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be managed appropriately. Most postings have a short shelf life and may attract hundreds of applicants. We recommend avoiding the big job boards and only frequenting sites that specialize in your industry, job field, or local community.

Sample activities for Searching Specialized Job Listings

Review postings of advertised jobs
Post resumÃ© on job boards
Register with government-sponsored services
Visit career centers, association offices, and other community resources
Attend job fairs
Apply for advertised positions
Use listings as a data source for researching industries or companies

Approach Using help-wanted ads
This is usually the first place job seekers look for opportunities in their field of expertise. Unfortunately, many people stop there. Discouraged by the lack of ads that meet their requirements, they start thinking finding a job will be impossible. But those help-wanted ads don’t tell the whole story behind the job market. Many companies never advertise open positions because they get plenty of applicants referred by people who already work at the company as well as through the managers’ personal networks.

Instead of applying for the positions you see advertised, you will have more success using the classified sections of newspapers and trade publications as research tools to help guide you to organizations and industries that might be hiring but aren’t advertising the job you want.

As a general rule, we don’t recommend applying for any positions listed in major metropolitan newspapers. However, it is possible to find positions worth your time to apply for advertised in the want ads of smaller or more targeted publications.

Sample activities for Using Help-Wanted Ads

Review help-wanted ads in selected publications
Apply for advertised positions
Propose a position that isn’t advertised
Approach similar companies who aren’t advertising