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USA > Economy Finally, a sustained surge in US job growth In three months, more than 1 million new jobs created. By Alexandra Marks | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor After almost three years, the economic recovery has made its long-awaited leap from the business pages to Main Street. Job creation, the key missing ingredient, is officially on a roll. American companies, from financial institutions to manufacturers, added more than a million new jobs in the past three months alone. Many of them pay well and provide benefits - two things notably absent in the past two years of anemic job growth. For many economists, the robust employment numbers bring a sigh of relief. They believe the recovery is finally healthy enough to be self-sustaining, even with the expected boost in interest rates later this month. That's in part because most believe the rate hike will be moderate, just enough to keep the newly fired-up economy from overheating. It's also because businesses have already figured the rate increase into their bottom lines. But many economists also warn of potential problems, from sky-high energy costs to double-digit health-cost inflation to the risk that rising mortgage rates will slow the housing market. "The crucial question is what's going to win out: The momentum created since this engine's been kicked into gear? Or are these obstacles going to slow it back down?" says John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement firm in Chicago. That answer could determine the overall health of the economy by Election Day, which will be critical to the outcome of the presidential race. That's primarily because there's still plenty of slack in the labor market. The economy remains down more than a million jobs from its peak in March 2001. Although more good jobs were created in the past three months, most of the expanding industries are still paying wages about 13 percent lower than before. That's because the hotel, restaurant, and temporary jobs are still growing faster than the manufacturing, financial services, and technology sectors. And while unemployment held steady at 5.6 percent last month, the average spell of unemployment rose to about five months. So while the economy may have hit what Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute calls a "sweet spot," it's not necessarily giving Americans more cash to spend: Despite the good news, most US wages are still just keeping pace with inflation. "The fact remains [that] the benefits of the growing economy are still not being broadly shared, they're still flowing more to profits than they are to wages," says Mr. Bernstein. Signs of recovery Lisa Trentacosta's recent experience, landing a good job as an administrator for an exclusive air-conditioning company, indicates that may soon change. She'd been looking for a job for months because the company she was working for was sold. And while she was aware there were hundreds of applicants for each opening, she could afford to be choosy, and managed to land exactly the job she wanted. "[The recovery] is starting to show," she says. "The qualified people are being recognized and scooped up quick." And that's being reflected in consumer confidence, which is expected to get another boost. The strong growth in the labor market is helping to offset other negatives, like uncertainty overseas and the rising costs at the pump. "Rising fuel costs do take a bite out of the budget family budget, but with more people working, there's more money to spend," says Lynn Franco, director of the Consumer Research Center at the Conference Board in New York. "I think we're better off than we were a year ago - but still not quite as optimistic [as we were] several years ago." The importance of moving slowly Indeed, many economists believe it will take at least another year of the kind of job growth seen in the last three months to get the economy back to where it was before the last election. According to Mark Zandi, chief economist of Economy.com in Westchester, Pa., many parts of the country, like the Northwest, are still struggling and the job market remains soft. The expected rise in interest rates, even if moderate, could have an impact. "The higher interest rates will bite, but I don't think they'll undermine growth and expansion in the job market," says Mr. Zandi. Other economists agree. Most, like Sung Won Sohn, chief economist for Wells Fargo & Company in Minneapolis, think the Federal Reserve will move more cautiously than it did ten years ago, when it hiked interest rates too fast and almost pushed the economy back into recession. "I don't think the Fed will make the same mistake it did in 1994," he says.

Job Hunting FAQ's from James E. Challenger, president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., an international outplacement firm.

I'm just starting my job search. How do I begin?

You need to really know yourself to present yourself effectively to prospective employers.

Self-analysis will help determine the best type of job for you and what types of jobs or companies you should steer away from. A realistic appraisal of your interests will help you avoid going after the wrong jobs and prevent making mistakes in the way you present yourself. You want to improve your marketability and shorten the time it takes to find new employment.

Unfortunately, many job seekers let their egos get in the way and think about themselves as they would like to be, not as they are. They may feel they are qualified for elevated positions when they are not, wasting valuable time and energy in futile pursuit. Self-delusion may prevent the job seeker from giving up the goal, saying, "That one did not work out for such-and-such a reason, but I know I can get that kind of job and I am going to keep on trying." The tenacity is enviable but misdirected.

At the other end of the spectrum, many job seekers chronically underestimate their abilities and don't try for the kinds of jobs they could get if they conducted a realistic appraisal of themselves.

Some may fear being rejected, others are too timid to make the attempt. The overriding attitude among these people is, "I know I could not qualify for something like that, so there is no use even trying." As a result, the person may settle for a lower-level job that wastes talent and limits career development.

Other times, job seekers may underestimate themselves by thinking they are only qualified for jobs in industries where they have experience. For example, a marketing executive who has only worked in the food industry may feel unqualified to work in other industries. That is not true.

Employers are eager to hire people who have the necessary functional skills to make an immediate contribution, regardless of what industry they came from. They look at it as gaining someone who represents a different vantage point. If you underestimate your abilities, you will limit job opportunities and may prolong your search.

Some people shy away from self-assessment because they do not really want to know the answers. The process of getting to know oneself can be painful. None of us likes the idea of confronting our deficiencies, weaknesses and shortcomings, but that is all part of the assessment process.

The first step is to write down your detailed work history, highlighting your specific accomplishments. What did you do that you were proud of? What did former employers commend you for? How did you assist employers in improving their market share, profitability or visibility in the marketplace? Virtually any type of work will fall into one of these categories.

List as many examples as you can. If you have examples from jobs in different industries, be sure to include them. That way you will have more to choose from when describing your background to a prospective employer.

When you complete your work history, review it. Ask a confidante to give you feedback. Fine-tune it as necessary. You may have overlooked something. The accomplishments you have listed will help you know yourself and will form the basis of what you should be communicating in job interviews: why you are a good worker and what you have done. Try to think of examples that show a progression of responsibility, because that shows you were well regarded by previous employers.

The next step is to prepare a list of your personal resources--skills, abilities, talents and personal characteristics--you can offer a prospective employer. Do not hesitate to include what you perceive to be negatives. A negative trait in one position may be a positive trait in the next.

Then prepare a list of your personal satisfactions: achievements, people, acquisitions and other factors apart from your employment that have given you a feeling of accomplishment. All of these are significant factors in forming the composite personality that leads to employment success.

List the potential barriers to your success--educational, social or personal. Include job conditions you find objectionable, personal characteristics or traits that prevent you from carrying out responsibilities at maximum potential, and characteristics of people you do not like. You need to make a candid evaluation of these limiting factors. You will function more efficiently when they are not important.

The next item should be given considerable thought. List values important to you, in order of importance and why. Many people are capable of performing well in a job but lack interest or motivation. Conversely, many people with less ability may perform the job with greater success because of more interest and desire to succeed. Your value scale will help to identify what makes you tick.

Preparing the above will tell you what you need to know about yourself and make you a more effective communicator. Then you can successfully apply that knowledge in the job market. You will know how to accent the positives and avoid any negatives.

