Hi Cheryl,

Thank you for reaching out to Cancer and Careers. I'm so sorr to hear you're having difficulty finding work. The job search is a process and unfortunately can take some time, and often comes with ups and downs. Now, with that said, there are many ways to approach a job hunt, and we offer tips and tools that can help you get organized. 

Some initial questions:

- You mention you are applying to different jobs, if those jobs are different are you using the same resume and over letters? It might be a good idea to have a few different resumes, or a resumes that is easily customizable, in order to make sure you're utilizing one that is most relevant to the job you're applying for. Check out our Resume Review Service for some assistance in formatting and highlighting relevant experience and skills. Also, our publication, the Job Search Toolkit, has a ton of samples of both resumes and cover letters that may help you decide on the format and layout of your resume. Finally, we have a number of articles in the Resume & Cover Letter section of our website that can be a helpful guide.

- Have you been networking? Networking is shown to be the number one way to get a job, as it can give help get your foot in the door. We have a whole section of articles on best practices for effective Networking. Additionally, we also just held a webinar, presented by one of our career coaches, Julie Jansen, focusing on how to effectively network, you can view the recording here. Additionally, LinkedIn is an extremely useful tool when job hunting, so if you arent on it, or not active, I would encourage you to become more active on the site. We offer Cancer and Careers Guide to LinkedIn, which will walk you through some of the steps to make your profile strong and standout. 

- Have you gotten to the interview stage with any of these jobs? If so, how have you felt those interviews have gone? Did you walk away feeling like you'd been adequately prepared? Interviews can be tricky, feel free to take a look at our website section on Interviewing to make sure you're applying some of the best practices. It can also be a great idea to do some deep dive research into companies before you meet with them. Particularly on sites like Glassdoor where you can not only read about company culture, benefits, management, but also read about the level of difficulty of interviews, examples of questions, etc. Check out our article on Researching Employers to Inform Your Job Search, for more ideas on what to look for and where to find it.

Hopefully the above resources are helpful and a useful place to start. Please don't hesitate to reach out to us at cancerandcareers@cew.org if you would like any additional resources or have any further questions. 

Sincerely,

Nicole Jarvis, LMSW

Assistant Director of Programs

Cancer and Careers