Want to make a bet? If you’re reading this, I’ll bet you’re looking for a job and you have Internet access. Pretty clever, aren’t I? Well, no. Because this column is always about job search, that part’s a given. And, when it comes to Internet access, that’s like phone service or indoor plumbing - it’s just something you’ve got to have. So, since you’re going to use the Internet in your job search, you migh...

You can learn a lot about how to write a powerful cover letter, not by reading books on cover letters written by employment experts, but by reading your junk mail.That's right: Start reading the sales letters you get in the mail if you want to write cover letters that produce job interviews.That's because, as far as is known, nobody ever got rich writing books on cover letters.But there are plenty of copywriters who earn mo...

The recent bad news from Wall Street may have you worried about the job market. If so, you’re not alone. You need to do more things right to find employment these days, especially if you’re in banking, finance, or a related field. So, if you suddenly find yourself looking for work, or if your search is taking longer than planned, the following four tips will help, whether your goal is a job on Wall Street or Main S...

Instead of sending out resumes and waiting for the phone to ring, wouldn’t it be nice if you could be the one making the calls and scheduling the interviews?Well, you can.The two people you’re about to meet did. They got job interviews using little more than their phones and some creativity. Can you, too?1) The Coffee Cup CaperJanet FritzHuspen from St. Paul, Minnesota, landed an interview after mailing a coffee cup to a lo...

You’ve seen the headlines - thousands of jobs vaporized at corporate behemoths Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch. Some of the world’s biggest businesses face big problems in the coming months.That’s why, if you’re looking for work, you should take a long look at small businesses.Small firms employ about 50% of all private-sector workers in America and, since the mid-1990s, have generated 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs eac...

If you’re looking for a job and haven’t found one yet, by definition, you have a problem.There’s something standing between you and employment. What is it? Surprisingly, when I ask most job hunters what their #1 job-search problem is, they answer, “I don’t know.”Think about that. How can you solve a problem if you don’t know what it is?So, the first step is to define your biggest job-search problem. Only then can you solve...

It’s strange but true: You can’t get hired by an employment web site. Or an HR department.You can’t get hired by a business, a non-profit agency, or a government, for that matter. Rather, you can only get hired by another person. This is what every successful job search boils down to - people connecting with and hiring other people. You can put the odds in your favor, and shorten your job search, simply by meeting more hiri...

We humans have been farming for about 12,000 years, which accounts for only 0.5% of our time on Earth as a species, according to an article on the University of Reading Web site.That means, for most of our ancestors - 99.5% of them - hunting and gathering was how they got food.Now, wouldn’t you agree that farming is a more reliable way to feed your family than hunting, especially if the latter involves trying to bag a masto...

If you’re looking for a job in a distant city, you face an extra challenge: How do you convince employers to interview you when there are plenty of local applicants to choose from?Challenging, yes. Impossible, no. You can make a long-distance job search work. All it takes is some planning and creative effort.Here are four ways that others have found work in far-off places. What can you learn from their stories?1) Borrow a L...

Ever want to slap your forehead and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”You might, after you discover how one New York man found the right job, largely as a result of blind luck…or was it creative smarts? Read on to judge for yourself and, more importantly, to find the two lessons that can get you hired, too…“College prepares you for the real world. That’s what my guidance counselors told me, anyway,” says Robert Basso of Hic...