Job searching at anytime can be discouraging, but hang on because it is especially hard during the holidays. In my experience, companies that are not retail focused tend to curtail their job openings toward the end of the year. Some common reasons for not hiring during the holidays include:• Staff are taking holiday vacations so there isn’t enough time or personnel to train new staff members.• Departments may be waiting unt...

With an extremely competitive job market coupled with a down economy, you may be looking for creative ways to find leads and connect with hiring managers. You may even be wondering if social media is the answer. Is it worth investing the time? Will I really get results? Which site should I try first? These are only a few of the questions I'm sure you have.If you feel you’ve exhausted all your options and haven’t tried socia...

If you’ve been looking for a job with little or no success, you may start to feel defeated and your job search hopeless. You’re not alone, many unemployed and even some employed job seekers hit a wall in their job search where it seems like you’ve done everything possible and spent endless hours applying for jobs to only be in the same position you were in months ago. If this is you, I’m sorry to say, you have the job see...

Customize, customize, customize....for every job you apply to.In this fiercely competitive job market, hiring managers are not looking for people who meet most of their criteria, but instead they are looking for the perfect fit who meets all of their criteria. As a job seeker you need to customize your cover letter and resume for each and every job you apply to so it demonstrates that you are ideal for that particular open...

Job searching is a full-time job. Putting together your resume and modifying it for every job you apply to, keeping your records organized, searching online job boards and company websites, networking, and on and on. Unfortunately in a recession, you have to work overtime. There is no room for error or downtime as the competition is fierce. How are you differentiating yourself from your competition? Below are a few tip...

After working for a staffing and recruiting agency for nearly 6 years, I’ve seen my share of poorly written, badly formatted, and self-destructing resumes. Many jobseekers have shot themselves in the foot for making simple and basic mistakes. As I’m sure you’ve heard and read time and time again, your resume is a marketing tool to promote yourself. It’s evident to hiring managers how much time and effort you’ve invested...

Arguably the most important aspect of a resume is the work history. Unfortunately, if you’ve spent any time not working, either taking care of a sick family member, staying at home with your kids, or going on a sabbatical, you could have a huge, eye grabbing hole in your resume.Employers do not like to see any gaps in your work history, so you must explain any time that you were not employed. You can do this by addressing...

You’ve just submitted your resume to a job posting or a classified advertisement…now what? As a job seeker, you need to assume that the employer is getting plenty of other resumes so give him or her time to respond. The amount of time you want to give will vary. If you have applied for a highly skilled position that only a select few could fill, expect to be contacted within a week, but if you’ve applied for a very general...