Employment Research Institute's Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes, in a webinar discussed various factors that will help you in your job search and will also help you in holding onto your job.

According to Harrison, in your job search and in your job as well you have to give yourself a competitive advantage. For this, it is important that you use timing to your advantage. When you investigate the market at the right time you are more likely to get good offers.

Again, when you are marketing yourself, it is important that you get the attention. There are many ways you can stick out in an employer’s mind in a positive way and this can make a major difference in what ends up happening both in a job search and after you are hired. One of the best ways to hold a job is to do more than is expected of you.

Your appearance also makes a huge competitive difference. Your employer would like to have someone well dressed and professional, to represent the business.  When you are searching for a job, you need to draw in as much interest as possible. This will vastly increase the number of offers that you get.

Harrison advises people to apply to every employer they are interested in regardless of whether or not the employer has a job opening. If you are searching for a job, approach every prospect and not just the people who are interested in employing. You need to have an outstanding resume because it can make a difference in how you are remembered. If you cannot create a world class resume then hire a resume company to create your resume for you. The same goes for your cover letter. The skills that you are putting into your job search and your job should be so superior that people will go out of their way to hire you and to hold on to you.

You should go out of your way to cultivate networks and friendships with people. It can make a giant difference in the results that you get when you are looking for a job and it can also make a huge difference in your ability to keep a job.