1. Be prepared. This means having a good cover letter and resume that specifically covers attributes and experience that relate to the position.
2. Be more than prepared, which means continually updating your resume, even if you have a job. If you are looking for a raise or career change, you must be proactive and in-tune with the current job market. Employers are now faced with a harder task than before with the development of the internet, by having to wade through spam and hundreds of emails in order to view your cover letter and resume. Sometimes, this means keeping a current resume on hand at all times.
3. Don't wait until you are fired or laid off; look for opportunities in your field from time to time. You never know when your current employer may decide to downsize to save expenses.
4. Know when to ask for help. Now resumes can be tailored technologically to grab a potential employer's attention. By using Keywords, SEOs, (search engine optimizations), and key phrases, some employers are deleting resumes that don't contain specific words or phrases. There are professional resume-building services that address this new hurdle that was unknown until recently.
5. By creating your own cover letter and resume templates to suit the job, you can tailor each submission to the qualities of the candidates for which the organization is searching. Additionally, if you are willing to relocate, rather than retyping your cover letter for submission to each new company, you might just want to mention why you want to move there (''The reason I want to relocate back to the Midwest is..., the reason I want to stay in Florida is…''), and the rest of the letter is the same for each organization, so that you will only need to change a few words to customize it.
7. Job search engines can send you an email when a new position is listed that fits your criteria, giving you a jump on the stragglers that just check the site every few days. If you have your resume posted on their site, the potential employer will automatically get your profile or resume, saving time and energy.
8. Time savers are crucial to helping make your job search more efficient, especially in today's competitive market.
9. Have a reference list ready to produce if requested, as employers still like to be able to ask around about you.
10. Networking is still a good method of finding employment opportunities. If you are or were reputable in a specific field, using your occupational networks can be a smart way to go.