The 500 (or more!) Secrets of Job Hunting

41) interviewer is often as nervous (if not more so) than interviewee...

42) Write a thank you letter

<I so infrequently get one, where at one point it was shocking not to send one, it is almost shocking now to get one - by the way, most people who have sent a thank you, I've hired - not necessarily because of the letter, I'm guessing that the same sort of person that writes a thank you letter is the same sort that is fully prepared for the interview>

So true about the thank-you note.

#43. Research the company! Even a little bit -- you're still, usually, miles ahead of everyone else. I went to a job fair about a month ago, saw an employer and they asked if I knew what they did. I said yes, and rattled off the one factoid I remembered about them. Today, I had my first day of employment there,

44. Don't be afraid to apply "up" a level from what you might realistically be placed. Often a company promotes from within leaving open a job you might be perfect for. If you do manage to get an interview and get called on your qualifications be honest about your intent to simply get your foot in the door.

45. Have a good, clean joke to tell.

I hired in an industry where personal skills were often more important than technical expertise. I always asked people to tell me a joke. I caught them off guard and told me a lot about them by what they found funny.

Congrats on the new job, Jespah!

Thank you very much!

#46. Look for work even when you feel secure in your current employment, even when the job is new, because circumstances change all the time, companies are bought, etc. You need not be hyper-vigilant all the time, but keep an up to date resume and contact your references and network at least once a year (I like to do it by sending holiday cards).

#47. Don't box yourself in to only one type of search. Look online in big job search sites like Monster, in specialty sites like HERC (it's for higher education hiring) or Dice (for IT workers) and in the websites of companies where you think you might like to work. And, don't just look online. If you have to go in person or make calls, do so. There are a lot of ways to look and you might be missing out on some opportunities if you pigeonhole yourself too much.

#48. Don't be afraid to ask friends for help.

#49 After you've looked for a job doing what you have done and come up empty (or nearly so) ask yourself this question: If I wasn't doing [fill in with what you used to do] what would I be doing?

Joe(Imagine)Nation

Ooh, good one.

#50 Tell your online network that you're looking for work, if it's an open search. That is, tell A2K, tell Facebook, tell Twitter, get it out there on LinkedIn! Someone even outside of the country might have a contact to a company you would be perfect for, and you will never know it unless you put yourself out there.

[51] Do some mild experimentation with the layout of your resume so that it doesn't look like every other resume (you want yours to stick out, and you want employers to be able to find it easily in a stack of hundreds), but don't make it so elaborate that basic information can't be found easily.

[52] Go easy on the fonts in your resume. Choosing something other than Times New Roman is fine, but don't have a different font for every level of heading. And avoid cursive fonts. You don't want your resume to look like a wedding invitation.

[53] If you're emailing your resume, send it as a PDF unless you are told otherwise. If you send it as a MS-Word document, you may be using a version of MS Office the employer doesn't have, which means some of your formatting may go wonky.

[54] Don't send more materials than they ask for. You can mention in your cover letter that you have additional materials, but wait for them to be requested.

These are great!

#55. Be available, but not too. Case in point: you're expecting a job call and you need to go pick up your child from day care. Go to pick up your child and leave the cel phone off or at home. There's only, maybe, 1% (if that) of all employers who are too anxious and nuts to not leave a message if they don't immediately get you. Then you can call them back once you and your child are safely home. You have a life; the employer needs to know that and not expect 24/7 access. Even if you are applying for a job where you'd be on call 24/7, you aren't on call during the job hunting process.

21.Get your resume well written and proofread. Update resume each time you apply for a new company.Manage the skills on resume according to what the job position demands.

22.Once you are called for the interview, prepare yourself according to the needs of the job-right from your resume, interview study , till your dress and appearance.

23.Walk with confidence, but let it not be in excess.