your case, yours is your job search. Then, the group offers suggestions in a free-for-all discussion. Your brainpower gets multiplied many times this way — the insights, ideas and answers you’ll receive may astonish you.

Note: This does not mean you should join other unemployed folks in a local job club. Job clubs have their place, but they can sometimes turn into sob sessions. Instead, your mastermind should be made up of people who have jobs they enjoy. This way, their positive attitudes about work will rub off and encourage you.

Simply put, a mastermind, organized and led by you, will help solve your job-search problems. To learn more, Google these two words: Mastermind Hill.

2) Something New: Create a Blog

The word “blog” is short for “weblog,” defined as a frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links. While blogs typically function as a kind of diary, they can also get you hired.

In fact, blogs are being called “the new resumes” by some employment experts. So it behooves you to learn more about this method of getting your name before hiring managers.

To get the facts, I spoke to Chris Russell, an author, blogging expert, and (naturally) creator of the blog, Secretsofthejobhunt.com.

“Blogs are a way to get found by potential employers online. Think of a blog as an extended version of your resume,” says Russell, who points out that anyone can create a blog using free Web-based tools, such as Blogger.com or Wordpress.com.

Blogging is especially useful if you’re looking for a job in IT or any field in which you must prove your communication skills.

What should go in your blog? “You can approach this a couple of ways. You could use it as an application for one job at one company — write relevant things about the employer and then send a link to the hiring manager. Or, you can blog in a more general way, to position yourself as an expert in your field,” says Russell.

When blogging, aim to differentiate yourself from others. Let your personality and expertise shine through. But be smart. Don’t write negatively about past employers or include stories of how you got tear-gassed at last weekend’s keg party. “A blog posting is forever because there are sites that archive them,” says Russell.

Think of your blog as a new puppy, requiring plenty of care, nurturing — and patience. “Post entries to your blog on a regular basis and understand that it takes time to build an audience,” advises Russell.

The best ways to promote your blog — and get found by employers — include participating in and linking to other blogs. Also, it pays to give out your blog address as you would a business card. Put it on your resume, and email it to friends, colleagues and others.

To learn more, and read blogging success stories that should motivate you, visit Secretsofthejobhunt.com and Blogforjobs.com.

Now, go out and make your own luck!

Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes. Since 1996, he has provided job-search help to more than 10,000 people. Author of “51 Ways to Find a Job Fast — Guaranteed,” Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, CBS Radio and others. His latest product, The Instant Job Search System, is available at www.gresumes.com/instant.

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When comes the time to apply for a job, some job seekers go the conventional way and send in their resume and cover letter. Others like to stand out by going unconventional and trying to make their mark. Most of the time, those that do go all the way out are either desperate for a job or really want a specific job. What are you to do?

It really depends on your profession, but before going nuts, do your research on the people in charge of hiring. See if they are inclined to “out of the ordinary” stunts.

Examples of what people have already tried? Wearing a giant resume on a poster board and standing on Manhattan streets handing out resumes; renting a giant billboard with the message: “Creative, experienced marketing guy seeks stable company for long-time working relationship;” sending out a video resume, which ended up turning pretty bad; challenging the editorial assistant to an “office skills head-to-head;” writing a blog and drawing the recruiter’s attention to that blog; etc. Some initiatives worked, some didn’t.

The lesson from all this? Do it at your risk and peril.

Making a Hard Sell, New York Post

Navigating the rocky seas of job search can feel as treacherous as being caught in a raging storm in the Bermuda Triangle. You don’t have to let your job search sink into an abyss if you avoid these three major job search pitfalls:

1. Lack of Focus

The first step in a successful job search begins with identifying your goals. Clarify specifically what you want in your next job or career. This includes identifying your next job title. I’ve heard countless job seekers say, “I’ll take anything” or “I’m open”, when asked what kind of job they’re seeking. The candidate who’ll take anything, ends up with nothing.

Look at your resume for starters. What is your objective? Many job seekers either fail to state their objective on their resume, or they list several objectives. Either extreme can work against you as you’ll appear unfocused, uncommitted or unqualified.

Gaining clarity will lead to identification of your next job or career. If you’re having trouble focusing, look online for free career assessment tests for help. Or seek the services of a career coach. These professionals specialize in helping people to clarify their goals and identify their passions, life’s purpose and transferable skills. Check online for a list of career coaches. Be sure to screen them with a list of questions about their experience, fees, coaching methods, etc.

2. Not Understanding the Bigger Picture

Avoid focusing on your own needs. When you are clear on what type of job or career to pursue, your next step is to understand how to market yourself competitively. You bring to a potential employer a unique set of work experience, skills, aptitudes, abilities and personality traits. Yet none of these assets has any meaning unless you understand that your focus must now shift to the employer.

Try to imagine yourself seated in the hiring manager’s chair. Role-play as both the applicant and the hiring manager. What does the hiring manager want to know about you? What message does that individual want to hear from you? What are they looking for in an employee?

