The Job Search Checklist

Contents

Foreword v

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction 1

Prequels: Anticipating Job Loss 8

STEP 1 The Emotional Impact of Job Loss
1 Job Loss Grieving 21
2 Secondhand Job Loss 40

STEP 2 Life After Unemployment
3 Recovery 51
4 Getting Organized 59
5 Rebuilding Your Professional Identity 66

STEP 3 Developing a Career Plan
6 Developing Your Career Plan 75
7 All-Important Research 82
8 Personality Testing 87
9 Personal Marketing Plan 94

Step 4 Crafting an Effective Résumé
10 Résumé Components 107
11 Chronological or Functional Résumé? 117
12 Keywords: The Hidden Language of the Internet 125
13 Channeling the Power of the Internet 132
14 Creating Internet-Friendly Documents 139

STEP 5 The Power of Networking
15 The Visible Job Market 145
16 In-Person Networking 150
17 Social Networking 166

STEP 6 Effective Interviewing
18 The Interview: Types and Styles 177
19 Informational Interviews 186
20 The Screening Interview 190
21 The Interview: Concerns and Questions 196
22 Strategies to Ace an Interview 207
23 The Salary Negotiation Process 218

Step 7 Reemployment: Hit the Ground Running
24 Prepared and Ready to Go 235
25 Your First Six Months 245

Conclusion 253

Endnotes 255

Index 259

DAMIAN BIRKEL is a certified career counselor and the founder of Professionals in Transition(R) Support Group. His job search methodology has been used by more than 5,000 out-of-work professionals to find new employment. His expertise has been featured on Fox News, CNN, NPR, and in USA Today, Fortune, Time, and The Wall Street Journal.