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In my former life as a recruiter (also affectionately referred to as "headhunter"), I received hundreds of resumes a week from all parts of the country. The statement that a person's resume gets a 15-second read is not far from the truth. In fact, 15 seconds is a generous assumption. In reality, a resume must capture the recruiter's attention in the first five seconds to avoid the round file. Candidates can greatly improve their chance of catching the recruiter's attention by following three simple rules:

1. Use the correct format
2. Include plenty of quantifiable accomplishments
3. Sprinkle liberally with appropriate keywords.

The first rule, use of correct format, is crucial. There is one, and only one, proper resume format for recruiters -- chronological. Recruiters do not have time or patience to figure out the complexities of a functional resume. To recruiters, time is money. A second danger of using a functional resume is that recruiters automatically assume the candidate is attempting to hide something. This assumption is universal. No job-seeker on earth can hide unpleasant facts within a functional resume. Recruiters are trained from the start to pick up on any possible "red flags" that identify the job seeker as an undesirable candidate.

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LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the place to start when it comes to a job search. If you aren't on LinkedIn yet, go sign up for your free account. What can LinkedIn do for you? It lets you see profiles of other people, and gives you a chance to connect with them. People in the technology sectors tend to move around a bit from one company to another. I started using LinkedIn just to have a current, up-to-date repository for the email addresses and contact information of friends and associates that moved on to other companies. When I got laid off, it became so much more. I was able to use the email addresses of my contacts to send out an email letting people know that I had been laid off and was looking for work. I was given leads that led to many interviews just from those emails. However, I found a number of things that LinkedIn helped me do.

Company Search

I was able to search by company name and find people that I knew that worked at companies that I was interested in. I also found people that I didn't know, such as HR representatives, Company Recruiters, and Hiring Managers. Many of these people worked at the local branches of the company where I wanted to work. I was able to contact these people through the people that I already knew at the company, or sometimes just through calling the company's front desk and asking for the person that I had researched on LinkedIn by name.

Job Listings

Some companies post open job positions on LinkedIn. The job postings appear to be high-end, good quality jobs.

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So, you've 2 weeks left to capitalize on this opportunity!

Social Media is Key. This time of year is perfect for using your Facebook and LinkedIn contacts. You have the perfect excuse to touch base and remind people you are looking for a job.

Holiday Parties. In addition to spreading good cheer, use your family and friends and new acquaintances to network. Ask them if anyone has a connection at companies you have applied to or are interested in. Be prepared to tell new people you meet about yourself - the classic elevator speech.

Work the Email and Phones. Employers may not be as distracted or focused on other priorities and you may actually get through to them on the phones. Don't pester them, but make at least one attempt to connect. Keep your emails brief and to the point. Don't forget to ask for the interview. At this time of year they may actually have time to read all their mail.

Don't Forget the Recruiters. Make sure you are in regular contact so that you are in the forefront of their minds for when they get new search assignments. Send them a holiday card with your business card inside.

Stay Flexible. At this time of year hiring managers or recruiters may be out of the office for off-site holiday events or for personal reasons - like getting that last minute gift. Therefore they may need you to come in for an interview at odd times.

Don't fall under the temptation to sit back during these last 2 weeks. Let your competition do that for you while you leap to the head of the line.

Happy Holidays and Good Hunting!

- Jean Vosler

Jean is the Director of Marketing at Net-Temps, an online job board for jobseekers and staffing professionals.

www.net-temps.com

1. Go back only 10-15 years. Your most recent experience is the experience that will be most relevant to a hiring manager. Most likely you've worked your way up in the job-seeking world and up the ladder. If you started at your company as a file clerk and now you are a manager, you're going to be seen as a manager. The job as a file clerk from 1995 is no longer necessary for hiring managers and human resource managers to take into account when evaluating your skills and abilities.

2. Remove dates from education. There is no rule that you must say when you graduated. HR cannot decide to hire or not to hire you based on when you graduated. In addition, so many people are returning to school now after being in the workforce for a good solid 15 years that they may have a Bachelor of Science degree conferred as late as 2005, for example.

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I said I think that's exactly what someone should do, and if more people did what Patty surely had done, there wouldn't be so many job seekers still unemployed or finally employed but miserable.

The woman in Patty's story, because she hated her job and quit, obviously had given a great deal of thought to what she was looking for in her next job. It might have been defined by what she didn't have, but she was clear enough and determined enough to resign, and trust that what she wanted would eventually turn up.

