Big Money Forum >> Career and Job Search >> Job Interviews and Resumes

Searching for a Job

The first step in getting a job is the job search. There are many ways to do this and there are many jobs out there. Of course you want to make the best money but a lot of times that isn't always the best job. Some jobs may offer more time off and vacations, but with less pay. Other jobs might just offer all money and no time off. I personally like having all the bonuses that come with a job in exchange for less money.

Some examples of bonuses are getting vacation time, life insurance, health care and benefits. It's basically stuff you would have to spend your own money on anyways. These are the type of things you want to look for in a job search. You want to get a job you are going to like which has the most benefits.

Job search preparation

The first step in your job search is setting your goals and doing a self assessment. A job offering more free time could also be a goal. In self assessing yourself, you should pull out a piece of scrap paper and write a quick list of your strengths, values, skills and interests. This information will come in handy in writing your resume and doing the interview.

We want to look more into the goals. First come up with some short term goals such as what type of job options best fit your education and experience at the current time? This is important whether you are a student currently in college or a graduate. You then want to come up with some long term goals such as your ultimate career goal. Find out what you want to do long term, if you even want a long term job at a single company.

Once you have written your list, you will want to start making a cover letter and a resume. These are your marketing tools for selling yourself. The cover letter basically gives the sales pitch and the resume tells the employer your statistics. If you want to know what a cover letter and resume should look like, don't worry, we have an article and a few examples about Cover Letters and Resumes. With this type of information to write about, the whole process of writing a basic resume and cover letter doesn't take more than an hour or two.

Research the market and jobs

Once you have your cover letter and resume set, you will now be able to present yourself 100 times better. You have something that you can copy and send out to multiple employers at will. That means more chances of hitting up an interview. Now you just have to find employers. A great place to meet employers is at job fairs, which are often held at universities. Employers hold them here because that's where the biggest concentration of potential new employees are, the college students. Anyone is invited of course so find out when the next job fair is.

The best thing about a job fair is you can speak with employers' right there; they are looking for people who want to work. What better place to look for a job right? You can also do an internet job search, such as checking out our very own career and job forums for new posted job openings. You may even make your own website such as www.myname.com or www.myname.info and put a basic resume on there. This is a clever tip because you can make business cards with your website address and personal information and hand those out to employers at job fairs or elsewhere, so they can remember you.

If you are looking for a local job, you can easily find help wanted ads in the newspaper (or online). You may also find jobs by targeted mailings and telephone directories. The GREATEST way to get a job interview is through networks such as people you know and friends. A good word from them an employer can go a long way. The reason is an employer has some trust for the employee, who already knows about the company and which workers would be productive for the company.