I know a lot of you have lost jobs, looking for a job, or are looking to transfer this year – it’s a big deal! My husband is looking for a different position and has been interviewing for new jobs for the past month now himself. It’s scary, exciting, and a bit unsettling – especially if it involves your family moving! There are a LOT of things to consider when searching for a new job including finances, location, schools, cost of living, medical, etc. But first, you have to find the job you want to interview at right?

TIPS for Looking for a Job

1. Decide whether you want to stay local or look national/international. Obviously opening your job search up nationally is a much broader spectrum and will hold more opportunities and possibilities than staying local, but of course there is a lot more involved when you have to move.

 Local – Check your local newspapers, craigslist/online ads, company websites, etc. to see if there are any job openings.

National – Depending on the area of your job field first check big career databases online. Are there databases specifically for your field or will you have to check sites like Monster or SnagaJob? If that’s still too large of a spectrum focus on a few specific areas to search for. For example, when we were searching we focused on Florida (where we live now), Colorado (where my sister is) and Illinois (where my in-laws live). We were then able to research the names of the county’s and then the names of the school districts in those specific areas which gave us a little more focused direction to where to look for jobs.

2. Decide your minimum TAKE HOME pay. It’s not all about the money, but that does play a huge part in it – especially when you’re raising children. As my husband began his job hunt we sat down together and decided our absolute minimum TAKE HOME pay per month. What we absolutely had to have per month in order to pay our bills. Now I say TAKE HOME pay because there are MANY circumstances which can vary your take home pay – and that amount it what really matters. Who cares if you’re making $40,000 a year if you’re only taking home $24,000 because of insurance costs? Different jobs provide different benefits, pension packages, perks (such as free schooling for kids), possible housing, moving costs, vacation/sick days, etc. You MUST look at the whole picture and take everything into consideration. Once you’ve pre-determined your amount STICK WITH IT.

3. Have a professional resume. I cannot stress this enough – if you send in a resume with grammatical errors, no contact information, huge unexplained gaps in your work history, etc. your application is more likely to be disregarded. You MUST spend the time needed to make a good quality professional resume before seriously looking for a job. There are oodles of resume building sites that can help you (for free) put together a nice resume.

4. Start applying!  If you come across a job that you know you wouldn’t want to work at – DON’T APPLY FOR IT! Yes, I know you may be terribly desperate but if you honestly cannot handle working at the location do not bother applying for it.

5. WAIT. Waiting is the hard part. Sometimes you won’t hear anything for weeks, sometimes you’ll receive so many interviews or calls that you’re afraid to overlap them too much. It all depends on the position you’re applying for, what you have to offer, and how wide of a search base you have determined for yourself. Weight all of your options and go with your instinct. If you don’t find something you’re comfortable with, keep looking or consider a new position!

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