How to Create a Branded Resume that Gets You Noticed –
Recorded Webinar: $35  

• Is your resume not generating calls to you for interviews?
• Do you feel like your resume is unfocused and weak?

Listen to this webinar to have our resume and job search expert, Lisa Rangel of Chameleon Resumes, give you concrete, constructive feedback on how to fix common resume mistakes to make your resume get noticed by hiring managers. We will cover optimum formatting, word choice, achievement-driven language and tactical solutions to ensure your resume will generate interviews for the jobs you want.

Often when you have a job interview, you have to meet with HR first. As a former staffing manager for a Fortune 500 company, and a career and job coach, I have seven insights to share about what HR is thinking as they interview you. Knowing these will help make your interview with HR count.

1. How prepared are you? We hope you did not only check our website.
The last thing that Human Resources wants to hear is you asking us how many employees we have or what states we are in, since you can easily find that information online. Before you go to an interview, learn something about us – our products, our history and our challenges, and apply that knowledge to formulate thoughtful questions or ideas. Asking for information that can be easily found on our website will ensure you will sink to the bottom of our list and may not even make it to the next step.

2. Do you have all your reference information?
Before the interview, check that the contact information for your references is current and that your references will speak well about you. Bring a copy of your resume and references to the interview. Don’t just assume that your references will speak well about you … ask them and only include those references who you are certain will give you a positive referral. Really! As a Staffing Manager, I called references many times only to have them tell me that they did not recommend the person I was calling about.

3. How will you conduct yourself on the interview?
First, be on time. Get directions ahead of time and give yourself extra time for traffic. Arriving late to an interview gives a bad first impression. Second, turn your cell phone off. And third, dress for success. I can’t emphasize this last point enough. One of the biggest turnoffs to any interviewer is a job candidate who is not well groomed (dirty clothes, hair not combed), has on a lot of cologne or perfume, or who dresses inappropriately (pants falling down, cleavage showing, etc.). If you don’t impress us, you may not make it to an interview with the hiring manager.

4. Do you respect us and our department? Treat your interview with HR with as much importance as you treat your interview with a hiring manager. Often, candidates assume HR does not matter as much and rush through the HR interview since they won’t be reporting to us. This is a bad assumption to make. Many hiring managers ask HR to help them make hiring decisions. There are two good reasons for this: one; HR generally has more experience doing interviews and making hiring decisions, and two; HR looks for whether a job candidate is a good fit with the company culture and will work well the team. When there are several job candidates who are competent to do the job, fit and teamwork can be deciding factors and HR may be called on for their opinion.

5. Will you contribute positively to our culture? Or will you be a drag?
If you are asked, “Why are looking for another job?” don’t badmouth your former company, boss or peers. HR professionals have been trained to be good listeners so you may be tempted to unburden your soul about how you got passed over for promotion by someone who can’t do the job or tell us about your boss who is the company bully, but don’t go there. If you do, we may peg you as a chronic complainer or someone who doesn’t “play well with others.”

6. Are you going to be honest about your weaknesses?
We are impressed if you can tell us about a failure that you learned from. It shows self-awareness, humility and the ability to learn and grown. But just because we nod and smile, don’t go on to confess that you have trouble staying organized (especially if organizational skills are needed for the job you are applying for), or you have a hard time getting to work on time (no kidding, I have heard that one way too many times), or that you don’t have any weaknesses (because then we will view you as arrogant, unaware or defensive).

7. Will you follow up properly or at all?
Send a follow-up letter, not just to the hiring manager, but to HR as well. Bring up something we talked about when we met to show that you paid attention, briefly reiterate how you can add value in the job, and tell us why you want to work for our company. Following up with everyone you interviewed with, including HR, may give you the competitive edge over someone else.

Follow these seven tips and make your interview with HR a success!

Tell me, how have your interviews with HR gone? What have you learned from them?

