Get all the administrivia out of the way pretty early on. Touch up your resume or spruce up your CV. Bone up on how to write a cover letter if you need to. Begin diplomatically soliciting letters of recommendation from people who know you well and are positively disposed to saying something nice about you. Other things to think about: Learn how to interview well and form excellent interview questions Learn how to protect your online reputation Sort out your elevator pitch if you haven't already . Networking is probably the single most important step in your new job search. That's because referrals and personal connections (and, let's face it, nepotism) make up the bulk of how people land jobs these days. Why? Referred candidates tend to perform better than random hires and stay on the job longer. So the next time you drag yourself to a networking event when you know you could be sitting at home in your PJs eating ice cream, tell yourself it's for your new, unrealized job. Remember that people hire people, not resumes. Making an impression in a face to face human exchange is extremely important. People hire people that they like, not necessarily those with the best resume or even qualifications. Networking can seem pretty daunting, especially for introverts. The most important things to remember are that the other person is probably nervous, too, and that no one thinks about you as much as you think about yourself. If you mess up, no biggie; just brush it off! They're probably thinking about themselves, not about you. Say you want to switch jobs and become a parole officer, for example. Well, try to find someone (a friend of a friend will do) who's a parole officer and ask them out to lunch for an informational interview. It might even be a good idea to talk to a warden and ask them the qualities of a good parole officer, for example. More often that you might guess, informational interviews lead directly or indirectly to job offers. During your informational interview, ask them questions about their personal career path and their current job: How did you find the job? What did you do before you were a [occupation]? What's the most satisfying part of your job? The least? What's a typical day look like for you? What's your advice for someone trying to break into the field? It's not called "pounding the pavement" for nothing. Going in to companies in person and asking to speak to HR about job openings isn't as high success as networking or getting a referral, but it's higher success than blindly stabbing in the dark with online applications. Here's what you do: Reach out to HR directly and describe your experience or your desired job. Market yourself briefly. Then ask: "Are there any positions open that might align with my skills and expertise?" Prepare to leave your contact info and/or a resume or CV with the HR department. Don't be discouraged if HR effectively says no. Ask if you can be updated if/when a position comes up and leave your contact info. If you're still interested in the organization after a month or two, follow up with HR and show renewed interest. Not a lot of people do this, and it shows real courage and persistence two great traits to have. . Applying to different jobs online via jobs bulletins is impersonal and easy, which explains why so many people do it. It's fine if you apply to jobs online, but you should probably couple your online search with more personal interactions to up your chances of success. The goal is to distinguish yourself from the herd, not blend in! If you're not finding much luck searching for leads, volunteer in your free time for a position you care about. It doesn't have to be long hours, but it should be something that exposes you to the real meat of the job. Volunteering looks great on resumes and occasionally turns into a paid position.
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One-sentence summary -- Sort out all the personal documents you need to start applying to different jobs. Start networking Identify and speak to people who do what you think you'd like to do. Establish personal relationships with companies or organizations you determine you'd like to work for. Apply to different jobs online Volunteer, if necessary, to try out a job or career on for size.

Article: . This should be your go-to when you have time to kill. Being well-read is a quality that will pay off multiple times daily. If you have an oncoming wait during your day, bring a magazine or paperback book along with you and catch up on this often ignored hobby. Yeah, yeah, your Kindle counts, too, but you stare at a screen so much already -- why not rep it old school and bring something that smells like the libraries of yore? Okay, some people just don't have the book-reading mentality. Others didn't know they'd be stuck in this time-limbo and didn't think to bring a book with them. If either is your case, hop online (like you just did! Yay!) and read someone else's blog. Odds are you'll either laugh, cry, or get to mock them in your head extensively. Win, win, win. If you're unsure of where to find a good blog, you have no excuse. Huge publications like Time Magazine release a list of the year's best blogs annually. There are even blog awards (they're called the Bloggies)! There's a whole world out there you're probably missing! Huh, talk about a crazy idea, right? So archaic and mundane. Remember the last time you went to a Starbucks and actually talked to someone, apart from muttering "I need coffee and stat" to the hipster-looking barista? After wondering how she justified that employment choice to her hipster friends, you sat down and spent three hours sifting through your gmail. So don't do that. The people around you are much more interesting than those angry birds of yours. This might get awkward, especially if you don't do it right. And unless you're British, a quick, "Wow, sure is hot out," might just result in a few askance looks. However, awkward never killed anyone. If you're lucky enough to find someone not staring at their phone, give 'er a try. Especially if they're cute! ! Imagine that. You didn't come to this webpage for so-obvious-they're-not-obvious ideas, did you? But this doesn't mean studying as whipping out that textbook from 2005 you never actually opened in class but the bookstore wouldn't take back anyway, this means something much more interesting -- the Internet. Sites like Memrise, Academic Earth, Coursera and Khan Academy make studying and learning awesome. Pick a topic, there's something there to learn. With videos and graphics, even the most ADD minds will be contented. You're on wikiHow already, aren't you? Might as well find out how to fake having a boyfriend or how to combine fruit and mayonnaise in a good way. Think of all the things you don't know how to do! And then do them. On wikiHow there is a 'Random Article' option for if you don't know what to look at. YouTube is good too, but you might get sidetracked with Miley Cyrus videos and that's just risky. Stick to VideoJug or HowCast to avoid the temptation.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Read a book Read someone else's blog. Talk to the people around you. Study Search the internet for tutorials or watch funny videos online.