You may recall from past posts that I have a propensity towards obesity. As a result, I have had to work extremely hard to keep my weight down. I am proud of the fact that over the last two years I have lost over 30 pounds and have kept it off! However, this is not by accident. Instead, my nutritionist has shared and I have adopted many rigorous routines to keep my weight in check especially my binge eating.

One of my primary strategies is keeping a daily food log. This entails writing down everything I eat in real time including calories, grams of protein and grams of fiber. Many times I despise doing this because it is very tedious and time consuming. Furthermore, I cannot take a day off even when I am on vacation. Instead I just want to splurge, eat what I want and not write anything down. Unfortunately, if I do so I will slide back into oblivion.

My nutritionist constantly reminds me that there is no magic bullet to weight loss. Instead, you have to continuously remind yourself of “the power of push.” This means incessant, positive self-talk to reinforce appropriate behaviors even when I am totally against them.

The same is true for job seekers. As I have shared numerous times previously, many job seekers work hard, but they do not work smart. They blindly send out countless resumes and get mad when they do not have any results. Instead, I recommend networking to generate interviews. Though it is very tedious to meet people and sell them on yourself, research shows that this is the most successful way to land a job.

There are two basic types of networking: 1) electronic networking and 2) traditional networking. Electronic networking entails leveraging social media sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to meet others and learn about useful job related information. Traditional networking is the old fashioned form of joining associations in your field and meeting key decision makers.

Whichever form of networking you choice, I recommend developing a 30-second elevator pitch. During this pitch you want to quickly convey three things: 1) who you are 2) what you are looking for and 3) your 2-3 greatest strengths for the job you seek. Practice this pitch in the mirror, in your tape recorder and on video tape until you prefect it. Then share it with everyone you meet.

Also, similar to my food log, I recommend maintaining a daily networking journal. Set a goal to meet three new persons a day and then share your 30-second elevator pitch. You never know who might know about your next job. Monitor your progress with this log. If you have a bad day, snap back tomorrow with a strong one. This is all very tedious work, but as I learned from my nutritionist, there is no magical formula! Instead, you need to push yourself every day in order to succeed in landing your next interview and in turn your next job.

You may recall that I am an expert on jobs, careers and labor issues who frequently espouses the importance of selling yourself in the interview. To assist you I developed two free and useful tools:

1. A weekly interview preparation blog. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/interview-preparation-blog to read my ideas.

2. Monthly self-help videos called the “12 Commandments of Interviewing.” Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/interview-preparation-tips/index.php to view and apply.

Unfortunately, many experts preach countless “truths”, but fail to embrace their own wisdom. Fortunately, I had the rare opportunity to apply many of my suggestions during an extremely important, 90-minute Los Angeles meeting (interview) with two of the top producers of such television hits as The Apprentice and Survivor. We discussed my hybrid reality, self-help and educational show concept that guides twelve diverse job seekers through the landmines of job seeking using a unique and copyrighted 12-step program. Each step corresponds to a new episode for this twelve-week television show.

Though no contract was signed, the meeting was tremendously successful ending with both stating how impressed they were with both my concept and expertise. However, this was not by accident. Instead, I thoroughly practiced and applied what I preach.

Unfortunately, the interview day started out poorly when I discovered my power tie was left in Chicago. Also, ten different people, including the concierge at my hotel, provided ten different sets of directions, which were all incorrect! As a result, I got lost several times on route. Therefore, what should have been an easy twenty minute trip resulted in an 85 minute ordeal! Finally, a demanding cousin, who lives in Los Angeles, repeatedly called to unload her problems on me. This only exacerbated my stress.

Fortunately, I forcefully applied the powers of positive self-talk, which I regularly advocate to my candidates. For example, I repeatedly reassured myself that everything was going to work out fine. I also engaged in meditative breathing practices. This helped reduce my tension and improve my mental outlook for this important interview. This also contributed to my levelheaded research that uncovered a nearby Macy’s, which provided a suitable replacement tie.

Additionally, earlier that morning, I pushed myself to engage in a long, hard workout, which further reduced my stress and improved my mental outlook. This was followed by extensive vocal exercises and mirror drills, which simulated potential questions from the producers and my responses. This was similar to an actor preparing for an audition. Finally, I allowed myself enough time by leaving almost two hours early. This resulted in arriving on time despite the poor directions.

