In the Unites States Indeed is a great place to be looking for work. Indeed is America’s largest job board and is easy to navigate. If you’re in Australia or New Zealand Seek and TradeMe are both excellent.

You should also contact Employers you’ve earmarked directly and don’t forget the power of networking.

Also, it’s worthwhile to be looking at job boards that specialise in specific jobs. If you type into your web browser the name of the job you want and the words Jobs Board you should be able to easily locate the correct specialist job board.

Absolutely yes. If you writer a cover letter it signals to the recruiter that you’re serious about getting a job. WARNING: Be sure your cover letter has no spelling or grammatical errors. Poorly written cover letters are bad news!

See our Examples of Great Cover Letters.

The most important thing to do in a cover letter is to target what the employer is looking for. For example, if an employer is looking for a “bookkeeper with 10 years’ experience working with MYOB” then say: “ I have over 10 years’ experience working as a bookkeeper with MYOB”.

If you have only 8 years’ experience then say something like: “I have nearly 10 years’ experience…”

No more than one page.

The accepted norm is between 4 to 5 pages.

Whilst there’s not a precise answer to this, as a rule of thumb we recommend 20 years. However, if you’ve been raising a family for the last 20 years there’s nothing wrong with referring to jobs you did before then.

There are several very important things you can do that will almost certainly improve your performance.

1. Be sure you research the company as much as possible before the interview and try to incorporate some of what you’ve learned at the interview.
2. Anticipate the sorts of questions you might be asked and practice your answers out aloud. Practising answers aloud helps you sound more articulate at the interview.
3. Run mock interviews. Ask a trusted friend to ask you relevant interview questions (you may have to prepare the questions yourself). And don’t be afraid to seek their feedback about how good your answers are.
4. Attend as many interviews as possible. The more real interviews you go to the better you become!

In the vast majority of cases you should err on the side of caution and dress conservatively. A suit and tie for a man and a smart business outfit for a woman. Of course, there are exceptions to this. Use your common sense! But if you’re not sure always dress conservatively.

My one tip would be don’t forget to smile and be respectful. Employers, very often, are looking for the right cultural fit. They prefer to take on someone they feel they can work with even though that person may not have as many skills as someone else! So, try to show your human side at interview. A simple smile can get you a long way.