Do a Smarter Job Hunt

Here are some smart ways to cut through company walls to find someone inside who can help you. Don't go in circles - do a smarter job search. Just be sure to start with the basics - know what you're looking for!

1. Know what positions are available at a company before you can try to work for a company. You need to figure out what job openings the company has. Once you know this you can focus your energy on trying to get that specific job. You can look on a company website to see what job openings a company has. But the best strategy is to find someone who works at the company and ask directly - websites may not be up to date.

2. Get Smarter with Free LinkedIn. LinkedIn is widely recognized as the best social network for career professionals. LinkedIn can be utilized as a great resource to connect with people at a company that you are interested in working for. The key on LinkedIn is to compile as many direct connections to other professionals that you can. So, if you want to work for the ABC firm, and you have 100 LinkedIn connections, there is a chance that one of your connections has a connection with someone working at the ABC firm. This secondary connection can then be used to get introduced to the respective person that works at ABC. Knowing someone who works at the company where you're applying can greatly increase your odds of securing the job. 

3. Be creative with Twitter Also free, more people are starting to use Twitter for business network. (it's not just following celebrity news!) You can utilize Twitter to look for jobs in several ways, one of the most creative ways is to use Twitter to locate and contact someone at a given company. You can use Twellow to search Twitter profiles. Search for the company that you want to work for - and you may find someone who has a profile that says, Director of Biz Dev for company X. Now that you found that person, you can follow them on Twitter hoping that they follow you back so that you can DM them.Or you can mention them in the hopes they will then get in touch with you. Also, sometimes people include their email address in their profile so you can contact them that way. Either way, Twitter offers a creative way to develop a contact, as the person may appreciate your hard work and creativity in getting in touch with them. develop key contacts within an organization. 

4. Do not focus on monster.com, hotjobs or other large online job search services. Monster and Hotjobs used to be the best places to find jobs online. It was the place companies went to hire, and the place potential employees went to apply. However, there are so many people looking for work that you need to find ways to differentiate yourself. And Monster and HotJobs get so many applications that it becomes very difficult to stand out from the crowd. Networking, and direct contact with someone at the company by phone, email or in-person are still the best ways to find work. Today, with the flood of online applicants, it's more true than ever. Already sent the online resume and no luck? Work hard to find someone inside the company, ask them to talk to HR or put in a good word as you think you're a great fit for a specific job they're trying to fill.  

 Tips edited from article by Evan Britton, ResourceWebs