Six months ago, you were laid off from your executive job by a company that's now six feet under. You've sent out 800 resumes, done one interview, received zero offers. You blew through the severance pay in two months, the COBRA health insurance is gone and your unemployment benefits are about to expire. You find yourself looking lower and lower on ...

Joe Turner | Monster Career Advice While you shouldn’t let the hysteria about today's economy derail your job hunt, you will have to get smarter in your job search strategy. How? By revising your tactics to include a more solution-selling approach to make your value clear to potential employers. You must always answer the question, "What's in it for them?" not, ...

5 Resume Mistakes You Can't Make If you're looking for a job and your resume isn't close to perfect, you're in trouble. No amount of personality, speaking ability, or interview skills will help you if the first foot you put forward is a bad resume. Many people are facing the prospect of finding a new job. And some are even contemplating ...

Kim Isaacs, Monster As a marketing professional, you know the importance of branding a product or company. By applying this same strategy, you can use your resume to build your own brand to differentiate yourself from the competition (other job seekers), convey your value (how you benefit employers) and generate results (interviews). Follow these tips. h4. Use Your Resume as a ...

Have you been unemployed awhile? No experience? In today’s economy, you need to carefully present yourself to potential employers to avoid being seen as unstable. Competition will be tough so you will need to start strategizing about how to promote yourself. Whatever your story is...you have strengths to capitalize on. Here is a guide to crafting your resume to sell yourself ...

By Kim Isaacs | Monster Contributing Writer You're probably aware that hiring managers cannot ask discriminatory questions during interviews. But this legal protection isn't too useful in preventing discrimination before the interview. If your resume contains personal information unrelated to your job target -- your race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, etc. - you might fall victim to discrimination, even ...

By Kim Isaacs | Monster Contributing Writer Resumes normally get less than a 15-second glance at the first screening. If someone has asked you to review his resume and you want to help him ensure it gets read - or want to know if your own is up to par - be sure you can answer yes to the following questions: ...

You're a natural at selling products or services for your employer, so why is it so hard to sell yourself on your resume? Don't worry, because you can turn your drab resume into a powerful sales tool. h4. Start with a High-Impact Sales Pitch Sales resumes need to be results-oriented, emphasizing how you contributed to your employer's bottom line. Start by ...

The workplace is not what it was five years ago. Neither is the job hunt. The most successful candidates are those who are ready and willing to adapt to a changing landscape. But it doesn’t matter how ready you are for the modern workplace if your résumé’s straight out of 1994. And sometimes, it's the most minute details that make all ...

Kim Isaacs | Monster Resume Expert You may have altruistic reasons for volunteering, but giving your time has career-enhancing power, too. "Volunteer work, whether in addition to a current job or an activity in between jobs, shows an employer that you are willing to try new experiences, be involved in your community and generally demonstrates a willingness to take initiative and ...

Finding work in the current economic climate can be challenging, whether you are entry-level, or quite experienced in the workforce. It is an absolute must to think outside of the box in order to succeed in a job search. These five creative ways can help almost anyone find work in a tough economy. Get Started!

The internet has made stalkers out of all of us. You know exactly what I'm talking about. But instead of stalking your ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend, consider using your newfound detective skills for more productive (i.e. less emotionally jarring) purposes, like snagging the job of your dreams or laying the foundation to build a relationship with a prospect. Interested in a company ...

1. The Principle of Reciprocation People tend to say yes if they feel they owe you something. Example: Charities double their response when they include a dozen personalized address labels inside their direct-mail packages. On the Interview: Always enter the interview with the attitude that you're there to help rather than be helped. When sincerely felt and expressed, this automatically creates ...

[photo:9895] In most job-filling situations, the employer has the luxury of choosing from several well-qualified applicants, all of whom could probably do the job, especially now. With so many job seekers on the hunt, little things, like the common, but often unrecognized, mistakes described here almost always come into play. Even in a strong job market, intangibles (what's not on your ...

If there's any small solace when starting a job search in this recession, it's the proliferation of digital technology to help you re-enter the working world. Web sites like Indeed.com have multiplied the number of job openings you can track and the professional contacts you can make. E-mail and smart phones make it easier to pitch yourself and set up appointments. ...

John Rossheim, Monster When it comes to connecting with the right job opportunity, timing isn't everything, but it's certainly something. Tuning into industries' and employers' annual recruitment cycles just might give you a decisive edge. That's the consensus of recruiters and employers with fingers on the pulse of seasonal variations in hiring. Here's a quarter-by-quarter summary of how these hiring dynamics ...

Peter Vogt / Monster Job hunting becomes harder than usual when you have to confine your search geographically. But you can find a job under such constraints with the right strategy. Start Sooner Rather Than Later, Especially If You're Moving After graduating from Brown University in 2004, Stephanie Harris looked for a job long distance for about four months, "doing interviews ...

1. Withhold Your Resume Here's what not to do: Fire off a volley of resumes to human resources departments. "Sending a resume is simply a way to oblivion," says Jeffrey Fox, author of Don't Send a Resume. HR departments must quickly eliminate nearly all of the hundreds of resumes submitted for a single opening. At the first whiff of your extra ...

This article first appeared on Monster. The position of Web designer may be the glamour job of the Web-development field. Others involved in Web projects, such as information architects and programmers, hold jobs that many people just don't understand. By comparison, Web designers are involved in creating the icons, images, navigational tools and other features that give Web projects their public ...

Many graphic designers and ad copywriters have great expectations for their creative careers: To produce award-winning creative for their in-house advertising department or for their agency's most prestigious clients. But other creatives have another ambition: To rise into advertising management. They may be driven by intellectual curiosity, a desire to lead, or just the potential to earn a higher salary. Whatever ...