Judy Lindenberger can be found at www.lindenbergergroup.com

Consulting, Temporary, Freelance, or Contract Work—these terms can mean different things to different people. While each word can conjure an impression of a different level of employee with various employment arrangements (Contract/Consulting work can imply higher skill level and longer term assignments; Temporary work can mean seasonal, short-term, lower skill level jobs; and Freelance work brings about the image of a free spirit creative soul floating from one inventive endeavor to another), these terms meant the same thing to me when I was a recruiter:  the work was interim and the employee was not a direct hire employee of the firm.  For the sake of this article, these four terms will be used interchangeably, but I acknowledge each can be defined differently by various organizations and people.

So why should job seekers consider this type of work?  The main reason is because employers of all types are employing this way of hiring talent as part of their year-round staffing strategy.  The chances are the job function you perform is now being classified as a consulting or temporary job within that organization.  If you don’t consider positions in this classification, you may miss out on a number of great opportunities.

Why would an employer make a previously direct hire position now a contract job? Here are some of the benefits experienced by an employer when they hire a contract employee. By knowing these reasons, you can devise a strategy as to how and why a company should hire your skills set as a contractor increasing your chances of being hired:

• Flexible Staffing Options: Companies want the flexibility of hiring and reducing staff without all of the employment costs and risks associated with a direct staff (benefits, unemployment, disability, workers compensation, etc).
• Focused Expertise Intensity: Firms may bring on an expert level marketing executive to design a marketing strategy, but then hire a marketing manager-level candidate to execute the newly crafted plan.  Both will be contract roles, but the company is not under filling the job in the beginning to save money, but not overpaying for a skill set in the latter phases. In this way, they get the best of both skills and financial worlds.
•  Immediate Skills Gap Addressed: When an in-house resource is not available, a temporary employee resource can shore up that skills set in a much shorter period of time than trying to find a long-term solution.
• Try-Before-You-Buy (Temp-to-Hire): Here a company can bring a potential hire on as a contract employee and see how that person works within the organization. Both the company and the employee can see if it is a good fit before committing fully to each other.
• Yield Management: The company can spend a lot on labor during peak periods, but then reduce the labor cost significantly during non-peak periods when the talent is not needed.
• One-Time Project Needs: The firm maybe going through a massive system conversion or upgrade and not need an expert SAP system expert on staff at all times—or need a redundant team of 30 on the payroll after the system is converted. These individuals performing the conversion activities, operating the redundant systems or testing the new systems will be brought on in a contract/temporary capacity and released when the project is completed.
• Non-Revenue/Non-Core Business Generating Roles: Organizations in the last decade have classified certain operational accounting, administrative, research, human resources, customer service, marketing and sales support functions as non-sales producing roles and, therefore, can be filled by temporary employees. The functions of these positions can be established to be rote processes and not affected by high turnover. For some companies, the only way to be hired in certain positions is to be hired on in a temporary capacity.
• Cost Savings: Yes, the obvious reason is the company can save money by bringing on temporary employees by not paying a year-round salary and the corresponding benefits and perks offered directly hired employees. But that does not mean these temporary employees have to go without! Some temporary work (not all) is offered through third party search firms and staffing agencies that provide their temporary and consulting work staff access to benefits and perks that include healthcare, dental, vacation, sick pay, disability insurance, transit reimbursement, and other perks. If you are in need of benefits or are soon to be without this highly desired perk, then considering temporary work through a reputable agency can give you access to the benefits you seek.

Of course, this option will not be for everyone. Additionally, I never recommend that someone leave a direct hire position (commonly known as a permanent job, even though nothing in this employment world is permanent) for a temporary or contract position.  But for many who are currently not working or considerably underemployed, the world of contract work can open one up to more opportunities to consider and pursue to land employment that can advance their career, expand their networks and improve their skill set.

Your resume and job search has to now contend with iPads, iPhones, Android phones, Blackberries and every other type of old and new tech device in between. The job search and the recruitment model is going mobile like the rest of business and every other industry—if they are smart and want to stay ahead of the competition. So how can job seekers be ready for these technological adjustments and what should they expect?

(1) Make your communications ridiculously concise. Cover letters should be as short as a screen shot. For certain social media channels, you have to convey your intent in 140 characters or less to get the ping back from the job poster to contact them offline.