I'm just graduating from college. Should I approach my job search differently?

Looking for your first job can be exciting, scary and frustrating, but you will learn a lot about yourself and your resiliency. You need to know how and where to find a job and to ask yourself why someone would want to hire you. It may be the first time in your life you have had to analyze yourself in terms of your strengths and weaknesses, and how you can benefit a prospective employer. These are all very heady things to think about, but they are crucial steps in getting that first job.

The entry-level job market is more competitive than ever. You are up against a large pool of people your own age as well as many more-experienced people who have been laid off. Global competition, staff reductions and reengineering in some companies have increased expectations for entry-level positions. As company payrolls get smaller, the remaining staff is often comprised of more seasoned employees. This refined, specialized work force has affected expectations for employees even in entry-level positions.

Nearly two-thirds of companies now prefer entry-level candidates who have some job experience. With training programs being cut back in many industries, people who can bring experienced decision-making to the job will be most attractive to prospective employers. As a result, candidates fresh out of college are often at a distinct disadvantage because they are competing with applicants who can boast workplace accomplishments while in school.

It means today's first-time job seeker must be smarter, more flexible and more persistent than years ago. You can start by identifying your accomplishments. Write down everything you have done, problems you have solved, projects you have completed and goals you have achieved, no matter how small or insignificant you think they are.

Perhaps when you were in school you led a study group and presented your report to the entire class, or you wrote for the school newspaper and developed a new column that ran every week. You will be surprised at how many pages you can fill if you think about what you have done in the classroom and in part-time jobs.

Explaining what you have done tells prospective employers a lot about who you are. It helps them visualize where you can fit into the organization and how you might make their company more profitable.

Now that you know what to say to the prospective employer, how do you get an interview? How do you know where you want to work? First, start your job search immediately. If you are a recent college graduate, prospective employers may give you some leeway if you didn't look for a job immediately following graduation. But if you wait too long, you will invite questions about your work ethic and what you have been doing with your time.

Next, look at companies or industries other people would ignore. Read local newspapers and look for articles on area companies. More often than not the articles are about small, growing firms that can offer you valuable hands-on experience. Entrepreneurial companies are likely to be more attracted to youthful, enthusiastic people that fit the personality of a fast-moving business. These companies may be more apt to create a position for you even if they were not looking to hire.

Do not shy away from companies or industries reportedly laying people off or in the midst of a hiring freeze. Managers are always looking for good people, whatever the salary level.

Take advantage of all contacts at your disposal, such as family, friends and alumni associations. Make a list of everyone you know and ask them for assistance. Talk to them about what they do and ask if they know of any job openings or anyone who can talk with you. Sixty percent to 70 percent of all jobs come through leads from people you know.

However, it is crucial to actively seek out these leads and see the human-resources managers in these companies. If you sit back and wait for acquaintances to provide you with job opportunities, you will be in for a long and frustrating job search. Keeping a log of everyone you speak with will help you take advantage of the information you obtain.

Look for companies with overseas operations. American companies have increasing numbers of job openings in their operations abroad. More experienced workers are often unwilling to take advantage of these opportunities because of commitments at home and reluctance to uproot. Competition for these positions should not be as intense as that for domestic jobs. Spending a year or two abroad is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and having international job experience on your resume will go a long way in getting that next job.

It is easier--and more important--to be flexible when trying to land that first job. Inexperienced job seekers may feel that by getting the interview, they have jumped to the top of the list of candidates. This attitude can translate into a passivity that fails to impress the interviewer.

There is no better time to show your enthusiasm and aggressiveness than during the interview. Confidence and energy are essential to impressing the interviewer. However, there are even more practical ways to show a potential employer your eagerness to work for the company:

* If no full-time position is available, offer to work for the company on a temporary basis to start. It shows determination and eagerness to work, and demonstrates that you have enough confidence in your abilities to believe that this opportunity would lead to a permanent offer. If it does not, it is more practical work experience you can put on your resume.

* If a part-time position is available, express interest in it. If it leads to the full-time opportunity you were seeking in the first place, then you have achieved your goal.

* Be willing to relocate to another part of the state or country. Working in another city for a temporary period will give you valuable work experience and another accomplishment to boast about on your resume.

Taking a position that on the surface may not be your ideal job might lead you to a better one down the road.

I want to change careers. How do I clarify my goals?

Whatever type of work you do, changing industries is preferred to changing job function in most cases.

In many areas, people can transfer their functional skills to other industries and be welcomed at competitive salaries. From the employer's standpoint, industry changers can bring a fresh perspective. They may see situations differently and be able to use their functional abilities to suggest new solutions.

For example, someone with expertise in computers can work in many types of businesses today, because companies are increasingly dependent on computerization in their daily operations.

Another example is sales. No business can succeed without sales, making it a function in universal demand. People who have sold stock may consider themselves stock traders. Generically, though, they are in sales, because they buy and sell stock.

Functional skills needed throughout business on a consulting or full-time basis also include marketing, accounting, traffic, engineering, advertising and public relations. Realizing your options opens up a new world of job opportunities. If you focus your job search only on specific types of companies, you will severely limit yourself and probably prolong your search.

For example, an accountant who worked for an accounting firm started his job search believing his only opportunities were with accounting firms. After a few weeks of not making much headway, he grew frustrated. He decided to call an old friend in the communications field to see if he could provide job leads. It turned out that his friend's company wanted to hire an accountant. He contacted the person in charge of hiring and arranged an interview, which led to a second interview and a job offer.

In evaluating functional areas, your No. 1 danger is deciding that you have no future in your area of expertise. The farther field looks greener to many people, even if that thought is not realistic. When you change careers, you usually won't come close to matching your old salary. You can expect an average income loss of 20 to 50 percent. It usually takes five to 10 years to get back to your former salary. The more years you have invested in a career, the longer it takes to equal the former salary in the new career.

The impetus to change careers often has its roots in layoffs. Many people who are laid off are shocked. They believed they had job security--especially if they were with the company for many years--and were immune to such factors as mergers, buyouts, closures or acquisitions. In the aftershock, some decide to start over again.

In addition, some people may have felt unchallenged, unsuccessful or unappreciated in their previous jobs. When they develop the attitude, "I never want to do that again," they are nullifying their most valuable commodity, job expertise.

Rather than identifying the particular circumstances that caused their layoff, they tend to condemn the entire industry. That can lead to rejecting the job function and industry. There seems to be no alternative but to try something completely different.

You must evaluate all of your options and consider your career investment. Is it worthwhile to nullify the considerable time and expense it took for the education, training and on-the-job experience that qualified you for the field in the first place?

How do I re-enter the job market after a few years off?

One problem facing an increasing number of parents is how to return to the work force after having children.

One way to help ease your re-entry is to stay in touch with friends and business associates. If you do not remain visible, it will be more difficult to become re-employed, because employers are not likely to remember you.

