If You’re Just Sending Resumes and Waiting for the Call … STOP!

It breaks my heart when I hear from job seekers who send out resumes responding to job listings, but never hear anything back after that. And yet they just keep on sending their same old resume to employer after employer, with no response and without changing one darn thing!

Of course, the problem could be your resume

One possibility is that your resume needs some serious help. And if that's the case, you can send out a million resumes and never hear back. You need a great resume, targeted EACH TIME to the job you are applying for.

Are you worried that will take too long? Well … how long does it take to wait for no response at all? The effort you put in up front can make all the difference to whether you actually get the job you want.

A job search is much more than a good resume

Let's assume you have a great resume, and you target it and your cover letter to each job. And you're still not hearing back. Now what?

We all know it's a tough job market. Even if things are picking up a bit, there are still a lot of people competing for the same job. And maybe some of them are a bit more qualified than you – at least on paper. So you have to go the extra mile to get yourself into an actual interview.

What else should you do?

Look for informational interviews – You can learn a lot about the job market or even possibly make career-long connections by meeting with people in the industry. This is not the time to ask directly for a job. Instead, ask about any other people you might speak with as well as any jobs he or she might know about. And ask about them too!

Find people to network with -Â Use LinkedIn, career offices at any schools you attended, friends, relatives, former employers and coworkers, former teachers, even the internet to find people to connect with, including your informational interviews. More on job search networking:

Look for people inside companies – One of the best helpers in a job search is someone who actually works in the company. A resume forwarded by them has a lot better chance than a resume that comes unassisted into HR. Once again, the same resources listed above can help. But don't pester them. Just give it your best shot. Maybe even find something you have in common as an ice breaker to your cover letter!

Search out jobs that aren't obvious – Almost everyone uses the main job search engines like Monster and Indeed. By all means, use them too. But you also need to look where everyone is not looking. Some more tips:

Use social media – I mentioned LinkedIn already. If you aren't using it, I suggest you create a profile asap. It's also a great place to find connections. But there's more to know about social media:

Check your credit report – Yup. Something this "small" could be interfering. Especially if you apply online and they do screenings in advance. Now it may be too early for this to be the reason, but why risk it? Se what you can do to help:

Get support and stay sane – Last but definitely not least, you need to keep yourself from getting the job search blues. Not only is it depressing, but it shows when you try to find a job. Support groups (some pros and cons) are one source of support.