(2) Test your resume and cover letters on various mediums and devices to ensure they open and appear properly. I have been opening resumes on PDAs, and now smart phones, since 2006 (maybe 2005). Some recruiters have been doing it much longer than me. Resumes in dated Word versions have a lesser chance of opening on a newer phone. Are your Mac docs compatible with PC, Droid and other non-Mac gadgets? Can your PC-based docs open on iPhones and iPads? Perform some quality controls with your documents and see what can open where.

(3) Use your mobile phone number on your resume—remove land lines from your applications. This will enable you to receive recruiting SMS text messages from employers who use this technology. ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) such as Bullhorn and Bond Adapt house this information in applicant data files and can send out mass job alerts via SMS text, as well as email, automated phone messages, etc. Landlines cannot receive texts—and who knows if your kids or parents will answer the phone!! Yikes!

(4) Get your QR Code. Jury is out on how these codes will be used en mass by corporate and search firm recruiting departments to benefit from their features in an economies of scale capacity. But until that is figured out, get your code and look like you are cool, hip and happening (without using those words, of course). QR Codes are being used at job fairs for all types of candidates, especially technology and digital jobs, and at various types of industry conventions at vendor booths and promotional venues. Currently, they are in use and can help vying recruiters find you as an early adopter of this technology. Vizibility.com is a great place to get this done

(5) Engage recruiters online on Twitter, LinkedIn and other appropriate social media venues (blogs, industry groups, networking groups) for your career. If a company is seeking a social media savvy marketing executive, they will not post an ad in the NY Times. They will find relevant sources and viable candidates where they expect this next hire to already reside. Be the job you want—and they will find you.

(6) Get your resume posted on online and social media forms. A paper resume is often the last version of your resume a recruiter will see. Your personal website, LinkedIn profile, Twitter bio, Branchout/Facebook Timeline, About.me or VisualCV may be the first thing they see in searching online for people like you with your credentials. Those virtual documents need to be equally as engaging as your print resume, as they are often the first impression seen by others.

(7) Embrace the use of job search apps on your phone. These are very much in development for many companies and organizations. The major job boards and social media channels all have a mobile version (Monster, Linkedin, Facebook, Indeed.com, TwitterJobSearch, etc…). These can help you keep track of responses on your submissions and comments and stay up to speed on new job openings posted by the recruiters you follow.

Mobile recruiting is still in its infancy for many industries and companies. But if you are in a progressive industry or profession, it is paramount that you embody these new trends into your daily job search activities.

Ideally, let’s not make mistakes on an interview. However, job seekers are human. Humans make mistakes. So mistakes will happen. I think an interview mistake can be an opportunity to turn a negative into a positive.

When I recruited for my team and for the clients for whom I found talent as a search firm recruiter, I would actually welcome the mistakes made by candidates. I did not automatically weed out those candidates that made errors and I did not immediately move on those that interviewed without a misstep. How candidates handled the mistake, the type of mistake they made and the level of perfection achieved on the interview by candidates factored into my decision to advance a candidate to the next round of interviews. What should you do if it happens to you?

(1)    Own it, address it and move on.  If you do run late to an interview or misspeak about a specific topic, own it and apologize. Do not blame others or make excuses. If you do, it can demonstrate that you will make excuses or blame your co-workers for errors you actually make or for situations beyond your control. I once had a leading candidate not call me on a mutually-agreed upon specified date—but three days after the date, she called without a real viable excuse for missing the deadline. However, she still made the call three days later to apologize and stated she understood that I would probably remove her from the process. But she still wanted to call and thank me for my time and consideration—and if there was any room for reconsideration, she was still very interested in the role, despite what her actions may show.  I thought that type of call took a lot of guts. There were no excuses (‘I misunderstood’), she did not pretend it never happened (crazy to me that people actually do that!), she did not blame anyone (‘my co-workers screwed up their work and I have been working like crazy to meet a deadline for them’) and she did not avoid the call by never making it. She made the call, owned her responsibility and was gracious and humble. I gave her another chance figuring she would handle mistakes on the job in that same graceful way.

 (2)    Don’t keep bringing it up. Nothing annoys me more than the overcompensating candidate. Over apologizing and revisiting the error repeatedly is a bigger interview crime in my opinion than most actual interview mistakes. It shows a lack of self-confidence, a certain level of immaturity and a tad bit of self-centered drama that most employers just don’t want to contend with on a daily basis. This behavior is a precursor to when the candidate makes mistakes at work, the management can expect several apologies throughout the day as the candidate attempts to redeem themselves in their own mind.

