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When the economy is in bad shape, the job market is usually worse. Those with jobs are trying to stay employed and people without jobs are desperately trying to find a new job, both can be extremely stressful.

If you put in the time and effort into finding a new job you will be rewarded no matter how fierce the competition is. Stay motivated and persistent – finding a new job is your new job right now.

These are the top ten ways to find a new job:

1. Use the Internet Daily – It is so easy to get lost on the Internet wasting time on websites, job boards and social media sites with no real benefits. Make sure you are actively spending your time on the Internet looking for and applying to jobs and networking with those who may be able to help. There are a ton of useful job boards and career sites to help you focus your search. Check out JobBoardReviews.com to help find the most useful websites to your industry or profession. Do your best to stay focused on your job search for a few hours a day. Be sure to actively apply to jobs, don’t just upload your resume and wait for phone calls.

2. Perfect your resume – Your resume is often the first glimpse a potential employer gets of you and your skills, make sure it accurately details your skills and work history and how they can benefit your future employer. Make sure you have someone proof read it before sending it out and try to customize it for each job you are applying for.

3. Network – Let everyone you know that you are looking for a job. The more people you have out there on your team, with eyes open the more opportunities you will have. Tell everyone in your network what kind of a job you are looking for or any special skills you may have. You can forward your resume to people in your network and ask them if they know of anyone hiring or if they can check within their company for any open positions. Most people actually find and are hired through referrals from a friend or family member than any other source.

4. Go back to school – Now is the time to get the competitive edge over other job candidates. Many people are finding it hard to get to a traditional college or university and are opting for online schools and programs. Look into enrolling in an accredited online college for some online courses and upgrading your training. Increasing your education will improve your resume and get you one step closer to landing a job.

5. Target Local Companies – Get out and start knocking on some doors. If you are not having any luck online submitting your resume online, it’s time to get out and start meeting people face to face. Make a list of companies in your area that you would like to work for, call them directly to see if they have any openings that interest you. If that doesn’t work, put on some professional attire and stop by with your resume in hand.

6. Industry Mags and Social Niches – Sometimes the best positions that are the perfect fit are only being advertised in industry specific magazines and publications. Sign up for some Industry trade magazines, online groups, forums, and social networks. Reading up on the latest industry news is a great way to stay on top and find new open positions. It also will help with your industry specific networking.

7. Job Fairs – Can it get better than this. Job fairs are a giant room or convention center filled with companies who are looking to hire. Dress to impress, print out a bunch of copies on your resume and start talking to companies who are looking to hire. It’s such an easy way to meet people and get some help with your search

8. Get some Professional Help – Recruiters, headhunters, and temp agencies are always looking for qualified candidates. Find some recruiters that specialize in your industry or position and get them your resume.

9. State and public resources – There are so many free resources offered by your state to help job seekers find a new job. Most states and counties offer everything from resume writing services, career counseling, and lots of sessions on all the skills you will need to find you new job. State and local resources are also often given lists of openings that aren’t posted or found in other locations. Pop on over and see what they can offer.

10. Consider Freelancing – If you are not finding the right full time position, consider taking a contract position or freelancing your services out. Many companies are not able to hire for full time positions but would be willing to give you a try on an as need basis.

Get on out there! Remember to Network, keep your head up and Don’t give up! There is someone out there waiting to hire you.

Writing a resume for your first job requires patience, attention to detail, and a little creativity. All job seekers need a strong resume if they want to compete for the best jobs. But while seasoned professionals can rely on their experience to generate initial interest from prospective employers, individuals hitting the job market for the first time do not have such a luxury. New professionals, therefore, need to work even harder to sell themselves to managers.

To start your resume, you will need to select a resume format. A functional resume is usually the best choice for a new professional, since it allows you to present your qualifications by functional skills as opposed to purely chronological job order. Since your work history will be brief, if not non-existent, you want to place the emphasis on your skills and knowledge.

