You might be the best employee anybody has ever known, but if you can't find work, your skills are pretty much useless. All your available resources should be explored in order to choose an available position. This article will give you tips on knowing what your best resources are, how to look for them, and how to use them effectively so you can land your dream job.

look everywhere

The worst thing to do when looking for work is to use only known local resources. Limiting yourself to the weekly town newspaper will really limit your search, as many major companies usually post positions in national newspapers and periodicals. Big corporations advertise in select publications as they intend to reach a more defined market of the best potential employees. Minimum wage jobs may be posted in small-town newspapers once or twice, but big openings for accountants and computer programmers, for example, will be featured in nationwide ads for a longer period of time.

Higher-end positions will have a wider scope search both nationally and internationally. Financial institutions, for example, have the funds to search for the best possible applicants. The first thing they do, however, is look for talent internally. Many jobs are posted within the company itself before they are even seen by outsiders. If the position is filled by that time, the public posting will probably not be used at all.

As in every case, there are exceptions. I'm speaking from personal experience, as I regularly apply for different positions to see what the market is offering. One specific case was for a media relations position which turned out to be for a fashion magazine. I believed I was a perfect fit for the job, but the company never gave me any feedback. It was only later that I learned from a credible source that the position had been internally filled before even being posted. Sometimes companies will just go through this process for ethical purposes and because of internal policy requirements.

look often and ask around

Although companies actively search for applicants whenever they need a position filled, nonspecific postings might still be used on a more regular basis. This is done to assemble a database of potential employees in case of future and urgent needs. Companies often place these postings in different sections within the listings.

As mentioned before, the majority of jobs are not even posted and are simply filled internally. This is why a close relationship should be kept with friends and acquaintances, so you can know about their work environment and how their company is evolving -- and whether or not they are recruiting.

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