A visitor here asked, “How can I make my application stand out in the crowd and land a job interview when so many capable people are unemployed and applying for the same positions I am applying for? ”

Here are a few ideas:

• Use keywords. Employers, especially big ones, scan resumes into a data base and search them by keyword when they need certain talents. You might even put a paragraph at the end of your resumes titled ‘Keywords” and follow with a list of words that describe your experience and capabilities. If you’re a software developer, don’t just say that, make sure you list your special knowledge of  Java3D or Scala or Python.

• Write a functional resumes if you’re looking for work in a new industry or profession. In any event, don’t just list the jobs you’ve had, list the situation you found yourself in, what actions you took, and what the results were. Employers want people who can produce results, not just churn through a process or fill a slot.

• Don’t list your jobs chronologically (you’ll do that on their employment application so they can verify employment), List your skills and successes, your accomplishments.

• Include all relevant experience (especially if you’re just out of school or entering a new industry) such as volunteer work, leadership roles or community involvement.

• DO NOT send a generic copy out to the world and then sit back and hope for a response. Tailor your resume to the employers you submit them to. Make a follow up call to see that they receive it, and offer to answer any questions.

• Use social networking sites to get the word around that you’re available.

I wrote an article for American Express OPEN on how to compare your business to you competition. Benchmarking, as it’s called, is also a good way to research a start-up business idea. You can read the whole article here: Financial Benchmarking: How Do You Compare To Your Competitors?

The free and low cost sources of competitor data I discuss in the article include:

1) Your industry association
2) Internal Revenue Service Corporate Sourcebook

3) Annual reports of public companies in your industry
4) Bureau of Labor Statistics Labor Productivity and Costs

5) Bureau of Labor Statistics Labor Pay and Benefits

6) Bureau of Labor Statistics Labor Producer Price Index

7) US Department of Labor

8) US Census Bureau Economic Census

9) US Census Business Expense Survey

10) US Census Annual Survey of Manufacturers

11) Dun & Bradstreet

12) The Risk Management Association

13) Morningstar.com

For other great small business advice, visit:

American Express OPEN and FindingMoneyAdvice.com – our sister site for small business owners

By the way, if you like the article at American Express OPEN, we’d love a tweet and a thumbs-up on their page!

Technorati Tags: financial benchmarking, business competitive information, kate lister

We’ve been invited to pontificate about small business finance for American Express OPEN:

Here’s a peek at today’s article entitled: 12 Steps to a Loan Renewal in 2010.

“Temporary setback” in entrepreneur-speak rings of “loan default” in lender speak. Lenders hate bad news, even when they’re expecting it. They hate it even more when federal regulators are already giving their own financial statements the stink-eye. As a result, while you’re probably happy to have last year behind you, your banker may not be so willing to consider it history.

For the rest of the story, visit American Express OPEN. We’d love a tweet and a thumbs up!

For more about small business loans, grants, angels, venture capital, and financial management, visit our other site: FindingMoneyAdvice.com or, even better, buy a copy of Finding Money—The Small Business Guide to Financing. Instant download as a PDF, just $14.95

If you’re here, you probably follow telecommuting. And if you follow telecommuting, you probably know that the writers at Inc. magazine are doing a month-long work-at-home trial. If you missed the buzz, you can catch up starting with Max Chafkin’s story and continuing posts about their experience.

I had a chance to share some of thoughts on telecommuting with Max a few days ago. A man after my own heart, he was interested in the geeky research we’ve done on the staggering benefits home-based work offers employers, employees, and the community. He posted a summary piece called Going Virtual By the Numbers yesterday.

I know you’re not supposed to interview the interviewer, but I couldn’t resist asking Max how it was going (and what he was wearing). Second things first, he was on his way home from a meeting when we spoke so he was fully-clothed. After I scolded him for risking his life on the New York City streets in a snowstorm, we chatted about his experience so far. No big surprises there—just the usual transition issues: missing his co-workers, under-eating and overworking, finding a balance between work and family. But it sounded like he was enjoying his new-found empowerment, productivity, and sense of freedom. I have no doubt he’ll learn to tame the monster.

With the technology we have today, there’s just no reason someone who sits in front of a computer all day should schlep to an office. Yet, most of the big publication writers I talk to still do just that. Kudos to Inc. for blazing the trail! I hope more follow them home. What is it those Big Dog t-shirts say? Lead, follow, or get out of the way!

In conjunction with state law enforcement officials and other federal agencies, the Federal Trade Commission will hold a press conference on Tuesday, February 9, 2010, at 11 a.m., to announce a law enforcement sweep cracking down on job and work-at-home scams fueled by the economic downturn.

Presenters at the conference will include the Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Justice Department, Ohio Attorney General, and a job seeker how lost money to a phony job scam. Monster.com, Microsoft, and the Postal Service will also be in attendance.

Also being released tomorrow is a new consumer education video the FTC has prepared to show people how to avoid scams. It will include screen shots from some of the sites that were targeted in this recent work-at-home scam sweep. The video can be downloaded at http://aperturefilms.com/ftc/ once the press conference begins.

I hope they show the scammers being tarred and feathered!

Have you been a victim of a work-at-home scam? Feel free to vent your spleen here so that others can learn from your experience.