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Being out of work for the past few months has been a blessing in disguise, but bills are a lingering, and the show must go on. As I engage in my job search, I have a few commandments I follow and I thought I'd share them just in-case crypto hasn't treated you nicely enough for you to retire (it hasn't for me)



1. Although I've recently seen essays arguing differently, I'm still of the firm opinion that your CV and your letter need to be perfect in terms of grammar and spelling. The first pass through of a large pile of applications normally involves finding a quick and dirty way to winnow them down, and mistakes like that are a functional way to do that. 
It doesn't matter if that's unfair - if you're relying on prospective employers to be fair, you're just putting your fate even more heavily in their hands than taking responsibility for your own actions. And it may be fair, because who wants to hire someone with poor attention to detail? 

2.  Your cover letter should be primarily about how you can benefit the employer, not how the job would benefit you. Go ahead and say how the job would be good for you, so they know you really want to be there, but mostly they're concerned about what you can do for them, not what they can do for you. Lead with your strengths and experience that can help them.

3. Try to touch on every need listed in the job announcement that you can. Don't make them guess if you can do something; that's not their job. Make sure they know; that's your job.

4. Normally, the resume and letter only get you the interview. The interview gets you the job. Practice interviewing, too. Have somebody ask you stupidly tough interview questions, because then the real interview is easier (trust me, students have reported back to me on this).

5. Understand that in the end it's all a crap shoot anyway. You can only give yourself your best chance at being noticed. You don't know what they really want, and there's a good chance they don't really know, either. That all gets worked out in the process, and you have no control over it.

6. Keep plugging away. Those who quit clear the way for those who don't quit.