Tuning Your PC for Gaming (XP)

This is a nice tutorial on tweaking XP for Best Gaming Experience. Hope this will help....


1. Disabling useless processes & Windows features.
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Windows XP has came with quite a few new but extremely useless and memory hogging features that constantly run in the background and slow your system down.

Some of the features that should be disabled are automatic updates, system restore and remote assistance.

To disable these 3 fairly useless services...

1. Hit Start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Performance and Maintenance
4. Select System
5. Select System Restore Tab
6. Check "Turn off System Restore"
7. Select Automatic Updates tab
8. Select "Turn off automatic updates"
9. Hit the Remote tab
10. Uncheck "Remote Assistance" & "Remote Desktop"

Now that the three main Wind0ws features that severely hog your PC's power are disabled, its time to move onto the numerous other Windows processes that further drag down your system.

1. Hit start
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Administrative Tools
4. Select Services

Now there should be a large list of services and a lot of them are running on your system right now.

A lot are vital for running Windows and a lot are completely useless.

The average PC user will have about 27 of these processes running all the time, more than half of them she/he does not need.

Now for a standard PC with maybe a printer & a broadband connection and no fancy networking, routing or any advanced peripherals and wireless devices, the following services should be set as disabled.

To disable a service, double-click it and set the Startup Type drop-down menu as "Disabled" then click "apply" and "ok" and move onto the next.

Automatic Updates
ClipBook
COM+ Event System
Creative Service for CDROM Access (If you have a Creative soundcard)
Cryptographic Services
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinator
DNS Client (Do NOT disable if your on a Dial-up internet connection)
Error Reporting Service
HID Input Service
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Messenger
MS Software Shadow Copy Provider
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
Network DDE
Network DDE DSDM
NVIDIA Display Driver Service (For nVIDIA card users)
Performance Logs and Alerts
Portable Media Serial Number
Print Spooler (Only if you dont have a printer)
QoS RSVP
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Registry
Routing and Remote Access
Security Accounts Manager
Server
Shell Hardware Detection
Smart Card
Smart Card Helper
System Event Notification
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Telnet
Terminal Services
Themes (If you are not bothered about fancey looks for your desktop)
Upload Manager
WebClient
Wireless Zero Configuration
WMDM PMSP Service
WMI Performance Adapter
Workstation

Note that everyones system is different so don't be wondering why some services in the list above are not on your list.

Now that you have disabled those Windows services, its time to clean up your startup programs and system tray...

1. Hit Start
2. Hit Run
3. Type "msconfig" without the quotes and hit enter
4. Hit Startup tab
5. Click on "Disable All"
6. Press Apply then Ok and answer YES to reboot your PC.

Now you don't have all that junk starting up when Windows starts and I can guarantee you that you'll notice a phenomenal power boost that will be equally as noticeable in games.


2. Optimizing your Windows Page file.
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Wind0ws uses whats called a page file to act as RAM for file swapping duties and the-like & is vital for games.

The pagefile itself is harddrive space taken off your harddrive and kept in the pagefile itself so for example if my harddrive is 20GB and I set my pagefile to 1GB then my HDD would suddenly become 19GB in size.

To edit Windows pagefile...

1. Click Start
2. Click Control panel
3. Click System
4. Click Advanced tab
5. Click "Settings" for the "Performance" section
6. Click Advanced tab
7. At the bottom, click "Change"
8. Check the "Custom Size" box
9. Set your pagefile usng the following uide...

If you have...

128MB of RAM - set to 1500MB
256MB of RAM - set to 1000MB
512MB of RAM - set to 700MB
1GB of RAM - set to 500MB


3. Cleaning up your system.
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Now its time to give your system a spring-clean and free from unused invalid light bulb that litters many PC users systems and over time can lead to configuration problems and nasty software conflicts and slightly slow application response rates.

You'll need to download the following free programs and install them...

Ad-Aware http://majorgeeks.com/download506.html
Spybot S&D http://majorgeeks.com/download2471.html
Reg Seeker http://majorgeeks.com/download2579.html
light bulb Cleaner http://majorgeeks.com/download4191.html
Cacheman (A must-have utility for people with 512MB RAM or less) http://majorgeeks.com/download308.html
Hijack This http://majorgeeks.com/download3155.html

Now then, to get the most out of these program, you must configure them correctly...

Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D are pretty well configured to begin with so i'll go straight to light bulb Cleaner...

1. Open light bulb Cleaner
2. Click Windows tab
3. Tick all boxes except "menu Order Cache & Windows Size/Location Cache
4. Click Applications tab
5. Tick everything
6. Click Issues tab
7. Click everything
8. Click Options button
9. Click Settings tab
10. Uncheck the box that reads "Only delete files in Windows Temp folder older than 10 days"
11. Click ok and exit the program.

Now open Cacheman...

1. Click on the Settings button
2. Click the "RAM" icon
3. Under "Memory Ammount", set it to "User defined" then move the slider as far to the right as it goes
4. Uncheck all four boxes but leave "Extreme recovery mode" checked
5. Click the "Optimization" tab at the top
6. Check both "Disable executive paging" & "Unload DLL's from memory"
7. Exit the program and answer "yes" to save settings and answer yes to the reboot prompt.

Ok now that you've tweaked your programs to work at there best, its now time to use them...

NOTE: No other programs should be running while you run the programs so bookmark this page and exit IRC or whatever other programs you have running and come back here when your done.

Open and run the following programs in the following order...

Ad-Aware
Spybot S&D
light bulb Cleaner
Reg Seeker
Hijack This

Ok now your back, your PC should be alot more clutter free but these programs never do a complete job of it so its now time to manually clean your Windows up...

1. Look on your desktop and delete any icons & shortcuts that you no longer need or use or have its software uninstalled
2. Go into your start menu and do the same thing
3. Go into Control panel
4. Go into Add or Remove programs
5. Uninstall any programs that you no longer use or want from the list
6. Go into your Program Files folder typically located at C:\Program Files
7. Delete all files and folders that relate to programs or games you uninstalled or do not want any longer.


4. Configuring your systems BIOS for maximum gaming power.
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Accessing your systems BIOS varies from PC to PC but typically its a good 10 second hammering of the Del or F1 key while Windows is booting up.

BIOS vary from motherboard to motherboard but modern gaming boards will have a lot more options in them than basic motherboards like Dell PC's have which is why I'm not going to be specific, rather just point out the general things to change that I think most PC's will have.

AGP Aperture size should be set to the highest possible.
AGP mode should be set to 8.0 or how high it can go
AGP Fastwrite should be enabled
USB 2.0 controller mode should be set to "Fullspeed" if you have USB 2 ports on your PC
Any performance enhancing options that many, many gaming boards have should be set to there maximum for example my Asus K8V SE board has an option where I can set the overall speed of my PC to "slow", "normal", "fast" or "turbo". Obviously the Turbo option is going to produce more thermal output on my CPU, RAM & motherboard but its not really enough to worry about especially if you have fans in your case.


5.Updating your system drivers.
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Updating your systems drivers is vital for squeezing as much performance out of it as possible, especially sound card and graphics card drivers.

Here is a list of driver links for the different components from all the major manufactures...

Graphics card
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nVIDIA http://nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp
ATI http://ati.com/support/driver.html

Sound cards
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Creative Soundblaster http://creative.com/support/

Windows Updates
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1. Hit Start
2. Click on Windows Update icon

Now it will take you to the Microsoft website and will scan your system and come up with a list of recommended updates.

Alot of these updates are rubbish and unnecessary. I cannot be specific about what not to download and what to download since everyones PC is different but updates such as language packs and stuff like that.

Critical update patches for Windows Media player and stuff like that should be downloaded and so should Microsoft .NET framework since a lot of software nowadays relies on this code.

Remember that uninstalling previous drivers before installing new ones is highly recommended since it ensures a bug-free crashless install.

Heres how to PROPERLY uninstall drivers...

1. Go into add/remove programs
2. Uninstall the driver you want from the list
3. GO into your Program Files folder and delete all folders and files associated with the driver you have just uninstalled
4. Delete any start menu entries associated with the deleted driver
5. Run Reg Seeker
6. Run light bulb Cleaner
7. Reboot your system and then install the latest driver

I would of made links to motherboard drivers but I find updating mobo drivers to be quite a risky and an often unsuccessful procedure and to cover it in this guide would take up far too much time.

If you would like to update your BIOS, there are many guides out there, one I recommend would be BIOS Guide from the trusty tweaktown.com website which I highly recommend also.


