Election Day — it’s finally here. Today, we get to decide who we want to serve as our President and who we want to represent us in Congress and our local and state government positions. If you’re like many Americans, you’ve spent hours selecting the choices you’ll make in the voting booth.

Would it surprise you to learn that the average CEO handles 139 tasks (each representing an individual topic) a week — and that they make 50% of their decisions in nine minutes or less. In fact, they only spend an hour or more on 12% of their decisions. Columbia Business School professor Sheena Iyengar, author of The Art of Choosing, cites this research — and other studies on decision-making in her TED video on How to make choosing easier.

In surveying 2,000 Americans on decisions they make every day, Iyengar found that individuals typically make 70 different decisions over the course of an individual day. That’s 490 over the course of a week!

What are the takeaways from this research in terms of how we can make choosing easier? Iyengar says less is more — the fewer choices we have, the more likely we are to make a decision. Here are three ways you can make this work for you in your job search — so you’ll have more time!

1. Avoid “choice overload.” Instead of looking for jobs to apply to on ten different websites, use a site that has a job aggregator — and pulls in positions from different sites so you can see them in one place. StartWire presents jobs in this format and only lists opportunities that have been posted in the last two weeks — so you can keep your options fresh!
2. Get focused — don’t apply for “any job.” Apply for opportunities that you are qualified for — and that interest you. If you’re open to working in several different job types, focus on applying for only one type of job on a day that you are searching — it make it easier for you to focus and speed up your efficiency.
3. Create a routine and stick to it. One successful job seeker we know made a habit of only researching and applying for jobs between 6 and 9 am. Every morning she checked for new position advertisements and applied directly.* One day she applied to a just-listed position in Corporate Communications for a Fortune 100 technology company. The company received over 100 applications in the first two days — and took the listing down. Because she checked early, she was one of the first in line. And she got the job!(*We have Job Alerts that notify you on new openings and a unique feature that sends you updates when your job application status changes).
4. Research the company and prepare for interviews. Whether you are applying for jobs or have already been invited to interview for a position, research the employer and show that you’ve done your homework. Remember: Just as you don’t know how many applicants are in line to serve as your competition, the employer can’t tell how interested you are in their organization until you tell them. Providing proof that you understand the job and the organization not only shows your strong interest, it also may get you on the shortlist for the job!
5. Go basic with your dress. Many executives conserve their energy by limiting their choices — for example, President Obama only wears blue or grey suits. A recent Career Builder survey found over 50% of female executives stick to black suits.

These tips should help you streamline your choices — and lessen the time it takes for you to explore your career options. Once you start interviewing and receive an offer, remember that it’s also your choice to decide whether or not you want to take the job!

We had planned a post on scary interview questions in honor of Halloween, but it feels more pressing to talk about how to approach your career in a Frankenstorm as Sandy bears down on the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

Back in 2005, I spent two weeks with Hurricane Katrina survivors in Biloxi, Mississippi. It was three months after the storm, and many people who had lost their homes did not feel ready to return to work or seek new employment opportunities yet. In Maslow’s needs hierarchy of what we need to survive, fixing the roof over our heads often takes higher priority than a job or a paycheck.

While we won’t know the full extent of the damage for weeks, here are a few things we do know:

1. It’s not worth risking your life to get to work when the roads and public transit systems are closed.
2. In the midst of a big storm, safety and security trump deadlines.
3. There will be high demand for hiring in the insurance and construction industries for months to come. (But if you choose to move to an area before seeking work in these fields, you need to make sure you can secure housing first — otherwise, you will be contributing to the problem instead of the solution.)

