Open Source Content Management

There are many factors that contribute to a business's performance, but, for the most part, success or failure comes down to one thing: How well the company sells a product or service to its customers.

Try approaching your job search the same way. Are you doing an effective job of selling your product (you!) to your customers -- namely hiring managers?

Following are tips you can use to become CEO of your job search and run it like a successful business:

Deliver a clear message

What does this business do? That's often the first question customers ask when selecting a service provider.

Hiring managers ask themselves a similar question when evaluating job candidates. They want to know your story -- what skills and experience you have, what your areas of expertise are and what can you bring to the table.

Ask a friend or colleague to review your résumé, then without looking at the document, briefly summarize the key points. If he or she struggles to articulate the main themes, you may need to make some revisions.