Finding a job is hard. It takes persistence, confidence and preparation. That being said, there are things one can do to make the transition from unemployed to office superstar faster and less frustrating. The number one thing that alleviates job-finding anxiety is preparation. It cannot be stressed enough. Proper preparation includes researching the best job sites for one’s industry, having an updated resume always available, and even knowing what to wear.JOB SITESWhether we like it or not, job search sites are a major part of finding a job. Find the best job site for your industry. Below are some of the best job sites around, but there are a ton of job sites out there. Find one you like and visit it often. However, be sure not to limit yourself. It is a good idea to sign up for email alerts from multiple sites, that way you can be first to respond to jobs that are right for you.MULTIPLE INDUSTRY JOB SITESFree Agents Jobshttp://www.theFreeJobs.comA great new site. It’s like a ‘visual’ craigslist–a simple, intuitive search solution. Free Agents Jobs offers free email job alerts to keep you in the loop if your perfect job pops up.Indeed.comhttp://www.indeed.comIndeed is a very powerful job search engine. It’s like Google, for jobs. When you click on a job at Indeed.com you will be taken directly to the site where the job is posted.Craigslisthttp://www.craigslist.orgFind your city and start lookin’! Craigslist has tons of jobs in every industry and provides a nice local touch. However, conversion rates are pretty low, so don’t count on an interview.SPECIALTY JOB SITESKrophttp://www.krop.comFor creative and tech professionals. Krop is a fast growing site with great design and interface.Joel on Softwarehttp://jobs.joelonsoftware.comJobs from a specialty software and programming blog. If you’re on top of your game, this is the place to look!37 Signalshttp://jobs.37signals.comJob board from 37 Signals, internet web application programmers. These guys produce great web apps! Another great job resource If you’re on top of your game!Creative Hotlisthttp://creativehotlist.comGreat resource for creative positions (designers and such)!RESUME FORMAT: Don’t Get Cute!Use a style similar to business letter formatting. Avoid using elaborate headers or multi-column layouts. These kinds of flare DO NOT make you look unique, they make you look unprofessional. If you want to show a bit of your personality, let it peek through in your cover letter. Your resume should serve to provide a structured outline of your qualifications, nothing more. Remember that consistency and simplicity are priorities with your resume. Treat each section the same. Make sure that you use reverse chronological order for all entries. DO NOT prioritize your employment history. Just because something was important to you, does not mean your potential employer will think so. Let them make the decision when reading with no surprises. For instance, you don’t want to go from 1997 to 2006, back to 2000. You want to go from 2007 to 2006 to 2005, and so on. No surprises, nothing to hide.Font: Times, Times New Roman or GeorgiaFont Size: 10ptMargins: 1″ on all sidesTabs: 0.5″SAMPLE FORMAT————————————Jane Boogie555 Some StreetGreat City, US 20817(212) [email protected] years professional design studio experience. Four years freelance design experience. BA, Graphic Design from Rhode Island School of Design. Cum laude.EDUCATION2007 University of Southern CaliforniaBFA, Sculpture, Cum LaudeEXPERIENCE2006 BCBGGraphic Designer – May 2005 – Aug 2006Responsible for xyz. Managed four employees.AWARDS2007 ABC Design Award2006 XYZ Sweetness Award————————————HOW TO DRESS FOR A JOB INTERVIEW: ALWAYS OVER DRESS! (Just a little bit)Rule #1: Dress Nicely!Set aside an outfit that you know you’re comfortable in and makes you feel confident. If the employer does not specify what the dress code is, assume it’s BUSINESS CASUAL and plan to dress a little nicer than that!Women: Wear dark dress pants and either a sweater, blouse or button down dress shirt. NO JEANS! NOTHING REVEALING! Don’t even risk it for a first impression. For shoes, knock yourself out. If you like heels, wear heels. If you like flats, wear flats. NO SNEAKERS, no matter how cool they are! Keep the makeup to a minimum, don’t overdo it lady!Men: Wear dark dress pants and a button down dress shirt or stylish, lightweight sweater. NO JEANS! NO POLO SHIRTS! For shoes, wear dress shoes, NOT sneakers OR sandals. Remember, if you wear dark grey or black pants, wear a black belt and black shoes. If you wear dark brown or dark green pants wear a brown belt and brown shoes. Chances are you could care less about this sort of thing, but it DOES MATTER (at least for a first impression)! Please remember to shave at least 3 HOURS BEFORE your interview, just in case you knick yourself or you have sensitive skin and are prone to ‘raspberries.’NOTE: If an employer specifies a very casual dress code, then certainly go with that. Remember to still dress a little bit nicer than you think you should. It always pays off!Rule #2: Smell Nice!Wear some deodorant for once! If you have a light cologne or perfume you like to wear, put on a little bit, but not too much. Having a nice smell is very underrated in social situations. Furthermore, if an employer turns up the heat, you don’t have to worry about getting all hot and bothered. You will, naturally, smell like roses CONCLUSIONThese tips will help you get started in the right direction. Now go put yourself out there! Set up some interviews and even accept a few interviews you know you don’t want. Practice makes perfect and the only way to practice is to be under the microscope in a small office with a peculiar HR person asking you questions and telling you the way it is. But, these situations will prepare you for the interview that goes perfectly, where you can’t say the wrong thing and feel respected and wanted. In order for that to happen, you have to be prepared and stay persistent.

