1. Does your resume look professional?  Make sure you have a professionally formatted resume. Resumes are images of you and your career. So making sure your resume is professionally worded and formatted is of prime importance.
2. Make sure you name, address, phone number and email address is on your resume!! So many times candidates send out resumes without contact information or limited contact information on their resume.  This is a sure turnoff for an employer to skip over your resume. They want to know if you are local, how to get ahold of you and talk with you. So make sure this information is at the top of each page of your resume.
3.  Use a professional email address.  As a candidate you always want to put you best foot forward. Using email address that is not professional looking is a sure turn-off for an employer.  The best email address format for your career should be your initials or first initial, last name formats, not vanity or lifestyle names.
4.  Make sure you have a LinkedIn Profile and it is up to date. In the last 5 years or so LinkedIn has become the recruiter’s site of choice to learn about candidates and your professional career. Many employers will check LinkedIn even before giving you a call back. So, make sure you profile is updated with a professional picture (not selfies) and career history. Attached writing samples or presentations you have made to your profile. Get endorsements from co-workers helps immensely.
5.  Clean up your social media. By searching google anyone anywhere can find you and what you have posted to the web. You want your image to be the most professional possible. So clean out those old tweets, Facebook posts, images that may not be so flattering to your career, as this will all impact if an employer will call you.
6.  Be present on google and other search engines as it is related to your career and profession. Join associations, post presentations, comment on industry websites forums.  You want to show to the world you are a professional with the skills and qualifications to provide a valuable contribution to an organization in your industry.
7.  Don’t apply for 5 different positions at the same time in the same company. Believe it or not, your resume will probably be reviewed by the same person for each position you apply for. So, apply once and then follow-up. Don’t bombard and employer with many copies of your resume and do not repetitively call a hiring manager 20 times in one day. Plan out your application process with an employer and then proceed.
8.  Be Proactive. Do not just sit by the phone waiting for a call. Network with industry professionals, talk with hiring managers about their needs, and learn about companies and how you can make a contribution. Most employers hire based on who they know, so start meeting people. The applying for jobs over and over is just not going to do it in today’s marketplace.
9.  Use common sense. Most employers are human and want to hire good employees that care about their jobs and want to do a good job. So be yourself, think about the career you want and then pursue it. Do not just go out to the job market unprepared for your job search. Focus your efforts, get prepared and be consistent in your search efforts.

Following these few tips will allow you as a jobseeker to get that cherished call back from a potential employer and be successful in your job search. Finding the right position to advance your career to the next level may come from a surprising source and it may not be from just replying to job ads.

Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing (www.webuildstaffing.com ). To learn more about Michael or Follow his Blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com