 (3)    Have a sense of humor about it. Show that you can think on your feet.   If the candidate can make the interviewer laugh, the job seeker may actually score some points. Handling awkward situations with humble humor is evidence to the interviewer that you let mistakes roll off your back, are not easily distracted and don’t take yourself too seriously.

 (4)    If it is technology-related, have backups and/or be ready to present old school—without the tech.  Your laptop decides not to work on the interview? Have handouts of your presentation ready. Email yourself a copy of your presentation to your Gmail account to pull up on another computer, if offered. Bring a thumb drive with the materials you need. Show that you will be ready no matter what!

 (5)    If an interview is perfect, it did not guarantee a candidate was advanced. Hearing this may make some job seekers crazy, but if a job seeker is too rehearsed and too perfect, it just left me wondering, “what flaw was I not seeing?” After all, we all have flaws.  Be yourself. Be genuine. Show humility and strength—showing strength only is a one-dimensional presentation.

 (6)    Accept that the job was not for you to have…own it, apologize and move on to the next opportunity.  OK. I get it. Sometimes you make a mistake that you cannot recover from: Did not know a key piece of information. Said the wrong comment. Offended someone inadvertently.  Missed the interview time. If that is the case, accept it was not your fate to have that job. The powers of the universe kept you available for the right job to come along.  Focus on the positive.

For thorough interview preparation, get your copy of my ebook, Interview Confidently, Get Hired & Don’t Sell Out, or review the personalized interview coaching services provided by Chameleon Resumes.

New Year. New Job. New Opportunities. “But I have been looking for a job, Lisa, so searching for a job is not new for me. I need to recharge my efforts to get results…where do I start?” If this is you, I empathize. For some, this is a new year that brings new perspective. For others, it is just another day in a life that has been focused on looking for a new position. If you need to pump some new mojo and energy into your search to get results that you want and land that next job faster, here are the six things you can do today…or even this week:

Give your resume, social media profiles and job search documents a facelift. Get them upgraded to a contemporary visual format. Include achievement branded language that defines how you did your job better than your fellow job seeker. Ensure you use pivotal keywords throughout your resume and social media profiles to improve your chances of being found by corporate and search firm recruiters.

Expand your online presence. Ensure it is professional. Only have 50 connections on LinkedIn? Increase it to 100 quality connections. Not on BranchOut on BeKnown? Try it. Have too many personal pictures and non-professional content on Facebook? Clean it up. By non-professional, I am not talking about picture of you partying indiscreetly during Mardi Gras. Hopefully, at this point, we know not to have those up online by now. I am referring to Facebook posts about beating an illness or time off with the family (posted way too many times) or any content that, while could be neutral or positive in many other respects, can be unlawfully be factored into an employment decision if discovered in an online search of your name.

Get out from behind the computer. Meet people. Have you not talked to your former office mates from your previous job in a while? Can you meet some of them for coffee, lunch or a drink? When was the last college alumni cocktail hour you attended? Have you joined a professional networking group that supports your industry or profession? Make new contacts and nurture the relationships you already have to increase your ability to generate leads and information for your job search.

Contact companies directly. Don’t just apply through an ad. Don’t even wait for an ad to apply. If you are an accountant looking for a senior accounting role, look for Controllers at target companies where you want to work and introduce yourself directly. Are you a Marketing Executive looking for a new leadership role at a technological upstart? Locate the contact information for the CMO or the CEO and ask for an informational interview. What do you have to lose? And don’t wait for a job to be posted to do this. Just do this.

Make social media social. Call or email someone. Or meet them…. I make a point of engaging members, followers and connections from LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter on a regular basis. I found vendors, clients and referral sources this way. Clients have found me this way. The possibilities that exist with social media access are just mind boggling. Not sure how to start? Pick one person on your list and just pick up the phone or send an email. “Hi ___, we are connected on LinkedIn and I have not chatted with you in a while (or never). Interested in connecting to see how we may be able to help each other? Let me know and we can schedule something or just pick up the phone and call me back…” It can be that simple.

