3. FIND THAT JOB!

Now that you know what you want to do for a living, you can get out there and wrestle a job to the ground. There are several ways to search for a job, ranging from old standbys like reading the classified ads and networking to looking for work on the Internet.

Check the Papers

Probably the least effective way to find a job is to scan the classified ads of the local papers. You are at the mercy of what is in the paper. It's difficult to find an exact match to your skills and experience. Still, hustling the ads in the paper is one way to get started hunting for a job.

Work Your Connections

Everybody knows somebody. Think about the friends you have and where they work. Ask if their company plans on hiring anytime soon. Use your insider knowledge to give you a heads up so you can get a resume in front of someone who can say yes.

Research the Market

If you know what you want to do, find companies that offer careers in that field and learn everything you can about them. Send resumes to these companies and make it known that you are very interested in working for them.

Go Online

Use online employment services to look through thousands of listings from all over the world. Many of these online services allow you to customize your search so that you can zero in on the job you want and make it yours.

Some common and popular job sites are:

Monster.com is the largest job search engine on the Internet.

Career Builder is another large search engine with easily searchable listings.

Simply Hired has over five million job listings at any time that are all searchable.

Indeed.com is another large search site with millions of job listings as well.

Job Central boasts several large name clients like Bose and Caremark.

Go to a Career Fair

Career fairs give job hunters a chance to meet professionals and make a personal impression. In addition to giving you an overview of available jobs in the area, a career fair can provide you with contacts that may pay off in the future. Make sure to follow up on personal contacts within a reasonable amount of time. A week is reasonable. A year is not.

Other Resources

On the web: http://www.monster.com/

Resume resources: http://www.resume-help.org/

Salary calculator: http://www.salaryexpert.com/