It's important to manage your job search and keep track of the job leads you find, the jobs you've applied to, the resumes and cover letters you have submitted, and the networking contacts you're outreaching to. If it sounds like a lot, it is. There are ways to get (and keep) your job search under control though.

Spending time managing your job search, keeping it organized, focused, and on the fast track will help you find a job faster than if you don't have a plan in place. Even though you're going to spend some extra time getting organized, it will save you time in the long run. It will also save you from being in the awkward position that someone I heard from the other day was in. She got a call for an interview, but had no clue what the job was that she had applied for.

Rather than hitting, and maybe missing, your job search targets, or not being able to properly prepare for an interview because you're clueless about the opportunity, you'll be spending your time job searching in an effective manner if you take it one step at a time - and stay on top of managing the job search process. Here's how to get your job search on the fast track, along with free tools and tips to help expedite a job search.

Have a tip for getting your job search organized? Share your job search tip or comment (below).

More: Manage Your Job Search | Online Job Search Guide

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How to Manage Your Job Search originally appeared on About.com Job Searching on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 06:15:36.

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Should I send a thank you note after a job interview and should I send it by snail mail or email? How often should I call to check on my status after the interview? Is there anything I shouldn't say to a future employer? What characteristics or behaviors will make me stand out during the job interview process? These are some of the questions you may have about job interviews. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) asked human resources managers to answer them in a poll the professional organization conducted. Some answers came as a bit of a surprise to me. For example, 43% of respondents said job candidates should call once a week to check on the status of a job opening. I would have thought calling one time, in total, would be enough. Other answers were less surprising â€" 56% said that "Skills Directly Related to the Job" made a candidate stand out the most. See all the questions and answers: Interviewing Do's and Don'ts for Job Seekers SHRM Poll.

An Inside Look at Job Interviewing originally appeared on About.com Career Planning on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 15:05:43.

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My brother is a marathon runner who recently had his best time ever in the New York City Marathon. He's got a hectic full-time job and he's middle aged, so it was a really big accomplishment. He spends a lot of time training and staying in shape.

Talking to John about the race and what led up to it was a good reminder that a job search isn't a one shot deal. It's a marathon, not a sprint, and everything you do leading up to winning the job search competition, and it is a competition for each and every job, and getting a job offer matters.

Every part of what you do when you job search, including looking for job postings, online job searching, writing cover letters, dressing for an interview, sending a thank you note, job searching (or not) from work, and using social media can make - or break - your job search.

These top job search tips include tips for resume writing, cover letters, curriculum vitae, interviewing, phone interviews, working at home, online job searching, using your network, finding work at home jobs, and more advice to help you find a new job fast.

Related: Top 10 Job Search Tips | Online Job Searching

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Winning the Job Search Competition originally appeared on About.com Job Searching on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 06:00:13.

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I've been using job specifications for years; I just never called them that. Recent searches by readers on my site indicate that a lot of people work with job specifications and I decided to research best practices. As a result of my research, I came up with my own definition for job specification. Then, I tried my hand at two sample job specifications.

Job specifications serve a number of important roles. They allow recruiters and hiring managers to zero in on the most important requirements for the best candidate for your jobs in ways that more detailed job descriptions cannot. In this capacity, a recruiter can use the job specification to write job postings and recruit through employees and social media such as LinkedIn. This posting is much more defined than a job description for the short time spans that colleagues can invest in your recruiting.

Next, the HR recruiter or the hiring manager can use the job specification to review the resumes and applications you receive to select the most qualified candidates for telephone screens and interviews. The job specification is refined at the recruiting planning meeting so all employees involved are clear and agree about the qualifications of your eventually chosen employee. And, the employees who will participate in interviewing prospective employees receive a clear picture of the employee the organization seeks.

Here's a sample Human Resources Director job specification and a sample Marketing Manager job specification.

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Not Sexy, But Handy: Use Job Specifications originally appeared on About.com Human Resources on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 03:42:49.

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I'd like to expand our collection of cover letters, resumes, CVs, and other employment-related letters. If you have a cover letter, resignation letter, thank you letter or other job search related letter, resume or curriculum vitae that you're proud of, I'd like to consider adding it to our samples.

Simply send it to me via email, along with the form giving us permission to use it. I'm looking for samples that reflect all levels of job seekers - from students to experienced professionals. If you'd like credit for your letter, let me know or, if you're concerned about privacy, let me know that, too, and I'll edit or remove your personal information. Thanks in advance for your help!

Also, if you have a cover letter writing tip to share, add it to our list. In a tough job market, a little advice can make a big difference.

