By Canney Savanney You finally decided to change your career. Congrats! Hopefully you already have a new job lined up, if not that’s okay too. It may be harder for you if it has been a while since you last job hunted. For some, it may be decades, for others the search has been a continuous process...

By Canney Savanney

You finally decided to change your career. Congrats! Hopefully you already have a new job lined up, if not that’s okay too. It may be harder for you if it has been a while since you last job hunted. For some, it may be decades, for others the search has been a continuous process. Today, there are more resources to job hunt than ever, so I am here to help narrow down those options to the best tools that are FREE to the public to use.

1) Department of Labor

Often this option is overlooked by a vast majority of people. Don’t knock it ‘till you try it. These paid, trained professionals are basically like your Career Development Office (CDO) representatives that you never took advantage of in college. They will help you review your resume and help you think of job categories to apply for that you may have never thought of before. Also, they will let you know about all the local job fairs that will take place because they are usually the first to know about them.

2) Businesses Websites

Often another source overlooked. Businesses will often post the newest job postings on their website before other resources and advertising. Make sure if the job is in a field you are interested you look at the details. If you want more information, call them and ask to speak to their HR department. Usually, they can let you know if they are still accepting applicants or of any new opportunities you may have missed. You will be one of the first to hear about it and have the odds be your favor.

3) Indeed.com

Many job seekers have, over the last few years, utilized this resource on numerous occasions to advertise their job openings. Indeed.com has thousands of jobs posted daily. Most employers today can post what they are looking for at no cost to them. The key to finding a job that will be hiring immediately is looking for the ones that say they are sponsored. The jobs that are being sponsored are often the ones that they need filled immediately.

One thing you must be careful with on Indeed is if you share your resume online, it can be picked up by other job recruitment agencies. This means your email may become flooded by other recruiters saying they have job matches that are perfect for you. On one hand, it is great to have more resources working in your favor to find you help. On the other hand, it can be easily become bombarded with emails. Once you land a job make sure you hit that unsubscribe button, so you are not stuck receiving messages.

4) The classifieds

It may seem like a dated format, but it still works. If paper is too expensive to receive those postings, check for them at your local super markets. Often there are publications that are free and have specific sections dedicated to classifieds. Especially in the Buffalo area, there are several free tabloids that have these special sections.

Whatever way you choose to job hunt, just remember to never give up. On average you will be lucky if you hear back from about 1% of the jobs you apply for. I have heard from people that have been at their new current jobs and hear back from jobs they applied to over several months ago. Do not be discouraged. Make this job hunting your new Full-Time job until you land something. Do you have a method your favorite Savvy Shopper didn’t mention? Send your comments to submit at submit@yourhwh.com or go to yourhwh.com and leave your comments on the digital copies page.