What to Do if You Cant Find a Job

What to Do if You Cant Find a JobWhat to Do if You Cant Find a JobYouve been sending out applications, building your network, cultivating an impressive online presence and everything else youve heard you should do in a job search, but what if you still cant find a job? That can be a terrifying spot to be in but dont panic. Here are five steps you can take if your job search isnt producing results.1. Temp. Temp agencies arent the reliable solution to being out of work that they used to be when the economy was better, but theyre still an option worth exploring. Your chances of getting temp work go up if you have open availability and are willing to do a wide range of work, so try to be as flexible with temp agencies as possible. If you get those first few jobs, you can demonstrate that youll show up reliably and cheerfully, which will make you more likely to start getting regular calls. Temping will, at a minimum, give you a paycheck and something to put on yourrsum, but it can also build connections thatcan help you find job leads down the road. Some temp roles are even temp-to-perm, which can give you an inside track on a more permanent position.2. Volunteer. Volunteering can keep your skills up-to-date, give you recent work to put on yourrsumwhere you mightotherwise have a period of no activity, expose you to new fields and expand your contacts. It can also give you early leads on upcoming openings and build your network of people who are able to vouch for your work. Volunteering can also be a great way to build a track record in a new area. For instance, if you want to do Web design but dont have any work experience in that area, you might find a small nonprofit that would welcome your skills allowing you to build your portfolio and point to real-life projects in interviews. (In general, if youre interested in substantive work, youll have more luck if you reach out to smaller organizations. These organizations usually have greater needs for volunteers a nd are more willing to take a chance on someone who might be untested.) Of course, its important to remember that volunteering isnt a guarantee of anything more, and you shouldnt volunteer if youll be upset that it doesnt lead to paid work. But if youre willing to put in the time because you support the organization where youre working, it can be rewarding in multiple ways.3. Revamp yourrsum.If youre not getting interviews, theres a good chance that your application materials are part of the problem and if youre like most job-seekers, revamping yourrsumcould make an enormous difference. Most jobcandidatesrsums simply list their job duties at each job theyve held (like maintained website or managed accountsreceivable). That only tells the hiring manager what your job description was it doesnt reveal what hiring managers care most about, which is how you performed at those jobs. Try revising yourrsumto focus on what you achieved at each job (such as increased Web traffic by 30 perce nt over 12 months or built reputation for working successfully with previously unhappy clients). 4. Revamp your titelblatt letter. If your deckblatt letter mainly summarizes the information in yourrsum, its not doing its job. Yourcover letter should add something new to your application about why youd be great at the job, not just summarize your employment history. Heres a trick Write your cover letter as if you were writing to a friend about why youd be great for the position. By adding some personality (and staying away from summarizing your work history), youre likely to grab an employers attention and get more interviews. 5. Apply for fewer openings, but spend more time customizing your application. When youre feeling desperate, its a natural impulse to apply for everything you can find. But while this sounds counterintuitive, you might actually be lowering your chances by doing that. Your chances of getting called for an interview go up significantly if you take the time to cus tomize your cover letter for each opening you apply for. But you cant write 15 truly customized cover letters a day which means that if youre applying for hundreds of jobs a month, youre sending applications that are overly generic. Try applying for fewer jobs and putting more time into your application for each, and see if you dont see a difference.Alison Greenwrites the popularAsk a Manager blog, where she dispenses advice on career, job search and management issues. Shes the author of How to Get a Job Secrets of a Hiring Manager, co-author of Managing to Change the World The Nonprofit Managers Guide to Getting Results and the former chief of staff of a successful nonprofit organization, where she oversaw day-to-day staff management.