This is a tough economy and finding a job may seem like a difficult proposition. The Colorado unemployment rate is almost 8% and each day there are more job cuts. As dismal as this seems, there are job opportunities available locally but it is a matter of working hard to find them and knowing where to look.
Before starting to search for a job, your job skills must be evaluated. If your resume does not include any education or job skills, then this must be addressed first. This has to be a priority because employers are not interested in hiring non skilled employees. The job market is way too competitive to expect to be hired with minimal skills. Unskilled workers have been the first employees to be laid off because they are the easiest to replace.
The next step is to determine what the occupational field that is to be pursued. If your job skills and training is as a petroleum engineer then your search must be aimed at employers who need this type of worker. Be smart with your search and don’t waste your time looking at places that would never hire in your field.
If you plan to transition into another job category, your resume needs to convey that your skills fit into the criteria for the job that they are looking for. Be specific and use terms that employers are looking for such as managed, directed, saved, or was responsible for.
Where does an unemployed worker start looking for a job?
Don’t bother to look at the want ads in the newspaper because there rarely are any worthwhile jobs listed.
If you have contacts within your field, call everyone that you know and let them know that you are looking for work. Networking is the best, most reliable method to find a job. If you do not have any contacts, then your job search will need to go to the internet.
A good place to start looking for jobs is with the government. There is the U.S. government, state government, city and county government, and local districts. The U.S. web site is usa.gov and currently has over 15,000 jobs listed. In addition, The State of Colorado usually has a variety of jobs available. Another rich source of jobs is the individual city and county governments. There are a lot municipalities and generally each one has a web site with open positions available.
Search for employment through the internet job sites, like monster.com, career builder.com, or jobsearch.about.com. Yahoo hot jobs.com, for example, has over two thousand open jobs listed. Be creative and check every available internet job site and aggressively go after any job that you may be qualified for.
One source that many times goes unnoticed is the local media outlets. Many radio and television stations have their own sites with jobs that may not be published anywhere else. On the channel 9 news web site there are 442 jobs listed.
Look hard and don’t get discouraged.
Related Links:
Find Local Jobs File for Unemployment Online Local Unemployment Office
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