Tips for job applications?

[The Philosopher]

Besides having a good resume and cover letter, what are some tips? I feel like I've applied everywhere but I never get a callback.

[Tom]

Dear Philosopher,
Great question; also a tough one.
In my line-of-work I have found that job seekers who are not having success in their job search are usually: a) applying for a job that does not match their qualifications, b) have "red flags" in their resume, c) applying through job boards and waiting for call backs, or d) not focused in their job search and tailoring their resume to a specific opportunity.

Not knowing your specifics I can offer the following general suggestions:

1. Your credibility with an employer skyrockets when someone within the target company suggests / recommends you as a potential candidate worthy of consideration. Hence you need to develop referrals. One effective method of doing this is to leverage all of your personal and professional contacts wherever possible. Social media venues such as LinkedIn are ideal tools to assist you in this approach.
2. Focus on specific job opportunities (fish with a harpoon , not a net). Analyze the opportunity to determine key job requirements, needs / wants, and relevant company [industry, job] key words, and then tailor your resume and cover letter to address these points. What employer wants to waste their time filtering hundreds of candidates that are ill-suited for the position? As basic as this sounds, a large percentage of the résumés submitted every day are from candidates flooding companies with the same résumé for completely different positions in hope that something will “stick”. This is like speed dating for a job. If you really want to land the winning interview then you need to present yourself as the best candidate for the position, which means you need to understand what the company is looking for in a successful candidate (fit, credentials, experience, knowledge, skills, and accomplishments).
3. Build a "job search strategy". This is an honest evaluation of your skills, knowledge , and experience compared to the requirements of your targeted job. Where you come up short (weaknesses) or do not exceed the requirements of the job, you then develop an action plan to address the weaknesses. I’ve found it effective to create a table listing the Needs/Wants and Requirements of the targeted job and compare these to your experience, skills, and pedigree. How do you compare? Would you hire a candidate with these credentials and experience? Where you have shortcomings or deficiencies you can develop a strategy for bolstering your response. For example, you might decide to finally get that industry certification your peers seem to always have, or join relevant industry / trade associations, or finally create your LinkedIn profile. There are always tons of actions to take at very little cost.
4. While I am not "down" on job boards, I hope you are not simply uploading your resume and hoping that a company drives by and "discovers" your resume. You need to apply directly to the target company website. So how do you find great jobs? Try http://www.indeed.com -- the largest job "search engine," not job board, on the internet. Here you will be able to find the right targeted jobs.
5. Use a recruiter. If you are one of the lucky individuals who has a real pedigree, then a recruiter may be right for you. Here are 2 comprehensive recruiter directories: http://www.recruitersdirectory.com/.

I hope these tips are helpful. If you want more information about these suggestions there is a great article at http://amcareermarketing.com/10-tips-eff...me-part1/.

Good luck with your job search,
Tom