How to Find Work, by Debby Robles

Debby Robles is a good friend of mine and former co-worker from way back. Originally a New Yorker, she's been in Florida for several years now. She lost her job and has been doing everything to keep working. And I mean, everything! She inspires me!

Debby signed up with staffing agencies immediately. This is usually a safe bet, but today's economy has changed that and staffing agencies are hurting. Employers are not giving them temp assignments or direct hire job openings to fill. Employer budgets are tight and so they're holding off on hiring unless absolutely necessary. And then, they cut out the middle man and go straight to Craigslist.org to find applicants.

Debby soon found out she had a lot of competition, so she smartly "diversified" herself, letting agencies know ALL of the job titles and job tasks she could do. Please notice I didn't say job titles and job tasks she was interested in. If she can do a job, she has to consider taking it because there aren't many open job out there. If you don't do the same, you just lost a temp assignment to Debby Robles. Flexibility is key these days - if you hate data entry but you're really good at, you might want to reconsider your attitude about data entry.

Debby told me she was going to start aggressively passing out business cards and maybe even leave them around town at places of business. She was going to make the business card her mini resume and go door-to-door with it since people can easily file a card and might throw away your resume. I told her about VistaPrint.com which every job hunter needs to know about - because you can always get 250 business cards for FREE. Debby is multi-talented and a highly-skilled administrative assistant who also has some specialized skills like sales, customer service, and transcription. She asked what I thought about putting the phrase "Jane of All Trades" on her business card with a short list of skills. I told her it was brilliant!

As luck would have it, VistaPrint was having a summer sale, and Debby also got a car magnet. So, now when she's out job hunting, her car is advertising her availability and skills. Double brilliant!

If you think this idea is cheesy, you just lost a job to Debby Robles. Many businesses today use car magnets to advertise their services, so why shouldn't job hunters? By the way, go get your free car magnet now by visiting VistaPrint.com/freesummer - you have until July 31st to get it plus a bunch of other goodies. I did it! Now I have magnets and postcards. Tomorrow: more ways to advertise yourself. Send in your job tips - the first 25 get one of my free magnets!