Make a list of friends, business associates and past co-workers, and talk on the phone or meet face-to-face with them. Do not limit your list to only people who worked in the same industry as you. Instead, list all of the people who may be able to provide job leads, including workers in other industries. Just because you worked in a particular business does not preclude you from being qualified to work for other types of industries. You usually can transfer your functional job skills to different types of companies, which will expand the boundaries of your job search.

Subscribe to at lease one business magazine and read the business sections of daily newspapers to keep abreast of new trends, company restructurings, mergers, consolidations and promotions. These developments can provide clues to where jobs may be available.

Because you have removed yourself from the work force temporarily, take time to reflect on your jobs. Make a list of job-related experiences and accomplishments. Then prepare an updated resume, highlighting ways in which you helped contribute to companies' bottom lines. Include ways you increased profitability, improved operating efficiency, or developed new products or services that benefited past employers.

These tasks do not have to be completed in one day. It is better to write down ideas as they come to you, because you are likely to think of pertinent facts over the length of your time away from the work force.

When you're ready to re-enter the job market, use the list to begin contacting as many employers as possible. Try to line up face-to-face interviews. Be prepared to explain your temporary leave from the work force.

Employers often give clues about what the company is looking for. You need to be flexible in each interview, adapting your answers--within the boundaries of truth--to fit the needs of the company.

Regardless of how many interviews you have arranged, do not assume that every company will have the same needs. If you go into each interview with that assumption, you will probably handicap your own job search. You will be reciting what you assume the company wants instead of finding out what it needs.

Due to increasing global competition, employers are looking for experienced, bright and capable people who can make an immediate contribution to the bottom line. Focus on and demonstrate through concrete examples your proven abilities to do just that, and you will increase your chances of winning a new job.

How do I write a good resume?

As companies continue to downsize, some job candidates are downsizing their resumes. That is a mistake.

You want to communicate to an employer all of your accomplishments and why you are qualified for a job. Too many people shortchange themselves on their resumes because they are worried about how long they are.

A resume alone will not get you a job. It should provide enough information to make the employer interested in interviewing you. The main goal of your job search is to get interviews, because that is how you will get a job.

Whether you are a recent graduate or an experienced worker, the first rule of resume writing in the 1990s is not to worry about length, only concern yourself with content. Some recommend that a resume should be short, no more than a page or page and a half, because, they say, employers are busy people and don't have the time or inclination to read over a multiple-page resume.

It is true that many employers are bombarded with hundreds of resumes, especially if they have placed an advertisement soliciting resumes for a specific position. Because of this, your resume should be prepared with ease of reading in mind and details that can be easily perceived by the reader.

However, that does not mean keeping your resume to a page if you have a lot more to tell the employer about yourself. The interests of neither the job seeker nor the employer are served by the typically short resume, because it does not provide enough information for the employer to make a fair hiring decision. On paper, most of your real competition looks just like you.

A good resume requires details of your accomplishments and capabilities. If you have been in the workforce for several years, you will have an easier time coming up with such a list than if you are a recent graduate or are about to graduate from college.

If you are in the latter group, you may already have accomplished a great deal that an employer would like to see. Think of all of the jobs you have had during the summers or the jobs you have held while attending school. Perhaps you started a lawn-cutting service, painted houses or resurfaced driveways. These jobs show your initiative and entrepreneurial drive, two characteristics attractive to employers.

Because of the high cost of college tuition, many more students are helping to finance their own degrees. Perhaps you helped to pay for some of the costs of going to school by working in high school and through college. This would be very important to put on a resume.

In addition to work experiences, consider your other achievements, challenges and responsibilities. Maybe you led a study group in a business class where you had to research and develop a marketing plan. Then you had to present your plan to the class or even to an actual company.

Many upperclassmen in college also are resident advisors in student dorms. This is a significant responsibility and one an employer should know about.

These types of activities should be detailed on your resume. They show initiative, responsibility, resourcefulness, character, successes and experience in working with others. Business runs on teamwork.

There is no real formula to resume writing. You need to include a description of your accomplishments for each employer, setting them out in easy-to-read statements. Include as many facts and figures as necessary to substantiate achievements. It is important that everything is factual. Take credit for your role in a project if others were involved.

For the more experienced individual, stay away from lengthy statements about your character or the kind of company you worked for. Just cite your achievements and what they meant to your past employer. That will be sufficient information for the resume reader.

Remember that a resume is used to eliminate candidates. Even before talking with you, if the employer doesn't like something in your resume or finds an obvious omission, you will be eliminated from the interviewing process. Whatever you exclude is as important as whatever you include.

Once your resume is done, how should you use it? Many people still believe sending a resume to an employer and then waiting for a phone call is a viable job-search technique. It is not. It will just lull you into a false sense of security that you are doing something to get a job.

You need to talk with as many people face-to-face as you can to learn about job opportunities. If they do not have any immediate openings, ask them if someone they know does. Take your resume with you when you go for a job interview, but only give it to the interviewer if asked. If your resume doesn't say exactly what the interviewer wants to read, the employer will assume you are not the person for the job. However, if you talk to the person over the phone before your appointment, you may have the opportunity to revise your resume by emphasizing the points important to the employer.

Talking to the employer first is always better than sending your resume blindly. Again, you do not know what the employer is looking for, and most times your resume will screen you out of the process. You have a much better chance of screening yourself in by talking to the employer and crafting your verbal "resume" that highlights your accomplishments most relevant to the particular interviewer's needs.

Finally, do not let your resume speak for you. The resume will not get you a job; only you can do that. In the end, you can sell yourself better than any resume, no matter how brilliantly constructed.

When inquiring about a job, is it better to call or write a letter?

Effective use of the phone is one of the most important aspects of conducting a successful job search, because phone calls are key to getting face-to-face interviews. But many job seekers either use the phone incorrectly or avoid it and write letters instead. Calling on the phone is an active approach, because you are making personal contact rather than sending impersonal correspondence.

When you call a company, speak with the person in charge of the department where you want to work. Don't volunteer to send your resume. Doing so only gives the employer a chance to screen you out. If a resume is requested, say you will bring it to the interview.

Although you are calling for business reasons, you should sound friendly, not stiff. You want the prospective employer to get a sample of your pleasant personality, which will smooth the way to requesting an interview.

Be prepared before you pick up the phone. You may be asked questions about your background that must be answered instantly. Hesitation on your part conveys uncertainty. Write a list of past job accomplishments and keep it in front of you. But make sure you use a conversational tone that does not sound like you are reading off a cue card. Listen for clues about what the employer is looking for and adapt your responses--within the boundaries of truth--to fit those needs.

For example, consider this conversation a marketing executive in the retail industry had with a prospective employer. During the phone call, the employer described problems the company had promoting a new product line developed especially for seniors. It so happened that the job candidate had conducted some original research on the mature market at his previous job and had developed several new marketing strategies. He mentioned his research to the employer and could tell it made an immediate impact. The employer asked him to come in for an interview the next day.

Many job seekers make the mistake of not actually stating the reason for the call: to set up a face-to-face interview. They assume the employer will know. The responsibility, however, falls on your shoulders.

