Top 8 ways to find a job in a recession

Although not necessarily in the spirit of the blog, this list might prove useful to at least a few readers.

1. Use Indeed, not Craigslist

Craigslist is so 2007. Indeed includes job posts from basically every classified site on the web. If you're not using Indeed you're at a huge disadvantage. From the company's 'About' section:

"Indeed.com includes all the job listings from major job boards, newspapers, associations and company career pages - and we continue to add new sites every day."

There have been instances where I have found postings on Indeed that weren't even on the company's career site yet. I also find their search algorithm much more advanced than Craigslist. For instance, if I searched for 'mathematics' on Indeed and sorted by relevance, I will get a list of every company that is searching for someone with a mathematics degree. If I do this on Craigslist, 75% of the postings are for mathematics or SAT tutors. It weeds out the crap for you. Indeed also saves your searches, tells you whenever new jobs have been added to your searches, has a great trends & salaries feature, and a useful forum. I don't mean to hate on Craigslist, especially since I've found many jobs there in the past, but you gotta get with the times. And now you need every possible advantage you can find.

2. Smart search queries

Say you are looking for a job in New York City (let's forget for a minute that this decreases your odds significantly because the talent pool there is better than anywhere else in the U.S.). Make sure to expand your searches to all surrounding mini-cities. For NYC that would include Newark, NJ, Paterson, NJ, Stamford, CT, Long Island City, etc. All those places are easily accessible by public transportation and might have more openings than their corresponding NYC counterparts.

Similarly, be smart with your keyword queries. If you're looking for a QA Engineer position, just search for QA. Some companies might call your job title QA Analyst, QA Tester, etc. and you don't want to exclude those. I once held a niche scientific position with the title Data Analyst, which wasn't indicative of the job responsibilities at all. Your keywords might want to focus on unique skills you have, just as particular programming languages, software familiarity, or other credentials.

3. Use your school's alumni network

Most colleges have an alumni network that offers free mentoring services from registered alums or specific alum job boards. Yet I'm always shocked to find that most college graduates I know completely ignore this option. At the very least, it's a good way to electronically network with others in your chosen field. They might point you in directions you might not otherwise have thought about. Additionally, I've talked to grads at a number of schools who still had access to the normal undergraduate job boards. This happened with me, and I was able to apply to jobs and schedule interviews just as if I was an undergraduate. The school didn't care because they said not a lot of people think to do this (and it was a very large school, 4K+ a class). If all else fails, use LinkedIn!

4. Send unique cover letters

This is the tip everyone is going to ignore, and then wonder why they're not getting responses. You have to send unique cover letters for every job, based solely on the impressions you get from the job posting. The first paragraph is the most important. HR managers right now are probably seeing three to five times as many applicants for each job posting, if not more. You need to provide them with a reason to keep reading, and if you're lucky have them look at your resume for 20 seconds. Point out how excited you are about the position, and somehow mention that you're a special candidate. Enticement is key. If that worked, in the second paragraph make sure to explain why you fit all their needs, and supply examples. Don't stray too far from the skills and keywords supplied in the posting. They're basically giving you the answers to an essay exam, you just have to fill out the exam poetically. Conclude nicely, without sounding like an idiot.

5. Follow up

Don't listen to people who tell you to send a hard copy of your resume (the job will be gone by then). This isn't the eighties; although, if a fax number is listed it wouldn't hurt to fax over your materials immediately after you e-mailed application.

Let's say you receive a generic follow-up e-mail (this is better than nothing at all). It says that the relevant parties will look over your application and contact you if an interview is warranted. The company is giving you an opportunity to sell yourself further here, yet 90% of applicants probably just delete the e-mail. Take the time to send supporting materials (transcripts if you're an all-star, major publications, code samples...anything that seems relevant). It can't hurt.

6. Enlist a headhunter

Depending on your industry, this might be a viable supplement to your job search. One industry in particular where it's extremely difficult --currently, meaning in the recession-- to find an entry level position is the actuarial field. I'm privy to this info mainly anecdotally, but the trend has persisted for months now. However, the actuarial field has a large network of headhunters that you can hire for free (a google search will provide you with many). If a company hires you, the headhunter is paid by them. Thus, the headhunter subsists by finding you jobs.

7. Use only your best references

If you're fortunate enough to get in a position where a company is calling your references, you're so very close. Having a well-known and respected reference say that you are 'the greatest analytical mind they've ever seen' should get you that unpaid internship.

8. Be relentless

Self-explanatory; be at it at least a few hours a day!