Doctors get a lot of questions from friends and neighbors about medications and illnesses.  As a Human Resources professional in this tough labor market, I’ve been getting a lot of employment and job search questions from friends and acquaintances.

In the last week I was approached with two job-related situations. Here’s to dispelling job search urban legends and fears!

Situation # 1

A college friend of my daughter is getting ready to graduate.  She is applying to companies and putting together a few versions of her resume.

This friend had an internship last year.  Her supervisors thought highly of her and gave her additional work because they knew she could handle it.  Late in the semester she had some personal family issues arise.  As a result, she needed to end the internship because she needed to use her time to help out her family.  She feels her supervisors were disappointed.  Now she is a bit skittish about putting the internship on her resume.

The friend’s questions to me were, “Do I list this internship on my resume? What do I say if I’m asked why I left? and If I think they were disappointed that I left; should I use them as a reference?”  Great questions.

First I told her that she should absolutely list the internship on her resume.  It was an experience that gave her insight into the working world.  She learned a lot from it and helped the organization.

Next, I said that when she interviews she should be ready to talk about why the internship ended.  The truth is that she really enjoyed her role, what she learned and contributed, and the people there.  I said she needs to say she left because of an urgent family matter that needed her immediate attention.  She should mention she was excited about the experience she gained while there.  If asked, she will have the chance to elaborate on her role and her accomplishments during the internship.

Now the tricky part – using the internship as a reference.  I told the friend that she should find someone she worked with there who would be willing to talk to a future employer about her.  Since she did a great job, there should be someone who can help her out.  Alternatively, her college counselor could probably speak on her behalf about the internship.

The takeaways:  1) List your relevant experience.  2) Be prepared to explain why you left a position, even if the reason is a family emergency.  I would make sure you add what you contributed and what you gained from the experience as well. Never speak negatively about a past employer.  3)  Have references available to talk about you to prospective employers.

Situation #2

My neighbor is doing well at his job, but he heard about an opening with another company.  The new job would pay more and have more advancement opportunities.  He has heard stories of his current employer seeing some of its employees’ resumes on Internet resume databases and firing them. He also knows his current employer is struggling in this economy, so he would like to move on.  He is worried that A) If he puts his resume on one of the job boards his company will see it and fire him and B) If he gets an interview with the company with the opening, the new company will call his current company to verify employment or find out about his work habits and ethics.

My advice back to him:

A)  He can put his resume on the job boards, leave out his last name, and have the name of the current company “Confidential.”  He needs the resume to have an e-mail address and phone number so that recruiters and employers have a way to contact him.  Author’s note: It is disheartening that a company would fire someone because he or she put his or her resume on a job board.  I do have a friend who saw his current job posted on one and confronted his boss.  That is how he found out the company was letting him go.

B)  In general, a prospective company will ask candidates on an application if they can contact the current employer.  It is completely acceptable to say “no” or to say “after an offer is made.” Many companies do employment verifications but only after an offer has been made.

The takeaway:  If you are worried your company will find you on a resume board, keep your last name off your resume and your employer confidential but make sure your email address is listed.  Don’t worry that prospective companies will call your current employer during the interview process.  It really doesn’t work that way.  Companies may do employment verifications after they have made you an offer.

The other day we had our first free virtual career coaching session on GoSavant.com. We had quite a number of people come in and ask multiple job search questions! It was so busy for our career coach that we have decided to limit the number of people next time or have 2 coaches available at once (depending on expressed demand). We hope we were able to answer the most pressing of your job search questions, and we empathize with those who need one-on-one career coaching beyond the hour. We are planning on having future virtual career coaching sessions, but if you have more than a few questions that can be answered via chat in an hour, visit www.gosavant.com to select a career coach for more personalized coaching.

So what were some of the questions and answers during our first free virtual meetup?

What can I do to increase my chances for a phone call for an interview?

Coach: The market is tight, so being able to stand out from the crowd helps. In your resume, include any unique information that will be a "hook" and grab people's attention-- maybe it is some background or perhaps a skill.

I have really strong writing skills so I'm not that concerned about the cover letter but more the resume itself.

Coach: I suggest that in today's economy a well-crafted and individualized cover letter can be very important. It can allow you to articulate very specifically what you bring to them. Other people will send generic cover letters… you will want to stand apart and be noticed with your specific skills, knowledge and ability that meet the job. For instance, you can highlight an experience that you perhaps can't do as well in a resume.

I see..good point.

What’s an elevator speech and what should I include in it?

Coach: Use your ingenuity! An elevator speech is what you would say to someone about yourself in the amount of time you spend on an elevator with him/her. Intro, goals, skills….

How do I find the unpublished jobs?

Coach: Good question. Do you have the ability to develop and maintain personal connections and professional contacts? These contacts may generate some leads.

I meet people, but where do I go from there?

Coach: Ask them if they know of any opportunities or contacts. You can also explain your skills and see if they have any ideas based on that. I also suggest using LinkedIn.com to keep in contact.

I admit it — I am addicted to job advice. I love reading advice on Twitter, rummage through my RSS feed of career blogs on LinkedIn, and regularly check out the latest career musings on BrazenCareerist. Based on all I read and my own experiences acquiring and maintaining 3 jobs in the past year, here is a compilation list of the 10 things you can do right now to jump start your job search.

1. Create a great LinkedIn profile. Sure, it’s pretty easy to sign up for LinkedIn, include your current and past positions, and add a few people to your network, but you can and should do so much more. Recruiters are using LinkedIn more and more to find candidates, even those who aren’t actively looking. Part of the reason why recruiters are coming across LinkedIn profiles of those who aren’t actively looking, is how well their profiles are put together.

