• ‘‘Sure’‘
• ‘‘Yes.’‘
• ‘‘Go ahead.’‘
• ‘‘Please do it.’‘
• ‘‘You’re hired.’‘
• ‘‘Great.’‘
• ‘‘Excellent.’‘

I was always paid and I never spent more than 5 minutes at each house ‘‘selling‘‘ and ‘‘closing’‘ the homeowners. Since the product I was selling was my labor, and the stuff I put on the driveways cost only a few dollars per house, my profits were great no matter what I charged. I went from doing one or two houses on a street each year to doing virtually every single one of them. My business boomed and I am confident I became the largest residential asphalt sealing contractor in Michigan almost overnight. Each night I would come home and there would be so many checks in my mailbox the postman would have then banded together with rubber bands. None of this would have happened if I had not developed the ability to ‘‘close,’‘ push homeowners over the fence and turn them from casual snoopers into buyers. This is about the ability to ‘‘close’‘ and get the sale. In your business the most important ability you can have is the ability to ‘‘close’‘–without the ability to close very little is likely to happen. You will be on the sidelines and others will be hired instead of you. It is easy to get in the door anywhere. Getting in the door, however, is only 1% of the battle. The most difficult thing to do once you get in the door is to close the sale and move the employer from a ‘‘browser’‘ to a buyer. In a poor economy, the price of things typically starts coming down. The reason for this is that stores and other merchandisers are doing everything within their power to ‘‘close’‘ you and get you from someone who may not purchase something to someone who will. A short time ago a local Ford dealership in Los Angeles discounted a bunch of new Ford Mustangs by around 50% to move them out quickly. This gimmick works. When I drive down the street in Los Angeles these days I have been seeing people standing on corners promoting incredible going out of business sales at various businesses, offering 90% off of retail price in many cases. Low prices are a very effective tool for closing consumers. One of my favorite scenes in the movies that highlights the incredible importance of closing, is from the 1970s movie, Kramer v. Kramer. In the movie, the protagonist, Ted Kramer, is going through a divorce and is unemployed. He wants to get custody of his son, but his wife is about to tell the judge in an upcoming hearing that he is unemployed and she should be granted custody. Ted has to get a job immediately. He first goes to an employment agency and finds the only job available in the entire city, but the recruiter tells him that now is not a good time to set up an interview. Ted fights with the man in the employment agency and finally manages to coerce the man into setting up a very quick interview. Ted manages to get a few minutes with some hiring personnel while they are having a Christmas party on the Friday before Christmas. He goes into the interview and knows this is his one shot. Here is the dialogue from the movie script

