Job Hunting To Do List

If you are looking for a job, you certainly aren’t alone. The economy is bad. Unemployment is high. People are desperate. It stinks. Here is a to do list to keep you moving during your job search.

Make an effort every day

It is easy to get distracted and depressed when you are out of work. The best way to fight that is to start every day with three tasks to do. Make a list of employers to call, to email, to visit and to research. Have a plan for every day.

Make phone calls

Emailing your resume is a passive activity. Making a phone call is much more proactive. After you send your resume, call the company and ask to speak to human resources. Make sure that they got your resume and see if you can get them to talk about possible positions. Beyond HR, try to contact the mangers in the departments you hope to work for. This can be uncomfortable work, but if you need a job, it is the fastest way to get moving.

Customize your resume

When you have a specific job description for what you are applying for, take the time to work as many of the words from the job description into your resume as possible. Your goal is to look like the perfect candidate. Don’t fake experience or knowledge, but make sure your resume reflects the most appropriate version of your job history and goals.

Use a job search aggregator

There are hundreds of sites that list jobs. It is a good idea to bookmark the sites that are local or specialized to your career. Beyond that though, you should use a job search aggregator such as indeed.com or simplyhired.com. These sites track the jobs at all of the major job sites, so you are less likely to miss an opportunity.

Have a complete job search kit

If you are looking for a job you should, at minimum, have a resume and a business card. Beyond that you might want to look at creating a portfolio of past work, a compilation of references and even a web site with online versions of these things. Go the extra mile. If you can provide something the other job seekers cannot, you are ahead of the game.

Practice your job interviews

Job interviews make many people nervous. Some of the questions you get asked can be downright silly and others will make you wonder if you are qualified for the job. Good preparation can help you overcome these obstacles. Get a list of practice questions and either practice reading them and answering them aloud (preferably with a friend) or write down your answers so that you can review them in the future. Below are some links to job interview questions and other sites that might help you in your job search.

More on the subject

• Typical Job Interview Questions
• More Job Interview Questions with ideas for answering
• Additional common interview questions

Freelance Writing Opportunities — 02/17/2010

• Freelance Writers – Break Studios
• Freelance Health & Fitness Writers — livestrong.com
• Freelance Writer – Cars for Girls
• Freelance Personal Finance Writer – Genesis Personal Finance
• Freelance Writer – Advancement Project
• Freelance Academic Writer – ProficientWriters.com
• Freelance Writer – Firehow
• Freelance Business Writer – SmartCEO Magazine
• Freelance Writer – Kaufmann Mercantile – Los Angeles, CA
• Freelance Editors – Conjecture
• Freelance Sr. Copywriter – Digitas Health – New York, NY
• Freelance Content Writer – World History – Cengage Learning – Belmont, CA
• Freelance Technical Writing
• Freelance web content writer – Miami, FL
• Online Content (Blog) Writer – Stratos Jet Charters, Inc
• Freelance Writers – Elm Street Publishing Services
• Freelance Editor with Law Degree – Employer Resource Institute
• Freelance Copywriters for Prestigious International Tour Operator – Rosemont, IL
• Freelance Medical Writer – Connexion Healthcare
• Freelance Writer/Blogger – Small Business Community Destination
• Freelance Writers – EBSCO Publishing – Ipswich, MA
• Math Writer – Freelance – Lakeshore Learning
• Freelance Writer – Consumer Electionics – Steves-Digicams.com
• Freelance Financial Copywriter – Corporate Brokers, LLC – Pennington, NJ
• Freelance Editor – GlobalSpec
• Freelance editor/proofreader – Nativespeaker.com
• Freelance Editors – conjecture.com
• Freelance Editor with Law Degree – Employer Resource Institute
• Freelance Editor – Friedman Billings Ramsey – Arlington, VA
• Freelance Copywriter Children’s Books – HarperCollins