6. Tweaking your nVIDIA card.
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I'm sorry ATI owners but I have only had experience with nVIDIA cards so my instructions wont be perfect to follow but should be ok as the two cards GUI is pretty similar.

To access your nVIDIA cards options...

1. Right-click on your desktop & select Properties
2. Click Settings tab
3. Click advanced button
4. Click on the tab that reads your graphics card name, i.e GeForce FX 5600 for me.
5. On the pop-up menu on the left, click on Performance & Quality"
6. Set Antialiasing to off
7. Set Anisotriopic filtering to off
8. Set Image quality to high and if your card is good then set to maximum
9. Set v-sync to off
10. Set Force Minimaps to "none"
11. Set Conformant texture clamp to off
12. Go into the Direct 3D section
13. Set Max frames to render ahead to 0

Your card is now set to give the best balance of image quality and performance.


7. Tips.
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Here are some tips to maintain your PC at its full potential forever...

1. Run them programs often, especially when you've been making alot of changes or have been installing/uninstalling alot of software on your PC.

2. Run Cacheman before you play games and recover as much RAM as possible so you can get smoother gameplay.

3. Setting games to "High CPU Priority" in Windows Task Manager can sometimes give noticeable performance gains.

4. Try to keep your files and folders organized so that your PC is as clutter free as possible.

5. Exit all programs and applications such as MSN messenger or IRC before you play games to maximizes gaming performance.

While I was searching about some random stuffs I accidentally found an interesting article about dinosaurs and how they fight. I will share a portion of it and if you want to learn about more on how dinosaurs fight check out the site where I got this. (source: By Bob Strauss, About.com )

Offensive Dinosaur Weapons

It's a simple matter to distinguish between offensive and defensive dinosaur weapons: offensive weapons (like sharp teeth and long claws) were found almost exclusively on carnivorous dinosaurs, which preyed on gentler herbivores, while defensive weapons (like armor plating and tail clubs) were evolved by herbivores in order to fend off attacks by carnivores. A third type of weapon was employed mostly by plant-eaters: sexually selected adaptations (such as sharp horns or thickened skulls) wielded by males of the species to dominate the herd or compete for the attention of females.

Here's a rundown of the offensive weapons used by carnivorous dinosaurs:

Teeth. Carnivorous dinosaurs like T.Rex and Allosaurus didn't evolve big, sharp teeth merely to eat their prey; like modern cheetahs and great white sharks, they needed these choppers to deliver quick, powerful, and (if they were delivered in the right place) fatal bites. We'll never know for sure, but based on analogy with modern carnivores, it seems likely that these ancient predators aimed for their victims' necks and bellies, where a strong bite would cause the most damage.

Claws. Some carnivorous dinosaurs (like Baryonyx) were equipped with large, powerful claws on their front hands, which they presumably used to slash at prey, while others (like Deinonychus and its fellow raptors) had single, oversized, curved claws on their feet. It's unlikely that a dinosaur could have killed its prey with claws alone; these weapons were probably used to grapple with opponents and keep them in a "death grip."

Eyesight and smell. The most advanced predators of their day (like the man-sized Troodon) had large eyes and relatively advanced binocular vision, which made it easier for them to zero in on prey. Some carnivores also had an advanced sense of smell, which enabled them to scent prey from far off (though it's also possible that this adaptation was used to track down already-dead carcasses).

Momentum. Tyrannosaurs were built like battering rams, with enormous heads, thick bodies, and powerful legs. Short of delivering a fatal bite, an attacking Daspletosaurus could knock its victim silly, provided it had the element of surprise. Once the unlucky Stegosaurus was lying on its back, stunned, the tyrannosaur could move in for the quick kill.

Speed. This adaptation was shared equally by predator and prey, making it a good example of an evolutionary "arms race." Since they were smaller and more lightly built than tyrannosaurs, raptors must have been especially quick, which created an evolutionary incentive for the herbivores they hunted to learn to run faster as well. As a rule, carnivores were capable of short bursts of high speed, while herbivores could attain a slightly less brisk pace for longer periods of time.

Bad breath. This may sound like a joke, but paleontologists believe that the teeth of some tyrannosaurs were shaped so as to purposely accumulate shreds of dead tissue. As these shreds rotted, they bred dangerous bacteria, meaning any non-fatal bite would result in an infected, gangrenous wound. The unlucky herbivore would drop dead in a few days, at which point the same tyrannosaur (or others of its kind) feasted on its carcass.