If you're looking for samples to review, take a look at these sample resumes, cover letters, curriculum vitae, resignation letters, thank you letters, letters to accept, or decline a new job, and more career-related letters you can use for your job search correspondence.

More: Cover Letter Examples | Cover Letter Tips

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Do You Have a Great Cover Letter? originally appeared on About.com Job Searching on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 06:00:07.

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I'm excited to announce a brand new podcast series I'm creating for MyPath.com, a new online career management website guided by Manpower, one of the global leaders in employment services. MyPath provides you with a variety of tools and services to help you plot and plan your career journey. As MyPath's "College to Career” blogger, I'll [...][Read Entry]

Here's a video showing you the power of Guerrilla Resumes. You don't have to read one word of the resume to quickly understand which resume can get you hired faster â€" it's that powerful. After watching the video, you can get the tools to help you create your own Guerrilla Resume. Share on Facebook[Read Entry]

When you're writing a resume, it's important to get it right. Everything from the content you include in your resume to how you present that content matters. It doesn't make a difference how qualified you are, in general, if the resume reviewer can't tell that you're qualified for that particular job. I've seen some that aren't even close, with no explanation as to why they would be a good fit for the position.

It's important to take the time to write a resume that reflects why you're a top tier candidate who should be selected for an interview.

Resume writing isn't always easy and, in addition to having a well-written resume, you need to make sure that your resume looks good. Resumes with bad formatting or typos are often rejected, regardless of how qualified the candidate might be.

Here's how to write a resume that will impress the hiring manager or recruiter. Once once you have a draft, review these resume writing tips to make sure your resume helps you secure an interview.

Releated: Resume Templates | How to Write a Cover Letter

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Writing a Resume originally appeared on About.com Job Searching on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 07:50:21.

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Dear J.T. & Dale: There is one recruiter who has a lot of the high-end jobs I qualify for, but for some reason she has yet to respond to me about any of those listings. Why hasn't she contacted me? Is it rude to call her and ask if I ...[Read Entry]

What would you do with this situation? I spoke at a Career Campaign event in NYC last year.  A week or 2 afterwards I had a long conversation with one of the attendees.  He complained about how difficult it was to find interviews, and I asked what he had been doing to move his search forward. "Going to events [...][Read Entry]

Over the years I have interviewed hundreds of candidates. I have seen and heard things that would shock you and that you would never expect during an interview. So I have compiled a list of the top ten things not to do during an interview. Have fun!

10. Do not bring your boyfriend, best friend or children to an interview. This is horrible interview behavior. I once had a candidate bring her entire family â€" there were seven very rowdy people in our lobby. You can imagine what we were thinking.

9. Do not curse or use profane language during an interview. Absolutely someone has done this before and they were promptly removed from the running. Using profanity during an interview is unprofessional.

8. Do not chew gum or smoke during an interview. Again this goes back to professionalism and smacking gum during an interview = not professional.

7. Do not argue with the employer. Even if you know you are right beyond a shadow of a doubt about something it is just bad manners.

6. Do not put your briefcase, purse, pocketbook, handbag, etc. on the employer's desk. This is more subjective then the rest but it goes along with their personal space and professional etiquette. You would not go to a stranger's house and prop your feet on their dining room table… same theory here.

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You have a job interview scheduled, but you're sick, or simply can't make it. What should you do? I know how important job interviews are, but given the concerns about seasonal (or common) flu and swine flu (H1N1), even if you have just a cold you should reschedule the interview.

Showing up to a job interview sick is going to panic the interviewer not impress them. So, if you have any respiratory or flu-like symptons, including a cough, runny nose, stuffy nose, or sore throat, do both yourself and the hiring manager a favor and stay home.

There are other reasons beside illness that necessitate rescheduling an interview. What's important is to let the company know in a timely manner that you won't be able to make the interview and to try to secure a new interview date when you talk to them.

Here's how to reschedule a job interview.

Related: How to Cancel an Interview | Interview Excuses

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How to Reschedule a Job Interview originally appeared on About.com Job Searching on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 06:00:39.

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Before you can start to job search, you need a resume.  A resume is a summary of your work-related history - a written compilation of your education, work experience, credentials, and accomplishments. Writing a resume, especially the first time or if you haven't updated yours in a while, can be complicated because your resume is going to be reviewed by software as well as by hiring managers. You need to write it for both audiences.

Review these top resume tips for choosing a type of resume, selecting a resume font, customizing your resume, using resume keywords, explaining employment gaps, reviewing resume examples, and more tips for writing interview winning resumes.

I'm probably sounding like a broken record, but writing a cover letter to send or post with your resume isn't easy either. That's especially true in a competitive job market, like this one. When you need to write a cover letter, it can be the small things that can knock you out of contention, and as importantly, how you present yourself in your letter that gets you an interview.

