By Elaine Stewart

Special Contributor

Every year, about three million people begin looking for a job, some for the first time and others to replace a lost job.

Think you’ve got competition? Yes, you do.

Most job hunters use a “hit or miss” approach. They post their resumes online with Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, College Recruiter.com and HotJobs.com. Or they visit staffing service companies and wait for the phone to ring. There is nothing wrong with any of these, but you can do much better.

Everybody gets nervous when they look for a job. That’s normal. We all fear the unknown. We imagine the worst that can happen.

There are typically six ways to get a job interview:

1. Talk to friends, relatives and neighbors. We call this networking.

2. Send a letter and resume. It’s a good way to get your resume to the hiring manager.

3. Use the telephone and ask for an interview. Most managers will tell you they’re not hiring.

4. Help wanted advertisements. Seventy-five percent of job hunters use the newspaper.

5. Work the Internet. Fifty-three percent of all “internet hires” go through the company’s website and 23 percent come from job sites like CareerBuilder.com, Monster.com, HotJobs.com and CraigsList.org, plus many more.

6. Another approach is employment agencies.  Some companies don’t advertise their openings. They hire employment agencies to screen resumes and do interviews for them.

Wouldn’t you prefer to go to one location and meet recruiters face to face?

Sponsored by Career Services & Cooperative Work Experience and Student Life, the Collin College Job Fair 2008 is scheduled for Wednesday, March 26, hours are 10am-2pm in the Atrium at the Spring Creek Campus in Plano.

Prior to the Job Fair, workshops will be presented at each campus. Improve your job prospects by attending the workshops. Learn how to put “sizzle” in your resume, “ace the interview” and “dress for success.”  Guest speaker at the Job Fair Workshops is Nan Richards, Director of Recruitment/Employment, for Medical Center of Plano and McKinney. All events are free and open to the public. Full and part-time employment, professional, technical and service positions will be available.

Attendees are encouraged to bring plenty of resumes and dress professionally. You will meet employers face to face.

Events schedule:

• 1-3 p.m., Monday, March 10, at the Central Park Campus, Room E210, in McKinney
• 3-5 p.m., Tuesday, March 11, at the Preston Ridge Campus, Room F148, in Frisco
• 6-8 p.m., Wednesday, March 12, at the Spring Creek Campus, Room J208.

For information about the Job Fair and Workshops, call 972.881.5781 or visit www.ccccd.edu/studentservices/cs.html.

Elaine Stewart is a career counselor with the college’s Career Services and Cooperative Work Experience.