The following article was written by Mr. David Halker as an email to those who had assisted him during his job search.  He also posted this on his blog.  With his permission, we have reprinted it here on ILostMyjob.com.  If you are a job-seeker and struggling with your motivation, this article is a MUST read!

Christmas in July – For Job Seekers: 8 things I learned about finding a new job and a thank you letter to those who provided advice, hope and inspiration !

Why am I celebrating Christmas in July? Okay, besides being a very import birthday celebration, it’s the spirit of Christmas holiday season that has always been a time to enjoy the surroundings of good friends, colleagues and family. I decided that this year I would celebrate a little earlier. Why? For the last three years, I’ve been laid –off just before Christmas. My birthday is December 20th which has also added to the angst of these consecutive job losses. Three years in a row. The ultimate hat-trick if you’re a hockey fan. 2009 was the low point, losing my Dad, my dog and my job all in the same year. If you’ve been out of job for a while, believe me when I say: “I’ve been there.” Thus, Christmas in July. Heck, I’ve even decorated a tree! Lights and everything!

At the ripe old age of 55 (yikes), it didn’t make things any easier for me but you can also mitigate age and turn what may seem to be a negative into a positive. It’s all part of the total sale.

The reason I’m writing this is that I’ve felt obliged to share some of job search strategies that have worked for me during the struggle and to acknowledge and thank the people who have inspired me along the way, many of whom are Top Recommended People on LinkedIn.

In December of 2007, it took me about 6 weeks to land. In December of 2008, it only took me 2 weeks. But from December of 2009 to June of 2010, it took me a full 5 months. Ugh ! I suppose this parallels the downturn in the economy. The good news is that I saved a bundle on Christmas presents! I have in fact gotten pretty good at being a job seeker, but trust me, I really don’t want to make this habit forming!

What has worked for me?

There is no special formula that works for everyone. If there were, there would not be the unemployment numbers we’re seeing today. So, the first thing is to blame everybody. Blame the President, the Congress, your age, your education, your experience, your ex-employer, the economy, everyone and everything you can you can think of that has put you in this situation. Once you get that off your chest, it’s time to get to work. Your new full time job is to find a full time job. I’ll share a few thoughts and ideas I learned that seemed to work for me and attempt to recognize and thank those they have influenced my approach.

#1 Networking:

Marc Freedman from Dallas Blue Executives coined the slogan: ”It’s not work it’s networking” Your next job is most likely to come from your network of friends and colleagues. To me, networking” is a very loosely used term today. A lot of my friends think they are networking by adding each to their LinkedIn connections. There’s a big difference between networking and rolodexing. Networking to me is similar to “unconditional love” It’s reaching out without any preconceived expectations in return. My mother once told me: “You have to be a friend to have a friend.”
It’s also about building meaningful relationships not just adding names to your contact list.

Please don't make the mistake I see 90% of the people make. Don't take the attitude that it's "all about me." Givers do much better than takers. Be a giver as hard as it is difficult to fathom right now. Why? because it is all about you! But to get to the right place, go-ahead and reach out to others.

Years ago, when I coached AAU Girls basketball, I would try to emphasize that when you pass the ball, it will come back to you. That’s networking.. Build your network. Sometimes, it’s a friend of a friend of a friend who can provide that one lead that gets you closer to finding a job. In the end, you only need that one good lead.

Much thanks goes out to Ross Dodwell who created TRP (Top Recommended People on LinkedIN) and to Erika Hanson Brown for being an inspirational group leader. Ross has been the ultimate facilitator and Erika a great connector not to mention a true warrior. TRP is truly my favorite group on LinkedIn and I’m very proud to be a member.

# 2 Becoming Visible:

I once heard that when you turn 50, you become “ invisible” Luckily, this only applies to the bar and dating scene! Visibility does go along with networking. By becoming visible, I mean drawing positive attention to yourself. There is no better venue than LinkedIn to accomplish this task. Not Facebook, Not Twitter, not Plaxo. I’m not suggesting you become the life of the party. It’s just that LinkedIn is clearly where it’s at from a professional networking and job seeker’s standpoint. Make sure your profile shines and pops out. Differentiate yourself. What makes you exceptional? Being interesting has always been a hard thing for me. I see myself as rather boring. Bounce your profile off your spouse or friends. Do not hesitate to request meaningful endorsements from your past clients and colleagues. Of course, the best recommendations are the ones coming from your past clients. People you have actually helped.

Join related industry groups on LinkedIn and participate in the discussion forums. The Group section was important for me. Become the resource, not just the “job seeker” I joined as many groups as I could handle effectively. Add your input and value to the industry discussions. Another thing I did to draw positive attention to myself was to create a PowerPoint Bio that expounded on things I bring to the table. More graphical than the resume. I printed it out in a nice booklet and customized it for every interview. I received a lot of good feedback.

#3 Managing your on-line time wisely:
It’s easy to spend the whole day surfing around all of the various job-search sites. I was hooked on this at first but then realized I was wasting a lot of time. What’s your time worth? $200/hour? $300/hour? $600/hour?