Layout of a Functional Resume:
The layout you select for your resume should attract attention and create interest, but not detract from your overall presentation. Use of capitalization, bold lettering, underlining, indentations, different fonts, and white space can add variety to your resume and emphasize important information. The layout should be consistent throughout the individual sections of the resume, be visually appealing, and be easy for the reader to follow.
A functional resume has several parts, which are typically included in this order:
Name and Contact Information
Objective Statement
Education
Key Skills and Qualifications
Work Experience

Additional parts may include a section for Awards and Honors or References.

Name and Contact Information

You should include your name, full address, telephone number with area code, and email address (if applicable) at the very top of your resume. If you are currently residing at a temporary address, such as a students college address, you may include it in addition to your permanent address depending on the circumstances.

Objective Statement

If you choose to include an objective statement, it should be a concise and meaningful statement that describes your career goals in detail. An objective can include your goals in regards to your desired position title, industry, level of responsibility, and desired utilized skills. The elements included in your objective should be reinforced and supported throughout your resume and your cover letter.

A major mistake that many new professionals make is that they use a generalized objective statement. This is due to the fact that many men and women new to the workforce may not necessarily know what they are seeking in a position. They fear that by limiting the scope of the objective, that they are knocking themselves out of the running for positions that do not neatly match their objective positions that they might otherwise be interesting in pursuing.

While this is true in some cases, it is advisable to either keep your objective focused and narrow, or completely leave it off your resume. A weak, unfocused objective in effect says nothing and will actually detract from your overall presentation.

Education

If you have a college degree, you should position the Education section near the top of your resume before your Key Skills and Qualifications. If you do not have a degree, the Education section should follow your Key Skills and Qualifications.

Your highest level of education achieved, whether you completed the program or not, should be the first listed in this section. All other schools you attended should follow.

For each individual school, list the following:
Name of the school
Dates you attended or graduated
Degrees earned (or degree program you were in, if not completed)
Major and minor subject areas

You may also list any honors, awards, Dean’s list commendations, and GPAs if they will enhance this section of your resume. Any certifications or completed training courses that that are relevant to the position you are seeking should also be included.

Newer graduates can include a list of completed courses that are directly relevant to the type of position you are seeking. For example, a newly graduated Accounting major may want to highlight her course in Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, and Tax Accounting.

You should only include high school information if you do not have a college degree or if you achieved high commendation in some area that reinforces your career objectives.

Key Skills and Qualifications

This is the most critical section of a functional resume. The Skills section of your resume should highlight any relevant skills that might not otherwise be disclosed on your resume. This section will be highly individualized to both the person and the position they are seeking.

First, identify the key skills relevant to the type of position you are seeking. Some examples of key skills include customer relations, graphic design, marketing, leadership, and computer technology skills. It may be necessary to develop several different versions of your resume so that you are able effectively market yourself to a variety of jobs.

Next, rank the key skills in order of importance you want the most important skill to appear at the top of your skills list. Then, under each of these key skill categories, include any information about yourself that demonstrates how you possess this skill. You can draw from any work experience, volunteer experience, schooling, extracurricular activities, or any other area as appropriate. As with the key skills themselves, rank this in order of importance so that the most relevant examples appear first.

Examples of key skills with supporting documentation are as follows:

Research
Designed questionnaire to assess customer needs
Identified sample population to be included in the study
Drafted analysis plan
Prepared survey results report and presented the results to the study team

Marketing and Distribution
Developed layout and organization of merchandise for a 25-page giftware catalog
Maintained accurate, up-to-date computer records of merchandise inventory, suppliers, customers, and shipping vendors.
Handled all facets of order receipt, processing, and fulfillment

Work Experience

Since you are new to the workforce, employers do not expect you to have much in terms of work experience. This section should be very brief. You should not provide any details of your responsibilities and accomplishments in this section (these should have been included under Key Skills and Qualifications). Instead, simply list your job title, the name of the employer, the location of the position, and your dates of employment as follows:

2004 Present Customer Service RepresentativeABC Telecommunications
Baltimore, MD
2003 2004 Treasurer Omega Lambda Pi Fraternity
Baltimore, MD
2001 2003 Sales AssistantMagellan Imports
Washington, D.C.