For example, a discharged manager wrote a list of job-related accomplishments and began making calls to department heads at companies he wanted to work for. He started each conversation in a friendly manner, told each employer he was looking for a job, then proceeded to describe his background. After giving examples of job experience and accomplishments, he thanked the employer for his or her time and hung up.

Then he waited--and wondered why he was not receiving any calls for interviews. He went over and over the conversations in his mind and tried to analyze what he had done wrong. He realized the only thing he had not actually done was ask for an interview. He was skeptical that this omission could have been the reason he wasn't being invited for interviews.

He was so frustrated by the lack of response that he decided to be more direct. In his next series of calls, he started out in the same friendly manner and briefly described a few of his job-related accomplishments. Then he asked the employer for a face-to-face interview. To his surprise, most of the employers were willing to set a date for the appointment.

Try it. It works.

I have held several jobs in a relatively short time. Will employers view that negatively?

We live in an age when the one-company person no longer exists. Your father, mother and grandparents may have worked for one company their entire lives. Now it is not uncommon to be employed by three, four and even five or more companies during your career.

Accelerated by unending layoffs, the number of managers and executives who have changed jobs four or more times has increased dramatically, according to surveys our company conducts among the people who go through our program. In 1997, an average of 40 percent of discharged managers and executives have worked for four or more companies, compared with an average of 30 percent in 1994 and 23 percent in 1991. Some of these job changes have been made by choice, and some have been the result of layoffs. The dramatic increase in mergers and acquisitions in 1997 also helps explain the large jump in the number of job changes.

Someone with several job experiences can be attractive to an employer. It says that you have vast experience and shows your value from having worked under different systems and structures.

The key is to communicate what you have accomplished at each company. Discuss how you helped past employers meet their objectives. You want to show that your contributions at each company made a difference, which will enhance your value to the employer.

You also should show a work record that has you employed at one company for a significant period of time, at least four or five years. Otherwise, the list of positions on a resume may reveal that you have had a difficult time holding down a job or getting along with others.

Under what circumstances should you seek a position at another company? Many ambitious people constantly look for new opportunities to advance their careers. In light of the increase in mergers, acquisitions and restructurings, employees are being asked to evaluate their worth to a company.

If you learn that your company is a candidate for acquiring another firm or is being bought itself, it is time to honestly assess your position, or someone else may do it for you. When a company is merged or acquired, the new management will immediately make changes in the employee ranks. Businesses will retain people who fill positions the new company needs. Those who duplicate responsibilities already being handled by the acquired company are likely to be discharged.

Another case may be if your company's business has been down for a period of time. If your company is closing manufacturing plants, shutting distribution centers and, in general, contracting its business, that is a sure sign management is looking for places to cut. Your job could be next.

Also, pay attention to people who joined the firm at the same position and the same time you did. Are they getting promotions faster than you are? Are their responsibilities different or more significant than yours are? If the answer is yes, then you should realistically look at what the future at that company holds for you.

Even if your job is not in jeopardy, you may be stagnating. Companies looking harder at their bottom lines may not be promoting as fast or giving significant salary increases. Seeking positions at other companies may be the only way you can improve your position and the money you make.

However, be careful about being so quick to leave your job. In these days of ongoing mergers and downsizing, the company you are considering going to may be a merger candidate itself. Before you take another job, investigate the new firm's financial situation and whether there are rumors of a buyout.

The bottom line in changing jobs is to take control of your own destiny. Sometimes you cannot avoid getting laid off. It is generally not your fault, and sometimes you may not even see it coming. But in many cases, changes at the company should signal you to take action--to hold on to your current position or to look for another job.

To a future employer, several jobs listed on your resume can be impressive. Because of your different experiences you may be a stronger candidate than people who have worked for the same company their entire careers. Those people can only bring the experiences learned at one business, while you bring with you knowledge, training and background from different companies and possibly different industries.

When talking with an employer, remember these points about your job history:

* Relate specific accomplishments for each of your past employers. Do not just write down or name a list of companies for which you have worked. You do not want to appear to be a job hopper.

* Tell the employer how each experience helped you in your next job. Employers by and large understand and accept the concept that people make controlled changes as stepping stones to advancement.

* Explain how your past experiences will translate well to the position you are interviewing for. You do not want to appear to have had several disjointed jobs that have nothing to do with the job you are interviewing for.

Make working for several companies work for you. Getting a job will be faster, and you will create added value for your new employer.

What should I expect at a job interview and how do I prepare for it?

Many job seekers do not prepare in advance for an interview. It takes homework, not about the company you are seeing but about your candidacy. Not preparing in advance is like trying to take an examination without studying the subject. That is no way to succeed.

In an interview, you must communicate a lot of specific information about yourself precisely and rapidly. You cannot do that by ad-libbing. You should commit to memory facts and figures about your accomplishments. That way, you'll be ready when you're asked to tell the interviewer something about yourself. Explain what you have accomplished for previous employers and back it up with concrete and descriptive detail.

Many job seekers, such as sales people, talk for a living. They think they can talk their way into or out of any situation. That is not likely to happen in a job interview. If you are not prepared, it will show, and you will not make the best impression.

Make sure you know where you are going. That may sound basic, but many job seekers do not know where their interviews are or incorrectly estimate travel times. As a result, they show up late. If you are even a few minutes late, you have taken yourself out of the running. Employers are not interested in why you were late, even if you have a good excuse. You need to know where the interview is. Estimate how long it will take to get there, then add some extra time in case the unexpected happens. Plan to arrive 10 minutes early. If you are earlier than that, it's fine. Just mark time somewhere until you are due at the reception desk. Being too early for an interview will never cost you a job, but being late will.

Once you're there, realize that an interview is not a casual conversation and shouldn't be treated as one. Your future may depend on it. Many job seekers make a bad impression, mostly because they aren't listening and are more interested in their own agenda instead of the interviewer's. Listen to what interviewers say and how they express themselves. Take your cues for answers from there. All interviews--and interviewers--are not alike, so you have to adjust your presentation to meet the requirements of each interviewer. If you do not, someone else will be hired.

Plan on doing a lot more listening than talking, especially in the first interview. You have to check your ego at the door. You may be accustomed to dominating the conversation, but a job interview is not the place to do it. It will only leave the interviewer with an unfavorable impression of you.

Be relaxed, attentive and pleasant. Make the interviewer like you. It's the most important thing you can do to secure a job offer.

What is the correct way to follow up an interview?

Writing a thank-you letter should be the first thing you do after an interview. Do not send the letter immediately; wait four or five days so the interviewer will remember you in the following weeks.

Before you write the letter, go over the interview in your mind. It will help you write a better letter and prepare for subsequent interviews, with the same company or a different one. Try to think of things you left out, specifically examples of how you helped advance your previous employer's business.

Then after two weeks, start calling every week to 10 days.

