Changing Jobs and Looking for Counsel and Advice
Search firms, in many cases, will review your credentials to see if they match with a specific assignment that may be available at the current time. In some instances the firm will keep your information on file for future searches that may be received during the next six to twelve months. However, search professionals do not usually circulate resumes to client firms as it is contrary to industry
practice. Friends and friends of clients often ask for advice or counsel on what to do when beginning a career search; following are some ideas or concepts that could be utilized in this effort.

Search Firm Broadcast Letter
When contacting search firms remember that many firms’ offices operate independently of each other, and it is best to send a “shotgun blast” of information and materials to each location. If the materials sent are addressed to “Dear Executive Recruiter” and a chronological resume is attached, recruiters will utilize this to review against their current assignments. Other approaches are to use Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) list of search firms or the Directory of Executive Recruiters. (The directory offers mailing labels that can be purchased for addressing envelopes.) Remember: there are approximately 1,500 search firm locations.

You may wish to increase your exposure to quality retained executive search firms by submitting your career information to the AESC at www.bluesteps.com. By registering with BlueSteps your information will be accessible by all retained executive search firms who are members of the AESC.

Association of Executive Search Consultants
500 Fifth Avenue
Suite 930 New York, New York 10110-0900
(212) 398-9556
website: www.aesc.org

The Directory of Executive Recruiters
One Kennedy Place, Route 12 South
Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire 03447
(603) 585-6544
website: www.kennedyinfo.com

The Personal Network
Over the years you have probably developed a personal network of contacts. They might be noted in your telephone directory, an old calendar, or relate to general friendships developed over your years in business. You should go back to these individuals and network with them on the changes you are planning to make in your career. Also make sure you send a copy of your resume, since you may not have had any contact with many of these individuals in a long period of time; therefore, they are not aware of your current credentials. While you are networking, keep a diary or log of who you are contacting, what you send to them, and the date the information was sent. A “soft” follow up from time to time is also a good idea.

Listed below are a number of executive networking services:

BlueSteps www.bluesteps.com
Netshare www.netshare.com
Exec-U-Net www.execunet.com

If you are planning to make a career change, it is probably best to do a nationwide search or position evaluation as opposed to a localized effort. Your opportunities are greater if your focus is national, (and if you have the financial means to do so). Since you are planning to move, why not pick five locations where you and your family would like to work and live. After deciding on these five locations you may want to do the following:

Subscribe to the Sunday edition of the local paper in order to get the business and classified sections. These sections will help you with determining the companies and opportunities that are available in the area as well as housing, etc. Contact the Chamber of Commerce, Board of Trade, Greater Business Committees, etc. to locate the companies that may have their regional headquarters in your specific geographical area. The Dun and Bradstreet Million Dollar Directory is also a source you can utilize to locate the headquarters of companies in your immediate area of interest.

When you have gathered all of the information you need on the specific region in which you are interested, it is probably best to send a soft letter to at least thirty of the companies you have identified. In this letter, indicate that you are exploring this area and are looking for opportunities and would welcome the occasion to visit the company. This is a very soft sell approach in evaluating the area to determine if you should have further contact with companies in that region.

If you have been in a given industry or association for a substantial period of time it may be beneficial to network through these individuals and organizations and with the companies involved with them. To network an industry or association contacts, it is important to maintain a certain level of confidentiality in order to protect yourself during any conversations. Also, in many instances competitors will be interested in speaking with you, and these discussion can help you determine the “lay of the land.” Many of the individuals in your industry and association area are the network people you have probably noted above.

The National Employment Weekly from the Wall Street Journal lists positions in the U.S. and is another excellent source for your search.

Listed below are a number of on line job sites where you can post your resume.

The Monster Board www.monster.com
6figurejobs.com www.6figurejobs.com
Careershop.com www.careershop.com
Hotjobs.com www.hotjobs.com
Nationjob Network www.nationjob.com
The Career-Builder Network www.careerbuilder.com

More advice from The Career News newsletter

How to answer weird interview questions
Abridged: Career Journal

NEW YORK, NY -- Career experts advise job applicants to rehearse answers to common questions ahead of the interview. But what's a job seeker to do when asked an oddball query like: "What is your perception of the painting in the lobby?" That question -- along with "Can you tell a joke?" and "What would you do with a million dollars?" -- were among some of the most bizarre questions posed by interviewers in the past year, according to a survey of 3,725 job hunters by Development Dimensions International (DDI) Inc. and Monster Worldwide Inc.

Cathy Goodwin, a career consultant in Seattle, says some interviewers ask strange questions because it's company policy. "They don't know how to interpret them any more than you do," she says. The purpose is often to see how well job seekers think on their feet, so when posed an off-kilter question, it's best to not get rattled, she adds. No matter how bizarre the question, offer a response, says Tom Gimbel, chief executive officer of The LaSalle Network, a recruiting firm based in Chicago. "Not answering doesn't accomplish anything," he says.

Beyond the goofy questions are the inappropriate ones. The DDI/Monster survey indicates that hiring managers also pose queries about personal matters. You may be able to avoid giving a direct answer to an intrusive question by guessing the interviewer's motivation, says Scott Erker, a senior vice president at DDI, an executive-search consulting firm in Pittsburgh, Pa. For example, if an interviewer asks how many children you have, assume he or she wants to know if you'll be able to balance work and family, he explains. Answer by describing your ability to get the job done, says Mr. Erker.

Don't mind me, I'm just texting
Abridged: PhillyBurbs.com

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Hey you! Yes, you with your iPod earbuds and your unlimited texting plan. If you've been on a dozen interviews in the past two months and still don't have a job, the problem might be in the palm of your hand. It's not just resumes that are catching hiring managers' eyes but job candidates who don't know when to give their gadgets a rest, displaying more interest in their electronics than their careers.

To be fair, for a younger generation, our tech-oriented culture makes it hard to know what's appropriate and what isn't. When you post your resume on a recruiting Web site, set up the interview online while downloading music and then use your cell phone to call and confirm your appointment, why is it so wrong to walk into the office waiting room playing a game on your portable device? Most employers will see it as a sign of disrespect and/or inability to give your job first priority during work hours.

All too often, interviewers are watching people answer a cell call or text message in an interview. "Don't come to the interview with your iPod, your cell phone, your cup of coffee or anything else other than yourself and a portfolio with an extra copy of your resume and your list of references," says Alison Doyle, a job-search expert. Studies have found that your nonverbal communication will have more than triple the impact of your actual words.

Getting great results from a cover letter
Abridged: American Chronicle

LOS ANGELES, CA -- A well written cover letter has one purpose and one purpose only, to get a potential employer to turn the page and read the resume. It will not get you a job; it may get you an interview. But most importantly, it will wet the company's appetite to want to learn more about you.

An internet search for cover letters will lend itself to over 1,000,000 different results and offers, ranging from boiler plate, to creative, to having one written for you for a fee ($29.95 per letter, with a free re-write if you don't get results within 90 days). Writing the letter doesn't take a master's degree in English. As long as a few key points are kept in mind during the process, your letter will be great. Here are some tips for writing an effective cover letter:

1) KISS - Keep It Short & Sweet.
2) Be specific about the job you're applying for.
3) Always personalize it to the company.
4) Highlight your past accomplishments.
5) Write to a specific person.
6) Use action words and be positive.
7) Don't include salary information unless it's requested.
8) Spelling and grammar are more important than formatting.
9) ASK for an interview.

As you have noted, pursuing a new opportunity is a job in itself, and the steps you take are important for finding a secure position.