Whether you’re just ready to change jobs now or you’ve been out of work for a while the entire process of job hunting can seem overwhelming. There are a few simple steps that you should follow to help make the job search easier and more productive.

1. Know What You Want

Before starting any serious job search you need to decide what type of work you’re looking for. Are you interested in full-time, part-time, or even a work from home job? According to Career Trends some of the hottest jobs currently available include production supervisors, transportation inspectors, and landscape architects.

2. Don’t Settle for the Obvious

Make sure you don’t just look for jobs you’ve done before. You want a job you actually look forward to going into each day and one that could potentially turn into a long-term career. In some ways looking for a job is like wading into the dating pool. Too many people settle for something that’s safe and boring.

3. Blend Your Passions With a Career

Make a list of things you enjoy doing. Blending work with passion is one of the best ways to make sure you’re excited about getting up and going to work each morning. If you love food look for a position in the hospitality industry. If you enjoy building things and working with your hands seek out a career in the construction field.

4. Get Experience That Matters

It’s important to find a job that will ultimately look good on a resume. Getting a job in the hospitality industry, such as working as a desk clerk or in housekeeping, is a great way to gain experience that will help build your career. Not only do these jobs provide valuable experience but they may open the door to potentially higher, even better paying positions at a hotel. Australian Hospitality News reports that regional restaurant managers can make $95,800 annually. That means taking that waiter or waitress position may pay off in the long run.

5. Find Friends Who Push and Inspire You

Surrounding yourself with people who are energetic and have lofty goals of their own will help you strive for more. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, or some other type of social media, most people are connected to friends online.  Entrepreneur states that 65 percent of all companies use social media when deciding who to hire. This means it’s important to not only have great friends who support you in a positive way offline, but who support you and send positive messages online as well.

Sometimes a career change is necessary, either for your mental health, your career growth or for personal reasons. If you notice any of the following five signs, you might need to quit a job now.

1. SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE BEEN PROMISED HASN’T BEEN DELIVERED
Many employers make promises during the hiring process that—shall we say—exaggerate the truth. You may have received promises about anything from a pay review, extra holidays or a work from home arrangement. These can all be enticements to get you to take the job. If you’ve been at your job long enough to finally realise you’ll never get these promises fulfilled, it’s time to move on.

2. THE CULTURE IS NOT FOR YOU
Company culture pervades every work environment. The culture may not be something that is written in the employee manual, but it can be a palpable thing that can make work awkward or difficult for you personally. Maybe your colleagues all play fantasy football at lunch, or your boss thinks insults are a good motivational tool. Whatever the cultures is, if it’s making you uncomfortable, it’s time to look elsewhere for job satisfaction.
3. YOU CAN’T SEE YOURSELF IN YOUR MANAGERS ROLE
Is your career path something you’re looking forward to—or is it something you’re dreading? If you’re looking at your future at your current company and you don’t like what you see, there’s no reason you can’t hop on a different career path starting right now.
4. YOU’RE APATHETIC AT WORK
No one should have to be bored at work. If you find yourself watching the clock, thinking about other things while your boss is droning on about sales projections, or not caring anymore whether you do a good job or not, it’s time to change jobs. You most certainly have something valuable to offer the business world, and you deserve an opportunity to be inspired at work. Otherwise, you’re selling yourself short and not being fair to your current employer.
5. THERE’S NO ROOM TO GROW … NO NEW RESPONSIBILITY ON THE HORIZON
Being stuck in a dead end job with no room to grow doesn’t help your career, and it doesn’t offer you a chance to develop your professional skills. If your company has a policy of not promoting from within, or you’ve reached the top rung of the ladder, you may need to find another ladder to climb at a different company.

Your career is too important to stay in a place that isn’t serving your professional goals. Don’t be afraid to cut ties with a company if you see any of the above five signs.

When you’re trying to hire for a job that is less than exciting, you’d better be prepared to get creative. Jobs that are perceived as boring or undesirable are less likely to attract the kind of qualified candidates that you have been able to find for other roles. Here are some tips on how to make a boring job attractive to the right people.

FOCUS ON THE INTANGIBLE BENEFITS

Many things can make a job more attractive, including the perks and benefits that go along with it. Try focusing on the intangibles that might make a person prefer this job over another. Here are some to look for:

The Exposure

Will the employee have the opportunity to network and gain better exposure for a future career in the company? Sometimes employees are willing to take a lower paying, monotonous job if there’s opportunity to make important career connections.

The Working Environment

Is the office casual and lenient as far as dress code and cubicle space? Are pets allowed to come to the office? These small benefits are considered very appealing, particularly to the millennial workforce, who expect to work in a place that they don’t consider to be “uptight.”

The Hours

Are the hours perfect for working mothers who want to be home for their kids after school? Many smart women look for jobs where they can drop off their kids in the morning and be home to fix a snack and help with homework.

The Flexibility

Can the employee come in early if they choose, and go home early? If the job doesn’t currently have this flexibility, it’s possible the department manager may be willing to negotiate such a situation. Certain jobs, such as data entry, are perfect for such arrangements. Is there an opportunity to work from home one day a week? This might be a huge perk to parents or those who have to commute a long way to get to work.

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE

If there’s no way to disguise the boring job as anything more than mundane, and there are few intangible benefits to entice applicants, focus on the future. Many low-profile boring jobs can lead to an exciting and high-paying job within the same or similar industry.

For example, a boring job of reading through slush pile manuscripts at a publishing company could eventually lead to a big city job as a top agent. A job washing hotel linen might enable that employee to work themselves up to the position of hotel manager at a big resort. Every job can lead someplace more promising. It’s up to you to figure out the best possible ultimate job, and focus on that possibility when advertising for the boring job. Try to find examples of people who started out in the lowly position and are now in positions with high salaries and respect. That will go a long way toward convincing an ambitious person that this boring job is worth more than meets the eye.

Finally, your ideal candidate shouldn’t take too much convincing. With a little prodding, if they can’t imagine how they might leverage the boring job into something more attractive down the road, they may not be right for the job. Give a nudge to candidates, but then let them allow their imaginations to take over.

With most job listings, there are often multiple candidates. When you get called in for an interview, you may be just one of a dozen candidates that the company is considering. In order to make sure that you stand out from the crowd, try doing these three things:

1. Explain Your Value

Interviewers aren’t interested in talking about all the benefits they can offer you. They may go over them so you’re informed about the position, but what they really need to know is what value you can offer the company.

Be prepared in your interview to explain in detail what specific skills and experience you can bring to the job. Your value might have to do with connections in the industry or your know-how of the other businesses you’ll be dealing with in that position. Whatever it is, be ready to offer up a reason–or several–to hire you over any other candidate.

2. Be Prepared to Give Specifics

It’s all well and good to generalise and say how you know this and that and are able to do everything the job entails. What you really need to offer in order to make you stand out from the crowd, are specifics. You need to have readily available stories and statistics that you can pull from in order to specifically detail how you were an asset to your former employer. Give details about what percentage of sales you were personally responsible for. Offer up information about how you took an extra step to help a customer.

3. See the Job From Their Standpoint

The interviewer is looking for someone who gets the job. They need someone who will check all the boxes, be responsible, and really take matters into their own hands when it comes to getting things done. If you can prove that you understand the most important part of the job, the job is yours. For example, retail is all about customer service. Hospitality jobs require helping loyal customers to keep enjoying the experience. Sales jobs require the value of a product to be clearly explained. Show you understand the role, and you’ll be the top choice.