Stay in touch by phone on a regular basis as long as the possibility of a job offer exists. When you call, ask if you can give the interviewer more information about yourself. If the interviewer says no and the situation is dead, then ask for referrals to other companies. The key to following up is to sound interested and enthusiastic about the job. Tell the employer that you really want the job and would be great at it. The level of enthusiasm may make the difference among candidates whose job credentials are equal.

Another important element is the regularity of the follow-up. If interviewers don't hear from you, they will conclude that you are not interested. If you keep calling until someone is hired, you are demonstrating interest. Every call gives you another opportunity to advance your candidacy by presenting more information about yourself.

By doing non-stop interviewing, you should accumulate a number of follow-ups to make. Make a chart so you will know which should be followed up when.

Don't lose your momentum, though, and mark time waiting for a resolution on one job. Keep attacking the job market by interviewing. The more possibilities you get, the faster you will find a job.

Should I tell a prospective employer that I make more money than I really do?

Honesty should be your only policy when looking for a job.

It may sound like a truism, but an increase in ethics violations has caused companies to be more cautious when hiring job applicants. To help prevent hiring mistakes, employers are interviewing more applicants and doing more in-depth screening.

In this job-hunt atmosphere, you can eliminate yourself by making misstatements in an interview or on your resume. Details about responsibilities, education and salary are the most common misstatements.

Some job seekers add a percentage onto their previous salary, usually between 15 percent and 25 percent, incorrectly believing this will enable them to negotiate from a stronger vantage. Professionals call it "adding the tip." Salary usually is one fact previous employers will verify. If you are caught lying about your income, it is all over.

Some job seekers claim to have had more responsibility in their previous position than they actually did. For example, a manager in the financial-services industry decided to exaggerate his status at past jobs. He told prospective employers that he had been a vice president at his last two jobs. He was hired by a company and worked there for several months. One day he was called into his employer's office and fired on the spot. His boss said he had discovered the lies. Although the employee protested and cited positive contributions to the company, it was too late. Lying cost him his job and significantly jeopardized his future. He had to start all over again. It was as though the time worked at his former company had never existed. Because he was fired for lying, he could not use his former company's name or anything he accomplished there. In addition, he had to account for that time to prospective employers.

Educational background is another detail some job seekers falsify. The most common claims include graduating from a school more prestigious than the one you attended or claiming you have a degree you don't. Degrees are only important for a first job or the first job after entry-level. After that, what you have done is what counts. Don't misrepresent your education, because it does no good and may often be harmful.

I know a job seeker who told an employer he had graduated from a top business school. He thought this would give him more leverage, and that it would not matter in the end because he felt he would be able to handle the position. In reality, he had never attended any graduate school. During the course of the interview, the employer asked some questions about his graduate school experience and became suspicious when the job seeker hesitated slightly on many of his responses. When the job seeker called the employer a few days later to see if a decision had been made, the employer said he had been eliminated. After talking with a friend at the company, he found out why. From that point on, he realized he had better tell the truth or risk prematurely ruling himself out of a job. Unfortunately, misstatements seemed to be the right idea for a manager in the manufacturing industry who had worked with one company for 10 years. He was worried that he would appear limited in the eyes of prospective employers, so he falsified his resume and listed other companies for which he had supposedly worked. When the prospective employer asked about his previous experience, he made up a few examples of what he had done at previous jobs. He also mentioned a well-known company by name and said he worked there for several years. Coincidentally, the prospective employer had a relative who was president of that company. When he asked a question about the president, the job candidate looked at him with a blank expression and said, "Who?" As soon as he said that, the interview ended.

Had that job seeker stressed his pluses instead of lying, he may have been offered the job. His background would have been looked upon favorably by most employers because he had been promoted several times in his previous job and had the ability to perform several job functions.

Misstating anything, either orally or in writing, will only wind up being counterproductive, because as soon as the employer detects a lie, you will be removed from consideration. If you feel something in your professional or educational background may stand in the way of your job search, stress the positives about yourself instead of lying.

There are many ways to project the image of a likable, confident, happy and capable person, the kind of candidate an employer is looking for. In an interview, instead of speaking generalities about how wonderful and capable you are, give concrete examples of how you contributed to a company's performance. You do not need to lie or exaggerate. Good work speaks for itself when properly presented.

Avoid mentioning anything that may be perceived as negative. Give examples of your ability to work well with others. Employers, today more than ever, want to hire people who will fit in well with the company immediately and be effective team players. By citing positive examples, you will give the employer reasons to screen you in, not out.

I am over 50. How should I approach the job search differently?

The nation's 50-plus population will jump 50 percent by 2006, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That means just about every aspect of life is going to shift to the concerns of people in their 50s. Baby Boomers have dominated work force demographics all their working lives, and the situation will not change as this group ages. Employers will find advantages to accommodating large numbers of aging boomers, the first of whom turned 50 in 1996.

In reality, however, some older workers may have a difficult time finding a job. Considerable publicity has been given to how some employers are targeting middle-aged and older workers for layoffs because they tend to have higher salaries.

Some say older workers are supposed to be less productive, have more workplace injuries and cost employers more in healthcare and other benefits. None of this is true. Studies show older workers are just as productive as when they were younger, can contribute as much as younger counterparts, are more dependable than younger workers and have better problem-solving abilities than younger employees.

For example, Days Inn turned to older workers because they are a stabilizing influence on younger employees and have experienced changes in business. Motorola Corp. says older workers add dimension younger workers can't: experience and an understanding of business.

In the first quarter of 1996, the median length of a job search for executives and managers older than 50 was just over three-and-a-half months, only about three more weeks than their younger counterparts. That is not a big difference in the overall picture of seeking full-time employment.

The bottom line is that the ability to obtain work is up to the individual. Older people can do several things to make themselves more desirable:

* Stress examples of loyalty to your former companies to demonstrate your unwillingness to jump ship at the first available opportunity. Although employee/employer loyalty has been severely tested over the years due to ongoing layoffs, employers still need to feel that employees are 100 percent committed to the company.

* Emphasize relevant experience--real accomplishments--that tells the prospective employer you will not have a long learning curve. It is important to convince the interviewer that age has nothing to do with learning new concepts and accepting new ways of doing things.

* To counteract the stereotype that those over 50 don't have imagination, mention work experience that demonstrates your flexibility and creativity. Discuss ways you have solved problems and ideas you have developed to make your former employer more money or be more competitive.

* Look and act young. Everyone knows people who are 50 who look and act as if they are 65, and people who are 65 who look and act as if they are 50. Dress in fashionable clothes and show enthusiasm for your work. Exhibit a sense of excitement and energy, traits younger individuals do not always show.

* Embrace technology. You do not want to appear as if the world has passed you by. If you do not have at least a rudimentary understanding of computers, take a night class. Employers do not want to spend a lot of time teaching new employees how to use computers.

Here are some things older workers shouldn't do:

* Don't apologize or act defensive about being over 50. Never again say, "Nobody really wants to hire someone over 50." You can't have a defeatist attitude, or it will show during the interview. Employers want to hire people confident in themselves and their abilities, regardless of age.