She'd envisioned her environment, knew the management style under which she worked best, given thought to the location of the company and what their mission was. This is exactly what led her to turn down the two offers. They weren't what she was looking for, and she wasn't going to settle.

In today's market, that doesn't happen often. People are so desperate they want any job and will take any job. As a recruiter and as a career coach, it's common for me to hear, "Well, I knew I shouldn't have taken it...hindsight being 20/20 vision and all....." These people knew intuitively they should pass, but took the job anyway. Others don't even hear their instinct in order to ignore it. They just blunder blindly into disaster.

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Fully 70-80% of jobs go unadvertised by employers, who fear being deluged by hundreds of resumes from applicants, most of whom won't be qualified.

With that in mind, it makes sense to spend about 80% of your time cracking this "hidden" market of unadvertised jobs. And a good way to do it is to contact hiring managers at companies you want to work for. Your aim? To prove that hiring you would be a terrific investment, one that makes or saves them more money than they would pay you in salary.

So, where do you find a list of these hiring managers?

You can't find one. You have to build your own list.

Fortunately, it's fairly simple to do.

So say two experienced recruiters, David Perry (author of "Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 2.0") and Mark Haluska (principal of recruiting firm Real Time Network, in Pittsburgh, PA).

First of all, what level of decision maker should you talk to about creating a job or hiring you for one that's unadvertised?

"You want to contact the individual two levels up from the position you are applying for," suggests Haluska. "There are two reasons for that. First, the person two levels up has the bigger picture. They may actually be looking to replace the person below them, who would be your boss."

"Second, if you're really good and you contact the person you would work for, if they are small-minded, they may be threatened by your credentials," which can kill your chances, according to Haluska.

In the Darwinian world of office politics, this makes sense. If you display more initiative than your next boss or outshine someone they recently hired, you risk making that boss look bad, which is not a recipe for success.

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Your first thought might be that only those within some sort of support role serve as gatekeepers, yet directors and executives can be gatekeepers as well. Gatekeepers are merely those who put obstacles in front of you -- demonstrated by dodging questions, failing to answer emails, and eventually pawning you off to someone else.

Gatekeepers are generally tasked to . . .

• Provide limited or no information to jobseekers

• Point every applicant down the same path for applying

• Comply with company procedure pertaining to hiring practice

Sometimes, jobseekers get short-fused when having to deal with gatekeepers -- unfortunately forgetting that gatekeepers are people, simply doing their jobs.

Need to get beyond a gatekeeper?

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 The 60 Second Sell is a tool that helps you target your skills to meet the employer's needs. It allows you to summarize your most marketable strengths in a brief and concise manner. Successful job hunters praised the tool for several reasons:

• It was effective in capturing the employer's attention.
• It provided an excellent concise answer to tricky questions.
• It was very easy to use the formula.
• It provided a strategy plan for managing an interview.
• It was a great way to end an interview.

The 60 Second Sell is a customized, 60-second memorized statement that summarizes and links together your FIVE top selling points to perform that employer's specific job. For example, if the employer were hiring an accountant, you would want to summarize your years in the field and your computer expertise as two of your selling points. As you discuss each selling point, you must put them into an order so that the thoughts flow together in the most effective way. When you link the ideas into sentences it should be spoken in 60 seconds or less.

Congratulations on attaining your degree! A special time and a proud accomplishment -- You did it! You're finished! With school that is - now it's time to do some learning about the survival techniques in the "World of Work" in a competitive environment. Are you ready to take the next steps?

Hopefully you have a good resume prepared, if not, that will be your first priority! Need help? Many colleges have career centers that are willing to help you with your resume, but if you don't have that option try the "resume help" of the top job search engines or find a resume expert on Linkedin/Facebook." The aim of this resume is to create enough interest to garner you an invite for a job interview.

Start by doing research on job postings and companies that may interest you.

There are several good job search websites available to assist you in your search and they may give you ideas on places to connect with people in your field of interest. Once your resume is polished the next challenge of course will be getting that resume out to the right people. This may require some new techniques for you and will become your new "job search homework assignment". Find the sites that interest you and submit or post your resume there.

Scouting through the want ads is important to create your own "wish list" of the type of job you want and a summary of what's important to you. While times are tougher than ever for new grads, ideally, you will want to find a match with your goals and values. The goal of this step is to find a win-win situation for your first job. This will happen when you find a job in an area you excel in. That way your employer gets an enthusiastic "new grad" ready to get out and make a difference, and you will be motivated by what you're doing and at the same time be gaining valuable experience to advance in your career.

