Author Byline: Tim Tyrell-Smith @ Spin Strategy - Tools for Intelligent Job Search
Author Website: http://blog.spinstrategy.com

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I know there has been a lot of it lately and it may get worse.

But there is a robot out there (think of the silver guy in Terminator) who may not like you. Don’t take it personally, but if you are looking for work he is likely to make your life painful over the next 3-6 months.

He doesn’t have a name. He doesn’t have metallic body parts. No xray vision or automatic revolver at his hip.

His weapon of choice?

Programming.

Not scary enough for you? This silent killer has destroyed the chances of many fine people looking for something of value. In this case? A job.

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Author Byline: CareerAlley
Author Website: http://careeralley.com

Have you ever gotten a phone call from a recruiter or a company HR representative saying “I’m calling about the job you applied for online” and you can’t remember the specifics of the job? If you’ve been looking for a job for any length of time then you’ve probably applied to 15 or 20 (or more) jobs online. After awhile, the job descriptions all start to sound alike and you hit the “apply now” button knowing that you qualify but otherwise not paying much attention to the details. The good news is that many Job Boards and Company Career sites track and store jobs you’ve applied for in your profile. The difficult part is remembering which Job Board you used.

In addition to the basic tools you should have in your Job Marketing Campaign (Resume, Cover Letters, Thank You Letters, Elevator Speech, etc.), you should also have a Job Search Plan and ways to track your progress. Today’s article will provide some ideas and links to help you plan and track.

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Recruiters are people just like everyone.. with desires, hopes, and career issues of their own. They want to do a good job, build a reputation and earn money, and help candidates find the right job for them and make a difference in their lives.

But when they are sitting opposite that desk from you and drilling you with hard questions, they can seem like the enemy. They fact is that they are standing between you and the job you want, and, practically speaking, they are an obstacle to overcome.

Any candidate who has been to many interviews can find them baffling. Some are nice and some are not friendly at all. Who hasn’t left an interview with a recruiter wondering things like “Where did that odd question come from?”, “Does this person really understand the technical question she was putting forward and can she adequately evaluate my response?” , “Why hasn’t he called back when he said he was putting my candidacy forward to the hiring company?”

But however strange recruiter behavior might have seemed to you in the past, like it or not, they are a key element to your jobsearch success. You need them to reach your goal, and that means you need to understand what their job is about, what they are looking for and what they are not, what they like and dislike in a candidate, and what they need to succeed at their jobs. You can help them reach their goals, while they help you to reach yours. Many find that once they win over a recruiter’s heart, the desired job is suddenly much closer.. they will find that perfect role for you.

Author Byline: Karen Burns, Working Girl
Author Website: http://www.karenburnsworkinggirl.com

As if it isn’t bad enough that you are out of work, or needing to make a change, when you are job hunting you also often find yourself on the receiving end of tons of advice, suggestions, ideas, opinions, and comments.

And even criticism.

Criticism can be deflating, but it can also be inspiring. The trick is to learn how to tell which comments are worth taking to heart and which are just off-the-wall fault-finding that has more to do with the critiquer than with you or your work.

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Can it be done? Is there a way to profit from all those hours we spend online? It’s not easy to set something up that will allow you to quit your day job, or make a living from home if you are unemployed or need to take care of your kids. There are no miracle solutions, and most who receive checks in the mail as a result of their online activity probably have a long history of hard work behind them.

Whether you are unemployed, trying to build your own home-business, or are willing to spend weekends in earning a little extra cash, there are many options to choose from. Very few of them are effective, though.

One highly advertised option is “data entry” jobs. Beware of these as most of them are scam. The golden rule is: stay away from anything that asks you for money to work for them. YOU are supposed to get paid, not them. Only take assignments from sites that have been recommended to you by people you know, and after you’ve seen that the system works for them.

Another typical alternative is answering online surveys. The rationale is that big companies are willing to pay big bucks for consumers to give them their opinions on what products they buy. A large percentage of companies offering this are scams. First, never use a site that asks for a fee to register, as most of the legit ones are free. A second sort of scam is that, once you do start taking a survey, you are not allowed to finish it (and get paid for it), as you get driven into lateral pages of advertising for innumerable products that end in you needing to insert your credit card information to buy some product. Even with options that are not scams, you may not qualify to take all polls. Some may have special requirements, eg. that you live in a certain state or that you are in a certain age group. Often, the less specific the requirements, the lower they pay. “Focus Groups” often pay higher, but often target a very specific type of consumer or professional qualifications that are very hard to fit into.

If you own a website (which is nowadays pretty easy and inexpensive), you can use Google Adsense to earn money from advertising ads placed on your website, but you will only earn a substantial amount from that if your site has very high traffic. Another option for website owners is to sell other people’s products through your site by joining their affiliate programs. You will usually need to install their advertising and widgets into your webpage, and will get paid when users buy or use the advertised product. Note that for joining many of these programs, you will need to provide US tax information, which means that many of these programs are only an option for US sites. Also note that many of these only pay you after you have driven a certain number of sales, which may take months.

For the website owners, when it comes to using the type of programs mentioned above to earn money through your website, remember that in every case, your earning capacity will be determined by your ability to build traffic into your site. Therefore, your content needs to be attractive. And there are many resources that you can use to build traffic, such as Search Engine Optimization techniques, and creating a blog and posting often.

Virtual world Second Life offers a number of alternatives of its own. You can earn a few Lindens - the local currency- by camping - namely, sitting your avatar on a chair or object designed to the effect. The payout for camping is very low, taking into account the current Linden-Dollar conversion rate, and the SL lag could obstruct your off-site operations. Higher paying in-world alternatives include adding merchant locations to your picks - this takes a few days to process and may result in your groups receiving spam. Taking surveys is another alternative, that has the dangers we have already mentioned.

Whatever alternative you are willing to try, remember to do your research and check the online forums for opinions. Always maintaining a suspicious attitude might save you from a few headaches!

Article Title: Job Hunting with “Snail mail”
Author Byline: CareerAlley
Author Website: http://careeralley.com

Definitions first. “job hunting” is when you use contacts (known or unknown) to discover potential opportunities while “job search” is when you search existing jobs (web or print) to try and find a match. Now, on to the topic.

When was the last time you received a letter at work from an individual? In today’s world, everyone sends their resumes via email. People even send their thank you notes after interviews via email. One job hunting strategy is to send your resume with a cover letter to a key contact at a company via snail mail.

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In the life of the jobseeker, there are periods of scarcity and periods of turmoil. When job offers finally come, they seem to come all at once. Perhaps we are blessed with an aura of employability? Whatever the lure, you can leverage the situation to improve whatever offer you finally decide to accept. A couple of things to keep in mind:

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“ May I speak to Mr. Phelps please? Hi, this is Lorna from AYT recruiting. I am calling regarding your application for a Client Services Manager position”. It is so exciting to receive this call, about that job we really wanted. And now you have a chance.

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Author Byline:  Kevin Donlin
Author Website: http://www.collegerecruiter.com/guaranteed-resumes.php

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 might as well use it as effectively as possible (although it should never eclipse the most-effective job-hunting method of all — talking to other people).
With that in mind, here are three ways to use the Internet to get hired faster …

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