* Don't lead with your resume. It might show that you graduated from college before your interviewer was even born. Try to get the interview based on your experience and what you can do for the company. You can't leave dates off your resume or stop the chronology early. It is a red flag to employers that something is amiss in your work history and will prompt questions from the interviewer. The goal is that by the time interviewers asks to see your resume, you will have already won them over--and age will not be an issue.

* Don't tell the interviewer you took early retirement or you are thinking of retiring in a few years. It reminds them that you are older and that the idea of retirement is more important than the job you are interviewing for.

* Don't mention accomplishments you made more than 10 years ago unless they are extraordinary or your only example of experience for a certain job. If you mention a past accomplishment, talk about it as if it happened today.

* Don't patronize a younger manager. You do not want to make interviewers feel you are better than they are. If you have a problem working for someone younger than you, resolve this conflict immediately, because odds are it will happen. You have to accept it.

If you are over 50, it is your job to overcome stereotypes in the workplace. Once you do that, you will be more accepted by employers and get job offers easier and faster.

There is a position I'm really interested in. Should I lower my salary expectations to secure the job offer?

Lowering your salary request is a major mistake.

Job applicants who lower their salary prospects below previous earning levels think they are making themselves more appealing. However, the effect is just the opposite. You're only damaging your chances of being hired and prolonging your job search. If you ask for less, employers will view you as "undesirable property," which will lower your prospects of being hired.

Employers have salary schedules and budgets, and know what they can pay for each position. They are more than willing to meet the salary demands of those they want to hire.

What you earned on your last job is what you are worth. It is your true market value. When you lower your salary request, you send the message that you do not have much confidence in yourself. The employer may think you lack initiative or are indecisive, tentative and slow to take action. Alternatively, many employers connote salary with capability. If you ask for less, you indicate self doubts about your ability.

Winning a job is a matter of how well you can sell yourself and your abilities to the interviewer. A significant part of that selling effort is to show in every way possible that you have confidence in yourself and the job you can do. That applies to salary as much as any other subject that might come up during the interview.

You should not, however, mention salary before the interviewer does. Ideally, salary should not be discussed until after the employer makes a job offer. If you mention salary before the interviewer does, you are telling the person that your main concern is yourself, not the company or the job. In most cases, that will remove you from consideration.

Most employers today do not want to hire people at bargain-basement prices, and you should seriously question your future with a company that attempts to buy you for less than your true worth. A company may save money initially by hiring low-paid employees, but it will cost them in the long run if the new employees make serious mistakes that disrupt work harmony or irritate customers. Also, employers who have hired workers too cheaply worry that better offers by other firms can easily lure their them away.

The bottom line in job-search success is being liked in the interview. When the interviewer likes you, you will be asked to return for more interviews. As you increase your visibility with the prospective employer, he or she likes you more, and the price goes up. You should reach the point where the subject of money will require only a gentle nudge on your part after a job offer is made, and you should be able to get what you require.

One note of caution: If, after you find out more about the job, you decide you do not like it, do not be tempted to take it just because the employer is offering you a good salary. Your discontent will become evident once you are on the job regardless of how much money you are getting. You may try to rationalize that you'll learn to like it, but that is not likely. Do yourself and the employer a favor by continuing your job search elsewhere.

How do I negotiate salary? Negotiating salary is one of the biggest problems for job seekers.

You want to get the best remuneration possible, but how do you go about doing it? What should you say or not say when being interviewed by a prospective employer?

Unfortunately, many people do not know how to proceed. They are so anxious to be on a payroll in today's competitive job climate that they may not take enough time to properly negotiate salary and benefits.

To begin with, what you do not say is very important. If you inquire about salary and benefits early in the interview, you are making a cardinal mistake. Bringing up money too early is one of the main reasons prospective jobs are lost. Premature salary discussion sends a negative message to the employer: You are more interested in yourself than the company or the job. It focuses attention away from your capabilities and accomplishments. Try to avoid discussing money until after the employer offers you the job.

The subject of salary and benefits will obviously come up at some point during the interview process. Once the company decides it likes you and wants to make an offer, enough information has been exchanged and proper rapport achieved to embark upon the delicate issue of money. One of the best ways to sabotage your chances is to start discussing monetary needs before the potential employer understands your qualifications and feels comfortable with them.

It's best understood when you put yourself in the prospective employer's shoes. The employer has a job opening but has not decided who will be hired. At the outset, your chances are as good as those of anyone else. How you handle yourself in the first job interview will determine whether you are invited back for successive interviews. There are usually several candidates for a job, all of whom appear to the employer to be about equal in terms of background and experience. The employer is concerned about the job and who may be able to do it best. Any job seeker who does not seem to put the company's requirements first is not demonstrating what the employer wants to be shown. At that juncture, while the employer is evaluating your capabilities and deciding how good an employee you would be, bringing up the subject of money can be seen as placing your own interests over those of the interviewer or the company.

The interview may have gone well up to that point, with a gradual building of rapport between you and the interviewer. With one stroke, you have damaged the advantage you have gained, and you may have removed yourself from further consideration for the job. In the ensuing discussion, you may find yourself trying to crawl out of the hole you dug for yourself.

Some interviewers may raise the subject of money first, just to see how you will react. The interviewer may ask, "What would it take to get you here?" or, "We probably would not be able to afford you." What the interviewer is trying to do is test your reaction and gauge your interest in the job. Employers rarely hire someone who expresses lukewarm interest in the job.

Knowing the reasons for the questions will help you avoid giving unwise answers. The best response is to reassure the questioner about this concern. Couch the issue of salary by making your enthusiasm for the job part of your answer. You could say, "I am excited about this opportunity and your company. I am sure the salary would be fair." If you are pressed to name a figure, just state your salary for your previous job and let the employer decide what to do next.

Tell the prospective employer what you have accomplished for previous employers. When you present yourself that way instead of voicing your concerns about money, you will make a more favorable impression. Let the subject of money materialize as you return for successive interviews. The more the prospective employer sees you, the closer you are to getting an offer.

Remember these points when negotiating compensation. If you name a figure too low, you will come across as not being equipped to handle the job. If you name a figure too high, you may price yourself out of the job. Know what your salary requirement is. Don't accept less.

You should not try to name a lower figure in the belief that it will make you a more attractive candidate. In fact, just the opposite will probably happen. If you are willing to accept a lower figure, the employer could conclude that you lack confidence in your abilities and are not the person for the job. Most employers have preset salary ranges and will often meet a job seeker's demands. If an employer will not meet your requirement, others will. In today's job market, qualified people do not have to accept less money.

I have been offered a position in another state, but my spouse is employed here. What options do we have to resolve this situation? Extremely strong job markets in certain parts of the country have forced many people to confront the issue of relocating for a new job. If you have a job offer in another market and a spouse employed in your present market, the spouse is likely to be extremely reluctant to give up a job, sacrifice income and run the risk of starting over again elsewhere.

