You’ve probably heard too many times to count that “in this economy, you should be happy to have any job at all.” Perhaps that’s true, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try to find something better if you hate the job you’ve got. Here are a few things you can do this weekend to prepare to make a positive shift in your work life.

Update That Resume

Before you set out to apply for a new job, you’re probably going to need an up-to-date resume. It’s easy to let resume updating slide while you’re employed because you have a job and it isn’t the most fun thing to do. Fortunately there are some tools to make it easier to get started and make sure it’s in top shape.

First things first, if you don’t want to figure out the exact formatting of your resume and other tedious tasks, Resunate is a service that’ll simply take your information and create a resume tailored to the type of job you want. If you’ve got a LinkedIn profile, you can also use the LinkedIn resume builder to save yourself the hassle of reassembling that information. If you want something a little different, VIsualize.me can create an infographic out of your work experience.

Of course, you want your resume to be unique and not a computer-generated file. These services are good at providing you with a starting point but you should take the time to personalize the document they create and still look for ways you can improve it. To start, resume checking service RezScore will analyze your resume for free and provide you with useful feedback. RezScore will not only point out actual errors, but overused words and which jobs your resume is best geared towards as well.

There’s plenty you can do yourself, too. It’s always good to be aware of bland phrases, redundant statements, and annoying terms. Resume checkers will catch a lot of these things, but they won’t catch everything. It also helps to read your resume from bottom to top to help catch errors.

The design of your resume is also important. You don’t need to revolutionize its look, but often times its a matter of simply choosing the right font and color. For more design tips, check out these design resources.

For more tips on getting your resume read and past the robots, read this.

Find a Great New Place to Work

If you don’t already have a new job in mind, you’re going to need to find one. That is, unfortunately, somewhat of a daunting task. Whenever I’ve needed a job or wanted a new one, I’ve simply thought of companies I liked and that would provide a good learning experience. Then I’d contact all the companies on that list about available jobs. If the company already provided a list of jobs, I’d contact them anyway to just ask a question. It always helps to have your name on the company’s radar and let them know you’ll be applying after they help you out. If you don’t have any real questions, ask them something simple and easy to answer that might not be entirely clear in the job posting. If they can answer in a few minutes and you respond with a thank you, they’ll feel like they helped you and that can make them like you. While you may not have a list of companies you like on the top of your head, if you think about it for a little while you’ll likely find a few. Don’t rule out anything just because it seems unlikely. You may be surprised at the jobs you can get if you’re smart, get things done, and stand out just a little bit. (And if you really want to stand out, this Google trick is very clever.)

But sometimes getting a job can be tough because you don’t have relevant experience. Of course, you can always get a lower-level job to get that experience or simply start in a position you are qualified for and move into the position you want after you’ve proven you’re a great worker. In some cases, you can spin your unrelated experience to make it feel relevant. I’ve never applied for a job for which I was qualified, but I worked my way up through an internship or convinced my employer that my existing experience is relevant. Often times it’s as simple as finding a task or two that you completed at your current job that is actually relevant and focus on those.

When you’re really not sure where you might want to work, however, there are plenty of ways to find new options. Strangely, Twitter is a good option because organizations like Tweet My Jobs post quite a few opportunities. The Labor Department’s Facebook page provides job listings and career advice as well. On top of those options, check out the top five Lifehacker reader favorites for job search sites.

Photo by FotoDawg.

Nail the Interview

Job interviews can be tough. It’s the only part of the process where you really have to think on your feet. If you’re qualified, intelligent, and get things done, the only other thing you really need is charisma. Most decisions are made on a first impression and so coming across as a like-able person is often your biggest asset (which, thanks to body language, is easiest to do in person). If you can pull that off initially, you’ll be in good shape unless you mess something up. So just don’t say anything stupid!

On that subject, you really just need to know what you should avoid during the interview. It also happens to know what to ask and understand the motives behind the questions the interviewer asks you. If you’re asked the most annoying question—that being “what’s your greatest weakness?”—just choose an irrelevant skill.

