In the current climate, just getting a job interview can be a difficult task. Official government figures indicate that the unemployment rate is dropping, but that doesn’t include people who are underemployed — and it doesn’t include those whose benefits have run out. Some argue that the “real” unemployment rate is much higher than the official 8.9% figure seen in February.

When you consider how many people might be competing for the same position, it becomes extra important to nail that interview. You will need to show that you are a problem solver, and that you are prepared to come in and work hard for the company. How you do this in the interview can mean the difference between getting hired and looking for yet another company to interview with.

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The numbers for February unemployment are in, and they show the lowest jobless numbers in two years. The national unemployment rate has fallen to 8.9%, and there are signs that companies are ready to begin hiring again. If you have been looking for a new job, you might be able to land one more easily right now.

However, even with the improvements in the job market, there is still some pretty stiff competition. You need to stand out if you are serious about getting a new job — especially since some predict that the employment rate will not return to pre-recession levels for years. Here are five tips that can help you land a new job:

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Twenty-first century folk hero Steven Slater had fed-up employees everywhere cheering when he left the job he hated in a theatrical flourish. After a few choice words over the intercom to a problematic JetBlue passenger, ex-flight attendant Slater grabbed a couple of brewskies and slid down the plane’s emergency slide.

Why did Slater become such an instant smash across Facebook and the the rest of the internet? The answer is quite obvious: there are plenty of people out there who simply can’t stand their job. Living vicariously through Slater, they wish that they, too, could leap out of their current job, albeit with bridges burning behind them.

It’s the Economy

Given the recession, however, many people are staying in jobs or whole careers that they just don’t like because they’re afraid they won’t be able to find a new job if they quit. Even for underpaid workers, the thought of finding a good paying job just seems unrealistic in this job market. Many workers have come to an unfortunate conclusion about their current job that they don’t like: hey, at least it’s a job.
Nevertheless, even if you’re stuck for the time being in a job you don’t like, you can still learn from your experience. Here are five tips to help you make the most out of a difficult situation at work.

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For a hundred bucks, you can pay a company like ResumeBlaster to send your resume and cover letter to 3000+ recruiters in up to 6 of “your disciplines.” I know nothing about their particular service but I know that they are one of several out there that will bulk mail out your resume and cover letter to recruiters in their database. If you’ve been looking for a job for a while, this service probably looks very appealing to you. For a mere $89, or less if you want to reach fewer people, you can do something that would otherwise take you several days. It seems like a good deal, almost too good to be true, right?

Before you pony up a nice dinner, let me offer up some reasons why this might not be a good idea.

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Career Comeback by Lisa Johnson Mandell is a career book designed to help the older job seeker freshen up their resume and avoid age discrimination. If the same sounds a little familiar, it’s because Mandell was the subject of a very popular WSJ article on Botoxing Your Resume back in mid 2008. The book isn’t a longer version of the article but it does take advantage of the same idea – after a certain point, your resume would be fifty pages if you included everything you ever did. While the breadth of experience may seem like an asset, it could be a liability as employers see your wealth of experience and expertise as a liability. An expensive liability.

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I hope you got as much out of reading and commenting about the posts in Career Week as I did writing them. While the posts themselves were written to speak to those who are currently unemployed, I think the ideas and tips I shared are applicable to anyone looking for a job. If you have employed and are looking for a better job, you can use the tips from Career Week to get to the next level. If you are employed and looking to change your career path, you can use the ideas from some of these posts to help you make that change.

For this week’s Your Take, I wanted to ask you to share your best career tip. It can be anything related to career advice from looking for a job to preparing your resume, from interviewing preparation tips to salary negotiation. There are many many topics I didn’t cover in the series, so feel free to cover them here in your best career tips.

I’m eager to hear the great ideas you have! (feel free to leave two or three or five, don’t feel like you need to limit it to just one)

(Photo: krishnade)

First impressions count. No matter what people say or want to believe, people will judge you based on the way you look, what you’re wearing, and how you present yourself. That’s why it’s critically important to dress properly for an interview. Interviews are hard enough to get as it is, you don’t want your chances to be hurt simply because you’re wearing the wrong clothes!

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Whenever you start posting your resume on job search websites, you will invariably be contacted by recruiters, affectionately called headhunters. Headhunters can be a valuable asset in the job hunting process because their goals are in line with yours.

The typical headhunter scenario works like this. An employer is looking to fill a specific job opening within a few weeks. They go to a headhunting company that looks in its database of candidates and tries to fill the role. If the job opening is filled, the headhunting company gets paid. Headhunters are constantly on the lookout for new talent to add to their database, so they often search job sites, as employers do, for strong candidates. The job seeker never pays for the headhunter’s services, the employers do. (in fact, if a headhunter wants to charge you a fee, run the other way)

This post will teach you how to properly use these wonderful (free) additions to your job hunting team.

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There are two big pieces to the resume puzzle – the resume itself and the well-crafted cover letter. If your resume is the car, then your cover letter are the tires. Most people don’t think about the tires on their car but your tires are the only thing on your car that touches the road. Most people don’t think much about their cover letters, especially with so much job hunting online, but it’s important because it gives you the opportunity to relate your resume to the job. A listing of accomplishments is nice, especially if your accomplishments are many, but sometimes hiring managers need help figuring out why you might be the best fit for a job opening.

After you’ve figured out the template and written a few cover letters, the process will be very easy and you’ll be able to produce a good cover letter in just a few minutes. If the hiring manager never sees it, it’s only a few minutes lost. If the hiring manager does, it’s a great opportunity to present your skills and accomplishments in a way that matches the job opening.

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Losing your job can be a blessing and a curse. Most people understand the curse part, but few look for the silver lining in the otherwise stormy cloud. When you don’t have the encumbrance of a full time job, a well-charted path, you have the opportunity to do whatever you want. If you have an emergency fund saved up, now is the time to rethink your career and put yourself on a path that will help ensure you’re happy tomorrow, in ten years, and in forty years.

This article is part of Bargaineering Career Week 2009, a week-long series focused on your career – how to find a job, how to tailor your resume, how to find the job opportunities and how to nail the interview. This article is the first article of day one – career planning.

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