ONLINE JOB SEARCH GUIDE from Job-Hunt.Org
March 14, 2002

1. BIG NEWS - Forbes Magazine Selects Job-Hunt.Org as a "Best of the Web" Site for 2002
2. Insider Information - 10 Ways to Jumpstart a Stalled Job Search by Nancy Collamer
3. New, Newsworthy, and/or Interesting Sites - 32 sites specifically for engineers
4. Subscribing and Unsubscribing - Directions for unsubscribing from (or subscribing to) the ONLINE JOBS GUIDE

1. BIG NEWS - Forbes Magazine Chooses Job-Hunt.Org as a "Best of the Web" for 2002

Job-Hunt's newest award is announced. Each year Forbes Magazine picks fewer than 500 Web sites as the Best of the Web, and Job-Hunt is # 4 of 24 in the Job Hunting category. To read the review of Job-Hunt and to see the other award winning sites, go to the Forbes Magazine 2002 Best of the Web site - Forbes Best.

To Top of Page

2. INSIDER INFORMATION - 10 Ways to Jumpstart a Stalled Job Search by Nancy Collamer

Nancy Collamer is author of The Layoff Survival Guide, the Job-Hunt.Org Book of the Month for March, 2002.

Have you recently been laid-off? Hopefully, your job search is running smoothly and within a month or two you'll land the job of your dreams. But if things are taking longer than you'd like after sending out hundreds of resumes, diligently pursuing your network, and otherwise being a model of job searching perfection, here are ten strategies you might consider to help move the job search from neutral to fast forward.

1.) Contact a career professional:

If you haven't done so already, now may be the time to schedule a few sessions with a trained career advisor. If you can't afford a counselor in private practice, contact your alma mater or local community college and ask to work with a counselor in their career services department. Alternatively, you can get assistance from your state unemployment office.

2.) If needed, adapt your resume:

Is your resume leading to requests for interviews? If not, it may be time to tweak the resume. Take a hard look at your job objective and make sure your supporting accomplishments are a powerful reflection of the type of job you desire.

3.) Evaluate your network:

As you get further along in the job hunt, you'll find a handful of people who are invaluable to your search and others who are relatively useless. Don't waste your time pestering people who refuse to return phone calls. Nurture and reward those members of your network who have proven to be real allies. Find ways to make your relationship a "win-win" for both parties so that they will continue to eagerly work on your behalf.

4.) Track your time:

Keeping a log of your activities can be an eye-opening experience. It's a good way to honestly evaluate if you're spending your time in the best way possible.

5.) Read a good career book:

There are dozens of job search advice books on the market and while most of them cover a lot of common ground, they each also offer a unique perspective and orientation. Even if you only pick up two new tips from each book, that may be enough to help you try a new approach or strategy.

6.) Increase your output:

If ten calls a day isn't getting you anywhere, it's time to increase to fifteen calls. No matter how diligently you've worked on your search, there is almost always room for pushing yourself a bit harder.

7.) Take a break:

Huh? Didn't I just tell you to step things up a notch? Yes, but that doesn't mean that you're not entitled to a well-deserved break. Recognize that serious job hunting is work and if you want to stay focused on a daily basis, it's useful to schedule in some short breaks. Take a walk. Schedule lunch with a friend. Watch a funny movie. Allow yourself an opportunity to energize your batteries.

8.) Volunteer:

Helping others is a wonderful opportunity to learn new skills, meet new people and reap the satisfaction of assisting people less fortunate than yourself. If you're lucky, it may also be an opportunity for you to showcase some of your skills to a new audience - some of whom may be
able to offer you full-time employment.

9.) Work a temp assignment:

In addition to earning money, temping is a good opportunity to get back out in the workplace, learn some new skills and meet potential employers. Many temps are ultimately hired by their host companies.

10.) Investigate the services provided by your State Unemployment Office:

Most people avoid unemployment offices like the plague, but the reality is that these offices offer an array of services that go way beyond simply cutting unemployment checks. Go take a look - you'll be impressed by the variety of training, counseling, workshops and support services offered.

Copyright Collamer Career Consulting, 2002.
Excerpted from The Layoff Survival Guide: Practical Strategies for Managing the Transition from Pink-Slip to Paycheck by Nancy Collamer.

The full 70 page e-book is available for immediate download and use at LayoffSurvivalGuide.com.

[NOTE: As someone who lived through a layoff in 1994, I can tell you that I wish Nancy's book had been available to me then. In addition to providing you with excellent guidance on your job search, Nancy lists the critical things that you need to do in those first couple of days after you've been laid off. She also includes some very good ideas about what to do to prepare for a layoff, if it hasn't happened yet. This is an excellent book! I recommend it to you very highly. Susan]

To Top of Page

3. NEW, NEWSWORTHY, AND INTERESTING SITES - 32 Web Sites for Engineers

Listed below are the Web sites of 32 associations and societies for members of the various branches of the profession of engineering. Professional associations and societies are excellent resources for job seekers (both employed and unemployed).

Use the association Web site appropriate for you and your job search to network your way to a new job:

  *   Participate in online or email dialogs

Demonstrate your expertise, online social skills, command of grammar and spelling, etc. to other members who may be potential co-workers and/or employers

  *   Find a relevant conference or seminar to attend

At an industry conference or seminar, you can meet and speak with colleagues and potential employers in person, collect information about the latest products and services, news, and trends. You will be updating your information about the industry or professiona, and making contacts at the same time. The "expo" portion of most conferences are usually free and typically have booths from various vendors who could be potential employers.

  *   Look for job opportunities on the group's Web site

Check out the association/society Web site to see if they have job opportunities posted. The opportunities may be limited to members-only. Try to get a free one-time pass to see if they are worth the registration fee if you aren't already a member.

32 Engineering and Engineering-Related Associations:

• American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI)
• American Association of Engineering Societies
• American Astronautical Society
• American Chemical Society
• American Council of Engineering Companies
• American Design Drafting Association
• American Geophysical Union
• American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• American Institute of Architects
• American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
• American Institute of Physics (AIP)
• American Mathematical Society (AMS
• American Physical Society
• American Society for Engineering Education
• American Society of Agricultural Engineers
• American Society of Civil Engineers
• American Society of Heathing, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc.
• American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• American Society of Microbiology
• American Society of Naval Engineers
• American Society of Safety Engineers
• American Public Works Association
• Association of Chinese Scientists and Engineers
• Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
• Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute
• Geological Society of America
• Illuminating Engineering Society of North America
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE)
• Institute of Transportation Engineers
• Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS)
• National Society of Black Engineers
• National Society of Professional Engineers
• Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering
• Society of American Military Engineers (SAME)
• Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
• Society for Computer Simulation (SCS)
• Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
• Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)
• Society of Women Engineers

The next newsletter will have more associations in it, for medical professionals, and we'll have associations available on Job-Hunt, too, by category. The list above will be in the Engineering page of Job-Hunt next month (April, 2002). Check it out at Engineering.

To Top of Page

4. DIRECTIONS TO SUBSCRIBE OR TO UNSUBSCRIBE
   

TO SUBSCRIBE: send an e-mail with the word "SUBSCRIBE" in the subject or body to subscriptions@job-hunt.org. OR, go to the top of this page, click on the "Click here to join" link, and type your email address into the form.

TO UNSUBSCRIBE: reply to this email with "REMOVE" in the subject line, * OR * print and mail this page to the attention of "Unsubscribe Request" at P.O. Box 507, Marlborough, MA 01752 USA.

If you found this newsletter helpful, feel free to forward this entire newsletter to your friends and associates. Please do not post this newsletter, or excerpts from it, on your website without our written permission.