SheMentor -

There are so many resources on the internet regarding suggested ways to best locate your next job. They range from various free job web sites to pay subscription sites that promise lots of "hidden" jobs not available on other web sites. Then, you have online recruiters, whether retained by an actual hiring company or simply trolling for good resume "hits" in hopes they can fill any open position available on contingency. There are also recruiting firms who send e-mails that at first blush seem personally addressed to you, but upon reading further, it's evident that they've never seen your resume, and they are - again - trolling for good resumes. I have yet to see a "real" job offering that is solicited in this way.

So...what to do? Well, I will be the first to tell you I don't have all the answers. However, I do have more experience in looking for a job than I'd like to admit. I'd like to provide you with the things I was able to do that seemed successful for me personally, and the things I did that didn't seem to generate much interest. Remember that every situation is different, and the thing that worked well for me might not be effective at all for you (and vice versa). So here goes:

THINGS THAT WORKED FOR ME:

1. The classifieds in my local Sunday paper. Yes, believe it or not, I once got one of my most valuable jobs from an ad in the local Sunday paper. I must say, I don't know of anyone else at my "senior" level in business who was able to actually find the kind of job they'd want from the local paper, so this was probably an anomoly! I guess the lesson here is to not discount any one avenue...
2. Actively networking with people I already knew. During my career, I've been recommended for some really terrific positions by my network of folks I've either worked with in the past, or who are good friends. The trick is to make sure you let them all know when you are looking for a new job, and provide them with a recent copy of your resume so they are "armed" to pass you along when the right opportunity comes by. Sites like www.linkedin.com have been very helpful for me to continue to keep in touch with my active network. To this day, I try to go to lunch each week with someone in my active network -just in case.
3. The very detailed and personal cover letter. Wherever possible, when I have some specific details on a job that I'm interested in, I will customize a cover letter that assists the hiring manager in drawing a conclusion between what they are looking for, and what I bring to the table. After a brief introductory paragraph, I usually create a two-column table. I entitle the left-hand column "your requirements", and I entitle the right-hand column "my qualifications". Then, I list one-by-one the requirements that the ad has mentioned for the ideal candidate down the left, and then I write an example in the corresponding row on the right of how I fit that requirement perfectly. This definitely seems to help separate my resume from the pack and has gotten me in the door to a first interview before.
4. Making myself highly visible to my boss' boss. THIS one can be kind of tricky, but if you do not feel that you get along with your boss or even share the same ideas in common, it is in your best interest to make sure that your boss' boss knows who you are, what you're capable of, and what you're willing to do. Suggested ways of doing this: forward really focused interesting articles on your business that you're pretty sure he hasn't read but would be interested in, send him ideas on small initiatives that could either save the company money OR make the company money - perhaps that you have experience executing on from another company.

THINGS THAT DID NOT WORK FOR ME:

1. The traditional online job web sites - i.e., careerbuilder.com, monster.com, etc. Although I still look almost every day during an active job search, these large job web sites almost never produce the type of position that I'm looking for. In terms of finding a job on the internet, I had a lot more luck with local job websites - either sites specific to my state and city OR the web presence of local recruiters or national recruiters who focus on hiring candidates with my specialty experience.
2. Networking strictly to meet new people to get a new job. I realize that I am speaking major blasphemy by saying this, because I know that every career advisor in the world says that the #1 thing you need to be doing is "networking, networking, networking" and constantly meeting new people. Once, I treated my job search like a full-time job. My goals were to meet or become acquainted with 20 new people each week, and have a minimum of 2 face-to-face appointments per day with people I had just met. They were short, 15-20 minute appointments to "get advice on my resume" (i.e., prove to them that I didn't have 2 heads in case they wanted to recommend me to someone). Over a course of three months, I had accumulated around 240 new contact names, and went on 120 live appointments - and not one job offer!!! Now, maybe you're thinking - what's wrong with her? To tell you the truth, I'm a pretty darn good "catch" for an employer, and my career track record has confirmed this for me. I suppose it's possible that I did it all wrong. But focusing on this particular method to get a job, I couldn't get hired to dig ditches.
3. Those high-end "executive" job search boards where you "pay to play". And I admit - I go look at them again every single time I'm thinking of looking for a new job, and then remind myself the complete lack of meaningful leads they've provided me in the past.

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