Turn off the news. Really. So much of the regular and business news in these turbulent times is just outright negative. Keep your mental health sharp without large and small dosages of negative energy and information found in today’s news. Unless you work at Morgan Stanley, how is learning they are laying off 5,000 people going to help you—especially if you are a pharmaceutical scientist who wants to work with a boutique drug development company? Since it is human nature to gravitate to the dramatic news, even when it is not relevant to our immediate situation, I say just turn off the TV, online stream and email alerts that bring negative news to your attention. Keep yourself positive. Keep your communications positive. In this climate, that will bring you the attention you want.

So here is your to-do list for today, or this week, to jump start your job search:
(1) Reach out to me (917-447-1815 or lisa.rangel@chameleonresumes.com) or ask a another trusted individual who hires people and ask how you can improve your resume, social media profiles and cover letters to garner more of the right attention and start to get job search results.
(2) Add 10-25% more connections to your LinkedIn Profile—or a minimum of 50, if you need to start there.
(3) Call two co-workers from your previous job and say hello…just see what is going on with them. Do not tell them about your job search yet, if it does not come up naturally or seem appropriate. But just making the call will open you up to make more calls of the job search kind.
(4) Introduce yourself to a hiring manager at a target company where you want to work and ask for an informational meeting in person or on the phone.
(5) Pick one person from your social media channels that you have not spoken with in a while and either call or email them using the message I provide in the bullet description in the blog article…
(6) Shut off the news. Read something positive and that will make you happy.

Go for it. This is a perfect time to reconnect to others and recommit to yourself. Good luck and go for it. Need help with it? Contact me here 917-447-1815 or lisa.rangel@chameleonresumes.com and we will figure out even smaller baby steps for you to get you moving forward…no worries!!

Happy Searching!!

Job boards don’t suck…however, how most job seekers use job boards to find a job does suck, to be blunt. I think job boards are a treasure trove of information that is consistently undiscovered and underutilized. Job boards receive a bad rap from most job seekers, since most job seekers are using them improperly. To be clear, there are five kinds of job listings, each listed with a few examples, and five ways are using job boards more effectively:

-Traditional Job Board Websites: Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed, SimplyHired, Juju, New York Times (and other news outlets),

-Niche Job Board Websites: Mediabistro, Dice, Stylecareers.com, Medzilla

-Social Media Site Job Sections: LinkedIn, Facebook (Branchout), Twitter (#hashtag usage), BeKnown (affiliated with Monster)

-Corporate Job Boards: Any ‘careers’ or ‘jobs’ page on a company website.

-Paid Job Boards: TheLadders, Execunet

Most people use the following types of job boards to troll the listings for applicable jobs and then apply.  Some apply to as many jobs as they can (the “Spray and Pray Job Seeker”). Other job seekers scroll through the vast listings to overanalyze and pick apart how they are not qualified for any positions (the Pitiful Overcritical Job Seeker) and barely apply to one or two at the most often feeling as equally defeated as their spray-and-pray counterparts.  So how does a job seeker use job boards more effectively?

Here are 5 Ways to Use Job Boards More Effectively

Once you apply for a job through one of the four website sources above, take any/all of these extra steps. Use the job board features and the information found in a job posting itself to set yourself apart from other job seekers and get noticed:

(1)     Set Up Google Alerts, Job Board Alerts or RSS Feeds. Establish these pre-programmed alerts to have jobs in which you are interested emailed to you. This will drastically reduce the time spent reading volumes of job postings daily—time that you can use to perform more active and personal job search activities: making professional connections with previous and new contacts via email, phone and in person. By defining specific search parameters in the job alert/rss feed functions, you will receive email alerts when jobs that fit what you are looking for pop up on the respective job board.

(2)     Introduce Yourself Directly: Use information found in the job description to find a possible line manager (not HR) using LinkedIn and Google.  Find an email or phone contact info to reach out to the non-HR hiring manager directly.

(3)     Find Someone Who Can Introduce You: Network with a connection to be introduced to someone within the company to refer you into the target organization. No direct contact with a hiring manager? Aim to become an employee referral into the firm.

