My other tip (from an employers point of view) would be look at your resume. Is there anything you can change on it?
Do you send out the same resume for every position you apply for, or do you change it as required? By this I mean, tailoring your resume so the information on it, is pertinant and relevant for the specific position you're applying for.
Sometimes, people can make the mistake of including ALL of their skills/experience on their resume even if it's not relevant to the job they're applying for. It sounds strange I know, but you can sometimes list too many things (even if you have a vast array of skills etc, try only to include what is relevant to the specific job). If you make it to an interview stage, you'll often find the conversation will open up for you to also include then some of your other areas of expertise that arent mentioned on your resume, however this can be tricky too, you need to guage the conversation. Again, sometimes it's better to have the 'less is more' approach, by only highlighting your areas of expertise which are RELEVANT to the position.
Let me give you an example:
You're applying for a position as a cashier at a supermarket. You may have a degree in teaching, night-school diploma from beauty school, and be proficient in speaking swahili, have done a photography course, and learnt to do short-order cooking but none of those things are going to help you in this role. Many employers will look at that and think 'well why isn't she looking for a teaching job?' Or they may see it as 'well she's not really sure what she wants to do, shes taken so many courses and still cant figure it out, it's likely she wont stick around' so they dont bother with your application. OR, they think, 'She's done so much, she has a pre-conceived idea, she wont be willing to learn our way, and we wont be able to mould her to fit our team' so they move onto the next person.
Much of being successful in finding employment is how you present yourself. Usually a resume is the FIRST impression an Employer gets of you. Make it a good one. I get dozens of resumes every day. Some stand out, most dont. When I need a new employee, I dig them all out of the filing cabinet, and often am hard pressed to find maybe three potential applicants to call out of the 100 or so resumes in my file.
Another tip is (if you can) apply in person. If you're just cold-canvassing and dropping resumes into random employers, then get dressed up, present yourself nicely, walk in and be prepared to talk. Be confident. Don't just hand your resume to the person at the front counter and leave. ASK to speak to the Manager, then be willing to introduce yourself and explain what you're looking for.
This post is a lot longer than I intended it to be, but let's narrow it down to two things shall we:
1. Resume -make it relevant, and make it brief. Employers dont have time to read longwinded resumes. It supposed to be a brief overview of you, and why you're the best candidate for the role. Make it stand out. Include a cover letter. Check for spelling/grammar mistakes.
2. Presentation/Interview skills - take time to present yourself. This doesn't have to cost a fortune, but at least look like you've made an effort. Be clean, tidy and well dressed. Take a few minutes to prepare a couple of answers to common questions such as 'what kind of work are you looking for' or 'when are you available'. Be succinct with your answers, but honest. Give enough information to answer without going overboard. Be direct, be confident, but not cocky. DO NOT BE VAGUE. Answers like 'uh, I dunno, whatever's going I guess' or 'i just need money' will not be successful in most cases.
I hope that helps.
