With the U.S. and world economy in a severe economic downturn, job-hunting these days is becoming discouraging for the many thousands of people who are out of work. With hundreds of thousands of jobs being cut each month in the U.S., trying to land a job through the newspaper or on the Internet rarely yield any responses. Patiently waiting for the phone to ring for a job interview is a process that quickly looses it charm.

By adopting a smart approach to job-hunting, you can turn your job search campaign into a successful one. A successful job search campaign requires:

* A clearly defined goal
* An action plan
* Putting that plan into action everyday until you achieve your goal.

Here are the things you need to know and do to land a job:

1) Never act unemployed. You are in transition between jobs. You are not a job applicant, but instead a professional "sales person." Likewise, practice professional habits only. This is especially important when answering the telephone.

2) Know the type of job you seek and where. Verbalize it to everyone. Remember, you need other people to get you hired. Know your assets, and present evidence of your current and past accomplishments, problems solved, goals attained, credentials, and diplomas (your "Prove it" File).

Make sure you read the job description. If the requirements are, "must be a U.S. citizen, must be able to pass a drug test, and a background and security investigation" do not submit your resume to this position if you have a criminal record, may test positive for substance use, have bad credit, or are heavily in debt.

Also, many job-seekers often leave off very important and critical experience or information that is pertinent to the job they are seeking. Just as bad is to bury this important and relevant information so deep into the resume that the recruiter will not see it. No employer has the time to play Sherlock Holmes or guessing games to figure out your qualifications or background. This is why it is imperative that if you meet the requirements for a position, your resume must immediately grab the resume reviewer's attention with your skills/experience.

3) Prepare your references now and keep your resume updated. Keep your resume, personal contacts and references on a flash drive, and carry it with you at all times. With a flash drive, a job contact or recruiter can attach it to the USB drive on their computer, and save your resume to their computer. It is imperative that your contact information is complete, easy-to-read, and placed at the top of the first page of resume, and not just on the cover letter. This includes your full name, address, working telephone numbers (home, cell phone, and a day-time number) that has a voice-mail attached to them, and a professional e-mail address. People who are serious about a job make it as easy as possible for recruiters or employers to reach them.

4) Do not use unprofessional email addresses. Email addresses such as foxy-lady@yahoo.com, sexy-hot-chocolate@hotmail.com, or party-animal@gmail.com are a turn-off to employers or recruiters. With the many ISP's merging or going out of business almost every day, create a permanent email address. Many job-seekers choose to use a work email address, but this is not recommended. There are plenty of free services on the Internet such as Yahoo, Hotmail or G-mail. Remember, your resume will be the first impression a potential employer or recruiter will have of you, so put your best foot forward!

5) Avoid long resumes with long paragraphs. In the process of reviewing hundreds of resumes, it will take you 10 seconds or less to grab a job recruiter's attention. A resume should never be more than 2 pages. If you cannot adequately communicate your background in 2 pages or less, there is a problem. This can indicate to hiring personnel that either you have had too many jobs, a career that is not focused, an inability to be concise, problems with communicating in writing, or something similar. All of which make you undesirable as a potential new hire.

No matter how tempting it may be for you to go into detail about the first job you had 25 years ago, don't! Instead, let your resume showcase your most recent accomplishments. For the most part, employers and recruiters are only interested in the last 5 to 8 years of your career, 10 at the most. If you are a recent graduate with limited professional work experience, your resume should be only one page.

Remember, a resume is like ad copy. Keep it short, to-the-point, and reflect the keywords the employer uses to describe the qualities and skills they're looking for regarding the position. No job recruiter has the time to read long paragraphs, which look like a narrative out of War and Peace.

Your resume should be easy to read. The reader should be able to "scan" your resume for your skills and accomplishments. Consider using the following formatting techniques:

1. Use bullet points.

2. Use appropriate amounts of "white space" to help guide your reader. Take a look at the Sunday classified ads in the paper. Notice how the ad copy is easy to read and is spread out using key bullet-points to emphasize the criteria consumers are using to make a buying decision.

For more information about this subject, you can read about it in greater detail in, "Job Search Tips: What Recruiters Say You Need To Know and Do To Land the Job You Want." To get a free copy, Click Here http://www.successlearningnow.com/job-search-tips.html

Diamonique Fortune is a freelance writer, marketer, web & graphics designer with a B.A. degree in Psychology. She and her team of writers and designers provide high quality content for http://www.SuccessLearningNow.com

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