Steps in a job search:

1. Update the resume. In your case, go with a resume that focuses on education and competencies (your skills). Rather than emphasize where you worked and how long, You want to highlight the accomplishments and the skills you used.

2. Work contacts. Anybody you know that might hear about a IT job is a possible contact. Make a list of contacts and add people to it as you run across new names. Start with past supervisors, clients, business people and add keep building the list. Keep a log of the contacts and notes of your interactions – dates and comments. Call people and tell them you are on the market and ask them to keep you in mind should they hear of a possible opportunity. Ask them if they have any advice that might help with your search. People resent being asked for a job, but they do not mind being asked for advice. I would work the list with monthly calls or the frequency that makes sense to you. Ask if they know anyone, a search firm or a business that you might want to contact. You are trying to get your name in front of people who might hear about jobs or employers with openings.

3. Search firms: I have literally sent resumes to 1000 search firms when actively looking for a job. Some will ask if you are listed elsewhere. I would answer that I was listed with a few but you do not want to admit to more than that. I would think that you would list with at least 25 search firms. You want to list with ones that specialize in IT jobs. A cover letter to a person at the firm and a copy of your resume suffice. The cover letter describes your job interests – locations and types of jobs and money range. The resume is your marketing piece. Don’t pay a lot of attention to the geographic location of the search firm. It does not mean much. The reason you list with multiple firms is that Firm A will have a different set of clients and jobs than Firm B and so forth. More listings means more exposure.

4. Spend some time thinking about the different kinds of jobs that you would consider and the minimum compensation. Most people would have at least two or three preferred job situations, a few geographic locations and a compensation range for each geographic area or job type. Don’t get sucked into interviewing for jobs outside your interest unless it is an employer you really want. Some search firms will keep you busy knowing someone will hire you if they trot you out to enough places. Only consider search firms where the employer (ER) pays the fee. Do not give any of these outfits money for their services. Think about what kind of ER’s might have need for your services. Who do you target?

5. Libraries have info on local employers or state employers. You can look up companies by looking in stock listings (find addresses or names or contacts). Of course, a lot of that is on internet now as big ER’s all have websites. Libraries help job seekers find this info.

6. The state employment service will have jobs listed. Many of these will be lower level but may be worth time to stop by and get info to look at their job listings. It at least shows which ER’s are hiring and these could be worth sending a resume or dropping one off at their door.

You are attractive in terms of age and years of experience and you speak English. You are at the level where a lot of ER’s will be looking. You may have to take something quickly but that does not mean you stop looking for the type of job and ER that you really desire.

I use to use something called “Directory of Executive Recruiters” published by Kennedy. They put out a new one each year. The library will have it. It will list search firms geographically as well as by specialty. It will help you find search firms that specialize in IT. IT magazines will also have ads from some of these outfits. You can bet there are two or three search firms in Phoenix that specialize in IT. You need to find out who they are and get to know someone at each.

Hang in there. Looking for a job can be a full-time job.

http://www.manager-tools.com/help-with-recent-market-turmoil/

As it happens, my job is much the same kind of position as the one you have just left, so I’ve been looking over my shoulder quite a lot lately.

Things that helped get that ball rolling: I immediately put word out on my social network that I was available for contract work. That got me in front of about 50 companies on the same day I packed up my office. Since many of the companies that ended up hiring me being big, with lag-times of up to six months to negotiate contracts, that was a very big deal.

I had a corporation set up, and immediately began tracking legitimate business expenses for tax purposes.

It also had helped that my layoff came just after I’d paid off my last credit-card. It would have been much harder to survive that start-up lag if I’d been sending my money off to banks for toys I had already broken.

And then once those things were in order, I headed to the “big box” grocery store, and stocked up on “college student food” and bought a bus-card. My living expenses had to be cut, and I managed to halve my cost of living, since I only drove when absolutely necessary, and quit eating out except for business lunches.

Once that was all done, my typical day was 6 hours of “work”: looking for contracts, working on shareware (to demo my mad skillz), and updating my website. I used the rest of the free time until the first job started to go for walks and bike-rides and generally get myself in better physical and mental shape. Looking and feeling good makes it a lot easier to wow them in the interview.

maybe it’s time to go all in on an accordion career.

break a leg, Joe.

T

One thing a friend also told me: make a sacrifice to the economic karma gods – a significant but frivolous purchase, which reminds them they need to help you find your next job so you can continue to make offerings. I bought a new lens for my camera.

I’ve got a few PM leads that I’ll forward on to you.

I have the opposite problem. I’ve been looking for a tech head/web developer for my small bootstrap company for 2 years, to no avail. Developers want anywhere from 80k to 150K, which is more than I make! [Like I said, we're small, and bootstrapped, but have solid steady income]

Any tips for an employer looking for someone (perhaps just a couple of years out of school) that wants experience as a DBA/Network Admin/Web Programmer?

Somewhere down the road, perhaps you can do another post that talks about what a small, non-venture backed company can do to hire techies. I’m tired of doing everything by myself.

Good luck in your search.
I.