Before departing for LA, I also prepared extensively. This included practicing on video tape (one of the center pieces of my interview preparation strategy) with Bill Moller, a radio show host for both WGN and WLS (ABC) radio, whose programs I was repeatedly a guest on. Mr. Moller graciously drilled me during the mock interview about every possible contingency. As a result, the questions from both producers were very easy for me to handle.

The bottom line is practice makes perfect. In this rare interview opportunity, I was able to apply my craft for my own needs. The results were a powerful and successful interview!

Keyword research is one of the fundamentals of successful SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing or Pay Per Click) campaigns. Proper keywords help web pages rank higher with search engines, which assists marketers in better attracting customers.

Job seekers also can benefit from this practice. By uncovering those keywords that are most relevant to your desired hiring companies and including them in all your communications and content (e.g. resume, online profile, personal blog and online chats), you will greatly enhance your chances of being hired.

Choosing the right keywords is all about identifying whom your target audience is, what their expectations are in finding you and what words they will input into search engines to find you. It is not about what you think are the best keywords. Instead, it is about what your target audience will actually be using. Therefore, you need to penetrate the minds of the searcher (e.g. hiring company) to uncover what keywords they will likely choose in their process of finding you.

“Unfortunately, most people guess at what keywords they should be known for, which leads to them not being found,” says keyword expert Ron Jones, president of Symetri (http://www.symetri.com) during our recent interview. “Instead you should research what key terms people may be using to find you and then design your content (e.g. personal blog) around those keywords. This will enhance your ability to make a connection between the searcher (e.g. hiring company) and yourself.”

There are many tools one can use to determine optimum keywords for your target audience. They include free tools such as Google Keyword Tool (https://adwords.google.com). They also include paid tools include WordStream (http://www.wordstream.com), Keyword Discovery (http://www.keyworddiscovery.com) and Wordtracker (http://www.wordtracker.com). Even if you cannot afford the paid tools, most will allow you some free usage.

Having the proper keywords in your content can also be invaluable during your social media discussions. “Commenting in forums and engaging in conversations is a good practice especially if your comments are related to your expertise and you include the appropriate keywords. Then people will start viewing you as an authority in your niche,” shares Mr. Jones.

Another related practice and emerging field is posting personal videos on YouTube. By providing engaging content, hiring companies are likely to seek you out. The caveat is you need to apply keyword research to ensure that your videos have the proper Meta tags and are related to your areas of expertise. Also include keyword phrases that describe what your content is all about.

In summary you should perform keyword research to identify what key terms hiring companies might be using to discover you and then design your content around those keywords. This will enhance your ability to make a connection between yourself and the searcher (i.e. the hiring company). The key is identifying those keywords that you want to be known for and make sure to include those in all your communications including online comments, blogging and your resume.

Keyword research is one of the fundamentals of successful SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing or Pay Per Click) campaigns. Proper keywords help web pages rank higher with search engines, which assists marketers in better attracting customers. Hiring companies can adopt these techniques to better recruit candidates for their staffing needs.

Choosing the right keywords is all about identifying whom your target audience is, what their expectations are in finding you and what words they will input into search engines to find you. It is not about what you think are the best keywords. Instead, it is about what your target audience will actually be using. Therefore, you need to penetrate the minds of the searcher to uncover what keywords they will likely choose in their process of finding you.

“Unfortunately, most people guess at what keywords they should be known for, which leads to them not being found,” says keyword expert Ron Jones, president of Symetri (http://www.symetri.com) during our recent interview. “Instead you should do some research to identify what key terms people may be using to find you and then design your content (e.g. help wanted ads) using those keywords. This will enhance your ability to make a connection between the searcher (e.g. job seeker) and yourself.”

There are many tools one can use to determine optimum keywords for your target audience. They include free tools such as Google Keyword Tool (https://adwords.google.com). They also include paid tools include WordStream (http://www.wordstream.com), Keyword Discovery (http://www.keyworddiscovery.com) and Wordtracker (http://www.wordtracker.com). “Most paid tools allow you to do some free searching. However, the $50 to 70 (you will spend for one month’s usage of Keyword Discovery) will be money well spent because it will also help you better qualify candidates. If I am looking for someone with a very specific background, I can perform some keyword research to identify the right keywords that are most relevant for that type of person. Then those job seekers who have that desired talent are more apt to uncover and approach my company. The rule-of-thumb is the more specific and relevant your job descriptions are using the proper keywords, the more likely it is that you will make a connection with the talent you seek. Also, using proper keywords will help you better filter out those who do not fit your requirements. One caution is there is no one keyword tool that does it all. Instead, I recommend using several tools together,” shares Mr. Jones.

