You Can Still Find a Job

With the unemployment rate at 9.7% many Americans have still having trouble looking for employment. Many Americans are unable to find jobs for many jobs: bad credit, competition, decision to relocate and other factors. In addition, many companies have gone under, slashed staff and/or benefits and hours and others are hanging on by a thread. Well, there is hope.

Many companies have survived the recession and are hiring. If you are still looking for employment be sure to contact these companies as well as the federal and state and local governments. Some of the major companies that are hiring:

Wal-Mart which currently has 2 million employees
PepsiCo who also hire hourly and commission-based employees
NetApp
Amazon
Abbott Laboratories who employs almost 70,000 employees
Netflix
Perrigo Company which is the world's largest manufacturer of over-the-counter drugs and generic prescription drugs
VistaPrint

Here are 5 tips to help you get hired for these companies.

1. Update your resume. Be sure your resume is up-to-date and brief. Don't bring a 5-10 pages resume; it will be thrown in the trash. Highlight major accomplishments and ways you've helped your current and previous employers such as: saving money, gaining new customers, helping large volumes of users, etc.

2. Review your credit report. Get a copy of your credit report from annualcreditreport.com and check for any errors or late payments. If you still owe debt on late payment accounts contact your creditors right away to setup payment arrangements and to get errors fixed. Many employers check your credit report when considering you for employment.

3. Update and practice your interview skills. Dress professionally, get a fresh haircut, and make sure your nails and clean and neat. Be prepared to respond to questions that ask how you would deal with difficult people or situations, provide examples of how you've overcome a difficult situation at work and examples of how you've helped your team or co-workers. Explain how you can use your skills to help them grow achieve their goals. Make sure you visit the company's website to learn about what they do. Also, bring a list of questions at least 3 to ask on the interview.

4. Follow instructions. If you are given any instructions prior to the interview make sure you follow the exactly. Don't be too eager and ruin your chance for an interview by failing to follow the instructions.

5. Bring supporting documentation. Along with your resume bring any documentation that lists you as the author of articles, technical reports, etc. to support your experience and skills. If you are a web developer bring your laptop and show some of the websites you have developed. If you are a technical writer or editor bring some writing samples.

Do whatever you can to give yourself an edge over the competition. Don't answer the questions too fast and don't provide information that you were not asked. After the interview send a thank note to all the persons you interviewed with. Don't be afraid to follow-up by email a week after the interview.