If your main skills are manual, base your plans on this. If you are more suited to a technical analytical job, go in this direction. If your aptitudes lie towards managing people and getting best from a team, steer yourself that way. Play to your strengths.

3.Identify sources

The easiest way to find jobs these days is on internet. Just enter ‘job site’ or ‘employment agency’ or ‘job search’ into your search engine and see what you get. Your problem will be restricting results to a manageable size. Limit your research by country or city or industry as appropriate in order to cut it down.

If you have a particular company in mind look on its web site if it has one. Companies often advertise vacancies there.

Look too at principal newspapers of geographic region in which you are looking. Again this could be country or it could be city. They can be a good source.

Finally there are your local agencies at which you can enrol.

4.Take Action.

This is when it all comes together.

Put your CV onto as many online jobsites as you can. It will be found by potential employers who will then come to you. This puts your name and qualifications up before a large number of employers quickly and easily.

Search sites and newspapers and apply to as many job offers as meet your criteria. Adapt your CV to suit each application emphasising particular skills and experience requested. Play numbers game. If it looks suitable – apply. (But don’t waste your time on jobs that don’t fit your qualities).

Don’t be afraid to send out speculative letters to companies you like. You can often strike lucky, and your application is more likely to be seen when writing in this way.

Above all, keep going. Don’t give up. By knowing exactly what you are looking for and targeting your applications you stand a good chance of success.

In conclusion.

If you have not yet been forced to look for a new job it would not do you any harm to carry out exercise of examining your skills. You will at least be forearmed should need arise.

If you have lost your previous job, try to look on your situation as an opportunity rather than a disaster. This could be your chance to set out again in direction you really want to go instead of carrying on indefinitely stuck in rut into which you previously fell more by accident than design.

I think Brian Tracy puts it best..."It is not failure itself that holds you back; it is fear of failure that paralyzes you." So true! How often has this happened to you? You have a big decision to make but you are paralyzed. All you can think about is what will happen if you fail. I think we all face fear of failure to some degree. But successful people have learned to manage their fears - to talk to themselves instead of listening to their fears. And when they do fail at something, which is inevitable, they pick themselves up, learn their lesson, and begin again. How can you stop fearing failure?

1. Don't think too highly of yourself - I think this would be main thing to help you stop fearing failure. When you have an elevated view of your importance, you will be more afraid of what people will think of you if you fail.

2. Learn to laugh at yourself - when you do fail, which is inevitable, laugh at yourself! Nothing will drive your fear away faster than being quick to acknowledge your mistakes with a laugh.

3. Take calculated risks - this means don't jump before you look. You will have more confidence in your decisions and less reason to fear failure when you research thoroughly before jumping into a relationship, business, or job.

When you do fail, always analyze your failure so that you can avoid making same mistake again. Remember what Henry Ford said, "Failure is opportunity to begin again more intelligently."