(4)     Upload a Branded, Key-Word Rich Resume and Be Found: Use a well-written resume that is key word rich for the phrases and vernacular that is pertinent to the job / industry for which you are applying. This increases your chances of being found by corporate and search firm recruiters looking for people like you.

(5)     Employ the “Where There Is Smoke, There Is Fire” Approach: If you are an accountant, and you see a company hiring a small army of sales professionals, make the deduction that the company may need to expand their accounting team soon to account for additional commissions, client revenues, related expenses and sales analysis for new business proposals.

To learn how to employ job boards into a successful Job Search Plan, visit the Chameleon Resumes Resumes & Job Search Services Page by clicking here.

This time of year brings about that need to take inventory of what you did and where you want to go in the next year. Notice I did not say we need to take note of what we did not do. Focus on the positive. Focus on what you did accomplish in your career.

Be grateful and content. It is in the contentment and acceptance of where we are that allows us to have a foundation to build the dreams of where we want to go in the next year.

Use this time to REFLECT and not REGRET.

Then DESIGN your plan to ADVANCE your career.

Let’s close out 2011 and get revved up for 2012. Join me in doing this exercise:

REFLECT
What are you most proud of professionally in 2011? Why?
What drove you to want to complete it?

Answer these questions to help you get to the root of what motivates you to do what you do. Does it still stand true today? Our motivations for achieving what we do can change, but often the motivation stays the same—it is the goal to be achieved that can often change from year to year. Examples of achievements accomplished by me or one of my clients are:
–Landed a coveted promotion
–Found a new job that supports lifestyle changes (virtual position)
–Achieved an income goal
–Reduced work travel to be home with the family more
–Engaged in more interesting projects to be better positioned for a future promotion
–Hired at a more prominent firm
–Committed to attending one networking event per month and followed up with at least one new person each month to expand professional circle
–Researched job opportunities at competitors and within related industries to evaluate current situation more thoroughly
–Go back to school for Master’s Degree

DESIGN & ADVANCE
What is one thing you want to do professionally in 2012?
Why do you want to do it? What is driving u to put this one thing on the list?

Set your life up to support this one goal, which should be fed by your motivation. Make sure you work at this one goal in some capacity a little bit each day or designate set time each week/month to get it advanced. I challenge you to narrow it down to one thing–Keep it simple. Here could be some examples:
–get promoted to an executive role
–expand close network by 15 people.
–make $15,000 in extra income
–obtain a professional development credential –get new job
–receive more responsibility and interesting project work
–start a business for an extra income stream

Whatever item makes your list as the top professional goal for 2012, write it down and place it somewhere you look everyday (i.e. computer screen, bathroom mirror, daily reminder pop-up on your smart phone). Commit to doing something each day, anything, no matter how small of an effort, to move closer to achieving this goal. I can tell you, it can come to fruition. There is opportunity all around us in this tumultuous marketplace. Are you going to be one of those people in 2012 who will seize it or let it slip away? Choice is yours.

Happy New Year All…let’s make it a great year one success at a time.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT & JOB SEARCH LINKS

Below are 100+ additional resources covering job search, social networking, salary calculators, career research and entrepreneurial exploration to help get where you want to go in your career. Chameleon Resumes would love to hear additional suggestions you have about other sites that should be included on the list. Let us know at lisa.rangel [at] chameleonresumes.com. Here is the list:

Professional Networking Organizations
www.financialexecutives.org – Financial Executives International website
www.mengonline.com – Marketing Executives Networking Group website
www.thefeng.org – Financial Executives Networking Group website
www.theteng.org – Technical Executives Networking Group website
www.aicpa.org – American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
www.shrm.org – Society of Human Resources Management
www.astd.org – American Society of Training and Development

Professional Education
www.amanet.org – American Management Association
www.hbr.org – Harvard Business Review
www.ibr-magazine.com – Wharton School Publication
www.techcrunch.com – comprehensive resource for all things technical
www.ecornell.com - Cornell University’s Online Programs