International Writing Jobs – 02/12/2010

• Writer (Editor) – Ottawa Centre, Ontario
• Technical Writer I – Honeywell – Surrey, BC
• Proposal Writer – Kitchener-Waterloo, ON
• Senior Writer/Editor – altisHR – Gatineau, ON
• Technical Writer – altisHR – National Capital Region, ON
• Senior Writer – WebMD – Montreal, QC
• Technical Writer – Nokia Products Ltd. – Montreal, QC
• E&P Publications Editor – Aramco – Canada
• Writer/ Editor – London
• Writer – International Life Magazine – London
• Content Writer/Editor – Hoddesdon, UK
• Editor – ID Search & Selection – County of Oxfordshire, UK
• Researcher / Writer / Editor – Mercer – London
• Technical writer – Cork, Ireland
• Technical Writer X2 – Software Placements – Dublin, Ireland
• Senior Technical Writer – Ireland
• Editor – Michael Page – Australia
• Technical Publications Editor – Raytheon (Your Imagination) – Adelaide SA
• Editor – AOL Online India Pvt. Ltd. – Bangalore, KA
• Content Writer / Content Editor – Naukri.com – India
• Technical Editor – Bangalore, KA
• Web Content Editor – Delhi, DL
• Technical Writer – Lionbridge Technologies – Mumbai, MH
• Technical Writer – Thomson Reuters – Puteaux, FR
• Consultant Grant Writer – Dime Western LLC – Any-Martin-Rieux

View more international writing jobs at Global Writing Job Roll

Blogging and Web Content Writing Jobs – 02/12/2009

• Progressive Blogger – Conducivemag.com
• Educational finance blogger – bionicturtle.com
• Green Tech Writer – taintedgreen.com
• Food Blogger – Zeppelin
• Cleveland News Writer – Associated Content
• Food critic/blogger – Village Voice Media
• Freelance Writer/Blogger – Small Business Community Destination
• Blogger and Social Media Journalist – The Kern Organization – Woodland Hills, CA
• Online Media Relations/Blogger Relations – Fleishman-Hillard – San Francisco, CA
• i-Phone Blogger – Online Jobs Galore.com – WA
• Real Estate/Breaking News Blogger – Tree.com – San Diego, CA
• Web Content Specialist – The Cobalt Group – Lynnwood, WA
• Web Content Developer – Atlanta, GA
• Assistant Web Content – Methodist Medical Center of Illinois – Peoria, IL
• Web Content Group Manager – Bentley – Exton, PA
• Web Content Manager – eHealth – Virginia Beach, VA
• Web Content Admin – Houghton Mifflin Harcourt – New York City, NY
• Web Content Coordinator – ProgrammingCareers.com – IL
• Web Content Writer – Synectics – Alpharetta, GA
• Web Content Specialist – Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado
• Senior Web Content Specialist – Edwards – Irvine, CA

