"25 THINGS TO DO NOW THAT YOU HAVE YOUR WINNING RESUME?"

1. Develop a team of people who will be your board of directors,

advisors, and mentors. The quality of the people you surround yourself

with will determine the quality of your results.

2. Plan a marketing strategy. Determine how many hours a week you will

work, how you'll

divide your time, and how you'll measure your progress. Job searching is

a business in

itself-and a marketing strategy is your business plan.

3. Identify 25 (50 would be better) companies or organizations that you

would like to work for.

4. Contact the companies, or do some research, to identify hiring

authorities.

5. Define your network (see "Networking Tips"). Make a list of everyone

you know including relatives, friends, acquaintances, family doctors,

attorneys, and CPAs, the cleaning person, and the mail carrier.

Virtually everyone is a possible networking contact.

6. Prioritize your list of contacts into three categories: 1) Strong,

approachable contacts, 2)

good contacts or those who must be approached more formally, and 3)

those who you'd

like to contact but can't without an introduction by another party.

7. Set up a filing system or database to organize and manage your

contacts.

8. Develop a script or letter for the purpose of contacting the key

people in your network, asking for advice, information, and assistance.

Then start contacting them.

9. Attempt to find a person, or persons, in your network who can make an

introduction into one of the 25 or 50 companies you've noted in number

3.

10. Spend 65 to 70 percent of your time, energy, and resources

networking because 65 to 70 percent of all jobs are secured by this

method.

11. Consider contacting executive recruiters or employment agencies to

assist in your job

search.

12. If you are a recent college graduate, seek out assistance from the

campus career center.

13. Scout the classified advertisements every Sunday. Respond to ads

that interest you, and look at other ads as well. A company may be

advertising for a position that does not fit your background, but say in

the ad they are "expanding in the area," etc. You have just identified a

growing company.

14. Seek out advertisements and job opportunities in specific trade

journals and magazines.

15. Attend as many social and professional functions as you can. The

more people you meet,the better your chances are of securing a position

quickly.

16. Send out resumes with customized cover letters to targeted companies

or organizations.Address the cover letter to a specific person. Then

follow up.

17. Target small to medium-sized companies. Most of the opportunities

are coming from

these organizations, not large corporations.

18. Consider contacting temporary agencies. Almost 40 percent of all

temporary personnel

are offered permanent positions. Today, a greater percentage of middle

and upper management,as well as professionals, are working in temporary

positions.

19. Use online services. America Online, Prodigy, and CompuServe have

career services, employment databases, bulletin boards, and online

discussion and support groups, as well

as access to the Internet. This is the wave of the future.

20. If you are working from home, be sure the room you are working from

is inspiring, organized, and private. This is your space and it must

motivate you!

21. If your plan is not working, meet with members of your support team

and change the

plan. You must remain flexible and adaptable to change.

22. Read and observe. Read magazines and newspapers and listen to CNBC,

CNN, and so

on. Notice which companies and organizations are on the move and contact

them.

23. Set small, attainable, weekly goals. Keep a weekly progress report

on all your activities. Try to do a little more each week than the week

before.

24. Stay active. Exercise and practice good nutrition. A job search

requires energy. You must remain in superior physical and mental

condition.

25. Volunteer. Help those less fortunate than you. What goes around

comes around.