Working longer, past retirement age or indeed getting a new job and returning to work is now a matter of no choice for many older people. They simply have no option with the retirement age raised and the value of savings having fallen.One of the biggest issues older workers face is if they are not in a job they will be allowed to stay in, then where are they supposed to work? No matter how many equality laws are brought into being age discrimination in the world of employment is rife.I guess that one thing we do have to do as older job seekers and something which will help us to come across to employers as positive people who actually want to work is that we have to not feel bitter and angry about being in this place. Governments and regimes come and go and this is how it is, we have to work for longer and at least for a very long time nothing will change it.One of the first and best things to do to give ourselves a chance of being employable is to keep up to date with technology, both in our original field of work, learning and ability and others. This is important because it shows that we can keep up to date with developments in our field but also that you can change if necessary to do other things… make transferable skills… and that we are adaptable and can learn new things.An example of this is that even if I was fit enough now at 52 to still be a nursery nurse, there might still have come a time before too long when it was just not practical or sensible and possible for me to stay in that field of work… and yet I am at least by today’s pension rules, thirteen years off being able to get my pension. IT skills are one of the skills sets with the longest shelf life in an employee… as long as you stay up to date you can do it. However, with many jobs obviously the older we get the harder it becomes to do it.Sometimes an older employee looking for a job can perhaps even without knowing it come across a touch arrogant, with the attitude that they have lots of experience and a manager is lucky to have them. These days we have to remember that thousands are looking for work and many of the people applying for the job that we are applying for will be younger, with more current and recent experience. We have a big job itself on our hands to get through the application, selection and interview process and convince an employer who can pick from hundreds of applicants that we are the best person for the job.Of course many people are indeed in the dire situation financially where they will just have to take any job they are offered, but if possible it is better to not give the idea to an employer that this is the case, because it makes us look like we just want any job which will last until we can get our pensions and that we won’t really have any true enthusiasm for the job.Something which can seem very tempting and I should know because here I am trying to do it, is the idea of setting ourselves up in business and thinking that we will use the experience we have had in employment and that it is enough experience and knowledge to be able to work for ourselves. This might seem especially tempting with government schemes and grants’ encouraging older people to start up their own businesses… or rather to try to. As my website and blog develops I will be producing articles and information about starting a business, much of it of course coming from my progress or not as the case may be, and what resources I have found, used and found helpful or not. As I am indeed myself attempting to create the job for myself that nobody else will give me, I hardly feel able to warn others with the same hope and enthusiasm of the pitfalls. Let’s just say at this stage that I certainly do not expect it to be easy or to be a millionaire next year. It is going to be a long hard process indeed but a great achievement should it work out.One of the most important and beneficial things that we can do as older people looking for jobs or indeed trying to start up a venture is to ‘network, network, network because with age against us we need all the positive feedback from people who have been impressed with our skills, experience and attitude as we can possibly get. Stay in contact and make new contacts. Keep up to date and in touch with the world of work and employment, both in your area of ability and others and take up opportunities like courses and volunteer experience. Belong to clubs and societies for our interests and keep up hobbies. Job hunting is itself a job, but it is so helpful and beneficial to our CV’ and self-esteem and morale to have interests and things to do while waiting for a job opportunity to begin.

Mystery shopping is a fun and exciting job where you can get paid while you do your shopping or you do your dining as well. Indeed, it can be a great job to do what you like doing and make money out of it at the same time.A mystery shopper’s job is indeed an exciting one. As the name suggests, you get to shop or try out a new restaurant, check out the services of the shop or the customer service of the restaurant. Your main job as a mystery shopper or a secret shopper is to provide feedback to the company or the establishment owner on the customer service, their knowledge on the business, how they handle customer complaints and just a general observation on how the business is handled.You may also need to stay overnight in a hotel for you to observe and relay feedback to the establishment owner or company. This is indeed a great job that most would probably want to take advantage of. If you want to learn the mastery shopper’s job, here are some important tips and ideas on how you can master the said job.- Be a keen observer. Secret shoppers should be keen observers, as they are tasked to observe how the employees in the shop work or handle customers.- Learn to act. Mystery shoppers are indeed good actors. In fact, they are often given scripts on what they have to say and do when they get to the shop. If you want to master the mystery shopper’s job, you have to at least know how to act to be able to get the impression that you are indeed shopping or you are indeed complaining about their service. Of course, the shop employees should believe that you are indeed shopping or you need their assistance.- Learn to find resources where you can find mystery shopping jobs. You can find a lot of them on the internet but make sure that you land in legitimate websites and not those fraudulent ones. You may also want to check with friends who are into the same job. However, you can also register on databases where you can get great opportunities in one website.- Strive to get certification from mystery shopping providers or become an ace shopper. Even if becoming an ace secret shopper is a little difficult, it is important that you also have to strive to establish trust and make sure as well that you can impress your employer to get more contracts in the future.Keep in mind however that one of the most important things that you have to always keep in mind in looking for mystery shopper’s job is to make sure that you avoid fraudulent offers that will rip you off your hard-earned money. One good tip is not to give money when you are applying for the job. Of course, training for the said job is free, thus it is always wise to do a background check before grabbing opportunities.