It is a difficult decision, often complicated by the reluctance of the working spouse to pull up stakes and move. Many are moving, though, as shown by the fact that 42 percent of out-of-work managers who relocated in 1997 had employed spouses, according to the Challenger Index of job-market statistics.

The first thing you should do is ask if your new company offers job-search counseling for working spouses. Many companies offer this service as an extra benefit, because it is necessary to attract the people they want.

Job-search counseling, which combines personal counseling with job-search training, teaches the spouse how to look for a job in the new location. The goal is to ensure that the relocation will be as beneficial to the spouse's career as it is to the person offered the new job. It is predicated on the ideas that spouses should not sacrifice their own careers or lose income to relocate. If your new company does not offer this service, you and your spouse can work together to find job opportunities in the new location. You must remember that you need to search for jobs in a variety of industries, unless your spouse is in a highly specialized field. In the search, do not overlook cities that surround major markets.

If the new company does not offer job-search counseling, ask your new employer for job leads in the new market. Frequently, employees are members of business associations and civic groups. They may have information about potential employers for your spouse. Their friends or associates may be able to provide leads, too. Additionally, utilize resources of professional associations your spouse may belong to. Friends or former business associates who live in that market are prime sources of job leads. Friends and business associates in your present market also may be information sources. Check newspaper classified ads and go to the library to look for listings of the "top 100" organizations in the new market.

Your spouse should prepare an updated resume and cover letter, but remember that it is better to have personal interviews with potential employers than to rely on resumes or letters. Rather than writing letters and waiting for responses, use the phone and fax.

It can be expensive, but the best approach is to travel to the new location and interview in person. Before visiting, the spouse should arrange multiple interviews over several days. Resumes should be taken along but given only to those who request it, and only at the time of the interview. That's because a resume often loses more jobs than it gains because it gives the employer a chance to screen out the job seeker. It is far better to spell out your qualifications in the job interview.

Expenses for out-of-town job hunting may be tax-deductible, as long as the main focus of the trip is job searching and not sightseeing. Contact the IRS for information about expenses that can be deducted.

Out-of-town trips must be well planned. You have to know where you are going and how long it will take to get there. Allow extra time in case the unexpected happens. Do not crowd too many interviews into one day. If you are late for an interview, even by a few minutes, it will probably throw your whole day off. Local chambers of commerce are good sources for logistical information. You should call ahead to request information and a city map.

In my experience, decisions about moving often involve money. If the couple's total income will increase because of the move, they usually will do it. If total income will not increase, they usually will not. All of your options must be considered carefully before making a decision. The decision may be further complicated if children, particularly teen-agers, are involved. Most teen-agers will fiercely resist moving because they do not want to be separated from their friends. It may be difficult to convince them the move is best for everyone. Many families, though, are confronting that situation and resolving it successfully.

If your spouse has employable skills and a good work record, finding a job in a new location should not be a problem. Persistence is required, though, because of competition in the new market. Interview follow-up calls should be made regularly. The spouse also has to be flexible enough to take a job quickly after it has been offered. Employers are not willing to wait a long time for a decision. If the spouse does not respond rapidly, the job will go to someone else.

I want to work at a certain company, but I haven't seen ads for it. How do I get my foot in the door?

Some employers are difficult to see, and it takes creative strategies to gain entry. It also takes a lot of old-fashioned persistence.

I am reminded of a saleswoman who wanted to make an appointment with a purchasing executive in another city, and knew that person would probably be hard to see. She wrote ahead and said she would be calling the executive when she arrived in town, figuring that would ease the way. But when she called, his secretary said the man was busy and could not take the call.

That story was repeated every time the woman called. She had scheduled four days of appointments in that city and called the purchasing executive every day without success. She was about to give up on the morning of the fifth day, only a few hours before she had to catch a plane home, but decided to give it one more try.

To her surprise, the purchasing executive answered his own phone, apologized when told she had been trying to reach him all week, and told her to come right over. She made her presentation, which resulted in a major sale. Whether the purchasing executive had in fact been too busy to see her or whether her lack of access was caused by an overzealous secretary, she was persistent and successfully completed her mission.

If you have your sights set on a certain company, more effort is required. You might want to call the hiring manager early or late, before or after the start of the business day. You might be able to make direct contact with the employer when the secretary isn't there.

If you do, offer to make an appointment at his convenience, before or after the regular business day if necessary. That will send the message that you are interested in the company enough to make the extra effort to be interviewed. It also will show that you are not likely to be a nine-to-five worker, recognizing that the hours of the business day have expanded to encompass whatever time is needed to get the job done. Both are very desirable impressions to make on a prospective employer.

Have you sent this person your resume? What type of a resume was it? Many job seekers do not have the type of resume they need in today's market. If your resume was the traditional one-and-a-half or two pages that briefly outlines your goals, work background and education, you have done yourself a disservice. Today you need several pages that show what you can do for a prospective employer, including specific examples of your accomplishments for previous employers. You should focus your resume away from your own objectives and concentrate on what you have to offer a company. A self-centered resume that discusses your goals is going to wind up in the trash.

If need be, revise your resume and just sit outside the hiring manager's office until you can be seen. Sooner or later, the person will have to talk to you.

There is, of course, the possibility that an employer may not be interested in you. It is not pleasant to contemplate, but you have to consider it. However, you should not let it lessen your sense of self-worth. Do not put all your eggs in one basket. There are lots of excellent jobs out there. If you still have no success after making your best effort to see this hiring manager, take your experience to another employer.

I just got out of the Army and have never conducted a job search. Where do I begin?

First, enroll in the new Defense Department counseling program to help prepare you for entry into the civilian job market. Few people separating from the military really understand how to translate their experience into terms readily understood by the private sector. As a result, many are being thrust unprepared into civilian life.

Three problems need to be addressed:

* The military's lack of knowledge on how to search for a job in the civilian market.

* Military personnel's self-effacing tendency not to take credit for jobs they did well even when credit is due. (Self-effacement is part of the military culture but is the opposite of what is required to get a job in the civilian market.)

* Civilian companies that do not understand military accomplishments because they offer primarily "bootstrap" programs for civilians.

Assuming you performed well in the army, you have self-discipline, possess a sense of self-worth and understand the value of a team approach to solving problems. Employers look for these same attributes in their own work forces. They make a potent combination when joined with the technical skills you have learned, which may be transferred directly to a civilian job.

Like your civilian counterparts, you need to assess the job market, target appropriate industries and companies within those industries, keep an open mind and be aggressive in your search.

If you can sell yourself in terms understandable to prospective employers, you do not need to take extraordinary steps when searching for a job. You will be as competitive as civilian job seekers.

I know that the office I am interested in has a casual dress code. Is it acceptable for me to go to an interview dressed casually?

Right or wrong, your appearance has everything to do with whether you get invited back for successive interviews. It directly affects your candidacy for a job--whatever your line of work.

In the first few minutes of an interview, an employer could screen you out based solely upon impressions based on dress and appearance. Do not let a subjective first impression override your ability to do the job.

