Several Effective Ways to Manage Your Job Search

Looking to gain a competitive edge?  If so, read on.

Whether the job market is competitive or not, it's important to have the tools to effectively manage your job search. When you manage your job search, you manage your career. The job search becomes more complicated when there are fewer positions available and more candidates competing for limited openings. You have to make sure you're at the top of your game and that a hiring manager's first impression of you will be positive.

Beyond Your Resume and Cover Letter

Taking the time to customize a resume and cover letter for every job you apply to is a good thing. But you may need to take your efforts one step further. In today's competitive job market you must be able to respond quickly to employers who show interest. You must also be able to follow up on jobs you've applied for and reach out to contacts who can give you a good reference.

The job-search process isn't always easy because of the sheer number of things that need managing, like connecting on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. These are all part of your personal branding, and managing everything can get out of control fast. Perhaps a better approach is needed.

Take Advantage of Free Job-Search Tools

You can take advantage of free job-search tools like JibberJobber, which allows you to manage your job-search efforts with relative ease. JibberJobber and other free tools can save you a lot of time by allowing you to manage your activities in one place. You don't have to scurry back and forth between different websites and emails.

Additional free online job-search tools you can use include:

• Gmail - Gain easy access to your calendar, email and contacts from a computer anywhere in the world. Take advantage of Gmail's speed, storage space and unmatched spam filtering.
• Google Documents - Load documents directly from your computer and edit and export them as Word, OpenOffice, PDF, or HTML files. Store all your important files in one convenient place and access them 24/7.
• Indeed.com - Open a free account and manage your job hunt. You can save searches and listings and create alerts for jobs of interest.

Realizing the Dream

An education can be the first step toward career success. How you apply your education and the skills you learn to reach the next level and beyond can be a lifelong and rewarding process.

If you're considering additional education and would like to learn on your own terms in a friendly online environment, consider the online degree programs offered by Everest University Online, a division of Everest University. You can earn your associate, bachelor's or master's degree in a variety of popular career fields.

Contact Everest University Online today for more information.

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