Copy/Grant/Proposal Writing Jobs — 02/10/2010

• Copywriter – 22squared Inc. – Atlanta, GA
• Copywriter – Fossil, Inc. – Richardson, TX
• Copywriter – Strategic Communication Company
• Copywriter – Shopko – Green Bay, WI
• Copywriter – Staples – Boston, MA
• Copywriter – Cuddledown, Inc. – Portland, ME
• Copywriter – Campbell-Ewald – Warren, MI
• Copywriter – Mullen – Winston-Salem, NC
• Senior Copywriter – Roll International – Los Angeles, CA
• Sr. Copywriter – Zimmerman Advertising – Fort Lauderdale, FL
• Senior Copywriter – Corporate – Framingham, MA
• Copywriter – Dow Jones – FIS – San Francisco, CA
• Copywriter – Neiman Marcus – Irving, TX
• Copywriter – Profiles – Conshohocken, PA
• Copywriter – GE Careers – Burbank, CA
• Copywriter – Razorfish – Chicago, IL
• Copywriter – Advantage Sales & Marketing – Norwalk, CT
• Senior Copywriter – Charming Shoppes, Inc. – Bensalem, PA
• Senior Copywriter – Genzyme – Westborough, MA
• Senior Copywriter – Charming Shoppes, Inc. – Bensalem, PA
• Copywriter, Amazon Clothing & Accessories – Amazon Corporate LLC – Seattle, WA
• Associate Editor/Copywriter – Nova Southeastern University – Fort Lauderdale, FL
• Medical Oncology Copywriter – CommonHealth – Parsippany, NJ
• Grant Writer – Kelly Services – New York, NY
• Grant Writer – Huntsville Museum of Art – Huntsville, AL
• Grant Writer – Muskegon-Oceana CAP, Inc – Muskegon, MI
• Grant Writer – Mineral Area College – Park Hills, MO
• Grant Writer – Saint Anthony Hospital – Chicago, IL
• Grant Writer – Arnot Ogden Medical Center – Elmira, NY
• Grants Writer – Junior Achievement of Arizona – Tempe, AZ
• Health/Science/Technical Grant Writer – Transcendent International, LLC – New York, NY
• Grant Writer / Research Analyst – Kansas City University of Medicine & Biosciences – Kansas City, MO
• Grant Writer – Bellin Health – Green Bay, WI
• Grant Writer – AppleOne – Glendale, CA
• Proposal Writer – Prometric – Baltimore, MD
• Proposal Writer – Reznick Group – Atlanta, GA
• Proposal Writer Cash Management – Citi – New York, NY
• Proposal Writer / Manager – Advancia – Saint Robert, MO
• Proposal Writer/Coordinator – ICF International – Fairfax, VA
• Proposal Writer – groSolar – Jessup, MD
• Proposal Writer – Cheyney University of Pennsylvania – Cheyney, PA
• Proposal Writer – Writing Assistance – Concord, CA
• Proposal Writer – APEX – Glen Allen, VA
• RFP Writer – InfoGroup Northwest – Portland, OR

How to use the Web to Find Writing Jobs

• Revised 1/4/20010

In the days before the web, job searches could be difficult, slow, and in many cases expensive. Your main free resource was your local newspaper classifieds, and it only told you what jobs were being advertised. The classifieds didn’t have a word to say about how to get those jobs. To get career and job search information as a job seeker you needed to visit career counselors, employment agencies and job services. The web has made the process of finding a job much easier. There is just as much work involved as before (maybe more) but there is no longer a lack of information. If anything, there is too much information, which is why I am presenting this handy guide to finding writing and editing jobs using the web.

Decide on the Right Writing Job for You

You can’t begin a job search until you know what job type or set of job types you want to pursue. If you’re reading this article then you at least know what field you want to work in, but there are many different jobs within this field that you may want to pursue, from proofreader to public relations writer to proposal writer to web content writer. There are many resources on the web that you can use to research writing careers. Here are a few:

• Glossary of Writing Careers
• Salary.com a guide to pay ranges for different careers
• Designing Your Writing Career
• Writing Career Finder

Create a Writer’s Resume

Until you have a resume, you’re really just fantasizing. There is a lot of advice on the web about writing resumes. Different people advocate different approaches. I have been on the employer side of a few job searches, and in my experience there is no single best way to write a resume. The most important general rules are to keep it professional looking, don’t use more than two pages and make sure your name and contact information are at the top. Beyond that, opinions vary greatly. For writers, a list of publications in which the writer’s work has appeared is often included. The important point to remember is that, as a writer, a well-written resume is more important for you than for just about any other career. A person looking for a job as a lab technician or a computer programmer might get away with a poorly written resume, but a person who wants a job as a writer had better be able to produce a well-written resume. Here are some how-to guides:

• How to Write a Resume
• How to Write a Masterpiece of a Resume
• Resume Basics for Freelancers
• 36 Beautiful Resume Ideas That Work
• Online resume mistakes you may be making

Here are some samples of writer’s resumes:

• Journalist Resume
• Intern Resume
• Staff Writer Resume (PDF)
• Technical Writer Resume

Another excellent method to develop your resume is to use online tools such as the resume generators at monster.com and dice.com. You are going to want to have your resume listed on these services anyway, so you might as well use their tools to help you along.

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