Most employers are older, conservative people. Any distraction relating to dress or appearance may be enough for these interviewers to dismiss you as a candidate. If you have a beard, shave it.

People dressed neatly and conservatively probably will not be considered out of step with interviewing norms, and the likelihood that an interviewer will focus on your appearance diminishes. Dressing neatly is one way to ensure acceptance and a possible invitation to return.

If I recognize a company that has placed a blind ad, should I send my resume to the blind ad or directly to the hiring manager?

Companies have their own ways of advertising openings, and many prefer not to disclose the name of the firm in the ad. (Someone may still be in the position being sought.) However, sometimes you can deduce the company from the description in the ad, then call and find out who is doing the hiring and arrange an interview with that person. When you call, do not mention you saw an ad; just ask about a job.

Enclose a resume and underline parts that relate to the job in question. Write a cover letter describing your experience. Do not reply the first day the ad runs. Many companies do not sort the replies for at least a week, so the letter that arrives later has a better chance of being on top of the pile.

If the job sounds especially good and you are qualified on all counts, make a copy of your letter. Send the copy to the box number 10 days to two weeks after your first letter if no one has responded. Include another letter stating you are extremely well qualified and were surprised you did not hear from them. Also enclose another underlined resume.

What can I do in the evening to speed up my job search?

You sometimes may make early or late appointments, but interviewing is primarily a daytime activity. That leaves the whole evening for other job-search tasks. Non-business hours are important and should not be wasted.

I have known many job seekers who come home from a long day of interviewing and want a change of pace, especially if the day's results were discouraging. They may seek escape by watching TV or going to movies. Recharging your batteries is important to maintaining an effective search, but don't forget the beneficial things you can do in the evening.

Call friends and relatives to get new job leads so your list does not become static. As you meet with people, your list of leads should expand. As you "use up" contacts, replace them with others.

Check newspaper business pages for clues: announcements of expansions, mergers and acquisitions, or the election of new management teams. In one case I'm familiar with, a manager spotted the announcement of a new executive taking over a company department. The manager had already decided he wanted to work for that firm. He called early the next morning, arranged for an interview and was hired. It turns out that finding qualified personnel was the first thing on the new executive's mind.

Go to the library to research companies that have offered you a second interview. Hirers do not expect you to have extensive knowledge of the company in the first interview. Job seekers often waste time researching rather than "selling." When research is required, however, do it at night.

Paperwork, such as writing thank-you letters to people who have interviewed you, is something else you can do at night. You also should write letters to people who have given you important leads or contacts.

The next day's activities should be planned the night before. Make a list of people you want to see and call, and update it each day. Save yourself time by looking up phone numbers the night before. Friends may also provide numbers of people you want to see but will not find in the book.

Map out travel routes for the next day's interviews. Make sure you catch the right train or bus, and plan to arrive 10 minutes before the interview. Many jobs are lost because applicants were late. If you are late, call to let the interviewer know.

As you plan each day's schedule, allow enough time to comfortably get from one interview to another. That means "back timing"--figuring out ahead how long it takes to get from one location to another. Allow extra time for the unexpected. For example, I know of a job seeker who arrived in the lobby of a big office building well before his appointment, but he still was late for the interview. Why? He did not allow enough elevator time. The elevators stopped at every floor, and considerable time was consumed waiting for passengers to get on and off. Advance planning can prevent such delays.

I haven't found a permanent job I want. Should I take a temporary position?

Becoming an entrepreneur sounds like a glamorous and trendy way to avoid another layoff. However, most people are not cut out to be their own boss. You need a combination of sales experience, youth (under 50) and self-motivation.

You need sales experience for obvious reasons--business runs on sales, and you need to find and win over clients or customers for your services or products.

You need to think long and hard if you are over 50. You may not be able to withstand the rigors of building up a business.

And you need to be a self-starter. No one is going to tell you what time to be at work, what time you should go home, when assignments need to be done or what assignments need to be finished first. There is nothing wrong with needing others to add structure, discipline and direction at work.

In today's work environment, many people consider consulting or project work. Independent contractors have become so prevalent that in 1995 the Bureau of Labor Statistics conducted the first survey of "alternative work arrangements." It counted 8.3 million independent contractors. The number of outsourced temporary workers has more than doubled since the early 1980s, to over 2 million, according to government data.

If you are out of work, your former employer may be interested in having you do some consulting work. It's good for the employer because someone familiar with company policy and direction is doing the work. The work may be steady and the pay good for a specified period of time, but inevitably, like most project work, it will end.

The employer does not have to give you a reason for discontinuing the assignment. The overflow of work may dry up or the company may hire someone full time. Therein lies the rub with consulting or free-lance work. You have no control over when the work comes and goes. If you are not prepared or do not have the skills and drive to get more business, your income steam will dry up.

Obtaining project or consulting work, however, can leave ample time to job search if you are careful about which jobs you accept. Ask yourself: Is the opportunity with a good company? Could the temporary work lead to full-time employment? You may even want to get two or three outsourced jobs, putting you in touch with two or three prospective employers. I have found that 70 percent of temporary work can turn into a full-time position if the work is stellar.

Be forewarned, however. People sometimes take temporary jobs so they can avoid the hard process of getting full-time work and experiencing rejection from prospective employers. If you need the money to live on, obviously you need to do all you can to stay afloat. But keep in mind that job searching is in itself a full-time job. If you are temporarily working at a company where there is no future for you, you are wasting your time.

Depending on the arrangement you have made with the company and the nature of the project, you may be able to do all of your outsourced work in the evening at home. As a result, your days are left open for interviewing. Again, this is only recommended for people in desperate need of money. Burning the midnight oil may not leave you at your best for interviews.

Once you have found project work at a good company, you have the opportunity to "shop" the company for full-time work. The prospective employer gets to see your actual work. You get to experience and understand the inside workings of the company, its culture, its people and perhaps the person for whom you may be directly working one day. The information will help you in the interviewing process and in making an informed decision if a job is offered.

Outsourcing also enables you to keep working in your field or industry while looking for a full-time job, which is attractive to prospective employers. Be sure to include your accomplishments on an updated resume.

For instance, if your job search extends for several months, yet you are also consulting for one or two companies, you will appear to employers as ambitious, hardworking and in touch with the business world. If you are not getting outsourced jobs, you become less attractive to employers as time goes by.

When doing consulting work, ask if the company is hiring full time at that office or other company locations. If the person you are directly consulting for is not hiring, he or she may know of someone else in the company who is. Take advantage of your time in the company's office. Personally visit the people who may be hiring. You will have a head start on your competition because you are already working for the company and have the trust of someone at the firm.

Even if you cannot find someone hiring full time, you still have expanded your list of job-lead contacts. Ask them if they know other people you could meet.

Project work also allows you to expand your job search and apply your skills to other industries. Let's say, for instance, you are a laid-off copywriter for an advertising agency. You can consult not only for other agencies but also for businesses that have their own in-house advertising departments. Through consulting work, you can get exposed to the client side of the business.

We hope this information is useful and you are successful in your career.