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Last year as the recession took hold my employer took drastic action cutting back the marketing team.  I was out of a job. In 25 years of working, it was the first time in my life that I needed unemployment benefits. While I didn’t keep an exact count, I suspect that I applied for over 300 jobs in the past 11 months. I’ve worked with at least 20 recruiters; done 150 phone screens and probably 100 face-to-face interviews. Today, 347 days after my search began, I start a new job with a great company that I’m very excited about!

Understanding how difficult the job hunting environment is now I would like to extend a hand to those who are currently looking for a job with 5 recommendations that I hope will help.

1).  Make Every Moment a Learning Opportunity
While I’m writing with a focus on the online marketing world, I think this applies more broadly as well.  Every conversation, all the research you do on a prospective employer, all the vendors they use, and every strategy they employ is an opportunity to add to your toolkit once you’re employed.  However you don’t unearth any treasure without digging.  All of the prospective employers I spoke with ask for feedback on their site and some required a formal presentation. Peel back their source code and look for analytics packages, advertising partner tracking codes and vendor partners; evaluate their PPC programs, Affiliates, CSE partners; evaluate their user experience, key site features, third-party tools used, taxonomy, key products, pricing, value proposition, branding; use tools like Compete.com to get a sense of their traffic and evaluate the best of their competition with the same rigger.

Undoubtedly in your interview you’ll share what you’ve learned with a viewpoint on the pros & cons of what you’ve found.  But equally as important, ask questions that probe more deeply and give you further insight into the business strategy and tactics.  If their doing something innovative that’s working, take note.

Digging into the details of a company’s online marketing strategy takes some time but is really worth the effort as much for your own edification as for the insights you can bring to an employment discussion. What’s more it will lead you down paths of further research that will strengthen the breadth and depth of industry knowledge and further challenge your own strategic thinking.

Beyond the effort I put into my job search I spent my days as though I was in a boot-camp specifically designed to maintain and improve my knowledge base. Not only did I seek out consulting opportunities and work on some very interesting short-term projects, I also spent a tremendous amount of time reading blogs, listening to podcasts and keep abreast of industry trends, tools and strategies. I attended more then 30 webinars that help me expand my knowledge base in areas that are important to my career. Below are a few of those resources.

2).  Get Mad and then Get Over It
During my search I went through the full range of emotions, 11 months of job searching gets old.  When I had a setback, most of the time I got mad and then got over it and pressed on.  When it comes to the job search and the people your working with I urge you to keep any negative emotions in check, no one can afford to burn a bridge regardless of the circumstances.   My best advice is to vent your frustration by taking a day off and do something fun.  Ultimately professionalism and persistent pays off, perhaps not always in the ways you expect but it does eventually.   I do have to admit that there were times when my friends had to dope-slap me when I was feeling sorry for myself.   So get over it and use that emotion to redouble your efforts, and if you need a dope-slap send me a note…

3).  Leverage Every Resource You have and then Add Some More
If your looking for a job right now, whether you’re an online marketing professional or not, here’s a list of resources I used that might also be useful to you.  Candidly, as resources go, Indeed.com was THE OUTSTANDING performer!  They aggregate all the leading resources as well as less common resources.  While I still maintained profiles on Monster and Careebuilder, Indeed.com delivered the most leads for me, by far!

4).  Expand your Network in Non-Traditional Ways
Many of you may know about LinkedIn.com and it’s benefits as a networking resources. If you’re not on LinkedIn.com I suggest you get a profile up there immediately and get busy building your network and leveraging those relationships. Nevertheless I want to encourage you to look beyond your immediate job needs to the future relationships you want to build. In my job search I’ve met some really great people, including amazing recruiters and hiring managers & executives alike with very interesting companies. While the job opportunity wasn’t necessarily the right fit, the professional connection could prove to be invaluable in the future.

If you meet someone your admire, respect or is just connection well with, then be sure to get networked with them using one or more of your favorite networking tools: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook MySpace, whatever. Maintain a constructive dialogue with them. Be more valuable to them then they are to you! You never know how that relationship might be mutually beneficial.

5).  Seek Out & Use all the Help & Advice you can Get
I can’t tell you how many leads have come from family, friends and former co-workers. I followed each of them to the end of the trail. I also solicited resumes from the most successful people I know and have incorporated presentation ideas from many of those sources. After interviews I frequently recapped the discussions and negotiations with peers and got their feedback on how to handle difficult questions and situations.

One piece of advice I found valuable early-on, “don’t turn down interviews just because the company doesn’t immediately look like a good fit”.  You might never actually work for them, but you may connect in ways you never anticipated and you will definitely sharpen your interviewing skills.  I also received very valuable advice from Recruiters.  Recruiter’s significantly influenced how I prepare and present myself. One recruiter resource that I highly recommend is Harry Joiner’s 97 Job Search Tips.

In the midst of this recession, many community colleges have introduced programs offering free tuition to those who are unemployed. Our local community college, Bucks Community College offers one such program for area residents. You may have specific skills development needs and this type of program might be perfect for you.  Back in January I seriously considered this and judging by the packed orientation meetings and registration lines many others did as well.

Thanks to all those who helped me, and Good Luck on your job search. If I can be of any further help please feel free to contact me!