1. Identify your industry market
What industries are you interested in and why? You must have a crystal clear direction before you can formulate any sort of plan, i.e., is the market growing, or are you targeting growing markets?

2. Identify your career position
In order to target and brand your resume you have to be clear on the type of position you are pursuing. Again, have you thought it through? Are there other emerging or parallel positions that might offer more of a challenge to you – in the long run this route may help you achieve your long term career goals.

3. Launch a campaign to penetrate your industry/position of choice
Hiring a firm to research contacts and companies that fit your career parameters.

Hire a career coach (someone who provides career research) to analyze, make recommendations and gather the initial information for you.

Find companies who are moving/growing/expanding through simple tracking on Google news or through regular checking of business and trade journals.

Obtain a list of recruiting firms who specialize in your industry of choice.

Before launching your search to an executive recruiter for a senior-level be sure your company has considered the answer to these questions.

- What is this employee meant to accomplish?
- What are the roles and responsibilities of this position?
- What personality will be the best fit for this position?
- Which departments will be communicating with and through this individual?
- What are the business goals of this position, and how will this person’s performance be evaluated?

Once your company has the answers to these questions, finding the ideal candidate can be quick and easy. Your hiring team will know exactly what skills the employee must have and what accomplishments you are looking for in an individual.

Your company’s personality will be clearly defined for the prospective candidate as well. During the interview process both your company and the prospect can determine if both parties are a fit past the work skills. The candidate can also focus on the challenges of the position and if he/she is willing to take these on for long-term employment within your company

1) In a down economy, many companies are not as likely to agree to pay relocation fees, especially if they can find talent already living in their area. If you’re seeking employment out of town or overseas, be willing to pay your own relocation and interviewing costs and be up front about it with potential employers. One way to do this is by stating in your cover letter that you won’t need the company to cover relocation costs. If you don’t have a home to sell, that is another important point to note in the cover letter, particularly if you’re looking to move to a state that has been affected by real estate problems. You can also include in your cover letter: “I will be in your area next Friday and would like the opportunity to have an informational interview with you, which suggests that the employer will not have to pay to fly you out. Also, Renters are often times seen as ‘local’ candidates, even if they currently live across the country. If done tactfully, this information can also be placed briefly under the header on your resume.

2) Relocation in many cases has been seen as a deterrent to hiring (when considering large metropolitan cities, i.e. New York, Chicago, LA, etc.) If you have to move to one particular city for personal reasons, you may need to be living in the city where you seek employment before you actually land the job, unless you’re interviewing for a more senior-level position (typically companies will offer relocation money for senior level roles, but home buy-outs are still rare). If you cannot physically make the move before you secure a job, you may want to use a temporary address (as long as it’s not misleading) on your resume – for example, a friend or relative living in the area.

3) Of course, be sure to connect with both local and national recruiters to help with your job search. It’s not always necessary to connect only with headhunters who are based in the city where you’re seeking employment. Often times, recruiters will live in one area, but recruit for people and companies across the country. As you probably understand, recruiters are receiving a great deal of resumes these days, so make sure yours stands out and do your best to make a personal connection so your resume rises to the top.

4) Be sure you’re utilizing new web-based resources during your long-distance job search. Sites like LinkedIn, Jigsaw and Facebook are becoming more and more popular with job seekers and the companies that are still hiring. These tools can provide a great way to find accurate contact information and to grow your network. Ensuring that your profile is up-to-date on these sites is an important step towards getting the message out that you’re looking for work. And, joining groups on both LinkedIn and Facebook that are related to the job you seek can help get you in front of the right people.