If you can read this and are in the path of the storm, help yourself survive first and worry about your job search later. But if you have two minutes, here are five quick tips courtesy of relief workers and job seekers who’ve been there:

1. If you are currently employed, know and follow your company’s emergency contact plan. Maintain a list of multiple phones and e-mail addresses of people that you can contact after the storm: if your employer is an independent or local business that runs off of local service providers for phone and internet, you can expect downtime after the storm.
2. Store electronic copies of your documents. Online storage providers or web-based services such as Google Documents will enable you to access your resume, recommendations, and other career-related information from anywhere-should you have need of it.
3. Keep important identification and financial records together-and take it with you in a waterproof document holder. You need more than a driver’s license alone to establish identity at a new job.  Make sure you have the identification necessary to complete the I-9 Eligibility form required by all U.S. employers.
4. Develop your own personal business continuity plan: if your phone or e-mail service is provided by a local business, have a back-up plan. The U.S. Portability number rule will allow you to transfer your landline number to a cell phone number-or to keep your cell phone number even if you move to a new area. This guide will show you how: cellphones.about.com/o…. If you don’t have one already, sign-up for a free e-mail account through providers such as Gmail, Yahoo! , or AOL and forward copies of your e-mail to your remote account.
5. If you evacuate and have room, pack at least one professional outfit that fits you well-even if you don’t need it for interviewing, you will be glad you have it later if your personal belongings are affected by the storm.

Follow these steps and you’ll be better prepared to preserve your career-even in the face of the strongest obstacles. If your housing and employment situation is disrupted by the storm, breathe. Be reassured: people will be attentive to your professional needs after the storm even if the worst happens.

Stay dry, safe, and know that we’re thinking of you.

The StartWire Team

At StartWire, we believe you deserve to be treated well by your potential employers, regardless of whether you are selected for the job! This is why we offer a free way to get status updates on your job applications from over 7,000 companies.

We also think you should communicate with your potential employer to make sure that they’ve seen your application. This is why we recommend you follow-up with employers to confirm your application within two weeks. If you’ve received an interview, we also advocate for thoughtful thank you notes.

But what should you do if you don’t hear back from the employer at all after you’ve sent in your application, or if the feedback you receive simply says “you are no longer under consideration”?

We think it’s worth following up with every employer you apply to — at least once. Here’s our short guide on what to say and when in awkward situations:

If you’ve applied for a job and it’s been re-posted.

• Don’t assume the employer isn’t interested. Instead, call HR or the hiring manager and summarize your skills: “I see you’ve re-listed the Director of Marketing position that I applied for in June. I’m (name) and I have over 10 years experience in the field. Would you like for me to submit my credentials again?”
• When to do this: Within three days of the job being re-posted. (Note: All jobs on the StartWire site are less than two weeks old. Do not be alarmed if they are re-posted. Employers often re-post simply to receive fresh interest in the job listing while a search is under way.
• When not to do this: If you’ve given up on the job, and have decided you are no longer interested.

If you’ve been told you are no longer “under consideration”:

• What to say: Thank you for letting me know of your decision on my application. While disappointed, I remain interested in exploring other opportunities at your company especially as I am so impressed with your work in __________. I continue to feel that I could contribute in ________ department. What’s the best way to stay in touch? And in the interim, is there anything I can do for you to help increase awareness of your _____________ (insert product or service that organization is known for)?
• When to do this: Within three days of receiving your rejection letter. Read our past articles to learn how to respond if you think you were seen as overqualified or under-qualified.
• When not to do this: If you don’t like the company or feel that you wouldn’t want to work for them, either!

If you haven’t heard back after an interview:

• What to say: Thanks again for your consideration for __________ position. I am writing to let you know that I remain interested. Please let me know if you have need of receiving any additional materials.
• When to do this: Follow-up on your thank you note either two business days before the anticipated decision deadline or shortly after the deadline date has passed.
• When not to do this: If you’ve followed up once by phone and e-mail, don’t follow-up again. You don’t want to be seen as a stalker or desperately needing this job. (Note: Apply for other jobs while you wait to hear back, too!)
  There’s one exception to this rule: If you receive another job offer, you can call and let them know you have the offer — and you can say, “I remain interested in your job, but need to let the organization that has extended me an offer know by ______ date. Can you tell me whether or not this fits into your hiring timeline for the position.” (If they really want you, they will often speed up the process, but don’t make up an offer just to make it happen.)

Do you have any questions or thoughts on these strategies? What’s worked for you? Share.

