Once you have a portfolio ready (the stuff we have been talking about this week) you can start your job hunt.  I guess you can start the hunt sooner but if you don’t have anything to submit to the churches you think are a fit you might become frustrated.  You maybe try cramming every thing we talked about the past week in to an afternoon and send out stuff that does not look the best or represent you well.  Be patient and do it right the first time.

When you are ready to search, exhaust your network.  For example; Call your denomination’s headquarters and see if they have a placement program, call your former college or seminary’s career development department, look for a search firm or headhunter, talk to former professors, ministry partners, youth workers, etc.  Exhaust your networks, they are there, you need them…use them (don’t pester them, but use them).

And while you are doing that try these sites…

By far my three favorite youth ministry job search sites are:
Simply Youth Ministry Tools – I love that they have a covenant that churches have to agree to before posting their position.
Youth Specialties – Since it is free to post a job here you will find everything from 10 hour internships to jobs at mega churches. You might have to do some sifting before you find what you are looking for but this site has tons of job postings.
Church Staffing - This is my favorite because it is a site that a church has to jump through some hoops and pay to post (like Simply Tools) but it always seems to have 40-50 youth pastor job openings.

In addition to searching through hundreds of youth ministry job opening, you are able to post your resume on the Church Staffing and Youth Specialties sites.

Here are a few more:
http://www.churchjobs.net/jobs/listings/joblistings-youth1.html
http://ymarchitects.com/jobs
http://www.churchjobfinder.com
http://www.youthpastor.com/jobs
http://willowcreek.churchstaffing.com

Try searching Christian college or seminary job boards:
http://www.denverseminary.edu/job-board
http://my.gordonconwell.edu/ministrylist
http://seminary.bethel.edu/placement/mn-youth
http://documents.fuller.edu/career/search/churchsearch.asp 

Look for search firms (I have not worked with these firms, check them out before you dive-in):
http://vanderbloemen.com
http://www.theshepherdsstaff.com
http://ministersearch.com

In addition to praying (alone and with your spouse) and fasting, I think it is important to utilize all 5 of this week’s job hunting tech tips. For more great tips on job hunting and getting hired, check out “The Indispensable Youth Pastor – Physical.”

If you need some help with the hiring process, call my friend Jake at Simply Youth Ministry Tools, 520.661.9846. He is a great resource. There is also a new tool from Mark DeVries and Jeff Dunn-Rankin called “Before You Hire a Youth Pastor Resource Pack – Physical.”