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Need a new job? Whether you’ve been laid off or are considering a job change, you need to search efficiently and effectively. Don’t lurch from one job to the next. Use this guide to ensure that your next move is a carefully considered one. Learn how to:
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Build a network to expand your contacts and identify career opportunities Prepare cover letters and résumés that will attract hiring managers’ attention Develop your personal pitch—one compelling sentence about who you are and what you can do Shine in an interview

Guide to Getting a Job
2 5 9 12 15 18 21 23 26 28 31 Need to Find a Job? Stop Looking So Hard
byPeter Bregman

How to Make Your Network Work for You
by Ariana Green

6 Networking Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
by Gill Corkindale

The Best Cover Letter I Ever Received
by David Silverman

How to Write a Résumé That Doesn’t Annoy People
by David Silverman

How to Perfect an Elevator Pitch about Yourself
by Daisy Wademan Dowling

7 Ways to Shine in an Interview
by DavidSilverman

How to Ace an Interview
by Nick Morgan

Five Questions About…Interviewing Your Prospective Supervisor
with Rich Wellins

How to Ask for a Reference Letter
by Jodi Glickman Brown

Five Ways to Bungle a Job Change
by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

c o n v e r s at i o n s ta r t e r

Need to Find a Job? Stop Looking So Hard
Finding a new job is all about relationships. Sospend just an hour a day on job boards—and the rest of your time with interesting people doing things you love.
by Peter Bregman
CEO of Bregman Partners, a global leadership development and change

Quick Read
What’s the most effective way to find a job?
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management firm. Read more by Bregman at blogs.hbr.org/bregman

Devote only 1–2 hours a day to your job search. Spend the remainingtime doing things you love. If possible, take a leadership role. People will notice your commitment, passion, and skill and will either hire you or help you get hired.

Do you know anyone who was dying to be in a relationship? Dated all the time, but never

met the right person? Then, after accepting that he would be alone, he started focusing on other things and, lo and behold, met someoneand got married?

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How about someone who lost her job? Maybe she spent the next year working on her résumé, perusing job sites, devoting all her energy to getting work. All to no avail. Then, after she decided to stop looking so hard, out of the blue came a great job offer? What is that? A karmic journey? A miracle? Statistical aberration? Perhaps it never really happens; perhaps we rememberthose stories precisely because they are so unusual. Or, perhaps, it’s a really great strategy.

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Not a Lot of Jobs Out There

I just heard a story from a friend of mine. She knows a guy who’s been out of a job for over a year. He spent the year working on his résumé and sending it out. He’s on Internet job sites every day. He tries to meet with people when he has the opportunity, butthere aren’t a lot of opportunities these days. And he’s getting more and more depressed. It’s hard to get out of bed, but he does. He puts on a suit and tie, sits at his computer, and looks. Eventually, he figures, he’ll find a job. I’m sure he’s right.
www.hbr.org

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Need to Find a Job? Stop Looking So Hard

I do think there’s another way to go through these times with less pain andmore success. A way to increase your chances of getting that job. And maybe even enjoying it. And here’s my advice: Give up. Not completely. But mostly. Stop trying so hard. At most, spend 1–2 hours a day on it.

A Counterintuitive Approach to Finding a Job

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Spend all your hunting time with people. When you are job hunting, do it at lunch, on the phone, or by going for walks. Finding a...