Help! I'm out of a job...

Sooner or later, we're all going to be looking for a new job. It just so happens that there are thousands looking right now.

This doesn't change the game; everything you needed to do before is the same now. You know, show up on time, work hard, don't take an extra five minutes for lunch... don't blog on your company's time...

I'm the first to admit that I'm a newbie to the professional recruiting world, but I've grown up in this business and am learning that I love it! I'm passionate about helping people--about making a difference in the lives of those around me. So I figured I'd let you know about some things I look for when I'm screening and assessing candidates.

Tips for Acquiring a New Job:

1. Be a good employee. Sooner or later, I check FOUR references on ALL of my candidates. If there's a blemish on their record, I learn about it. Believe it or not, the people you think are your buddies and will say anything for you... don't. So give them only the best things to say. In the end, a lot of hires come down to who has the best reference checks.
2. Make your resume clear, concise, and informative. I'll dig up some "DON'T" resumes for you to illustrate this point, and a "DO" resume to help further. In short, a 22-page resume is absurd. Think I made that up? I received one today. Keep it to two pages, tops. If you've only had one real job, it definitely shouldn't be longer than a page. Don't add things like, "I really like to ski," and please, feel free to use short bullet points. We'll get into this in more detail later.
3. Apply to ten jobs a day. If you're not employed, finding work is your job. Unless you work in a highly specialised field (i.e. you're one of three people in the U.S. who does what you do), the jobs are out there. Wake up, take a shower, put on a dress shirt and pants, have yourself some breakfast, and get down to work!
4. Read job descriptions carefully. Don't apply if you aren't an obvious fit. I kid you not, if a junior-level mechanical engineer applies to a quality manager position that he is in NO way qualified for, I put him on my "Do Not Call" list. That is, when a mechanical engineer position comes up which he's qualified for, I'd have to be desperate to reach out to him.
5. Whenever possible, write a cover letter for each position. Include the name of the hiring manager/recruiter, and address specifics about that position and how you fit their needs. The first thing I look for on every resume is the location of the candidate. The second thing I check is whether or not the potential employee wrote a cover letter. If it's a form letter, clearly copied and pasted from one search into another, I ignore it. On the other hand, if someone clearly took time to write a letter, I know they're a good candidate, not wasting my time. One final note on this for now... Check the name of the person you're applying to. Mine is on all of my job postings, and yet several times a day, I still receive letters that say, "Dear Sir." How many calls do you think those candidates get?
6. Join LinkedIn. Really, LinkedIn is for people who are looking for work to connect with recruiters without their bosses finding out. Sure, you'll hear that it's for business, et cetera, et cetera, but let's be honest. It is. I know that it has many other applications, but this one is central. Get yourself a LinkedIn profile and connect with as many people as you possibly can. I heard a statistic last week that every professional has 250 business contacts... That's a great start to getting your name and skills out on the market. Go ahead, connect with me.
7. Find an executive search agency that specialises in what you do, whether that's accounting or engineering, fashion or law. There are firms that work with just about every industry and every level of worker. They'll know best who to connect you with, and they'll have the resources to do it. I truly and completely believe that 100% of hiring should happen through search firms. Why? We'll save that for another post, but for now you can just take my word for it.
8. Give it time. The right opportunity will come along. I recently had a candidate break my pretty little heart when he took a contract position just the week before my client was ready to hire him. If you have stuff in the pipeline, it's going to take some time. Companies are not hiring as quickly as they used to. I know it sucks; I've been unemployed recently, so I've sat in your seat. It's hard to let go of the bird in the hand. But I promise you that the one on the bush is better.
9. Network outside of the web. Between Monster, CareerBuilder, facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Dice, Blogger (holla!) and a few dozen other sites, people have forgotten about the power of connecting in the real world. Maybe you're in introvert and you'd way rather stay home and watch TV than go to your wife's company party. Boy, do I hear you there. But suck it up, put on a suit, and get yourself to that party. Make it your business to talk to everyone in the room. Work the floor, my friend. Collect business cards. Leave an impression on every person you meet. This isn't about your social life; this is about you finding new opportunities.
10. Be open to something new. This doesn't mean that you should apply to an open pre-school teacher position when your passion is banking, or interviewing for a retail sales manager if you really love your manufacturing engineering position. It does mean looking for overlap. Maybe your background and education are the perfect fit for a jump into regional sales (and all that customer service experience you have doesn't hurt), or you're poised for a move into an executive assistant position, thanks to the super demanding customers you had while working as a flight attendant. All I'm saying is that you can get creative. Chances are that you might have more than one perfect job out there.

There are at least a dozen other tips I could give you, but I'm OCD and ten is a beautifully round number, so this sums it up for now. What do you think? Have you tried any of these and been successful? Have any of these failed miserably? What have you done that's worked like magic?