And once you do nail the interview, consider asking if the company offers a signing bonus. Sometimes that’s all you need to do to get one.

Photo by Ted Murphy.

As you know, preparation is the key to doing well on a job interview and hirers tend to ask the same kinds of questions. This job interview one-sheeter is like a CliffsNotes for getting your strategic answers together.

Shared by Jenny Blake of LifeAfterCollege, the Google Docs template covers seven key questions or topic areas for you to bullet-point your examples, including how you’re suited for the position, what your weaknesses are, what excites you, challenges you’ve overcome, and goals you have in the future. There’s an area for questions you have for the company (such as issues or challenges about the job) and other notes (perhaps personal sound bites would be good here).

Just filling out the sheet can help you prepare, but you can also bring it to your interview and quickly glance at it while waiting (nice to have on you just in case).

Job Interview One-Sheeter | Google Docs via Wise Bread

http://reader.googleusercontent.com/reader/embediframe?src=http://www.youtube.com/v/3p28MFt8RBA&width=500&height=333Popout Ramit Sethi is a New York Times best-selling author and creator of one of our favorite personal finance sites, I Will Teach You to Be Rich. In his weekly video Q&A for Lifehacker, Ramit answers common questions about personal finance, careers, and more. This week, Ramit shares his Briefcase Technique, a tried and true method for successfully negotiating your salary.

Photo by claudiofichera (Shutterstock)

Most of us don’t negotiate—with our bosses, our clients, even our cable companies. Why? We know we’re leaving money on the table, but we’re not sure what to say. We don’t want it to be awkward. And what if they say no?

In my household, I was basically bred to negotiate. And after my parents taught me, I wanted to share some of my most powerful negotiation tactics with others who didn’t grow up in such a… peculiar family.

Today, I want to share a specific technique that I always recommend for freelance and salary negotiations, and which, when it works, can make all the difference.

What you’ll notice is something unusual that you rarely hear about successful negotiations. Yes, your body language matters… and yes, the words you use matter. But you’ll notice that 80% of the work is done before you ever set foot at the negotiating table.

This is called The Briefcase Technique, and I’ve put together the video above to show you exactly how it works.

Notice a few things.

First, this isn’t just for negotiating salary. You can use this for job interviews, client discussions (for freelancers), and virtually any other type of negotiation.

Second, when I initially released this technique publicly, it got re-posted on a discussion forum, where people said things like “yawn” and “He could really use a professional clear plastic binder too.”

Ah, internet commenters. It’s easy to scoff at something that seems so simple, but in my experience, and the experience of readers of I Will Teach You to Be Rich, it works.

Finally, notice what’s really happening here. Besides its theatricality, the Briefcase Technique forces you to do your homework before you ever set foot in the room. You’ll need to truly understand the hopes, fears, and dreams of the other person—whereas most people walk into an interview and simply “answer questions” or into a salary negotiation and “ask for a raise.”

80% of the work happens before you walk in the room.

You do this by studying the needs of the other person—not simply writing down what you want. What does the hiring manager really want? What do they fear? What if you gave them a 30-day, 60-day, and 90-day plan?

If you do, you’ve just separated yourself from 99% of other applicants. And when you do your homework, the Briefcase Technique can produce powerful results. If you’re curious about the exact words and body language to use in a negotiation, check out the exact words to negotiate your salary.

The Briefcase Technique – to earn thousands of dollars | I Will Teach You to Be Rich

Try The Free Official AutoCAD App For Your Phone [Android]

from MakeUseOf by Angela Alcorn

As most engineers, architects and draughtsmen can attest, it’s incredibly useful to have a reliable smartphone application to edit your documents while you’re out and about. Just think, no more A1 sheets of paper covered in incomprehensible notes. Or if you must carry that around, at least you can keep your files accessible on your phone just on the off-chance you’re able to stop into a site unexpectedly. The fact remains that CAD applications on smartphones are a great idea.

So, imagine how surprised I was to find the official AutoCAD WS Android application is available for free in the Android Market. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? But it’s real, so it’s well worth getting your hands on the AutoCAD application before Autodesk changes their mind and starts charging for it.