I experimented with them all, fee-based and free sites. You only really need to monitor a few of them. In my opinion, the best of the best sites of all is ILostMyJob.com . This site is very rich in active video content, very meaningful information and loaded with solid advice. I have viewed this site religiously. Robert Shindell, aka “The Career Doctor” and his team of expert collaborators are simply the best at what they do, bar none. Robert really knows his stuff and helped me a great deal in preparing for tough interviews. As an educator, he is also closely aligned with the college grad scene and provided great advice in helping my daughter obtain a summer internship. Robert is also another great TRP member.

Jill Konrath, author of: “Get Back to Work Faster” and other great books like “Snap Selling” is also part of Robert’s team. This e-book is a must read and inspired me to change my strategy. It will show you how to approach hiring managers directly versus running the normal gamut through HR Departments. You’re at war out there so why not be armed with the latest weaponry? Jill is a recognized author and speaker, a regular contributor to Ilostmyjob.com and another Gold member of TRP.  You can watch Robert interview Jill about her book.

Try using http://www.indeed.com/ This is a consolidator job search site. You can set it up to search by your desired search parameters. It simply posts the advertised jobs out there. Forget about Careerbuilder or Monster unless you want a straight commission sales job selling identity theft protection or insurance. Again, consider the value of your time spent on-line surfing.

Another must site to check out is from Bill Vick, a top executive recruiter and prolific authority on employment: http://www.employmentdigest.net/ Again, good tips.

For the Fee-based sites, I tried Ladders, ExecuNet, Resume Spider, 6-figure jobs, etc and frankly, they did not work for me. Not to say they will not work for you. The only fee-based site I found worthwhile was: http://www.hounds.com/. This site is unique in that it searches jobs posted on actual company websites and is fairly inexpensive but what I like most about the site are the blogs from its founder, Harrison Barnes. A fun and inspiring daily read that will provoke new thoughts. New thoughts are those that lead to that “Ah-ha” moment. You’ll know what I mean when you say: Ah Ha ! I get it !

# 4 Career Coaches

I never formally used a career coach but in retrospect, I would strongly consider doing this if I ever have to go through this process again. I did chat with a few very good professional career coaches that I would highly recommend. Howard Sambol is great. He really knows how to evoke inner thought and reflection which is never an easy thing.. Ask him to tell the story about what water means to a fish. Beth Ross is another I would recommend.  Dr. Ross provided a lot of positive energy. Mary Elizabeth Bradford is also excellent and I attended a few of her teleseminars. She actually has produced a program that I was on the verge of buying shortly before I landed. Check her out on LinkedIn. She is also a contributor to Robert Shindell’s team of professionals

#5 The Resume and Cover Letter

Seems like everyone is overly focused on the resume. There are a gazillion resume writers out there and the advice can be very conflicting. I’ve never been a big fan of resumes though they are a necessary evil. They won’t get you hired but could cause damage if poorly composed. I’m much more the proponent of a “power cover letter “sent directly to a hiring manager without a resume. See Jill Konrath’s ebook on this topic. Spend some time researching your targeted company. Watch press releases, news, etc. I would send these carefully crafted letters to highest level applicable. Not to be e-mailed, EVER. Why they should want to talk to you now. Why they should schedule an interview with you. Your letter should be based on a relevant business issue, not just a letter seeking employment. Homework on the company is required. I’ve used Google and Hoovers.com to research articles on target companies.

I've sent cover letters without ever attaching a resume. Why ? To create some desire, buzz and a sense of urgency. People react and make decisions when it's urgent. Hire me before the competitor hires me! Believe me, there is a sense of urgency out there for people that can make an immediate impact. Bring it !

Create this desire. Make them want your resume. Your “power letter” discussing business issues and how you think you can help (not asking for a job), is now sitting in an inbox of 2 or 3 versus 1,000 job seeking resumes sitting on a stack in the Hr. Department. So okay, the key is to get a resume put together that is both concise and appealing. It’s only another sales tool designed to get you to the next step which is an interview. Customize it for every situation using the keywords in the job description. If you’re an old guy like me, please do me a favor and never use the word: “Seasoned” . Pigs are seasoned and they are also slaughtered. Plus, you really do not have to go back to 1977 with your first job out of college or list extracurricular activities. Keep it to 2 pages.

As a do it yourselfer, I really thought my resume was fairly good . I had studied all the tips online, tried to make it very accomplishment orientated with statistics, etc. but I quickly learned from Roxanne Williams at http://bestjobhuntguide.com/ that my resume really sucked. Roxanne was a tremendous help to me and I highly recommend her. Great website!

#6 Recruiters

Love’em/Hate’em. I wish I had a nickel for every recruiter in my connection list on LinkedIn. I’d be a wealthy man! Not a lot of middle ground here. Keep in mind that the recruiter is much like the realtor and works for the seller.

