Many people out of work today are ready, willing and able to work and they may have all the skills and qualifications an employer is looking for.  The trick however is to find jobs where they can apply and get that elusive interview that will lead to a position.  Even in our tough economic times it is possible to find jobs in a variety of industries if you know where and how to look.

Of course you can still find jobs on those online job boards such as monster and hotjobs; you can even check Craigslist as well.  But often jobs in a particular industry or area have job boards designated for them.  You may want to expand your online search to include your field of experience, such as accounting, engineering, architecture, banking, and so on.  This will help you to find jobs that employers have posted on these specific sites; often they will use these sites alone in order to save time from those who send generic resumes to every position they see posted.

It’s interesting how often you can find jobs available just through word of mouth alone.  If you’re looking for work, let your friends and family know, as well as people you may know through your place of worship, your gym, your community center, your bowling league, and so on.  When you let others know that you’re looking for work they may actually find jobs for you!  Often they know of a company that’s looking for a particular skill but hasn’t advertised the job yet and can get you in the door or let you know where and how to apply.  Many people are able to find jobs this way without ever searching the internet or having to send out a resume!  So don’t be shy about letting people know your work situation and about telling them that you’re looking for something.

It’s also good to be open to other career opportunities, other than what you’re used to or the field in which you’ve been working.  You might be able to find jobs in a completely different field and find that you love the change, or it might lead to something that’s more familiar to you.  If you have an accounting degree but find a job in the purchasing department of a company, you may find that you love purchasing more than accounting or may find an opening in their accounting department sooner or later.  When you’re trying to find jobs it’s good not to turn your nose up at anything as you just don’t know how things will wind up, and of course it’s good to work at just about any job when you’re out of work in order to keep your attitude positive and to generate an income.

Remember when you’re trying to find jobs that your situation is just temporary; you’ll soon be working at a dream job again, even if it takes more time and effort to find it than you planned.