Is There an Easy Way to Measure the Height of a Tree? [Crowdhacker]

from Lifehacker by Adam Pash

Trees are tall. Humans, relatively speaking, are not. And we’re not the most agile climbers in the animal kingdom, either. But we are crafty, and we can out-think even the most wizened redwood. But how do you do so when all you’ve got is a pencil, a mirror, or a smartphone? In the first installment of a new series powered by Q&A site Stack Exchange, we’re taking the question to the crowd.

Photo by Two+two=4″.

Question:

I’d like to install an antenna for Internet service, but it will need to clear some trees on my neighbor’s property as it requires a clear line of sight to work.

I really don’t trust my estimating skills enough to plunk down money on a utility pole that might be too short or too tall. And climbing the tree with a tape measure (in my neighbor’s yard) is a bit intrusive and dangerous.

Other than eyeballing it, is there a clever way that I can get a reasonably accurate (within 5′ or so) estimate of the height of the tree?

— JohnFx (originally asked here)

Top Answer

Find a stick the length of your arm. Hold your arm out straight with the stick pointing straight up (90-degree angle to your outstretched arm). Walk backwards until you see the tip of the stick line up with the top of the tree. Your feet are now at approximately the same distance from the tree as it is high (provided the tree is significantly taller than you are, and the ground is relatively level).

Old logger method. Simple.

The Jobseeker’s Secret Weapon: If This, Then That

If you haven’t used IFTTT, we think you should check out one of the greatest free web services around. IFTTT stands for If This, Then That, and the name is practically self-explanatory. If one of the several triggers you setup happens, then the service activates whatever multiple commands you designate. But how does all this help you find a job?

Turns out that many job sites have RSS feeds, and that happens to be one of the triggers on IFTTT. That’s the start of the process — the end result is all up to you.

How to Get Jobs Sent to You Via IFTT:

1. Once you’ve created a free account over at IFTTT, sign in and click on the large “Create Task” button.

2. The text will pop up, “Ifthisthenthat” and click on the word this. You’ve got tons of different triggers here, but for a job hunt, you want to find and select the RSS symbol.

3. Here, you can either choose “New Feed Item” or “New feed item matches.” I usually choose the former, because that way I get hit with every job listing in my category, just in case.

4. Now visit your favorite job search site, and enter in the parameters you want to use for your particular hunt. For example: I use Craigslist, which is a great place to find local stuff if that’s what you want. Tap the RSS button in the corner and then highlight the link in the address bar that pops up. That’s the address for the RSS feed, and that’s crucial. Enter the link in the box on IFTTT and move to the next step.

5. Here’s where you can have some fun. If you want those messages right away and have an Internet-connected phone, then you can have the service send the links via text message (to do that, just click on the SMS link and follow the steps). In this case, we’re going to do email, so select the Email box in the top corner.

6. After you’ve selected the only option for emails (“send me an email,” naturally), the screen shown above pops up. If you’re good with it as is, then just hit “Create Action” and the next time your feed updates, you’ll get an email with the name of the entry in the subject field, and the body of the email containing the links and info from the RSS Feed. Now you’ll always be the first to know about a new job, and sometimes, that’s all you need.

Bonus OmniFocus tip: If you use OmniFocus for the Mac, try this out for size. In the “Subject” field in Step 6 on IFTTT, type in the following phrase: “–{{EntryTitle}} >job apps @online #today $5″ What’s all that mean?

OmniFocus allows you to sync with Apple Mail, that way you can send yourself an email and it will automatically put up a task for you in the system. The trigger for this can be anything you want, but in my case, I use two hyphens in the first part of the subject to start the process. Then, anything after the “>” refers to the “Project” field in OmniFocus, “@” refers to the “Context,” “#” is for what day you want it to appear in the task manager (with today being the best way to pop it to the top of your to-do list), and “$” is for the amount of time it will take to get it done.

Now not only do you get your job searches emailed to you right away, but they’re added into OmniFocus automatically so you don’t forget to tackle them. Now that’s some organized job hunting.

(Images: Kevin Whipps)