Surf 'n' Turf

Surf 'n' Turf does not refer to Steak and Lobster in this particular instance. Rather, you are going to spend some time "surfing" the net and hitting the "turf" in your search for gainful employment.

As promised, I am providing some sites to visit in the ever on-going job search. Some of these sites have come directly from the Internet. Some were picked up at job fairs and some from the unemployment office. All three are excellent resources.

General Internet Sites

I find that the site that is most helpful to me is http://www.indeed.com/. Plug in a zip code and key word(s) for your search and see what comes up. The more different key words you enter, the more jobs will show up. For example, I selected "printing" and had several jobs pop up for printing companies in my area. If you find a job that you are interested in but do not have the time to fill out an application for at that moment, you can email the job posting to your personal email address. And, if you are helping a friend look, you can email the posting to them.

The site will remember where you have looked, meaning that you can choose to see only "new" jobs that have been posted since your last search.

The best part of indeed.com is that it pulls jobs from other search engines such as Monster, Career Builder and Yahoo, making it nearly a one stop shop site.

Government Job Sites

These sites are targeted toward Veteran's but can be used as entry ways for everyone. For you older vets, remember that just because you haven't served in the last ten years does not mean that your service doesn't count. It does. Once a vet, always a Vet.

First, check with your local Veteran's Rep at the unemployment office. Your rep will have a specific list of sites that are relevant to your state. For example, if you live in Illinois, you may want to access www.work.illinois.gov/vetsopgm. This is just one example of a site for Veterans. Check each site out that is on the list your rep provides.

Other great options for vets are national sites. The President's National Hire Veterans Committee is in charge of http://www.hirevetsfirst.gov/. For those fresh out of the military, this is a site you can use: www.CareerOneStop.org/MilitaryTransition. If your interest is in "going green" for your next job, try http://veteransgreenjobs.org/.

Job Fairs

There are job fairs held in your area or an area close to where you live. Make every attempt to attend as many as possible. Chances are good that you can get some "face time" with a representative from one of those companies that you have already applied to. Do not be bashful. Introduce yourself and do a mini interview on the spot. You'll have about two minutes to put your good stuff out there so go in prepared to talk about yourself and how your particular skill set and expertise will benefit/apply to the job you are interested in.

Call In Some Favors

Finally, put your pride aside and ask your friends and acquaintances (yes, acquaintances too) if they can give you a heads up about jobs locally. Ask if they can put in a good word for you with someone they know who is the regional president of a company. You never know what can happen.

Stay Positive

Since I haven't said that yet in this post, I thought I should go ahead. Remember that a thorough job search takes at least four hours of dedicated time each and every day. Rewrites of your resume and composition of a cover letter can up that time by another four hours. Essentially, while you are looking for work, that is your job.

Up next...The Unpleasant Truth as I experienced it.