What do you need to do to create the beginnings of a great LinkedIn profile? Here are the starters:
• Make your LinkedIn URL your first and last name. This can improve your LinkedIn visibility on Google
• In addition, if you include your blog in the Websites sections, instead of naming it the default “My Website,” rename it the blog name
• In the Specialties section, use resume keywords; otherwise known as core competencies
• List accomplishments in addition to duties to your experience (much like a resume)
• Ask for recommendations, and give recommendations!
• (Read these additional LinkedIn tips from LinkedIn)

2. Volunteer your career services. If you haven’t been working for a few months, you need to volunteer. Why? One of the first things recruiters will notice is gaps on your resume, and they will wonder what you have been doing to be a savvy job seeker during your time-off. Interested in a social media position but don’t have the formal experience? Find a local organization that’s lacking a Twitter or Facebook Fan Page and volunteer to create them. (Put this experience on your resume and LinkedIn page, and then ask for a LinkedIn recommendation from the boss.) Want to work in a project management role? Join your condo’s board of directors. (You can learn fiscal responsibility, teamwork negotiation, and leadership skills and include those competencies on your resume.)

Aside from the skills and resume experience you get from volunteering, you also gain a crucial opportunity to expand your network. Which leads us to…

3. Network everywhere, all the time, with everyone. Networking doesn’t mean you’re holding up a business card with sad, trembling eyes, and you ask a person who you just exchanged 2 words with an elevator: “Do you know of any jobs?” Networking is about getting to know a person—who he/she is, what kind of work he/she does, what his/her interests are—and striking up a conversation about who you are, what you have to offer, your interests, and what kind of work you are looking for. If all goes well in that conversation, that person will be more than happy to share pertinent information with you!  Many times, that person doesn’t have pertinent information for you at the moment—but he or she might in the future. Maintain communications with your contacts whether it’s through a holiday card, LinkedIn, or sharing lunch. Additionally, make sure you don’t let your membership to organizations you are already a part of expire—your networking experiences and opportunities to hear insights into the industry are often worth the annual fee. You might also want to consider joining job seeker groups on www.meetup.com where you can meet other job seekers and industry professionals who are all enthusiastic about helping each other out.

4. Treat your resume as if it is the most important financial document you will ever own. This quote is borrowed from GoSavant’s Martin Yate, but I believe in it 100%! Your resume is what gets you or what keeps you from getting the job you want. If you aren’t getting interviews after months of applying for jobs, chances are something is wrong with your resume. If you’re still not getting the interview after updating your resume per expert opinion, hire a professional resume writer. It can seem expensive, but it is an investment into your future, an investment into the future of your income.

5. Write a cover letter for each job you apply to and personalize it. Even if a company doesn’t require you to submit a cover letter, submit a cover letter. Don’t let your cover letter be a boring recitation of everything on your resume in an equally boring 4-paragraph form—keep your cover letter concise and personal to the company, and let your personality shine through!

6. Clean up your “digital dirt.” Google your first and last name. Click on those sites. Do you see anything that can keep you from getting the job you want? Get rid of it. Keep in mind that although your Facebook profile may be “private,” your profile picture may not be. What you write on your friend’s walls may not be private either. If you have a personal blog that includes your personal feelings on personal topics and your name is linked to it, you will want to keep that from public view.

7. Do not just use job boards. Here’s the truth: a few of the jobs I’ve gotten were indeed from CareerBuilder, but that was during a different job market with less competition and more time for HR recruiters to look at resumes. In conjunction with talking to your networking contacts for job opportunities, create new networking contacts through social media platforms like Twitter by creating an appropriate job hunting profile that discusses who you are, your skills, and what kind of work you’re looking for, then follow and network with  businesses and thought leaders pertinent to your job search. Use www.linkup.com to view job openings on company websites. And of course, use LinkedIn to look for job opportunities or to find hiring managers behind company profiles and find ways to be on their radar.

8. Don’t have one-size-fits-all approach to your job search. There’s a reason why they don’t make jeans all in one size: they wouldn’t fit! You have to focus your job search on the kind of work you are suitable for and not have or communicate the “I’ll take anything” approach. For each type of job you are looking for (ie, sales vs. marketing job), have a different resume. Always have an individualized cover letter. Don’t give canned answers to interviews. Be aware of what the company is looking for and put your focused energy into a personalized resume, cover letter, and interview. If you’re not finding success after several months of job hunting and interviewing, hire a job coach.

9. Have a daily job search plan. Looking for a job should be a full-time job until you find a full-time job, but that doesn’t mean you need to spend 8 hours looking at a computer all day. It may help to prevent job search burnout by organizing a daily job search plan that includes a myriad of tasks during the course of the day. Have a day that looks like this: look for jobs for an hour, read trade magazines and articles specific to your industry (which might give you leads into the hidden job market) for about an hour, write cover letters for 2 hours, volunteer for 2 hours, and go to a networking event for 2 hours that night. Switch up your tasks per day! Your job search won’t seem as tasking.

10. Be positive. This is not meant to be hokey advice that equates to having an unrealistic attitude and a forced smile. The bottom-line is this: you will get hired. If you arm yourself with all the tools you need like the right resume, a creative cover letter, awesome interviewing skills, and an optimistic outlook, you will find work. Having a positive attitude in your job search will extend to your networking events, your cover letters, your interviews—and employers will infinitely prefer to hire someone who has a positive, optimistic attitude as opposed to a depressed and pleading one.

Have I missed any major pointers on improving job search? What have you done to have a successful job search? Sound off below!