The New Year is upon us. What better time to evaluate your current job search strategies to determine what’s working and what’s not? Whether you’ve been searching for a few weeks or a few months, chances are there are elements of your hunt that require changing—and fast! Don’t wait until it’s too late.

1. How to Focus Your Job Search Efforts
& Land Your Ideal Job in 2011
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com

2. Today’s Outline: Create a Job Search Plan
• Focus on your online presence
– Search engine results, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
• Get your “marketing materials” in shape
– Resume, cover letter, business cards, website/blog
• Build mutually beneficial relationships through
networking
– Both on- and offline
• Search for available opportunities
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 2

3. Your Online Presence: The Statistics
• 79 percent of employers now conduct an online
search of applicants
• 70% have turned down applicants by what they
found online
• Only 7% of job applicants were concerned
about their online reputation
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4. Your Online Presence
• Search for yourself on Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.
– What comes up?
– Are the results positive? Negative?
– Do results about you show up in the first 2-3 pages?
• Analyze your social networking profiles
– Take down anything unprofessional
• Photos, videos, swear words, etc.
• Yes, even if your profile is private
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 4

5. Your Online Presence
• Set up e-mail or RSS alerts on your name
– Monitor new content as it’s published
• Recommended resources:
– Vizibility
• Free GoogleMe button for career professionals
• Create an optimal Google search for yourself & verify your
results
– MyWebCareer
• Free service that evaluates your social & online footprint
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 5

6. Your Job Search Documents
• In order to land a job, you need to spend time
working on your cover letter & resume
• Think of these as marketing documents
• Ultimately, you’re marketing yourself to
potential employers
• Carefully read through the job description
before crafting your cover letter & resume
– Each application should have a tailored cover letter &
resume based on desired qualifications, experience, skills,
etc.
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 6

7. Your Cover Letter
• First thing a hiring manager will read
• If it’s unimpressive, they likely won’t move on to
your resume
• This is your chance to tell a story about yourself
& relay why you’re the best fit for the position
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 7

8. Your Cover Letter
• General tips:
– Use the same letterhead or font/style on your cover letter
& resume
– Conclude with a call to action
• State you will follow-up within one week
– If possible, address it to an actual person
– If you’re applying at an organization not located near your
permanent address, indicate you are willing to relocate
– Don’t forget to sign the letter!
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 8

9. Your Cover Letter
• Follow this recommended outline:
– Paragraph one, sentence one:
• Explain why you admire the organization & why you’re
applying
• If someone referred you to the opening, mention it here
– Paragraph one, sentence two:
• As such, please consider me for the [position title] position at
[company name] advertised on [where you saw the job ad].
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 9

10. Your Cover Letter
• Recommended outline (con’t):
– Paragraph one, sentence three:
• My [list about 3 characteristics/skills], and [B.A./B.S.] in
[major] from [school] make me an ideal candidate.
– Paragraphs 2 & 3 should be about accomplishment stories
• Connect each story’s importance to the position or
organization
– Paragraph four:
• Indicate you’ve included all appropriate information and
strong interest in and availability for discussing your fit further
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 10

11. Your Resume
• Driving force behind landing an interview
• Don’t include anything and everything
– Only include experience relevant to the position for which
you’re applying
• Do not include an objective statement
– Instead, use a professional profile
• Do not include information about high school
– Additionally, leave off coursework altogether
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 11

12. Your Resume
• Follow this outline:
– Professional profile
• Showcase the value you bring to the organization
– Education
• Include your college or university’s name, location,
anticipated/actual graduation date, degree, major/minor &
GPA (if 3.0 or above)
– Experience
• Include volunteer work, leadership roles, research, starting
your own business, etc.
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 12

13. Your Resume
• Outline (con’t):
– Experience
• Include up to three bullets for each position, beginning with
an action word & describing an accomplishment
– Additional experience
• List only position titles, organization names, locations & dates
– Skills & accomplishments
• List related awards, computer programs, languages,
etc.
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 13

14. Build Relationships Through Networking
• The key to networking is to focus on building
mutually beneficial relationships with other
individuals
– Give before you receive
– Provide value just as you hope they’ll provide value to you
• Where to start
– Attend networking, alumni & industry events
– Join online discussions & groups
– Participate in Twitter chats
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 14

15. Search For Available Opportunities
• See what’s available in your field
– Comb job boards, social networking sites, company career
pages & job aggregators
– Analyze the job descriptions to determine what type of
experience, qualifications & education is necessary
– Don’t spend all of your time looking for openings
• In competitive job markets, many opportunities are not
published and instead filled through referrals or networking
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 15

16. How to Discover Your Ideal Job
• Consider your experience, education & skills
– What are you passionate about?
– What previous experience(s) did you enjoy?
• Determine the location(s) where you’d like to
live
• Identify 5-10 ideal organizations you’d like to
work at
– Take into account the culture, mission, values & beliefs of
the organization and its employees
– Are you a good fit for this company?
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 16

17. How to Discover Your Ideal Job
• Reach out to key personnel at these
organizations & request an informational
interview
– If you’re able to land an informational interview, come
prepared & create a list of questions for the hiring manager
– Make a note of the organization’s culture while you’re
there
• Is it someplace you can picture yourself working?
– Follow-up with anyone you meet during the day in order to
add them to your network for future opportunities
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 17

18. Strategies & Tactics
• Become an expert in your field
– Brand yourself as an expert on social networking sites
– Start a blog to share your expertise & network with other
industry thought leaders
– Inquire about guest blogging on other prominent blogs in
your field
• Create an online portfolio
– Include the link on your business cards & e-mail signature
for employers to look at
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 18

19. Strategies & Tactics
• Be visible
– Optimize your search results through SEO
– Have a presence on social networking sites
• Share relevant content
• Participate in conversations
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 19

20. Strategies & Tactics
• Stay active
– No longer does a college degree guarantee you a job after
graduation or several years of experience put you at the
top of the pile
– You must continue to gain experience and showcase
expertise in your field while job seeking
• Consider taking on a volunteer position or internship
opportunity to get a foot in the door
• Work on your personal brand both on- and off-line
– Continue building your network & reaching out to contacts
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com 20

21. Thank you!
Join us for our next job seeker webinar on:
March 10, 2011: Still Job Searching? Tips for
Updating Your Resume & Online Profiles in
Order to Get Noticed
Contact Heather at heather@comerecommended.com