by Mark Wehmhoefer

A Project Plan for Finding a Job?

Yes! it pays to use your time efficiently so you can maximize your efforts and find the best job for yourself. Here's the project plan I used while looking for a new job. I have 20 years of experience in hiring MIS staff with recruiters and via newspaper ads. I also recruited consultants and ran my own small contract consulting company for 7 years.

I was terminated one time after I had given notice to a company but before finding a new position. Please read "If you are terminated" information if that happens to you. Oh, I won my case for unjustified termination.

The following project plan proved successful for me in my last 2 job changes. The last job change was August 99 and March 98 before that. I am now in a new position with a GREAT boss, a company I like, possible career enhancement opportunities, a great location within 20 minutes and better benefits and salary!

It took me less than 4 weeks!

If you are terminated, head to the unemployment office ASAP!

If for any reason you are terminated (laid off, fired, downsized, company relocation, etc.), you must register with unemployment ASAP. I once waited 2 weeks since I had vacation pay and I thought I should just wait. Wrong! I lost 2 weeks unemployment!

It takes some time for all the paper work to be processed and for you to receive any unemployment checks. It does NOT matter if the company that terminated you has a compensation package, vacation pay, or other benefits due to you. Do not think that you shouldn't register with the unemployment office or be embarrassed by the thought of actually having to file. I met quite a few nice people while I was there! If you are not working and you are able to work, you should file in order to receive the compensation due to you. The money received will help pay for your online time, books, paper, stamps and other misc. job hunting expenses.

Find out where your nearest unemployment office is located. Try the Illinois web site: IDES ( Illinois Department of Employment Security) or call 1-800-327-4473.  Plan on being at IDES the first thing the next morning. I suggest you get all the forms and then go home. You can take your time filling out the forms as well as being able to look up all the information you need.

Return the next day with all the completed forms and be prepared to talk with the counselor you will be assigned.
 

Later that night, get your first resume ready ASAP - don't you wish you did this a week BEFORE this happened?.

New! File your Illinois Unemployment Insurance claim via the Internet - Fast, easy, and no lines. Illinois now offers improved and expanded internet filing for most unemployment claims.

If you are just feeling out the market

If you are just feeling out the market, you may be a better candidate to work with a local Chicago recruiter. Just be upfront with the recruiter and ask questions about salary levels, etc. It's a great way to screen potential recruiters you may use in the future when you really want to change jobs. If any recruiter will not talk to you until you are ready to change jobs or will not give you salary information, etc, I would move on to the next recruiter. Our high-tech directory lists hundreds of recruiters in the Chicago area.

All employment and resume web sites may NOT be able to screen your current employer from seeing your resume or email address on a web site (we cannot screen your information either!). Please remember that before you use every web site you find!

Update your resume and a cover letter

Update your resume with all your skills and accomplishments. Don't be a perfectionist at this point. Make sure you start with something presentable and start using it. Then continue to improve the resume with updates as you keep looking for a job. Here's a sample resume.

Now you know why you should update the resume every three months! So that you won't have a blank page to stare at when you need a resume the most. A generic cover letter should also be drafted. There are hundreds of sites on the web, besides ours, withresume, interview and other job and career tips. Any search engine will be able to help you find other web sites quickly.

Immediately start posting that resume on some web sites. (You will get many - potentially up to 100! - out of state recruiter calls. Be careful that you do not use too much valuable time, better spent on face-to-face interviews with local hiring companies and recruiters.) Don't forget we have FREE classified ads right here!

Start looking and applying for jobs on other web sites. (There are hundreds of these web sites so watch your actual time spent here too.) If you want a great place to start looking for high-tech jobs try: DICE at www.dice.com. We use their search engine for contract jobs but they also have a ton of high-tech permanent jobs.

Use this web site as your Virtual Job Resource

If you have a home page or resume web page, then add or update your resume information right here. You can link your virtual resume page for FREE on this web site by adding a classified ad with your info. Plenty of web sites will host your web page for free.

What's your quality criteria?

Decide on the criteria for your next job. Do not waiver from your decision unless you realize your criteria is too limited (only 5 minutes from where I live and double my present salary) or you are out of work or you have not been getting interviews.

If you do NOT want a job in downtown Chicago, then don't even interview downtown. If you hate a specific industry, the same applies. You will be wasting your time, the interviewer's time, a recruiter's time and compromising on your quality criteria issues.

Here's the quality criteria that I decided was important for me even when I was out of work:

Manager Interview -Do I want to work for the person I interviewed with?

Company - Do I want to work for this company and in this industry?

Career enhancement - Will I be enhancing my career in this job?

Location - Just like real estate - location, location, location,. NW suburbs for me.

Benefits - Decide what is important to you: 401K or more weeks of vacation.

Salary - Always a consideration, but it should not be your only criteria.

Recruiters can help you

If you do not have a relationship with a recruiter, decide on 3-5 recruiters listed here in the high-tech directory.

Recruiters DO have positions not listed in the newspapers, but they DO NOT have every position listed in the newspapers nor at every company in Chicago.

Contact the recruiters and discuss your availability and your quality criteria. Be honest in your discussions. A good recruiter will be interested in finding you a new position using your quality criteria.

If you are out of work, remember to tell them! The best recruiters will realize the urgency and will attempt to help you quickly.

Some recruiters will want to know additional information, including: your co-workers' names and telephone numbers, past jobs, previous managers, companies where you have already interviewed, references, etc. If you are asked for that information before discussing your situation, you should find another recruiter.

Company and Consulting Firm Contacts

Review the companies and consulting firms listed in the high-tech directory on this web site. If you spot a company that you might want to work for, discuss it with your recruiters first. They may have additional information about the company. They may be able to tell you whether you are qualified or in the right salary range for the open positions.

If your recruiter does not have information on the company, then email or fax your information directly to the company. It's much faster, easier and cheaper than mailing. Be sure to include your cover letter and resume!

Start Studying!

While you may think you're the world's greatest at (fill in your best skill), bone up anyway! Make sure you really are the expert you think you are! Study for your technical test! When I was interviewing permanent employees, I always gave a one hour written exam. The test weeded out the candidates that were close calls.

Despite some bad reviews, I still recommend this book that is absolutely required to pick up, read and review some of the questions:

Ace the Technical Interview : How to Get the Best Job in the Computer Industry Includes Y2K Job Opportunities 2000 Answer Tough Questions

Michael F. Rothstein; Paperback

It's chock full of great technical questions on many subjects like MVS, Unix, RS/60000, Oracle, CICS, DB2, Client/Server, OOPS, C++, Cobol II, Delphi, Sybase, Visual Basic, WWW, and more! . I read the section on SYBASE which pulled me through a one hour verbal test for a MS SQL Server DBA position. I got the job!

If things are slow

Contact your recruiters and ask why you are not being called for any job interviews. You may have dropped off their radar.

Reevaluate your quality criteria and adjust if you are not realistic.

Send a follow-up email or fax to the companies where you want to work.

Start posting your resume on more web sites. (You will get many out of state calls so watch the time spent not interviewing locally.)

Start looking for jobs on the Usenet groups and other employer web sites. (There are hundreds of these web sites so watch your actual time spent.)

3 months after the new job

Update your resume... you never know when you will need it the most.

Good Luck!

If you prefer some other advice, instead of mypersonal experience then click below!