Entering the Second Week

So..... It looks like this may be a weekly post instead of my intended daily post.  Life is really very busy when you don't have a job to go to on the weekdays to shield you.
Last week I sent feelers out to EVERYONE I know and got some really good contacts.  I also spoke with a recruiter that my company has worked with many times, and he's very good, although his main focus is in the Washington, DC area.  He did give me a couple good pieces of advice regarding the job boards:

1. You must have your resume on Monster.com and Dice.com - In case you didn't know, I'm a software engineer by trade.  Monster is the biggest, and Dice specializes in the I.T. field.
2. Update your resume at least once per week, but not more than twice a week.  Update it at least at 12:01am each Monday, and perhaps each Friday at 12:01 am.  This will apparently put your resume at the top of the list for candidates meeting the employers' search criteria.

Some other advice:

1. Practice a 15-second pitch for yourself and your qualifications.  Think The Player.
2. Always ask questions in an interview - phone or face-to-face.  If you're not interested in them, they're not going to be interested in you.
3. After exhausting your first tier contacts (my colleagues that I contacted the first week), and second tier (job boards), don't be afraid to "hit the streets."  Of course the in the digital world, this means sending email directly to people that are in a position to hire - even if you don't know them.

Week's Progress

Based on my diligence last week, I've set up several phone and face-to-face interviews for this week.  I've already had one phone interview today and it went well.  I'll be seeing them next week for an F2F.
I also have another one set for 4:00 today.  This is for a position with a Defense Contractor.  The big benefit here is that I'd {finally} get a security clearance.  Anyone in the Baltimore-Washington corridor knows that a clearance is worth more than gold.  It costs about $40,000 (paid by the employer), and opens more doors in this area than Carlton.


I've also got a lunch later this week with an old employer, and two more interviews later in the week.