There are many ways to find a job: You may find a job talking to the right person in a convenience store or it may take you countless hours of sending out resumes and filling out applications. Sometimes, you just have to be in the right place at the right time. Whatever kind of job you are looking for, the best of luck to you.

1. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO?

Not everybody wants to be an astronaut, at least not full-time. Deciding what you want to do for a living not only makes your job search a little easier, your active decision to pursue a chosen field means you are far more likely to wind up with a job you love, rather than a job that you put up with.

Not sure what you want to do? Here is a great site for a career assessment: http://www.livecareer.com/

List Your Preferences

Knowing what you like and don't like will narrow your potential job pool down to a manageable amount of possibilities. Use the following questions to get you started on your list:

• What type of job best suits your personality? If you're not a morning person, jobs that require you to get up before dawn are not going to work for you. Find a job that suits your natural temperament.

• What kind of schedule do you want? Do you want the basic 40-hours or are you in the market for a flexible schedule that allows you to spend more time with your family?

• Are you willing to relocate? Some jobs are more prevalent in certain parts of the country. It's rather difficult to be a lobster fisherman in Montana.

• How much money do you want to make? Although money is important, it should not be the only factor that you use to pick a job.

2. LIST YOUR ASSETS

In addition to knowing your preferences, having an idea of the strengths that you bring to the table can be a great first step in searching for a job.

Your Skills

Think of your attributes. What strengths can you market to employers? The skills you bring to the table will determine what kind of job you get.

Your Training

Take stock of your training that emphasizes your skills. Certifications, licenses and advanced schooling all help convince a future employer that you will be an asset to the company and not a waste of resources.

Your Experience

This is a tricky one. Employers like to see a certain amount of experience in a given job because they do not want to spend time and money training you. If you don't have any direct experience in your chosen job you have to find a way to relate what you've done in the past to the position that you are chasing after.

Make a Choice

Use your preferences as well as your assets to determine what jobs will be a good fit for you. Make a list of these jobs and get ready to do some job hunting.

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/