This is the second post in our series of how, when, and why to follow-up in the job search process. In our first post, we touched on why it’s important to follow up after you apply for a job. Here’s an overview on how to write a great thank you note to follow-up on a job interviewing process.

Woody Allen’s quote “70% of success is showing up” does not apply well to thank you notes.  Sending a thank you note after a job interview can help you stand out — and demonstrate your ability to be polite. That said, it can also sink your candidacy if you:

1. Make a spelling or grammatical error
2. Address someone by the wrong name
3. Ask the wrong questions: What is the salary for the job? What’s your vacation policy? When will you make up your mind?

Thank you notes should be written and sent within two business days of your interview. Unless you know for a fact that the hiring decision won’t be made for several weeks, plan on sending your thank you note via e-mail.

If you’ve met with multiple people during an interview,  send a different thank you note to each person that you spoke with if you can. (If you don’t have all of the details and contact information, use your online research skills. Google *@companyname.com and you will discover how the company assigns e-mail addresses, then just plug in your potential contact’s information, write your message and hit send. If you get it wrong, you should end up back in your mail box as an “address unknown.”)

Here is a template for writing a great thank you note. (Do not use this exact language but do note the structure and sentiment expressed. Instructions in italics.)

Dear [Name],

Start with a brief refresher. Many employers hire for multiple positions at once, so always acknowledge what you are applying for.

Thanks for meeting with me to discuss [position]. I appreciate your time and consideration. My interest in the position increased as a result of our meeting.

Show you paid attention.

I was especially impressed by [add detail, practice, or comment on organizational set-up]. Example: I was particularly impressed by the physical layout of your office. It’s easy to see why your employees have a strong record for collaboration and finishing projects on-time and under budget, as the work environment seems to inspire cooperation. I would enjoy working in this environment.

Follow up on any questions you missed. If possible, provide information on how you work.

As an employee, I find that I can come up with a quick solution, but often produce a better one when I’ve had time to process the situation and explore potential options. In thinking about your question on [topic] more fully, I offer you an additional perspective: [insert solution].

Say thank you.

Thank you again for the opportunity to interview and I look forward to hearing from you soon regarding next steps. In the interim, if you require any additional information regarding my candidacy, please feel free to contact me.

That’s it. Keep it short, simple, and stay on message that you want the job! Let us know how it works for you.

One of the easiest ways to stand out in a job search is to follow-up and showcase the depth of your interest and area of expertise. Many people overlook this step after receiving an automated “thank you for applying, don’t call us we will call you” e-mail less than five minutes after they’ve applied for a job. Today, we’re going to show you why this is a mistake and how to fix it after you’ve initially applied for a job. (In a later post, we will tell you how to follow up after an interview.)

Why Not Following Up is a Mistake

While it may not always appear this way, most organizations are as focused and interested in hiring the right candidate as you are in finding the right company to work for. In an era when most resume reviews are done in 15 seconds or less, your follow-up can make you memorable — and move your resume straight to the top of the application pile to review. Especially if you’ve applied over a week after the job was posted. (Remember our advice on this? The early bird gets the job.)

Bottom Line: Following up after you’ve applied demonstrates interest, commitment, and initiative — all criteria employers like to see when they hire.

How and When to Follow Up

There’s nothing worse than cold calling a potential employer — only to find that the job you applied for has been filled. Therefore, the first step in the follow-up process is to make sure the job is still available. Fortunately, there are two easy ways to do this:

1. If you have a free StartWire account,  you can track your job in StartWire– and get an automatic update on your application status via text or email. (This information is available for positions listed at over 7,000 organizations.)
2. Check the job listing you initially saw on the organization’s website. If the position is gone, it’s quite possible it has been filled.

After you’ve verified that the job is still available, isolate and identify your goal for the follow-up. What do you want your potential recruiter or hiring manager to know about you? Ideally, you want to convey your expertise and fit for the job — as well as demonstrate your continued interest in the job.

To follow-up, choose the medium that suits you best.