The next question you may have is how often should you perform keyword research. Mr. Jones recommends once a year. However, if you have a major change in your industry (e.g. new product introduction) you should perform it more quickly. “The key is if you are in the R&D (research and development) phase, keyword research can also be a great tool for developing new product names. Then if you can integrate the results into your new product name, this can help you both: a) generate optimum new product names and b) help your customers to better find you per your new names, says Mr. Jones.

Finally, it is very important to apply keyword research to your recruiting campaigns in order to meet candidate expectations. “When someone uses any search engine, they start off with an expectation. If they then uncover an ad or search result, that represents their expectations, then they are likely to click on it. If they click on that destination (e.g. your blog or website), it is important that destination delivers on that expectation. Therefore, the final destination also has to be rich with the same keywords that began the process so that there is relevance from the beginning of the process to the end,” mentioned Mr. Jones.

The BLS said that the unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.7% in February with 36,000 non-farm payroll jobs lost. Construction and IT were the big losers. Construction in particular lost 64,000 and has lost 1.9 million jobs since the recession started in December 2007. IT lost 18,000 in February and has lost 297,000 since December 2007. Temporary help was the big winner adding 48,000 in February. Health care also continued to trend upward.

Unfortunately, 8.4 million people lost their jobs during the recession that started in December, 2007. In 2009 alone 4.1 million lost their jobs! How bad is it? Employers would need to add 400,000 net new jobs per month for the next 3 years to fully recover from the effects of this recession! Unfortunately, that’s not projected to happen. For example, the president’s first official economic report projects employers adding only 95,000 jobs a month this year. Then adding about 190,000 jobs per month in 2011 and 251,000 a month in 2012. At that rate, unemployment won’t reach 5% this decade!

Newspaper and online help wanted ads only show as little as 20% of the available openings. Many hidden job openings are filled through employee referrals. That is why I recommend networking to uncover a job. I recommend two types of networking: a) actual and b) virtual (e.g. using social media sites like LinkedIn).

My mantra remains, “Think Small” as in small businesses, which have created 64% of the net new jobs in the last 15 years! Unfortunately, start-ups continue to struggle due to a lack of funding. More needs to be done to provide SBA loans, which continue to be only 1% of the overall money lent to small companies!

Numerous top economists say that almost 25% of the 8.4 million jobs eliminated, over the last 2 years as part of the recession, will not be coming back! Most are being replaced by automation or a shift in production to countries like China. The most optimistic economic projections only forecast the U.S. adding only about 133,000 jobs a month over the next year. This is contrasted by the 400,000 net new jobs per month needed continuously for a three-year period to reduce the unemployment rate to single digits!

That’s why you shouldn’t overlook temporary positions. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/interview-preparation-tips/index.php and click on 9TH (below) to view my recently released 9th Commandment of Interview Preparation video for more details.

Did you know that one of the biggest trends in industry is temp-to-perm conversions? This means that an employer will first hire you on a temporary or contract basis, then try you out on the job to judge your employment skills and then later hire you into the job on a full-time basis once you have proven yourself. This is a form of interviewing that many job candidates do not even consider. Companies engage in this practice due to the high cost of firing someone and not wanting to make an employment blunder. Therefore, do not overlook temporary employment; it may lead to a full-time employment situation.

Manufacturers and technology companies are seeing increased signs of an economic recovery. For example, the Federal Reserve stated recently that industrial production rose in January for the seventh straight month! As a result, many technical positions are becoming increasingly more difficult to recruit despite the 9.7% unemployment rate. This includes scientists, engineers and IT professionals. This requires an even more thorough screening process to avoid recruiting mistakes. As a result, I recommend taking an investigative approach to interviewing. Please go to http://www.strategicsearch.com/technical-recruiting-tips/ and click on 9th (below) to view my recently released 9th Commandment Of Recruiting video for more details.

Certain positions are becoming scarcer due to increased demand. As a result, I recommend becoming even more thorough in your interviewing process to separate the wheat from the chaff. You should include four investigative checks including criminal records, civil records (e.g. bankruptcies), educational verification and detailed reference checks. This is the case because past behavior is the greatest predictor of future performance. As a result, you need to dig deep to uncover hidden problems and find the best possible candidates for your needs.