Your challenge now is to package your work experience, transferable skills and other assets into a consistent, winning message that answers the hiring manager’s critical question, “If I hire you, what’s in it for me?” Communicate your USP (unique selling proposition), that is, your value to the employer as a potential employee who can either make money or save money for the company.

Once you understand the bigger picture of a corporate balance sheet, you can more easily sell yourself as a potential asset to any company. Make a comprehensive list of your activities and responsibilities. Which ones help to save money, make money or save time for the company? Once you start thinking in this manner, you can more easily develop several examples to use. Put them on your resume. Talk about these examples as benefits to your next employer in your interview and phone screen. Once you start doing this, you’ll notice a difference in your results. You’ll also steer clear of a major obstacle that’s capsizing many of your competitors.

3. Too Much Internet

Avoid hitting job search icebergs. Most job searchers post their resumes on Monster, Yahoo, LinkedIn and even MySpace these days. The trouble is, so is everyone else. Unfortunately, this represents about 20% of the actual hires being made. Like an iceberg, where the majority of ice is hidden under the surface of the water, 80% of job opportunities are likewise hidden. Even with the advent of the Internet, only a small percentage of jobs are advertised. When you limit yourself to the 20% of total advertised and accessible job openings, you throw your job prospects to the whims of the open marketplace. You increase your competition for those jobs because everyone else has access to those same publicly listed job opportunities.

Only when you decide to separate yourself from the pack will you increase your chances of getting hired. To begin with, there are fewer applicants for these hidden jobs. You also maximize your chances of getting a better quality job because often the best job opportunities are quietly passed along by word-of-mouth and are not privy to the general public. Researching the hidden job market is hard work. You’ll need to network with as many friends, colleagues and family members as you can.

Look into social networking sites for names of people you might contact. Go beyond the herd to develop a list of companies you’d like to work for. Don’t forget your local library as it has great resources including Hoovers, EBSCO, and Reference USA, to name a few that you can use for free. Check out LinkedIn, Spoke and ZoomInfo for names of people who work at these companies. Contact these people and introduce yourself. When you can talk in terms of the benefits you bring to an employer, you separate yourself from your competitors. You’ll also get better leads and more interviews when you begin navigating the uncharted waters of the hidden job market.

Summary

You can avoid the three major pitfalls that can sink most job searches by 1) Sharpening your focus 2) Talking about the benefits you bring to an employer and 3) Moving beyond the Internet to look for unadvertised jobs. It will be hard work, but if you put these three actions together, you’ll have more control during your job search journey. You will then steer clear of three huge obstacles.

As a recruiter, Joe Turner has spent the past 15 years finding and placing top candidates in some of the best jobs of their careers. Author of Job Search Secrets Unlocked, Joe has interviewed on radio talk shows and offers free insider job search secrets at: http://www.jobchangesecrets.com.

You read a lot these days about how depressed the average person is about the labor market, or that the average person can take up to 17 weeks to find a new job.

But where is it written that YOU have to be average? When did Congress pass that law?

Good news: You don’t have to be average. Thankfully, this is one area that the politicians haven’t decided to “help” us with (yet).

Instead, you can get radically better results in your job search — starting today — by doing two simple things differently.

Here’s how …

1) Think Differently

Let’s face it: Most of the news you read, hear or see on TV is bad.

And most of it has little to do with your life, if you think about it. For example, what can you do with the “news” that a car bomb has exploded in Iraq or that a house was gutted by fire on the other side of town? Nothing. Not one thing.

You could let all that bad news get you down, like most people do. Or you could tune it out. You could think differently.

Here’s why.

No matter what the news — good or bad — every company wants to increase revenues and profits. And every company wants to control costs and save money.

If you can get in front of the right employer and show him or her that you can either make or save more money than you’re asking for in salary, that employer will either hire you for an existing job or create a job for you.

Read that last paragraph again. It holds the key to every successful job search!

And, to repeat, it doesn’t matter what the economy is doing, or how much the talking heads on TV are bemoaning layoffs, outsourcing, off-shoring, or any other economic “news.” All that counts is your ability to do exactly four things:

1. choose a specific job you want to do;
2. choose a company you want to work for;
3. meet with a hiring authority at your target company;
4. demonstrate exactly how much money you can make or save for them.

It all starts when you refuse to go along with the crowd and let outside events influence your inner attitude. In fact, you may just start to laugh at bad economic news, because it can cause other people to stop looking for jobs, leaving less competition for you.

2) Act Differently

Once you start thinking differently and more opportunistically, it’s easy to start acting differently and more effectively.

Here’s how one California man did just one thing differently in his job search — and how it made the phone ring with interview offers for the first time in months …

First, some background.

I’ve written before that you can pique employers’ curiosity by writing them a letter in which you offer to send them a report to help improve their business.

It need be no more than 2-3 pages, describing the best, most valuable things you’ve done on the job, and their specific value. (Google my article, “Can You Write a Simple Report? You Can Get Hired” to learn more.)

One reader, Michael Schwab from Los Angeles, California, not only read that advice, he acted on it. And he struck pay dirt.