Pixel Art Guides and Tutorials

What is Pixel Art?

Pixel art is distinguished from other forms of digital art by an insistence upon manual, pixel-level editing of an image (without the application of image filters, automatic anti-aliasing or special rendering modes), often at close magnification. In this form, it is commonly said that "each pixel was placed carefully" to achieve a desired result.

Purists within the pixel art scene hold that "true" pixel art should only be created from tools that place individual pixels (such as the 'pencil' tool), and that pixel artists should avoid all other tools including line, Bezier curve, circle and rectangle. Others counter that tools such as line and bucket-fill are acceptable as their functions could be just as easily, if not as quickly, replicated on an individual pixel basis.

Because of this rule, image filters (such as blurring or alpha-blending) or tools with automatic anti-aliasing are considered not valid tools for pixel art, as such tools calculate new pixel values automatically, contrasting with the precise manual arrangement of pixels associated with pixel art. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_art )

Pixel Art Tutorials and Links

Derek Yu - Ten part in-depth pixel tutorial using photoshop

Mark’s Pixel Art Tutorial - This guide is intended for those new to working with pixels - if you already know what you’re doing, you shouldn’t be here

Matriax Pixel Art Tutorials - A collection of different tutorials

The complete guide to Isometric Pixel Art - Excelent tutorial on isometric pixel art

Flip Flop Flying - Pixel head tutorial

Pixel Freak - This tutorial will try to help you create pixel art, Isometric Pixel Art - the word isometric means “of equal measure”

Sprite Art - A collection of tutorials from various artists

Pixel Patterns - Create tilable patterns

Drububu - Pixel Art Tutorial

GJ Designs - A number of pixel art tutorials

Zoggles - A number of pixel art tutorials

How To Find The Right Job?

Although it is relatively easy to find a job in a growing economy, landing a suitable job with the right company still takes a lot of soul-searching, preparation and skill. Learning to sell yourself in competitive marketplace remains essential to the job seeker.

Choosing A Career

The first step you must take towards finding the right job is to decide on an appropriate career path. Most people have their own personal set of criteria for choosing their career. What is essential is that your career choice is well thought out, taking into consideration a long-term vision of yourself. Although it is preferable to make your choice as early as possible (even before graduating), career shifts are not impossible and often necessary. In this ever-changing environment, whole industries and job categories sometimes become obsolescent.

In making your decision, consider the following tips:

Seek the advice of family and friends. Oftentimes your family and friends know you better than anyone else. It is likely that your parents have been through the same experience you’re going through and they have some insights on the advantage or disadvantage of particular careers. Many times however, the advice offered can be tainted by certain personal biases. It is important to keep in mind that pleasing the family should not be the major factor in determining your career path.

Listen to your teachers and career advisers. Most schools have placement offices that offer guidance on this matter and their opinions are often objective. Don’t miss those organized seminars on careers and take advantage of the presence of resource speakers to get insights on specific careers and jobs.

Listen to yourself. Probably the most important factor to consider is yourself and what you consider as fulfilment. Think about what interests you and what you do best and use the insights in establishing a “vision statement” for yourself. This exercise will help you visualize what you want to become in the future. Your career or job is just one of the components in that vision. But having a vision statement can help you plan a career with a long-term goal in mind. It’s easier said than done, but nevertheless it is the best way to start your career search.

Defining a Career

Listed below are some broad career categories that you can choose from the outset.

Secretarial/Clerical - Includes clerks, receptionists, secretaries, assistants and administrative staffs. Nearly all companies and organizations employ clerical staff.

Creative/Literary - Includes artists, copy writers, journalists, writers, designers, graphic artists and illustrators. Advertising agencies, broadcast and print media and interior design companies are some of the most common employers in this category.

Banking and Finance - Includes financial analysts, accountants, bookkeepers and statistician. Most companies have finance groups that include accounting departments and treasury units. Banks, investment houses and corporate holding companies hire a lot of analysts as well.

Sales & Marketing – Includes sales executives, representatives, merchandisers, brand managers, marketing service staff and advertising executives. There are companies that specialize in marketing consumer goods like soaps, detergent and shampoo. And there are companies that market services and industrial products to other businesses.

