Good Job Hunting Tools and Links

First of all some helpful online articles:

These Net_Temps CrossRoads Newsletter articles deal with some of my "favorite" bug-a-boos and dilemmas:

7 Steps to Writing an Amazing Cover Letter by Jimmy Sweeney (http://www.careerjimmy.com/)
The Likability Factor - Do You Have It by Linda Matias
Questions You Should Ask During the Interview by Carole Martin
Telling Your Structured Stories by Michael Neece (InterviewMastery.com)
Marriage, Infomercials, and Your Job Search by Kevin Donlin
How Pen and Paper Can Work Magic in Your Job Search by Kevin Donlin
Find a Job 65% Faster by Kevin Donlin (what I liked about this article is going in with the idea of generating a 30-60-90 day job plan - it brings together several other pieces of advice such as giving back and would certainly give you ideas about what questions to ask.) :)
How Your Job Hunt Can Threaten Jobless Benefits by Dona DeZube
Basics of Credit Reports and Background Checks (http://www.esrcheck.com/)
Four Techniques That Get Employers to Return Your Phone Calls by Deborah Brown-Volkman
(http://www.surpassyourdreams.com/)
Dispelling the Four Great Myths of a Holiday Job Search by Lawrence Alter (http://www.employmentclinic.com/)
Get Past the Telephone Screening Interview by Robin Ryan
Two Ways to Get an Employer to Hire You by Kevin Donlin - I like the approach suggested by the author and have been trying it - albeit not successfully - yet (perhaps considering how to apply the advice with behavioural interview questions would be helpful). The article's focus also goes hand in hand with other articles I've read on "giving back" and contributing some tangible benefit to companies who invest the time in interviewing you - for lack of better words.
Reference Improvement Guide by Tamara Dowling - this article suggests an interesting approach to building your own reference network.
The World is Not a Scary Place by Deborah Brown Volkman - good Chicken Soup for the Job-Interviewee's Soul


And here's some help with networking:

Tweet Yourself to a New Job by Dave Weinberg ( Simply Hired)


Found another good writer at http://www.jobsearchinfo.com/:

Achieving Recognition at Work by M. Green
Clairfying Your Prior Employer's Business by Tim Cotroneo (a little something you might not think of adding to your resume)

Dice Newsletter is another resource (Their latest episode hit a home run with me):
Craving Autonomy? Try Managing Your Boss by Cat Miller - This article is more for job-holders than job-seekers. I had not considered managing the meeting thing so intentionally or persistently (I'm pretty easily put off if I'm "blown-off").
Lies, Damn Lies, and Job Projections by Don Willmott
Effective Follow-up Takes More than eMail by Elizabeth Lions - I plead guilty to preferring to communicate via email - for comfort and convenience (some folks might say "lazy") - and this article at least proves I'm in good company if engineers share this same trait. ;)
Three Questions to Ask in an Interview by Cat Miller
Unemployed? 10 Ways to Fight Depression in Your Job Search by Meridith Levinson (This article calls a spade a spade - a job loss is a loss - and the post traumatic stress of such events can impair our optimum functioning if we let it. This article has some honest and practical suggestions for dealing with discouragement and rejection.)

And happened across what I hope is a wonderful resource for jobseekers over 50 from AARP!

Job Tips and Resources for 50+ Workers
AARP’s Work@50+ Career Tools and Online Resources Can Help You Find the Career You Want

I came across the phrase "How to put a termination in perspective and handle it appropriately" (Judi Perkins) - here's an article on interviewing in that context:
Job Interview Answer: Why were you fired?

Articles with potential from Interns Over Forty:

Video Resume: Should Older Workers Use One?
Recipe for Success Within the Hidden Job Market (helpful hints for "Working the Room" among other things - makes sense)
Top Ten Tips for Older Job Hunters
Simple Five Tips When Sending and Creating a Resume (I found this article along with the comments at the Interns Over 40 Linked In site to be really useful and to address a topic I haven't seen covered before - namely how to name and organize all your electronic resume submissions. A similar treatment of all the different job submission software one encounters "out there" would be helpful.)
Want to Tweet Yourself to a New Job?
10 Phrases that could kill your resume - what I like about this article are the concrete suggestions for how to prove your assertions
.

Consider looking on Craigs List for Computer Gigs? - thanks to Jimmy Saloman's Work From Home - No Scams for this tip!

How about a Video, Flash, or PowerPoint Resume or Portfolio?


There are so many topics to consider while job hunting - writing resumes and cover letters, networking, online job sites, re/training, interviewing. Job titles morph and change over the years - one challenge is knowing what search terms to use to find good prospective job matches. Here is a site where you can take a free career test that seems fairly reliable to get at some of that information:

http://www.livecareer.com/


Now some practical tools:

http://www.pdfonline.com/ - this site will convert word documents to pdf format for free

I'll add to this list and update the date as I get time and add some other links to innovative job sites that help with another bug-a-boo of mine - networking! Several job sites are featuring an online chat feature with an employee at the company or using linked-in to find contacts at the company you are applying to. Also, employers are starting to encourage online networking as a valuable tool for assessing prospective employees. Others are sending out short "assignments" so that you can provide a relevant sample of your work during the interview screening process. Kudos to these innovators! (Wouldn't it be fun to help develop some of these tools? ;))

Happy Job Hunting!

JuneBug