Michael was smart. He took the time to ask his network of contacts about the target company and learned enough about their products to tailor a letter that got attention.

He says: “I wrote a letter yesterday offering to send a report and got an email from the recruiter an hour later — they want to interview me. In my original email, I proposed two options: (1) helping with their existing product areas, and (2) helping build out a new area of practice involving different software products.”

So, next time, instead of sending a resume, why not try something different? Write a letter offering specific ways to improve your target employer’s business. Because, while few employers get up in the morning wanting to get a resume in the mail, every employer wants to increase profits. All you have to do is show them how.

When you offer solutions instead of a resume, you’re not acting like a typical job seeker. You’re acting like a star employee. And you’ll have little or no competition for your next job when you do.

It all starts when you think and act a little bit differently.

Kevin Donlin is President of Guaranteed Resumes and creator of GetHiredNow.TV. Since 1996, he has provided job search assistance to more than 10,000 people. Author of “51 Ways to Find a Job Fast — Guaranteed,” Kevin has been interviewed by USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, CBS Radio and others. His latest product, The Instant Job Search System, is available at www.gresumes.com/instant.

Completing a 26-mile marathon race shares some characteristics with a successful job search.

There is one “winner” who crosses the finish line first. There are the many who quit before they’ve completed the race. Finally, there are the rest of us who don’t finish first, but are determined to complete the race nevertheless.

For most of us, half the battle is finishing the race, regardless of where we place among the finishers. The same goes for a job search.

I’m a veteran of three career changes and numerous job searches. For me, job hunting made flying during turbulence, nails dug into the arms of my seat, seem relaxing by comparison. Yet it was a learning experience; what some call a “character builder.” The good news is that after each episode of job hunting, I became better at the game. I also noticed that job hunting always strengthened and prepared me for my next job. Looking both at my own growth plus that of other successful job seekers, it boils down to 5 characteristics.

Here are Five Secrets of Winning Job Hunters:

1. Visualize: Marathon runners and other goal-directed athletes are great at visualization. They set a goal and see themselves achieving it. The same applies for your job search. Set a goal and see yourself achieving it. No matter how many setbacks you have, hold that vision of the job you want. Continue to hold it. Focus on the outcome you want, and not on how you’re going to achieve it. Picture it in your mind. Be specific. What is your supervisor like? How about your co-workers? What is your workspace like? What is your workday like? How do you dress? What hours do you work? Including your right brain in the imagination and visualization process enhances the achievement of your goal.
2. Be Persistent: Just as in running a marathon, nothing worth having is ever easy to achieve. There is a lot of rejection in job search. Sometimes it seems as if you’ll never get a “yes”. Remember what good sales people already know. That winning a sale, a job, or any other goal is a numbers game. Commission sales people will tell you that every “no” is one step closer to a “yes”. When you can see your process from a more objective viewpoint, knowing that you’re one more rejection closer to a “yes”, you’ll be less inclined to take the “no’s” personally, and less likely to get discouraged.
3. Replenish Yourself: The job search process, like a marathon race, can be an endurance test with a lot of disappointments and setbacks. It can also go on for weeks, months, and for some people, even a year or more. Top marathoners know that they have to nourish their bodies in order to prevail. You need to nourish your mind and spirit as well. If you’re going to outlast this process and prevail, you have to take care of yourself. This means taking time to relax to take your mind off the challenges, frustrations and rejections. Work hard on your job search, then take time out to exercise and pursue activities that bring you joy and replenish you.
4. Inoculate Yourself Against Negative Messages: Succeeding at a job search is a mental process, and negative input from anywhere can poison your mental outlook and encourage fear, discouragement, anxiety, anger and other negative emotions. Associate with positive people and protect yourself from all types of negativity. A job search journey can be a big undertaking. You need all of the assets and advantages that you can possibly bring to the party. You can’t afford to be exposed to the negativity of others. This includes friends, relatives and negative articles in newspapers and magazines as well as negative TV shows. Make a point of reading books and articles that motivate, encourage and inspire you. Avoid anything and anyone that doesn’t fall into this category.
5. Meditate: This can be the most important secret, yet it can be very simple. Take some time every day to be still and to get away from the “white noise” of life. Whether you are a spiritual person or not, commit to some quiet time away from the noise of TV, radio and other distractions. Give yourself the gift of quietness to contemplate, calm down and center yourself. Even five minutes of quiet time can make a positive difference in your life. This is an opportunity to relax, focus, and renew yourself. It will ground you and make it easier to face and overcome the stresses of your job search journey ahead.

As with successful marathoners, job hunters have some secret tactics that make their success look easy to others. Winning the job search game has a mental component. Developing the above five winning secret tactics will enhance your chances of success, and make the process more pleasant and less stressful.

As a recruiter, Joe Turner has spent the past 15 years finding and placing top candidates in some of the best jobs of their careers. Known on the Internet as “The Job Search Guy”, Joe has also authored ‘how-to’ books on interviewing and job search. He’s been interviewed on several radio talk shows. Discover more insider job search secrets by visiting: http://www.jobchangesecrets.com.

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