Are you a natural on the phone? Call the potential organization after hours and use the organization’s automated directory to land in the right voice mailbox. Record a message that doesn’t just say the job you applied for, but that also gives a ten word overview of your past experience that fits the job. “Hi, this is Ivanna Job. I’m calling to follow-up on my October 5 application for the Green Belt Six Sigma Project Manager. I can offer you a Black Belt in Six Sigma and I live not five miles from your facility. I remain interested in the job and can be reached at ____________.”

Are you great with research and words? Write a follow-up and email the recruiting contact or likely hiring manager. Once you’ve identified the right person to contact, you can google *@organization.com to find out how the organization assigns names to people. For example, if you are applying for a job with John Springfield at Acme Food and you know that Acme Food assigns emails with a first initial and last name — you can guess that Mr. Springfield’s address is jspringfield@acmefood.com

Just as in the above example, your follow-up should include a very brief mention of how you are qualified for the job. Extra credit for congratulating the organization on a recent news mention. (Example: Congratulations on your first-place finish for The Candidate Experience Awards.)

Regardless of how you follow-up, we recommend doing it within two weeks of your application date — and making sure it’s perfect. If in doubt on the phone message, hit the # message and re-record until you are satisfied. If you are writing, use formal language (no text shorthand) — and have a friend proofread it after you hit spell check! Spell one thing wrong in an e-mail and you may knock yourself out of the applicant pool if you’ve applied to work under a Spelling Bee champion.

Remember that oft-quoted Woody Allen quip, “70% of success in life is showing up?” That doesn’t work in the job search process. You need to stand out as a professional. Follow these simple steps and you will!

One of the most frequent reasons you may get ruled out of consideration for a job has nothing to do with your skills or experience. It also has nothing to do with how qualified you are for the position. It’s about how you market yourself.

As we’ve mentioned before, there are many similarities between the process of dating and the process of applying for jobs. In both, sudden silence or a delay between meetings or communication often forces a critical decision: Should you continue to hold out in hopes that future invitations will come? Or should you give up altogether and start your search afresh?

(Alternatively, if you found your life partner in the seventh grade – it is the same question you run into when your car gets old and starts to break down in a big way: Should you get a new engine or a new car?)

At StartWire, we focus on jobs rather than dating advice or car repair. And here’s our guide to deciding when to keep a potential job opportunity in play – or cut your losses and move on.

When to Hold Onto a Job Lead

If the position has been advertised for less than two weeks. (Note: StartWire only publishes jobs that have been posted within the past 14 days since there’s no guarantee employers will review your resume after they’ve gone over the first batch of resumes they received and made a short list of candidates to interview. The cold hard truth: Sometimes employers don’t check their applicant pool twice.)

When you’ve been updated on the status of your application. Did you receive an update after you applied for the job thanking you for your interest? Have you been invited to interview for the job? Has an employer let you know that the process has been extended – and told you when you may hear back? If yes, give the employer a two week extension after your initial application date. (As always, StartWire offers a free service that provides you with access to automatic updates on the status of your job applications at over 7,000+ employers.)

If you’ve applied to more than one job – and have more than one option! Just as your chance of winning a local raffle go up when you buy more than one ticket, your chance of getting hired increases when you apply to more than one job.

If the job is still posted. Many organizations leave job listings up until a new hire starts their job. (If the job has been advertised for more than a month, call to verify that it is still actually open before you apply.)

When to Move On

When the job disappears from the website. While sometimes a job posting is removed from a website for an update, a missing description frequently means that the job is no longer available.

When you’ve been invited to interview, told you’ll be notified about a decision within the week – and three weeks have passed. (Though hiring approvals often get delayed, chances are good that either the job applicant who got the offer is still making up her mind – or the company is simply too busy/lazy/pre-occupied to let you know that you did not get the job.)

When the job gets listed every single day. (One of our hometown coffee shops do this – they advertise for counter help every day. If you’re new in town, it may fool you. But those who’ve been around for a while know – don’t bother applying!)

