A little trick I learned quite a few years ago by happenstance is about to follow.

I had been working for a pre-IPO startup when the bottom fell out of the NASDAQ; I found myself unemployed, along with a whole rash of other like-minded individuals. Of course, what's the second thing you do after you've been laid off (first is drink beer, that's a given, right?)?

You update your resume at all the online job sites (HotJobs, Monster, CareerBuilder, Dice, etc. – add LinkedIn and several others today).

I noticed that my search results didn't have much to show for them except when I updated my resume. It was as if updating my resume put my resume at the top of the virtual stack. Now, I won't kid anybody and expect you to believe that my resume was better than anybody else's.

However, I will tell you that I was experiencing more hits to my resume immediately after I updated it compared to when I had let it sit stagnant for a few days or weeks.

So, that' the tip.

UPDATE YOUR RESUME AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK

All you have to do is change one character save it, then change it back and re-save. I suggest that you actually update your resume every day. After all, if you're unemployed, what else are you doing? It takes less than 5 minutes to change your resume at all of the top job sites.

You really have nothing to lose.