Information/Computer Technology – Includes computer operators, system analysts, software and hardware specialists. A high-growth area, almost all companies use computers to streamline their operations and process management information. There are groups that act as system consultants for other companies that are not interested in establishing permanent systems and/or IT groups.

Social Welfare/Teaching – Includes social workers, counsellors, teachers and volunteers. The government, non-government organizations (NGOs) and schools are the chief companies in this category.

Production/Manufacturing – Includes industrial, mechanical and/or electrical engineers, production staff and construction specialists. Manufacturing companies include those that make consumer products and those that specialize in producing industrial machinery for other businesses.

Professional Consulting – Includes management consultants, engineering consultants, computer consultants, doctors and architectural and interior design services.

Servicing – Includes those involved in the operation of hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, maintenance agencies, personal and recruitment agencies.

BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) / Call Center – Divided into two categories: back office outsourcing, which includes internal business functions such as billing or purchasing, and front office outsourcing, which includes customer-related services such as marketing or tech support. The endless opportunities IT provides, stimulates (cross-border) BPO activities.

The above is not a complete listing but it gives you an idea of some of the more common career categories. Many graduating students may feel constrained into choosing careers that have something to do with their college degree. Occasionally you may hear about an electrical engineer becoming a banker or stock broker, or an accountant going into sales and marketing. It is often the case of a change of personal goals or visions but what is important is that you like what you’re doing and you feel fulfilled.

Resume Writing

A resume goes by many names like curriculum vitae or bio-data. It also comes in many forms, from the computer-composed and laser printed versions to the handwritten notes in yellow pad. What it should be is a short account of your qualifications as a job applicant. The key word in the definition is short. No matter how good you are, keep the resume within two pages at the most and one page if you don’t have work experience.

Because it is one of the most important documents sought from a career seeker, it makes sense to have a well-written and neatly printed resume. Toss away that bio-data form you bought from the neighbourhood store. There are a lot of desktop publishing services that can help make your resume attractive. Remember that the resume is usually the first contact between you and an employer and that first impression can have a direct bearing on the outcome of your application.

Your resume should be divided into five sections:

1. Name/contact numbers – Indicate your full name, address, phone numbers, e-mail address, date of birth, place of birth, height and weight. Make sure that you can be easily reached in the address and phone numbers indicated. If you can’t be easily reached, you might consider investing on a mobile phone so that you don’t miss that all important call for an interview. Typographical errors in this section (or any section for that matter) can have disastrous results, so proofread your resume carefully!

2. Education – Start this section with the most recent educational level achieved. You can indicate your school honours and other achievements in this section. Don’t forget to mention your participation in school organizations, projects, or socio-civic activities. This gives employers an idea of your management and leadership capabilities.

3. Employment – Although most students have little or no full-time work experience, you may include apprenticeships, summer jobs, part-time work, etc. Working as a food-server in a fast-food outlet for example teaches you valuable lessons in customer relations and many employers appreciate this.

4. Other Skills – Indicate your complementary skills like knowledge of a foreign language or seminar certificates in computers, management, etc.

5. Interests/Hobbies – Employers prefer well-balanced individuals busy with academics and extra-curricular activities so make sure you mention your interests, sports or hobbies.

Some job seekers indicate their work preference or desired career path in their resume. This is quite acceptable and you may insert this right after your personal details. It is also normal for companies to request a passport size photograph to accompany your files. Remember, faces are easier to remember than names or words so it is strongly recommended that you attach your photo to your resume.

You don’t need to include specific references in your resume but do prepare a list of about five references with their phone numbers just in case you are required to do so. Most companies prefer that you don’t use relatives as references.

Application Letters

A resume is usually accompanied by a short application letter. The application letter acts as your formal introduction and statement of your intentions. It should briefly explain the following:

How you came to know about the job vacancy

What position you are applying for and why you think you are qualified

What is the easiest way to reach you

Sometimes it’s advisable to revise your resume or application letter depending on the target company and position, focusing on relevant responsibilities and experiences. Your application letter can also include the reasons why you’re interested in the position.

It certainly pays to follow up your application letter by calling. Many recruiters even see follow-up calls as a measure of your enthusiasm.

You can expect some negative replies to your applications that begins with “We regret to inform you...” In the language of veteran job-seekers these are called “ding” letters or “regrets”. These can hurt the ego somewhat but you should not be discouraged. Again the key is to keep sending out your resume as often as possible.

