1. Write to Personal Friends & Business Acquaintances
Explain your situation, paint a Polaroid picture of your ideal next job or opportunity, and ask for advice and ideas. It's a good idea to write to friends of your spouse, and to fellow association members, too.
2. Contact Employment Agencies or Recruiters
Explain your situation, describe your job target in detail, and give salary requirements (optional) and geographic preferences. Find lists of recruiters in The Directory of Executive Recruiters (Kennedy Publications), which may be purchased from the bookstore.
3. Answer Want Ads
They're listed in newspaper classifieds, on-line services (especially the Internet), state job service centers, association periodicals, and on employment TV. The best letter format is to list the job requirements in a column on the left side of the page, then show how you fit in a column on the right side. It's not a bad idea to answer important ads twice, a week apart; be sure to include a note expressing keen interest the second time.
4. Sign up for Job Search Seminars
5. Attend Job Fairs
6. Join a Job-Finding Club
They're listed in the classified section of the Denver Post & Rocky Mountain News, and in The National Business Employment Weekly, published by The Wall Street Journal.
7. Attend Organizational Meetings and National Conferences
Gale Research publishes The Encyclopedia of Associations and Association Periodicals. To learn who's coming to town, contact your local convention and visitor's bureau, or your chamber of commerce.
8. Read Association Periodicals
Job leads appear in feature articles. Look for what's new, what's changing. See Association Periodicals by Gale Research.
9. Attend Business and Personal Social Events
The jobs are where the people are, namely at parties, get-togethers, sporting events, health clubs--anywhere people gather.
10. Write a Direct Mail Letter to Companies
Get lists from the 1996 Directories in Print, Contacts Influential, or the National Directory of Mailing Lists.
11. Contact Companies by Telephone
You might want to read Cold Calling Techniques, by Stephan Schiffman. It makes phoning much easier.
12. Call Job Hotlines
Many are listed in The National Job Hotline Directory. (An annual publication.)
13. Register With Your College Alumni Association
14. Seek Part-Time or Consulting Work
Temporary employment agencies are listed in the yellow pages.
15. Volunteer Your Expertise
Choose an organization where you might later be hired; little jobs lead to bigger jobs.
16. <>Watch the Media and Play Off Trends
Pay attention to radio and television, newspapers and professional journals. Look for change, opportunities, and problems to solve.
17. Call the Human Resources Department
Ask, "Are you Accepting Applications for (your specialty)? If so, what is the application process?"
18. Write a Letter to Newsmakers
Check "People On the Move" columns in newspapers, magazines, trade journals.
19. Advertise Yourself
In The National Business Employment Weekly, in the business section of metropolitan dailies, or in any media of your choice: for example, targeted bulletin boards or neighborhood newsletters.
20. Sign Up With a Job Networking Service
They usually cater to $50,000+ opportunities. The National Business Employment Weekly lists them, and Exec-U-Net is one such service.
21. Give Classes or Presentations
Teach in local community colleges, at business meetings, in professional associations--anywhere you will be seen and noticed.
22. Take a Continuing Education Class
Meet the instructor(s); rub shoulders with fellow attendees.
23. Conduct Informational Interviews
Dick Bolles explains it best in his annual edition of What Color Is Your Parachute? (Ten Speed Press)
24. Try Offbeat Ideas
Over the years, participants in outplacement workshops have made some wild suggestions. One that always comes up is, "Read the obituaries--there's bound to be a job vacancy." Everyone in class laughs. It's a not-too-practical idea, and I've never seen it pay off, but you could try it--or any other creative idea you might find.