Contributed by Cindi Pearce, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

Landing a job may turn out to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done or, conversely, the easiest.

You just never know. Here are the top 10 ways to land a job. Good luck!

10. Look

Religiously read the ads in the newspaper and scour the Internet daily for job postings. Post your resume online on a proper job seekers’ site.

9. Sell yourself

Create your own job and pitch it to someone who is in the position to hire you. Now, you’ll have to be really good. In fact, you’ll need to be so good in presenting yourself that the person is willing to go out on a limb for you and give you a shot. Do not disappoint if gifted with this sort of opportunity.

8. Luck

Just when you don’t need or want a job is when the greatest jobs turn up. Go figure! It’s like the woman who can’t get pregnant no matter how hard she tries so she stops trying and then she gets pregnant; same way with landing a job, sometimes, but don’t count on it. If you have been camped out on your mother’s couch for six months and a job hasn’t dropped into your lap it’s time that you hit the pavement and make luck happen.

7. Publicize

Stand on the side of the road at a busy intersection, holding a sign saying Will Work For ………

6. Attitude

It never hurts to smile. Be pleasant and engaging when interviewed.

5. Research and prepare

If you land an interview, go in prepared. Don’t show up in holey jeans with Keith Richardson beads in your dirty hair, unless you’re interviewing for Keith’s job. Research the company before you are interviewed so you can talk intelligibly about the company. It is imperative that you know the culture of the company that you are applying to. Again, do research and more research. If the company likes creativity, for example, be prepared to show them how creative you are. Try to act and look organized, even if you aren’t.

4. Polish your resume

Learn how to turn out a killer resume and then send them out. If your resume is shabby, you most likely will not get a foot in the door.

3. Timing

Be in the right place at the right time. The right place can be anywhere. Sometimes this happens by design … showing up where so and so is going to be, and you just happen to run into him although oft times it just happens. That’s called serendipity or the Luck of the Irish. In other words, get out and mingle.

2. Network

Tell your friends, family and even complete strangers that you are looking for work. When you pop up at a soiree keep your eyes and ears peeled. Join in the conversation. You just never know when someone’s friend’s second cousin twice removed might have a job tip for you. If you have some sort of business card, hand it out. Do it discreetly. You don’t want to turn your great-uncle’s 90th b-day party into a job fair.

1. Start at the bottom

Start at the bottom of the barrel and work your way up to the job of your dreams. Yeah, yeah, boring and the long way around but this is how most people do it. Some say that patience is quite the virtue.