What is the best way to look for a Job?

[indico]

On Internet?
Going in person to a company and handing in my resume?
By telephone?
By Fax?

[felicia]

Calling/Faxing looks to employers like you're lazy and don't have a strong desire to be employed.
Going in person is always good. Employers can see what you look like and you have the opportunity on rare occasion for same day application/ same day interview.
Unfortunately, during this day and age most employers are going to seek out their future employees via the internet.
Craigslist.org Monster.com Indeed.com Jobing.com CareerBuilder.com
Also, go to the direct company website. Try Google! Most cities have individual job sites as well example... jobsinchandler.com is for people seeking Chandler, Arizona.
Beware of the at home jobs or jobs that don't give many details about the company, etc. Follow intuition and research the company. There are a lot of scams out there believe it or not when it comes to employment.

[FaZizzle]

Despite what people say, there really is no best way.

However, start with the internet:

1) Job sites (i.e. careerbuilder, hotjobs, monster, etc)
2) State unemployment sites (just look at your state's department of labor)
3) Classifieds in the paper (not online - most major newspapers just link to CareerBuilder)
4) Larger corporations in your area

Going to a company to apply really doesn't work unless it's in fast food. If you just go into a corporation, you not only have no idea who you're going to talk to and also have no idea what openings there are. Your resume may very well land on the desk.

Telephone and fax are even worse, unless a job posting states to apply via fax. Never just cold call someone.

Basically, here's what I would do first:

1) Create an awesome, error-proof resume. Update an old one if you need to, but get your resume started. I always have a Word version and a Notepad/text-only version. You will have one to send as an attachment and one to use in electronic forms.

2) Get your cover letter template created. ALWAYS customize it for each job - you want to point out your strengths and really show why you're great for the job.

3) Next, write down key words you want to be searching. If you want to go into marketing, don't just search for "marketing." You'll end up with thousands of results. Instead, try "marketing manager, marketing specialist, communication specialist, social media, etc."

4) Sign up for alerts and keep scanning those sites a few times a day. Keep a spreadsheet going to keep track of the jobs - when it was posted, when you applied, the company, the position, the contact, etc.

5) Keep applying to places. Don't stop when you find a job that sounds great. You can't fall in love. Just keep applying and apply well. Follow directions to the T. If they say to apply online, apply online. If they want an email with an attached cover letter, don't put it in the body of the email.

6) If you aren't getting hits after a month or so, re-examine two things:

A) Your resume - chances are you aren't letting it fully express how great you are
B) Your expectations - if you don't have any experience, don't apply to positions that require 3+ years.

7) DO NOT APPLY TO JOBS MORE THAN A WEEK OLD!!! I know it's tough, but after 7 days most companies stop seriously accepting resumes and are starting the interview process.

8) Have patience and don't give up. I applied for a job on April 25 and didn't get called for a phone interview until May 12. I didn't get a face-to-face interview until May 25 and was hired the next week. Basically, it took a full week. This was after applying to 138 places and having 19 previous interviews with other companies.