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Post your resume to Monster. Get started now.

The past year has been incredibly tough. It seems like each day features new headlines about jobs being cut and unemployment rising.

Maybe you find yourself suddenly out of work, or you might be re-entering the job market after taking a break.

It gets overwhelming fast — and the first things you need are the right tools to help you find not just any job, but the right job.

See how one person approached her job search.

Four steps

1. Start with a strategy

You can avoid anxiety about your job search by starting with a strategy — and we can put you on the fast track with a strategy that's ready for you now. Monster.com and Office Online are teaming up to make the whole job search process faster and easier.

Office Online provides templates for your resume and your cover letter, and Monster.com provides the Search and Submit features, so you can find the job you want and apply for it — quickly!

Before you start, you can also create some rules to fall back on when you're feeling flustered. For example, plan out ahead of time your salary and benefits you need. Research about what jobs are available in your field. You can even write up questions to ask about each company when you interview.

The point: In having a strategy, you can focus on the process and your progress instead of the stress.

2. Search for available jobs

What are you looking for?

On Monster.com, you can find information on what employers are looking for in your field, such as finance career tips or information for technology jobs. Go to the Advice home page, scroll down to the View Information by Category section, and click the industry you want to know more about.

If you need to brush up on some of your Office skills, you can find free, self-paced training courses on Office Online.

Maybe you want to change careers, or widen your search to include new opportunities. Think about what you have to bring to a new field. What are your real skills, and how can you transfer them to a new line of work? Find out more about how you can evaluate your experience and make the transition by reading When Changing Careers, Highlight Transferable Skills.

Use the job search on Monster.com to find out who's hiring and what positions are available. Just click the Search button at the Office Online Career Center.

When you see a job that looks like a good fit for you, click Expand to find out more about it. If the job posting has a link to the company site, click it to find out more about the company.

3. Write your resume

Now that you've found a job you want to apply for — or you've learned more about the industry where you want to work — it's time to dust off and brush up your resume.

You want your resume to look professional and to stand out. And you want it to be returned in Search results — right in front of anyone looking for the perfect candidate (that's you).

Start with a template

A template has the structure you need built-in, and you don't have to face that blank page.

Office Online provides a wide choice of resume templates, including templates designed for Word 2007, with easy-to-use date pickers and some fields that are already filled in. You can even change the date format if you want.

Decide whether you need a chronlogical or a functional resume, and then look for the template that matches who you are as well as the industry where you plan to work.

The template is just the starting point. Now, it's your time to shine. Check out the resume writing tips and tips for changing careers, and read up on some common resume blunders to avoid.

Add keywords to stand out

Now, on Monster.com, look at the job descriptions of the positions that interest you. What words do they use? How do they describe different kinds of projects and experience?

You can take the Keyword Challenge to help you find the right words.

When you write your resume, use those words to describe the experience that you have. For example, the words commonly used to describe project management responsibilities today are probably different from those used a decade ago. Now you need to communicate all your solid experience in the language that employers are familiar with.

Next, check your resume by using the resume critique checklist.

Create a cover letter

Now it's time to write your cover letter. Wondering what to write? Again, you can start with a template. Office Online provides the following templates:

• Job cover letter for unsolicited resume (Blue Line design)
• Resume cover letter in response to ad, short

Again, the template is just to get you started. Make sure that your letter is about you. For more tips on writing a strong cover letter, read New Beginnings for Your Cover Letter.

Be sure to spell check your resume and your cover letter. You can even read them out loud to catch any missing words. At this point, it's all about first impressions, and you want to make the best one that you can.

4. Submit!

You're ready to start your search officially.

If you created your resume using a Word 2007, template, take a moment to save a copy of your resume in .doc format. That's the copy that you'll submit to Monster.

Click the Submit button to submit your resume to Monster.com. You can submit it specifically to that job you saw earlier, and you can submit it generally for employers to find in their searches.

After you set up your Monster.com account and submit your resume, you'll be able to see information about how your resume is being accessed. You'll also receive e-mail about open positions based on the information that you provided when you set up your account.

Follow up

You can use the Job search log template or the Interview/Resume Follow-Up Log template on Office Online to keep track of where you've sent resumes and follow-up letters, and where you've interviewed, as well as tracking the thank you letters you send after those interviews.

For more information and tips on preparing for interviews, visit the Office Online Career Center.

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