And that’s how to know when to hold on to a job lead, or let it go…(Hat tip to Kenny Rogers for inspiring us with his old country song on how to “Know when to hold ‘em or when to fold ‘em!)

Do you have any other tips or strategies you use? If so, share!

We’ve talked about how the hiring process works on the other side of the corporate desk. Now it’s time to focus on another aspect of the U.S. job search — job seeker confidence.

The national unemployment rate went down from 8.3% to 8.1% in August, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the drop was not due to increased hiring — but rather to more discouraged workers dropping out of the job search process altogether.

While not an economist or a statistician, I have an alternate take on why monthly numbers for hiring were down: For most of us, July and August are by far the most popular months to sit by the beach, cook out, and take a vacation (paid or unpaid). Parents often schedule family time. Members on both sides of the aisle in the U.S. House and Senate traditionally take a five week recess — creating countless vacancies in parking garages across D.C. and a remarkably easy morning commute on the Washington beltway.

If you are looking for a job, it’s a similar situation to December: It can be a challenge to keep your job search mojo up when everyone around you is taking some time off! Especially given that many search committees may postpone or delay interviews or hiring decisions since “not everyone is in the office” or around to check references and sign-off on job offers. But don’t get discouraged! Typically, those who take off August return in full-force and a mission to hire in September.

At StartWire, we work hard to provide you with free time-saving tools that allow you to maximize your job search results while minimizing your effort. We only share job listings of opportunities that have been posted within the last two weeks — because who wants to apply for a job after all the interviews are finished? Our new ExpressApply feature speeds up the time it takes to apply for jobs. We provide you with an easy way to track your job applications and work search activity — and enable access to automatic updates on the status of your candidacy from over 7,000 companies across the U.S. To learn more about these features and how you can make them work for you, visit us at StartWire.

Now that the days are growing shorter, it’s a perfect time to dust off that resume and apply again — optimally, within seven days of a job posting since our research tells us that the early bird gets the job. So go ahead, what are you waiting for?

Good luck!

Over the past six weeks, we’ve pulled back the curtain on the hiring process inside corporations — from how jobs get approved and how employers find potential candidates, to frequent setbacks in the process that lead to re-posting of jobs and hiring delays. In our most recent post, we shared strategies that you can use to increase your chances of getting the job when you apply or if you encounter road blocks along the way — from not getting a follow-up after an interview to seeing the job re-posted.

We conclude our series with strategies on how to walk through the awkward stage of a hiring process– especially the silent periods. You know, the part after you apply for a job — or interview for one — and then hear nothing. So often, we hear from job seekers: “I had a job interview. I thought it went great. I haven’t heard back. Now what?”

Here’s how to handle this uncomfortable period of frequent silence when you wait for the phone to ring, and then it doesn’t ring when you want it to…

As in daily life, there are aspects of the hiring process that you can control, and aspects that you can’t. Let’s  start by addressing what you can control:

1. The thank you note. If you get an interview, always make sure you follow-up. Get your thank you notes (or e-mails) out within 48 hours of your interview. Here’s how to make your letter(s) shine:- Always address them to a real person (ask for business cards during your interview)- Write separate notes for each person you talk to- Resist the temptation to “go vanilla” — always say something specific about your interview, what you learned about the company, and why you remain “even more” interested in the job after meeting your potential co-workers.- Never assume — or write — that you are “the best” candidate. Let the employer decide that.  Instead, quietly spend a sentence or two demonstrating how your skills and experience fits the job.
2. Your level of engagement with the company and the job. It doesn’t always feel like it, but companies care just as much about hiring good employees as you do about finding the right job. The easiest way to show them you care is to talk about things they care about. Read company press releases, research websites, scour Google News for press mentions or community involvement. Let them know you’ve seen public accolades, ask questions about new facilities, and demonstrate your enthusiasm and interest in their work.
3. Your attitude. Yes, the process of applying for jobs is not fun. But even if you don’t get the first job you apply for with a company, it doesn’t mean that you won’t get the job when you apply for it later. Want proof? Check out our exclusive interview with the head of Global Talent Acquisition for Adidas. Note how he didn’t get the first job he applied for with the company — he came in third! But they hired and promoted him later.
4. Be gracious even if you don’t get the job! Send a “thank you for interviewing me note” and ask that the employer keep your file active and under consideration for other positions.Follow up with anyone you felt that you hit it off with — and send them helpful news articles or congratulatory notes when they receive recognition. (On a personal note, I once got hired for a job that I applied for a year after I applied! They hired someone else the first time; they contacted me again almost a year later.)