Review these cover letter tips and techniques for writing top notch cover letters to send with your resume, including cover letter format and presentation, choosing a type of cover letter, writing custom cover letters, and cover letter examples and templates.

Next, take a look at these 10 job search tips that will help your hunt for a new job go smoothly.

Resume and Cover Letter Tips

• 10 Cover Letter Tips
• 10 Curriculum Vitae Tips
• 10 Resume Tips

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Top 10 Resume and Cover Letter Tips originally appeared on About.com Job Searching on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 07:00:36.

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Dear J.T. & Dale: When May came around last year, my wife was ill and I was worn out and felt that I needed some time to regroup, so I voluntarily resigned my position. Six months ago I was ready to look for something new but have been unable to ...[Read Entry]

By CAREEREALISM-Approved Expert, Rosa E. Vargas You've heard it before, "Network in order to optimize your job search." How exactly do you go about it? It depends on the way you best build relationships and the industry you are targeting. Is the industry you seek employment in best penetrated online or offline? It ...[Read Entry]

By CAREEREALISM-Approved Expert, Karen Siwak I have yet to meet a client who doesn't have at least one fascinating story to tell. Whether it's the Administrative Assistant who pulled her boss's ass out of the fire through some exceptional behind-the-scenes public relations work, or the Operations Executive who orchestrated a pre-dawn ...[Read Entry]

By CAREEREALISM-Approved Expert, Melissa C. Martin I came across some notes from a sales course that I took a few years back. Sales and the job search have a natural commonality. Remember in your history class when you heard about the Klondike days? Searching for gold? It's the same principle with ...[Read Entry]

 I came across  this posting on Craigslist. This guy is looking to establish a new Google Checkout account, but needs to use the EIN of someone else in order to get it. This sounds like a big time scam! When you start up a business, you everyone is supposed to get their own EIN number. If this guy was truly legit, he would do this himself. However, the fact that he needs someone else to do it for him means that he is a criminal or has been banned by Google.

Do not get suckered into giving your ID or any other personal identifying information.

You dont have to do anything. Just need your ID and Utility Bill (Boca Raton)

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Date: 2009-10-30, 11:09AM EDT
Reply to: jamesrudy@me.com ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

---

 

This is real easy. For about 10 minutes worth of work I will give you $500 up front plus 1% of all future net sales. That's it!

I am looking for a partner to help me establish a new Google Checkout Account to process new sales for my new website.

I want to reinterate that this information is so Google can confirm an identity to the patriot act federal law and no credit is being applied for in any way.

I will need the following from you.

1. Driver's License or State ID
2. Utility Bill (matching address and name on license)
3. You must get an EIN number (takes 5 minutes)

To Get an EIN go to https://sa1.www4.irs.gov/modiein/individual/index.jsp

I can walk you through this 5 min application which will generate an EIN letter that you can print and provide with the rest of the documentation.

That's It!

James
561-306-6430

• Location: Boca Raton
• Compensation: $500 Today and 1% of net sales. You dont have to do anything.
• Telecommuting is ok.
• This is a part-time job.
• This is a contract job.
• This is at a non-profit organization.
• This is an internship job
• OK to highlight this job opening for persons with disabilities
• OK for recruiters to contact this job poster.
• Phone calls about this job are ok.
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

PostingID: 1444170425

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I received an email the other day from someone who wondered what happened to the dress code for job interviews. She said that she'd seen more applicants lately in ratty jeans and sneakers or flip-flops than dressed in interview appropriate attire.

Is there a job interview dress code, anymore, she wondered. The answer, in a nutshell, is yes. It does matter what you wear to a job interview. When you are dressing for a job interview the image you present is important, even if you're applying for a part-time job at a local store. Your image is what makes the first impression on the interviewer, so it's important to dress appropriately when interviewing.

Regardless of the type of job you're interested in, you want that first impression to be a great one. When dressing for an interview for a professional position, dress accordingly in business attire. If you're applyng for a job in a more casual environment, a store or restaurant, for example, it's still important to be neat, tidy, and well-groomed, and to present a positive image to the employer. And, even if you're a teenager going on an interview for a first job, what you wear matters, too.

More: What Not to Wear to a Job Intervew | What Not to Wear for Teens

Job Interview Dress Code originally appeared on About.com Job Searching on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 06:00:41.

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The following post is courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap: From: CareerAlley Interviews. Sounds fairly easy, all you have to do is talk about what you've done and how that relates to the job opportunity. In fact, the interview is the...[Read Entry]