Inspiration & Zen
www.zenhabits.com

Free and Pay Job Search Sites
www.beyond.com – career network site
www.biospace.com – biotech and pharmaceutical news and jobs
www.bluesteps.com – connects executives with leading search firms, search jobs, post your resume
www.career.com – enter in desired job title and location and the site will bring up matching positions
www.careerbuilder.com – browse jobs by category and location
www.dice.com – job search for technology professionals
www.elance.com – site for freelance assignments
www.execunet.com – site matches executives with recruiters
www.execsearches.com – nonprofit jobs- connecting mission and talent
www.govexec.com – government executive website
www.healthcareitcentral.com – website for healthcare IT positions
www.healthjobsusa.com – Premier niche healthcare and medical job board w/1000+ clients and over 300,000 job postings
www.hundredk.com – center for $100K+ job search and recruiting
www.indeed.com – type in job title/location to pull up new job listings
www.job.com – source for local jobs, career advice and services to manage the job search
www.jobbankusa.com – career and employment services for candidates, employers and recruiters
www.jobdig.com – job seekers, career advice, salary calculator, job board
www.jobplanet.com – Job board by type and location
www.juju.com – aggregator job search website
www.linkup.com – job search engine, updated automatically
www.medzilla.com – biotechnology, pharmaceutical, healthcare and science
www.monster.com – post a resume, search jobs
www.nationjob.com – professional and executive level jobs
www.netshare.com – community and jobs for professional development at the executive level
www.nettemps.com – site for temporary and contract work
www.resumerabbit.com – post your resume in multiple places at one time.
www.risesmart.com – transition and outplacement services
www.salesjobs.com – site for sales opportunities for all levels.
www.simplyhired.com – search 5+ million jobs on the web
www.sologig.com – website for finding contract, freelance and consulting work
www.twitjobsearch.com – browse jobs tweeted by employers
www.tweetmyjobs.com – browse jobs tweeted by employers
www.usajobs.gov – the Federal government; official job search website
www.vault.com – Career news, tips and advice. Search employer ranking, browse schools
http://jobs.wsj.com/careers/jobsearch – Wall Street Journal’s robust career / job section

Career Tools and Blogs
www.job-hunt.org – job seeker resource
www.careerealism.com – job seeker resource
www.ilostmyjob.com – job seeker resource
www.timsstrategy.com – Tim Tyrell-Smith’s career development and job search resource
www.secretsofthejobhunt.com – Career advice podcasts and job seeker network
www.jibberjobber.com – A career management organizational tool for job seekers, recruiters and headhunters
www.recruitingblogs.com – Largest social network for staffing professionals
www.onetonline.org – O*NET online – an online job description search tool
www.hr-guide.com – a human resources guide

Salary Calculators & Relocation Guides
www.cbsalary.com/cost-of-living-calculator.aspx – Career Builder’s cost of living calculator
www.greatplacetowork.com/best/lists-us.php – Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For
www.homefair.com/homefair/cmr/salcalc.html (The Salary Calculator) – Finance calculators for home, refinance, loans, and relocation
www.payscale.com – Compare your salary
www.salary.com – Salary, job search and education wizard
www.salaryexpert.com – Employee provided data from 10 million job incumbents

Government Information
www.dol.gov – The Department of Labor and Bureau of Labor Statistics which provides information to US citizens onwages, health plans and benefits, unemployment insurance and information for workers, employers and job seekers.
www.dol.gov/dol/audience/aud-unemployed.htm – Information on disability resources, job and training information, layoff resources, retirement and health benefits, statistical information, wages and work hours, and workplace safety and health
www.stats.bls.gov/home.htm – Bureau of Labor Statistics site with detailed information on employment and industry trends.Includes the Occupational Outlook Handbook
www.bls.gov/oco/cg/home.htm – Career Guide to Industries

Recruiting Firms
www.adecco.com - world’s largest staffing firm
www.manpower.com – world’s second largest recruiting firm
www.randstad.com – top three largest recruitment firm
www.kornferry.com – world’s largest executive search firm
www.heidrick.com – leading retained search firm
www.spencerstuart.com – leading retained search firm
www.russellreynolds.com – leading retained search firm
www.lucasgroup.com – contingency and retained search firm
www.kforce.com – prominent US recruitment firm
www.roberthalf.com – leading accounting, finance, legal and administrative recruitment firm
www.allegisgroup.com – global IT and corporate services firm
www.futurestep.com – A Korn Ferry company offering recruiting globally
www.michaelpage.com – UK based professional services recruitment firm
www.24seveninc.com – leading NYC creative staffing organization
www.aquent.com – creative staffing firm

