Looking for a job?  You certainly aren’t alone. The economy is bad. Unemployment is high. People are desperate. Here is a checklist of what you need to do to improve your chances of landing that job:

1. Have an updated resume: Whether or not you’re on the hunt for a new job, keeping your resume up-to-date is important. There’s nothing worse than scrambling to come up with an accurate and interesting resume when you have only two days to make the submission deadline.
2. Check your online presence: Make ​​sure that there is no compromising or embarrassing material about you on any social network. Many employers use search engines and social media to discover information about prospective and current employees. In some cases, that information, especially social media information from sites like Facebook and Twitter, has been used to not hire candidates for a job or even to fire employees.
3. Have a complete job search kit: If you are looking for a job you should, at least, 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.
4. Focus on careers that fit you: if your skills and experience match at least 80 percent of the job requirements listed, you should be sending your resume or completing an application.
5. Cultivate your contacts: Network with friends, parents, past employers, teachers to obtain job leads.
6. What is it that you want in your next job?  Being able to answer this question will make you feel more confident about finding the right job. And remember, if you don’t know what you want, you will probably not recognize it when it is presented to you. Even in tough times, it is important to not lose sight of this.

When you take note and remember experiences that motivate and inspire you from your last two or three jobs, you will begin to see patterns. Which projects and tasks do you excel in?  Analyze what you did and the answers to these questions will give you greater possibilities for fulfillment in future jobs with similar requirements.

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