What is the best job search technique? Job Websites? Company websites? Head Hunters? How do you make these services work for you?

The best advice I ever got was to use networking; most people get jobs through contacts at the hiring company.

Find someone in the industry in which you are interested and ask them if they know anyone that is hiring someone with your skill set - don't ask them for a job, just ask for a reference. You will likely get several leads that way.

Asking for a reference instead of a job allows them to lower their defenses and gets them on your side as an advisor. If they have a job for you they will offer it, otherwise they will give you inside information they have about the industry and who is hiring.

Then call these leads and mention the person's name that referred you to them and again ask if they know anybody that is looking for someone like you. You will either get a job offer or more contacts.

The HR person that told me about this method said that by the time you get to the third layer of contacts you will likely have a job offer. I got a job in less than three levels when I tried this method.

At the same time I went through the library's computer disk of companies with million dollar / year income and sent a lot of cold resumes, tailored to that particular company. You can also search for business information about the company while you are in the library. The more you know about the company the better you will be at tailoring your resume to fit their needs.

You can also get leads at the local unemployment bureau and in the classified ads in your local paper.

Before you start sending out resumes however, it is important to get professional help in writing your resume. Any resumes you send out before you do that will be bridges you will have burned; you will never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

If you go about it right you will find that finding a job takes just as much dedication and effort as performing well in a job; the job hunt IS your job and you will need to apply yourself to it fully.

Good luck and happy hunting!

I would make sure you have an up to date and accurate LinkedIn profile to start with. That's where a lot of recruiters hang out and do most their hunting. Next you should start attending professional networking groups associated with the part of the industry you're trying to get into. I'm on the sales side of IT, but I still typically attend events hosted by PMI, IIBA, and HIMSS as a way of getting to know people and to learn more insights into current trends.

Depends on your skill set and your preferences. USAJOBS.gov is a great source to start.