In most cases, you can’t control how or when an organization extends an offer, whether you’ll be notified if you are out of the running, or influence an employer to hire you simply by following up. You can, however, gain some degree of control over the process and reduce your frustration with these two simple actions:

1. Continue to search for other jobs as you wait to hear back. It may take more effort to apply for more than one position, but it’s always better to have multiple offers to choose from than it is to simply sit back and wait. (If the job doesn’t go your way, you have more options.)
2. Follow up. (When you interview, it’s always good to ask “do you have an idea of when you’ll make a decision on this job?”) If you did not receive a confirmation e-mail of your application after you applied for a job, follow up by phone within one week to ensure that it was received.

   If you haven’t heard back within four business days of the day they said they’d have a decision, follow up with a phone call or e-mail. (Why wait? Even after employers decide who to hire, organizations frequently have an internal sign-off process that can take days.) If you don’t know the hiring timeline, wait two weeks after your interview to follow up. After all, most companies interview more than one candidate for a position — give them time to finish all of the interviews. Whenever you decide to follow up… make sure you reiterate your interest in the company, and offer to provide additional information and contact addresses of references if needed.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve shared many frequent challenges that occur inside companies. As we’ve shared — the hiring process sometimes gets as murky to employers as it does to job seekers. But there’s a lot you can do to make sure that employers see a clear picture of a great potential employee (you!) as they peer out and take a look at potential candidates for hire.

We hope you’ve found this series to be helpful, and don’t forget to login to StartWire to watch “Inside the Machine,” a free 20-minute webinar on this topic presented by StartWire CEO Chris Forman. (If you haven’t created a StartWire account, we encourage you to do that — it’s free!)

Over the past few weeks, we’ve taken you on a tour of what happens inside companies behind closed doors — we’ve shown you how jobs get approved, how employers find potential candidates, and frequent knots in the process that lead to re-posting of jobs and hiring delays.

As always, applying for jobs is a two-way street: Just as employers pick who they want to hire, you get to pick where and who you want to work with. Throughout the search process, remember you also have the right to choose your employer. If you don’t like the way you are treated as a candidate, you still have the option to withdraw your application — or turn down a job if you don’t feel that the culture is a fit. Regardless of what happens in the process, don’t forget that you have the power in this part of the hiring process.

If you experience roadblocks as you apply for a job — but still remain interested in the job — here are three easy action steps you can take to increase your chances.

1. Take a personal approach. Whenever possible, apply for positions as early as possible and address your application to a real person. (If the job description doesn’t include a name, use LinkedIn or Google to find the name of the person that has the same title mentioned in the job description as the Supervisor. Then address your cover letter and email to this person.)

2. Know where you stand in the applicant pool. Many companies provide applicants with status updates on their application, but — traditionally — you can only see this data if you log back into the website where you applied for the job.

StartWire provides you with a free way to get these updates on the status of your applications at 7,000+ companies. Just sign up for an account, tell us where you’ve applied and track your application — and we’ll tell you if we can send you updates.

If you should be able to get updates on your application, and there’s no record of your application — check back with the company and confirm that your application was received.

3. Enlist help of friends and colleagues for an “in.” As we’ve discussed, getting a referral and word-of-mouth shout-out that you’d be great for a job is one of the best ways to get hired. Here’s how to get a referral even if you don’t know someone.

Next week, we’ll provide you with strategies you can use to follow-up throughout your job search – from how and when to contact potential employers to touch base on what to say if the employer suddenly goes “dark” after an interview.  If you have specific questions on this that you’d like us to answer, please ask away in the comments section.