Other Optional Sections:

Honors and Awards:
List any career, academic, leadership or athletic honors you have received. Academic awards may alternatively be listed under the Education section of the resume.

References:
You may include a statement declaring References Available upon Request if you need to fill space on your resume. Otherwise you should list references in a separate document. References should typically only be provided when requested or once it is clear that the competition for a position is narrowing. Do not include specific reference names or contact information on your resume.

Other Categories:
If there is additional information that you feel is important to include butt does not fit into any of these categories, you can create custom categories. Examples of custom categories may include Background, Professional Activities, and RecitalsArt Shows.

The demand for truckers is very high, and it is relatively easy for most qualified truckers to find steady work. Nonetheless, some researchers estimate that as many of 15% of drivers, even those with extensive experience, get disqualified when applying for a trucking position. Why are so many truckers getting turned away if the need for trucker is so high? It all has to do with being organized.

The key to landing a trucking job is being prepared and knowing what to expect when seeking a trucking job. Most often, truckers start the hiring process by speaking to a trucking recruiter. Recruiters frequently hire only for one company (the company they work for themselves), so it may be to your advantage to shop around and talk to a number of different recruiters to find the position that is the best fit for you. If you do speak with a number of recruiters, be sure to take notes so you can keep track of who said what.

Never lie to a recruiter when seeking a trucking job. The truth will come out eventually and it is much better that you be completely honest from the beginning, even if it means disclosing some negative information, than to lie and get caught for it later. Recruiters will ask you for a variety of information, so be sure to have the following on hand:

- A current, non-expired CDL with an accurate home address

- Your work history for at least the last 3 years (some recruiters may want 5 or 10 years of history). If you have been unemployed for some of this time, you will need to provide solid professional references to account for this period.

- The names and contact information for all of your former employers.

- Proof of your work history including old W2 tax forms, reference letters, or DOT numbers. This information will be especially helpful if any of the companies you worked for previously have since gone out of business.

- A copy of your driving record or MVR

- Proof of eligibility to work in the United States. You will be required to complete an I-9 form upon hire, so be sure you have valid documentation to show that you are eligibly for hire.

New Homeland Security regulations require that al commercial truckers undergo a background check prior to being hired. As part of this check, companies will pull any criminal records and copies of your Motor Vehicle Driving record from all states in which you have a drivers license (commercial or non-commercial). Companies will also see a copy of your DAC report which will reveal previous driving jobs, any accidents in which you were involve, and notes of any problems with former employers.

If there is anything on your record that might be questionable, it is very important that you disclose this to the recruiter right away. It is much better to be professional and proactive upfront than to have the recruiter undercover some nasty information on their own. A potential employer is going to need to know about any incidents, or accidents, for at least the previous three years. Be sure to hold onto all incident records, including accident reports and tickets, so that you can provide this documentation if needed.

Nearly all reputable companies will also require that you undergo a drug screening, so be prepared to certify that you are drug-free and take a drug test on the spot if you are offered a position. Your offer will be contingent upon the successful results of the test.

If there is anything about your past (or current) medical health that might bring up concerns about your ability to perform your duties as a trucker, be prepared to show a doctors note that releases you to work. Although, by law, recruiters cannot ask about your medical health prior to offering you a position, an offer can be rescinded if you are not able to certify your ability to do the job. If you have recently had a medical ailment, surgery, or are taking any sort of prescription medicine, chances are high that you will be required to present a medical doctors release noted that you are cleared for commercial tractor trailer driving with no restrictions.

Finally, be prepared to a road test and pass the necessary DOT physical upon receiving an offer. If you havent been behind the wheel in a while, make sure you brush up on your driving skills. You will not get a second test to take the test if you fail it so you want to be sharp the very first time to step into the companys cab.

Although the hiring process to secure a trucking job may be long and tedious, the payoff is well worth your effort. So if youve made it though all of these steps successfully, congratulations. Youre hired!