15 Common Sense Steps to Finding a New Job

Here at My Career magazine, we see resumes, cover letters, and interviewees quite frequently.

Over the past two years, more than a few dozen resumes have come our way. Out of these, only one – ONE – was written correctly. In today’s harsh economic times, job seekers have to be step up their game.

So, we created this short list of 15 steps that should be common sense for most job seekers, but for whatever reason seemed to have been forgotten in the eternal employability abyss.

1. Set aside eight hours every day to find a new job
PlayStation will not help you find a job. Neither will sleeping in. Those who say that finding a job is a full-time job are right. Waiting for the right job to find you doesn’t work; you need to find it.

2. Exhaust all options with friends and family
A step often forgotten about is first asking friends and family if their organizations require your services. They know you better than any random HR manager, so use this to your advantage.

3. Use free resources available in your community
Although the Internet is a wonderful tool, also seek out your local government’s support. Many cities have employment service centres which post information freely and have teams of individuals itching to help you succeed.

4. Use free resources available online
My Career. Job Bank. Facebook. Twitter. There’s a long list of online resources that can help you improve your job-seeking skills and find available jobs in your city, county, region, province and country.

5. Create a new email address
We’re going to go out on a limb here and say that some HR managers may be turned off by i_luv_beer@hotmail.com. Are you applying for a technologist position at Research in Motion? Consider setting up a new account just for this job opportunity, like: tech_at_RIM@gmail.com

6. Write a cover letter with your resume
We still receive resumes with no cover letter. Come on people. Spend some time on it and let your future employer know why you want to apply to their great organization. If you’re not sure how to do a cover letter, ask someone for help. (Websites, not-for-profit groups, government sources, etc.)

7. PROOFREAD
Spell the HR manager’s name correctly. Spell your own name correctly. Ensure that every word on your cover letter and resume is correct. We can’t stress this enough!

8. Proofread again.
Even after every sentence is structured correctly, now go through your resume and remove everything that doesn’t relate to the job you’re applying for, or change it so it does.

9. Change the way you answer your phone
“Ya?” makes us cringe every time.

10. Show up for your interview in sensible wear
Jeans? Yes, they’re okay, as long as they look nice and relate to the position you’re applying for. Don’t show up in a suit to a construction site and don’t show up to an office job in a Hawaiian shirt. (Unless of course it’s Hawaiian-shirt Day!)

11. Be polite in the interview
No gum. Say please. Say thank you. Common sense.

12. Listen to the interviewer
We know that the wall of books in the HR manager’s office is very interesting, but please look at her/him. They’re trying to give you important information related to their business and your potential job, so it’s best to stay focused.

13. Thank them for their time and follow up
We’re busy people here at My Career, so we appreciate an email from you thanking us for our time. We also know other (ahem, older) people who insist that an email-thank-you is tacky and the only way is via phone. Either way is fine by us. Just follow up.

14. Don’t freak out.
Sure, some HR managers make an interviewee’s life miserable, and look to draw blood. But remember that most are on your side. They’re the ones who hope that you hit a home run.

15. Wear sunscreen.