Land A New Better Paying Job
Robin Ryan, Author & Career Coach

The job market is beginning to offer some good career opportunities. This will come as happy news to job hunters who have faced a very difficult employment market these last four years and workers who haven't seen a salary increase in a long while.

Here are two of my clients' experiences that might mirror your own situation:

Joseph, a long-term employee, had worked countless hours and delivered great results to his company. Facing tough global competition, his employer froze raises. The promise of a promotion never materialized, so Joseph decided to pursue a new job and came to me for help. His old resume was a poor advertisement of his skills and lacked the "actions equals results" emphasis that today's hiring managers want to see. Together, we created a new resume and worked to identify good career opportunities. In less than three months, he landed an incredible job with a $20K salary increase. His future has never looked brighter.

Sara was laid off after 9/11 and had been struggling for 18 months trying to find ANY job. She was a professional with a good track record, but companies in her field just weren't hiring. Out of desperation, Sara took the only thing she could find. After enduring two years with a very difficult boss, she recently asked me to help her launch a new search. A revamped resume got her an interview just weeks later. Our coaching session helped her identify the top skills to stress and taught her how to effectively handle the tough questions that had previously tripped her up. Sara landed her dream job in an industry where she had no previous experience. She's thrilled to see her career on the right track again.

The job market isn't hot, but it is looking better for those who have mastered good job hunting skills. Employers are hiring and offering lucrative salaries to talented people. Here are the things you need to do to make the most of the opportunities that are out there to advance your career and earn more money:

Develop a top notch resume that shows results you've achieved, specifies cost and time savings, as well as bottom line financial gains. A generic "job description" resume isn't going to work. Always include a cover letter. Employers love them.

Network in a new way. Clients are finding networking is the way to get noticed. Determine which companies you want to work for and develop a targeted list of jobs. Ask friends, relatives, alums or anyone else you know who can provide contacts to give you some insight about those employers. These extra efforts lead to getting interviews and landing jobs in the biggest and the best companies in America, as well as smaller employers who can provide great experience.

Interview Like a Pro. Prepare in advance. Practice answering questions by writing out answers. Develop examples of how you've solved problems on the job. Know your strengths and advertise them. Above all else, never ever bring up salary before you've gotten a job offer on the table. This is important! Learning to effectively dodge money questions will preserve your negotiating power.

Employers are looking for talented people -- so now is the time to focus, plan and re-create in order to land that new, better paying job.

Robin Ryan is America's top career coach having appeared on the Dr. Phil Show, Oprah, Fox News and CNN. She is the best-selling author of: What to Do with the Rest of Your Life; 60 Seconds & You're Hired!; Winning Resumes; and Winning Cover Letters. She has a busy career counseling practice providing individual career coaching, outplacement, resume writing services and interview preparation to clients nationwide.