Tactics for today's job search

The days of circling ads in the Sunday newspaper and printing your résumé on fancy stationery may be long past, but many IT professionals still cling to other outdated job-seeking habits that can undermine their efforts. In a competitive job market, fine-tuning your approach to meet present conditions can mean the difference between frustration and success.

Here are some tactics to use in today's job search:

Target each employer. In any hiring environment, a generic résumé won't hold a hiring manager's attention. Blanketing hundreds of employers with an all-purpose résumé addressed "To whom it may concern" isn't likely to result in a new position. It's important to customize all of your application materials - not just the cover letter - for each job opening. That means researching the appropriate contact so you can address the hiring manager by name, as well as detailing how your skills and experience can meet the employer's specific needs.

Loosen up - a little. Formal language such as "Enclosed please find my résumé in response to your job notice ..." can come across as stilted. More natural, direct prose provides a better sense of your personality. (That said, don't toss around slang, technical or otherwise.) Likewise, during an interview, avoid prefabricated responses such as the classic " My biggest weakness is that I work too hard" - a sure way to put an interviewer to sleep and reveals a lack of self-awareness. An authentic answer is much more likely to make a lasting impression.

Fill employment gaps. It's not unusual to have a break in your work history, given today's poor labor market. So you don't have to go to extreme lengths to hide periods of unemployment. For example, forgoing the classic chronological résumé in favor of a functional one - in which your skills are listed at the top of the document and your work history is truncated or omitted entirely - could raise red flags by making it seem like you have something to hide. Instead, use your résumé and cover letter to demonstrate that you've remained professionally engaged while searching for a new position. List volunteer or consulting work you've taken on, as well as any professional development courses you've completed.

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