Now, getting the resume to the correct sources will also require you to use some networking techniques. Networking, both social media and person-to-person will be essential if you want to get the word out that you are looking for a job or are interested in a certain type of position. Both online activity and the in-person networking with people you know and their contacts are extremely important to your success in this difficult environment, so please don't only rely on one source. Working every possible contact and opportunity to connect is the target you are aiming for here.

The next step, once you are starting to get some interest from employers, is to start preparing yourself to go out there and sell yourself. If you're not getting any interest then go back to the first step. This may be a signal that you are not highlighting your knowledge and skills in the best light, which is always difficult for people entering the workforce. The goal here is to summarize what you've done so far and to attract interest from someone who wants to know more about you as a possible candidate for a job.

If you are starting to get invited to interviews you will want to be prepared! The time to start your preparation is best done before you are invited, not the night before the interview. Planning ahead will make you feel more confident. With more confidence you will be more relaxed and you will have a better chance of connecting with the interviewer which is a main step in acing the interview.

Interviewing is a learned skill and as with every other skill you've ever learned - you have to learn techniques and then you will have to practice, practice, practice. One method to use to practice is to do a mock interview with someone - a friend, professional or a coach. Make sure the person you decide to get feedback from can be objective and is not reluctant to tell it like it is. Frankly, family members tend to be too gentle or too harsh in their feedback, so I recommend asking a professional person with interviewing experience for help with a practice run.

When you do get that call for the interview you may feel some anxiety about the process. It's not unusual to feel nervous before and even during the interview. It is a new and uncomfortable situation and for many this may be the first time to interview. Everyone, even executives may feel nervous about the interview. Fear of rejection and judgment can create feeling of inadequacy. The best way to deal with these feelings is to change your thinking about the process. Begin to think of the interview as a two-way process. It's like going on a date in some ways. You are going in to check them out, and at the same time they are checking you out. Think to yourself: "If it works - great! If not, there will be other opportunities."

Remember, you bring a lot of what happens during the interview into the interview yourself. Let go of any anxiety and think of this as an opportunity for a great beginning! School is back in session - at least until those job offers come through for you. Good luck!!

- Carole Martin

The Interview Coach, Carole Martin, is a celebrated author, job coach, and speaker on the subject of interviewing and recruiting. Contributing writer at Monster.com and featured on talk radio. Carole is using her proven methods for coaching job seekers on competitive interviewing skills in technical and non-technical industries. Learn more at www.interviewcoach.com and Follow The Interview Coach to learn about current workshops and seminars Carole is offering.

• State your objective in bold lettering above your greeting:

  Example: Trained and Experienced Accountant Ready For Immediate Hire

• Get right to the point. Show the employer that you are familiar with the position he or she wants to fill and are fully qualified for the work it requires.

  Example: I welcome the opportunity to demonstrate, as Manager of the Accounting Department, what I can do to increase efficiency, introduce more productive ways of doing business, and improve the company's bottom line.

• Mention your experience. I worked for Sloan and Sons for five years as the Assistant Manager of the accounting department and received three outstanding company service' awards during my tenure there.

• Acknowledge the hiring manager for his or her time.

  Example: Thank you for taking time to review my cover letter and resume. I appreciate this opportunity.

• Ask for an in-person interview.

  Example: May I meet with you in person? I'll be happy to come to your office or get together off-site, as you prefer, at any time that is convenient for you. Feel free to call my home or office: 888-888-8888.

There you have it--a list of ingredients that will catch the eye of a hiring manager who is serious about interviewing qualified people for a job he or she is eager to fill. YOU can be that person by writing a cover letter that wins the job interview--and a job offer.

- Jimmy Sweeney

Jimmy Sweeney is the president of CareerJimmy and author of the brand new "Secret Career Document" job landing system. Jimmy is also the author of several career related books and writes a monthly article titled, "Job Search Secrets." Visit our friends at Job Interview "Secret" and discover Jimmy Sweeney's breakthrough strategy that will have you standing out from the competition like a Harvard graduate at a local job fair... DURING your next job interview.

Jimmy is also author of the brand new, "Amazing Cover Letter Creator." Visit our friends at Amazing Cover Letters for your "instant" cover letter today. "In just 3½ minutes you will have an amazing cover letter guaranteed to cut through YOUR competition like a hot knife through butter!"