Preparing For The Interview

After sending out tons of application letters and resume, you’re bound to get a few “hits”. Hits are those ego-boosting letters or calls from companies inviting you for an interview. You’re likely to get more “dings” (regret letters) than you get hits, so be prepared. If you’re not getting that many interview appointments, don’t be distressed. It takes time (sometimes weeks) for companies to process applications and finally get around to calling or writing you.

When you finally get that invitation for an interview, you may feel happy and excited but for many, it’s the start of the most nerve-wracking part of seeking jobs. Unfortunately, if you are noticeably nervous during the interview it could affect your interviewer’s impression. Being prepared will certainly minimize the fear and anxiety so make sure do the following:

1. Collect basic information. Do a little research on the company you’re visiting and find out what products or services they offer. Read up on any relevant articles you see in papers. Ask your friends and advisers what they know about the company. Recruiters are always proud about their company so expressing a little knowledge about their company will help you make an impression.

2. Look good and feel good during the interview. Many recruiters have a portion in their interview sheet that pertains to grooming, so having a neat and clean appearance does count a lot. Obviously, being late for an interview will add to your anxiety (and sweat) and that shows during the interview, not to mention the demerits you’ll get from the interviewer for being late. If you aren’t sure of what to wear remember that it’s better to be a little over-dressed than under-dressed.

3. Prepare all needed documents. Usually, you’ll be required to bring your transcript of records and to fill out an application form with information on your social security number, tax id, etc. so have these details on hand. Having a copy of your resume will help you recall details (like graduation dates) on your educational background that are standard in all application forms.

4. Review you resume. Anticipate what questions the interviewer may have regarding your experiences. Don’t try to memorize you resume, what the interviewer usually needs is for you to expound what you’ve written.

5. Practice. A little role-playing helps a lot. Prepare some standard questions you may receive and then let a friend sit in as a make-believe interviewer. You’ll get the chance to rehearse your answers and receive comments from your partner on how you’re doing. Some interviewers may ask some technical questions on your field so read up on your definitions (e.g., What are the four Ps of Marketing).

Interview opportunities shouldn’t be taken lightly. Good preparation can reduce your anxiety and will definitely enable you to give your best during these rare moments. That extra effort in preparation will spell the difference between getting a job offer and rejection.

Attending The Interview

The day has arrived and you find yourself sitting in front of your interviewer. You’ll want to keep the following in mind.

1. Relax. You’ve gone that far, you might as well force yourself to settle down and smile. Imagine that you’re conversing with a friend. Speak in the language you’re most comfortable with, although you may want to seek permission just to make sure your interviewer understands you.

2. Maintain eye contact. It helps leave a more confident impression.

3. Listen carefully. Understand you interviewer’s question before attempting to answer it. Take a deep breath before replying; not for a dramatic effect but because it gives you a little time to think abut your answer. The first few questions are usually critical because it sets the mood. When you start right, you’ll see yourself relaxing as the interview goes on.

4. Get to the point. Never consciously try to impress the interviewer; you’ll only end up sounding boastful. Get to the point and answer his questions concisely and then explain further if there is a need to. When asked about your salary expectations, don’t hesitate and answer him confidently but don’t give an outrageous figure.

5. Ask questions. Towards the end of the interview, take the time to ask questions about the company. Aside from giving a good impression to the interviewer, asking questions gives you the chance to evaluate the company, the position and attractiveness of the industry. An important aspect in you evaluation is the company’s organizational set-up and the people you will be reporting to. If there are still some of your strong points not mentioned yet, you may want to bring them up at this time.

After The Interview

The interview process doesn’t end with the first interview. There can be several more interviews within the same company, so never become over confident and think that you’ve got the job in the bag. Be hopeful but don’t stop your letter-writing and interviewing activities with other companies.

One way to help you get a “call-back” or a second interview invitation is by sending a letter the next day to your interviewer thanking him for his time. It’s a good way to leave a subtle follow up.

Finally, when those job offers start pouting in, don’t jump at the very first offer and make a promise to work tomorrow. You’ve got to evaluate their offer very carefully. Most of the time, the company making an offer can give you a week to think about it so do take the time! Consider the benefits and whether the position gives you the career growth you’re aiming fir. This is where the soul-searching part comes in. All the tips in the world won’t make this decision any simpler.