I feel pretty good about my recent job search. The hunt didn’t last long and the offer that I took was a good one. In all honesty, I was terrified about the search--the questions about qualifications and resume made me wonder if I would have to settle for significantly less than I had been making at my last job.

As these things go, this job search went beautifully.

It didn’t hurt to have friends passing me job leads and clients ordering enough work that I really won’t even miss the paycheck that I missed (if you take my meaning). My health care coverage will extend until I have coverage with the new company, I have a few extra dollars still coming in to help smooth the bumps, and I’m actually excited about tackling some of my new job responsibilities.

Here comes the advice portion.

I registered at both CareerBuilder and Monster, creating resumes and job search profiles. It was definitely useful; during that three week span, I must have applied for about 10 positions from these sources. I also checked Craigslist’s local listings on a daily basis with somewhat mixed results. There were jobs popping up, but they weren’t regular and most of the ads were specifying a pretty low rate of pay. I think that most of the Craigslist leads would have been more helpful to me if I were just starting my career.

I even set up a special Gmail account just for the job search. That kept the ResurrectionSong domain out of the picture (I don’t need my writing or my politics to make it harder for me to land a job) and kept my search more organized.

And then I got an email from Don O, irregular contributor to ResurrectionSong. He suggested I check out Indeed.com--and that’s where I eventually found the lead for my current position. Indeed pulls listings from Monster, CareerBuilder, Craigslist, and more. The job I applied for was posted on some odd board where I am guessing their exposure was less than if the job had been posted at Monster--that meant I was a name in a less crowded field instead of getting lost in with the rest.

Indeed’s interface is Google’s interface, so the whole thing is familiar and easy, and the job sites it searches are extensive.

If you’re looking for a job, I still think that there is value in registering with sites like Monster, but using Indeed to search listings is highly suggested. It’s a great service.