Job Search Tips

By Anna Pitts Applying for jobs is a challenging task, one made all the more difficult when you know your recruiter has dozens of other applicants to consider. Instead of getting lost in the crowd, here are some things you can do to fast-track your resume to the front of a long queue:

By Vickie Elmer Some people want to work for Google more than anything. Others are smitten with 72 and Sunny or Leo Burnett and some are gunning to get a job at Glassdoor or Quora. Anyone with just two or three employers on their A-list of targets needs a smart strategy to show they're sweet on those...

Shouldn't it be easy to get a job if you are more than qualified -- even overqualified -- for the opportunity? If you're an experienced engineer with a Ph.D. and you're having trouble landing an entry-level engineering job, it can be tough on your morale. However, you should not be surprised when employers don't...

Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Marissa Mayer was asked at an all-staff meeting several weeks ago whether her rigorous hiring practices had caused the company to miss out on top engineering talent in Silicon Valley's hyper-competitive job market. Mayer dismissed the complaint that she had refused good candidates...

By Nancy Collamer Does it seem like the resumés you submit online vanish into a black hole? You're not alone. Most job seekers applying for jobs online never get so much as an email in return. So how exactly are people snagging offers?

When it comes to finding that first new job out of college or a new career, many applicants are told that they don't have the right skills. The result: Millions of positions go unfilled even though there are many more millions eager to find work. It's known as the skills gap, and though there's been no...

Are you an art history major but you dream of working in public relations? Are you a business major but now you want to work in design or tech? If so, you wouldn't be alone. I often am asked by new grads if it is possible to work outside of their major. Will employers consider you for a position when your...

Now that I'm job hunting, I've been wondering: At what age do you become that 'older worker" who has hit the brick wall? Based on what I've seen and heard from other mid-careerists, the magic number seems to be 55. Last week, a CNNMoney story, "Workers Over 50 Are The New Unemployables," suggested the even more...

By Cal Newport Do you want to love what you do for a living? Follow your passion! This advice dominates our current thinking on careers and happiness. It also happens to be dead wrong.

By Vivian Giang People with specific sought-after skills are having an easier time finding jobs. In fact, they're getting snatched up pretty quickly, according to Brian McCullough, founder of ResumeWriting.com.

The death of paper resumes has been predicted ever since the advent of email. And now some tech-savvy employers are even refusing to look at traditional resumes or conduct in-person interviews, instead relying on applicants' postings on Twitter in the pursuit of top talent. Known in some circles as...

By Miriam Salpeter Identifying what employers want and making the case to show why you're a fit is one of the most challenging things for job seekers. If you haven't looked for a job in a while, it may seem like what employers want changed a lot since the last time you looked for work. Years ago, everyone...

By Vivian Giang When you apply for a job at a larger firm, there's a high chance that your resume will be scanned by a filtering software for words related to certain job vacancies. This kind of automation process will also reject your resume if it doesn't "meet traditional, business-dictated document...

Lately, I've been thinking about the issue of gender stereotyping when it comes to job hunting. It's totally un-PC to say that women are better at making personal connections than men, but that's exactly what Sam Pease, a vice president at the Boston career-coaching and job search firm, New Directions, told me...

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, plenty of Americans have seen their credit scores tank. But can that really affect your ability to get a job? Possibly, since many employers increasingly are relying on workers' credit histories when making hiring decisions. Just ask Oneika O'Keefe. Speaking on...

By Jada A. Graves The days when employers hired generalists are gone. Today, employers seek hires who possess particular skills, be they technical -- computer skills, for instance -- or analytic, such as problem solving. In some cases, these skills are specialized and specific to particular types of jobs....

It's become the most frustrating aspect of the job search in recent years: silence. You submit your application online and then it goes into what has been called the resume "black hole." Despite using keywords and attaching a stellar cover letter, you receive no response from the employer -- not even a note of...

I've been at the career-reinvention wheel for nearly two months now, and I've applied for exactly one job. That's because I'm rethinking my new identity and direction. Last week I made a major leap forward as a result of talking to Karen Kang, a personal-branding guru and author of BrandingPays: The Five-Step...

If you're looking for a job for the first time in a long time, you're probably stunned by how much has changed. Successful job seekers embrace the changes and take advantage of new technological opportunities. If you want to be successful and competitive in today's market, make sure to consider the following...

Over the last six weeks, I've consulted with four different experts about my career-reinvention journey-and they've all been very helpful. But I've avoided approaching the people who could probably help me the most: my professional contacts.