The ideal job hunting situation is when you're currently employed and looking for a new gig, not only for the obvious financial reasons, but because sudden job loss can render us panicked and decision-impaired. Frantically searching for a new job could sabotage what you've set out to achieve, and you could be back on the market for another position in no time.

Career coach Deborah Brown-Volkman explains why it's important to have a plan when you're job searching and says, "You don't want to walk into someone else's nightmare. You want to make a good choice - not just any choice, but the right one." She offers these tips to help job hunters make the best choice for them.

  • If you don't get along with a potential boss during an interview, you never will. "Use the interview to explore whether your prospective boss is interested in what you have to say and understands what's important to you in your career before you accept the offer."
  • If you don't have a good rapport with prospective co-workers, you never will. "If you sense there's a problem with someone you'll be working with, listen to what your intuition is telling you."

See four additional tips when you read more.

  • Stop worrying about being selected. "Wanting to be chosen by an employer sometimes makes us talk ourselves into a situation we may not have taken if we were thinking more clearly."
  • Decide what you want first. "Knowing what you want ahead of time gives you the chance to ask the right questions and find out whether the job is really for you."
  • Don't sell out. If you take a job because you need the paycheck and know it's not the right position, make a timetable for moving on, and then stick to it."
  • Be yourself. "Letting interviewers see 'the real you' is the only way to figure out whether you'll be accepted for who you are, or not."

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