I have divided recruiters into two basic categories: a) The Sourcer and b) the Consultant or Trusted Business Advisor, one who really understands the needs of an organization and the cultural fit. With the Sourcer, it's all about coloring-in all of the squares for a job order written by someone in HR. Much like a realtor does when searching for the perfect house for their client. 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, granite countertops, a pool, 3 car garage, etc. Computerized Resume scanners are the name of the game here looking for the”must haves.” Scanning resumes for the keywords such as educational pedigree, relevant experience, exact matching skills, etc. For every position posted today, there's a plethora of candidates that can overkill the qualification requirements. That's why we have MIT PHD's driving cabs, right? Lot's of Sourcers out there. Avoid them like the plague.

On the other hand, the true recruiting consultants are those whom have a trusted business advisor relationship with their hiring client developed over time. They usually have a direct line to the hiring manager (VP and above) and are well respected for their advice. They have drilled down in the business to really ascertain the need behind the need when looking for talent. They know the industry and all of the athletes out there. In most cases, it's not about how many initials the person has behind his or her name. It's about the person, the attitude, the best athlete, the reputation, the core values, the culture fit and the overall desire and passion for success. This type of recruiting professional can spot a good match even when the exact skill sets are not 100% totally in alignment with the written job description. Your skills can be transferable to other industries. Keep that in mind. But clearly, don't waste your time chasing jobs that you are truly not qualified to perform. Example: I would not recommend pursuing a Director of Engineering position at Jet Propulsion Laboratories with a degree in Sociology.

This Consultant recruiter type also knows that he/she will not receive full payment until after the candidate has made it through a 6 month period so it's important from them to "get it right". They have a high vested interest in protecting and nurturing their well-earned and well-deserved relationship with their clients. I can count on one hand the number of recruiters in my industry that fit this description.

Note: Be careful that 2-3 recruiters are not bringing you into the same position. Not good. If your in a particularly incestuous industry like I am , there's a conga line of qualified candidates for every open position. A lot of people know each other. Don't create a problem. I recommend finding a few recruiters that you really like and stick with them. Be up front and honest with them as well. Tell them what you're doing. Enlist them on your team. But also, be careful not to give away too much information. The antenna's are up, especially in this market. Remember, they are on straight commission and just like you, they are trying to make a fair living. Just throwing out some caution to wind. Be careful who you're dealing with out there in recruiter land and remember: "Loose lips sink ships".

#7 Interviewing and "Selling it"

My Dad once told me: “Smile and they will smile back.” This axiom applies to both the telephone interview and the in-person interview. A smile goes along way and believe it or not, transmits over the phone.

Once you’ve made it to this stage, just make sure you’re well prepared. Use all of the tools available including your network as in people you know that work there or have worked there. Get the lay of the land. Companies that are actually hiring today cannot afford a bad hire. It’s all about ROI and cultural fit in my opinion. If you’re in sales, it’s your rolodex. If you’re in operations, it’s about your experience in reducing costs. Sell the ROI!

Robert Shindell was particularly helpful in helping me prepare for the esoteric questions that sometime arise in interviews like: “Tell me how you would handle: blah blah…” Robert related a simple technique that is fundamentally very useful called STAR: Situation, Task, Action, and Response. I recommend practicing this technique and having relative anecdotal case histories that role off your tongue.

Many interviewers will simply use your resume as a guideline or as a talking point during the interview. This is a common crutch. I found that it’s best to try to take control of the interview as soon as you can. After all, it’s your show. Ask open ended questions to get things rolling like: “How did you get to where you are today?” Or, “I saw where your company has been leading the industry in …. Or, “What are some of things that keep you awake at night?” People love to talk about themselves. Get them talking. Show your enthusiasm for the company and that you have done your homework. Stay on point by coming back to the things you bring to the position at hand.

#8 Overcoming Fear of Rejection

This is where despair and frustration can really be an obstacle. It took me several interviews to land my job and along the way, there were several rejections. Like most people, I tended to take this personally. So, what I ended up doing was writing the word NO on a small slip of paper and placed it my top pocket. Why? Because I could say to myself: ”I already have the NO in my pocket” I actually used this in a few interviews and pulled out the little slip of paper. I then said: “Sir, I already have the NO, what I’m looking for is a YES !”  This helped close the deal.

So there you have it. I’m one of the lucky ones and am profoundly thankful for all the inspiration, positive thoughts and useful advice I’ve received over the last 5 months. I’m deeply indebted to many people here.

My sincere hope and prayers are with those who are looking for a job. Trust me, the Christmas kid understands your frustration first hand. Hopefully, some of the tips I’ve learned and shared with you from the pros that have helped me through this awful and stressful process will be of some benefit. You will find a good job and it will be better than the one you lost ! I know this is true. Don’t give up hope! You will break the spell!

"ILostMyJob.com provides information, ideas, and inspiration for people in job transition. If you have lost your job and need additional help, may we suggest you find local resources on our search by state page or browse additional articles in our Get Help library. For tips about how to perform a job search, we encourage you to visit www.careercentertoolbox.com. In particular, these articles talk about having a personal strategy and mistakes to avoid. Please feel free to start your week with our Outlook News podcast at ILostMyJob.com/monday, and to receive information and updates by email, subscribe to our free Job Transition News newsletter. Thank you for your visit, and all the best!"