With the economy in the crapper, it’s never been more important to know about modern job searching. If I were laid off, one would probably update their resume, ping friends/relatives, contact headhunters, and search/post their resume on a jobsite such as Hotjobs. That’s what I did when I was laid off over a year ago from Restoration Hardware. That process was considered Jobs2.0. With that process now being the norm, how does one stand out from the crowd? How does one go beyond the jobsites?

I believe employers want to hire people who are naturally passionate for the job.  The perfect employee would be one who would be “into” his industry even if they were not in the industry. If I was looking for a car salesman, I would look for someone who’s a car fanatic 1st and a salesman 2nd. It’s all about transferable personal interests. So how do you get employers to know what your passions are?

1st, let’s define the 3 stages of job hunting:

Jobs1.o – Pre-internet
Newspapers, agencies, friends, relatives, co-workers

Jobs2.0 – A connected world
Monster, Hotjobs, Craigslist, Jobster

Jobs3.0 – An OPEN world
Besides going through the Jobs1.0 & Jobs2.0 process, one must go to the next level as competition is tough. A resume will no longer cut it. Some of the new job tools are:

Google
One of the 1st things a potential employer may do is google your name. Try it yourself, see what comes up. Is it your myspace page with embarrassing photos? Do you even come up? Google is a reputation manager. Here are my results.

Naymz
If nothing comes up under your name, sign up for this service. It’s quick and simple.

LinkedIn
It’s the myspace for business professionals. Check out LinkedIn answers for free advise.

Wordpress
Create a free website as an extension of your resume. Write about your passions and the industry your trying to get into.