Directories
www.newspapers.com – World newspapers
www.refdesk.com/paper.html Newspapers – USA and worldwide
www.careerfairs.com – Find a career fair near you
www.nationalcareerfairs.com – Over 300 career fairs in 76 cities
www.marketingsource.com/associations – Directory of USA associations
www.seniorexecs.org – Professional association for career federal executives
www.weddles.com – Association directory

Helpful Books
The Twitter Job Search Guide by Deb Dib, Chandlee Bryan, and Susan Britton Whitcomb
Use Your Head to Get Your Foot In the Door, by Harvey Mackay
Guerilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0 By Jay Conrad Levinson & David Perry
Social Networking for Career Success By Miriam Salpeter
Career Distinction, by William Arruda and Kirsten Dixon
250 Interview Questions You Will Most Likely Be Asked, by Peter Veruki
Now Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham
You Are A Brand! By Catherine Kaputa
The Art of Possibility By Rosamund Stone Zander & Benjamin Zander

Corporate & News Research Sites
www.annualreportservice.com – Largest free directory of annual reports online.
www.bbc.com – UK-based global news source
www.bizjournals.com – American Business Journals
www.businessweek.com – business magazine
www.caldwell-list.com – Direct mailing list companies
www.ceoupdate.com – Association news and executive careers
www.chicagotribune.com – Chicago newspaper
www.cnn.com – US-based global news source
www.finance.yahoo.com/earnings – Company finances
www.forbes.com – Information for the world’s best leaders
www.glassdoor.com – An inside look at jobs and companies
www.job-hunt.org – Career and job search resource
www.latimes.com – Los Angeles newspaper
www.military.com – Web resource for all aspects of military living
www.nytimes.com – NYC newspaper
www.rileyguide.com – provides free employment information
www.referenceusa.com – lead generation website
www.salesgenie.com – lead generation website
www.zoominfo.com – lead generation website
www.infousa.com – lead generation website
www.hoovers.com – Company profiles and industry information
www.sec.gov – Securities and exchange commission
www.sec.gov/edgar – Collection of submitted forms and reports from every domestic public company to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
www.vault.com – resource to inside corporate cultures and interview processes
www.washingtonpost.com – DC newspaper
www.wsj.com – Wall Street Journal
www.wetfeet.com – equip jobseekers with advice, research and inspiration
www.zapdata.com – lead builder that offers a D&B line of advanced business info products

Reference Checking
www.checkyourreference.com – Independent reference verification service
www.myreferences.com – A division of Allison & Taylor

Social Networking Sites
www.facebook.com – social utility that connects people with friends and others
www.linkedin.com – 100 million+ members. Manage your professional identity and build a network
www.twitter.com – connect with and follow who/what is important to you
www.xing.com – social network for business and career
www.ning.com – create a social community
www.bing.com – search Engine
www.google.com – aims to make search and sharing on the web more like real life
www.youtube.com – world’s largest user generated video website

Entrepreneurial Resources
www.jimkukral.com – internet marketing resource who I have used and he rocks
www.seventier.com – small business technical expertise
www.thevirtualasst.com – a virtual assistant company
www.justthinkbig.us – B.I.G. (Believe. Inpsire. Grow) Women Empowering Women through career and business ventures
www.1shoppingcart.com – online payment acceptance tool
www.paypal.com – world’s largest online payment tool
www.authorize.net – credit card acceptance tool
www.aweber.com – email marketing toold used by leading email marketers
www.wordpress.com – blogging and website development tool
www.business.com – Find, compare and research vendors
www.gotomeeting.com – meeting and webinar website
www.godaddy.com – domain name and hosting company
www.inc.com – Small business and entrepreneur resource and magazine

Resources for Future Job Seekers
http://financialcoachkids.blogspot.com/ - Financial Coach for Kids & Teens
www.smartgirlsmakesavvywomen.com – Finance/Business/Life advice for teens

http://www.seomoz.org/top500 – top 500 most linked websites

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