91    INT. OUTER OFFICE, J. WALTER THOMPSON -          LATE AFTERNOON          The large room is crowded with secretaries, junior          executives, researchers, editors, ad-men, etc., etc.          They all have drinks in their hands and there is a good          deal of kissing and general conviviality going on.          THE CAMERA TRACKS WITH ACKERMAN as he steps out of his          office, closes the door behind him and makes his way          across the room to MR. SPENCER, the Advertising Director.          At the moment, Spencer stands with his coat over one          arm and a drink in his hand talking to a very pretty          young woman. Ackerman approaches him, whispers some-          thing in his ear. Spencer shakes his head and points          to his watch. Ackerman says something else and finally,          with a look of weary resignation, Spencer excuses him-          self from the pretty young woman and follows Ackerman          back to his office. THE CAMERA FOLLOWS THEM. As          Ackerman opens the door to his office, THE CAMERA IS          ANGLED so that we can SEE past them, into the office          where Ted stands waiting.                                ACKERMAN                          (as they enter)                    Mr. Spencer, Mr. Kramer.                                 SPENCER                         (not wasting any time)                    So you're the go-getter. All                    right, you've got ten minutes.          As the door closes behind them, blocking our view, THE          CAMERA PANS UP to a clock over the door. It reads          five-fifteen.                                                     MATCH DISSOLVE TO:    92    INT. ACKERMAN'S OFFICE - LATE AFTERNOON          ON A CLOCK--which now reads five twenty-two. THE CAMERA          PULLS BACK TO REVEAL Spencer, now sitting in Ackerman's          chair, his feet on Ackerman's desk. Ted has just          finished his pitch.                                SPENCER                          (sipping his drink)                    That's very interesting, Mr.                    Kramer. I must say, it's very                    interesting. Let me think about                    it. I'll let Jack...                          (indicating Ackerman)                    ...know and he'll get in touch                    with you.          Spencer gets to his feet, starts to retrieve his coat.          ON TED--as he decides to take a gamble.                                TED                    Excuse me, I believe you said                    I had ten minutes.          ON SPENCER--almost at the door, looking around.                                SPENCER                    Well?          ON TED--checking his watch.                                TED                    That means I've got two minutes                    left. I understand you're paying                    twenty-five.          Spencer nods.                                TED                          (a deep breath, then                           a real huckster)                    All right, I'll tell you what                    I'm gonna do--I'll take the job                    at twenty-two-five. Now, that's                    twenty-five hundred less than                    you're offering. The only thing                    is, you have to say yes right                    now. Not tomorrow. Not next                    week. Not after the holidays.                    It's worth it to me for a                    yes right now and I'll take                    twenty-five hundred less.          There is a long beat of silence as Spencer and Ackerman          look at one another. They were clearly not prepared          for this.                                TED                          (watching them)                    Today only. One day only.                    Twenty-two five.                                SPENCER                    Mr. Kramer, can we talk privately                    for a moment?                                TED                    Certainly.                                                     CUT TO:    93    OUTER OFFICE - LATE AFTERNOON          ON TED--as he steps out of Ackerman's office, sits down.          Now, all of the fear, all of the anxiety that he has          been fighting down comes welling up. What if he pushed          too hard? What will he do if he doesn't get a job?          If Ted Kramer could fall to his knees and pray, he          would.          CROSS-CUT WITH THE CHRISTMAS PARTY-- that swirls around          him. We notice in particular, one very pretty young          woman flirting with a number of men. She is wearing          a dress with straps, one of them has broken and she          has patched it with a piece of masking tape.          Finally the door to Ackerman's office opens and he          steps out.                                ACKERMAN                    Mr. Kramer?          Ted jumps to his feet, starts into the office.                                                     CUT TO:    94    INT. ACKERMAN'S OFFICE - LATE AFTERNOON          ON SPENCER--He looks at Ted carefully for a long time,          then:                                SPENCER                          (grins)                    Welcome aboard, Mr. Kramer.          C.U. TED--There is an instant of relief, then, with          astounding cool:                                TED                    Well, gentlemen, I'm pleased                    to be with you.          ANOTHER ANGLE--as they shake hands, say their good-          byes. THE CAMERA TRACKS WITH TED as he makes his way          through the Christmas party that is still going strong.          Then, suddenly, as he passes the very pretty woman we          noticed earlier, he turns and kisses her.

This is one of my favorite scenes from the movie because it shows the absolute power of ‘‘closing’‘ in getting a job. In this particular example Ted used money to close. He also used the power of a deadline. This is similar to what I did in the asphalt business by telling the homeowners they had to make a decision ‘‘right now’‘ and not later. The ability to pressure people to make decision now, and not later, is one of the most important things you can do in ‘‘closing.’‘ However, it is not something that is always going to work in getting a job like it did with Ted. I would like to tell you a quick story about how I once hired someone and how this person ‘‘closed’‘ me to get a job. It is an unusual story but it is something that taps into something that I believe is one of the more powerful methods out there of ‘‘closing’‘ to get a job. I used to work in downtown Los Angeles and worked in a building called the Oviatt Building, which was directly across the street from the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The Los Angeles Athletic Club is a nice club, however, anyone can join for the most part. I believe at the time it cost $500 to join the club and then cost around $100 a month to keep your membership. This is in contrast to several other ‘‘downtown’‘ social clubs which could cost $30,000 or more to join and sometimes require years of evaluation and references from other members in order to be accepted. I was perfectly happy with the Los Angeles Athletic Club but the longer that I was around people in Los Angeles and got familiar with the scene downtown, the more I realized there was a giant pecking order among clubs. In fact, the people who were from the oldest families and the more prestigious people in terms of their professional accomplishments and so forth tended to belong to these more prestigious clubs. The situation was compounded by the fact that you had to be invited to the more prestigious clubs by a current member, then they introduced you to current members and then a board would vote on you after a certain length of time. One day I had been with a recruiter of ours from Texas and we had walked into one of the more prestigious clubs to see what it was like and how to join. We were kicked out of the club and they threatened to call the police since we had come in from off the street. It was at that point I realized that there was an entire subculture in my midst of extremely private and exclusive clubs in downtown Los Angeles. They were far different than the Los Angeles Athletic Club. One day I was interviewing a man a few years older than me for a position in our company and the interview ended about 5:00 pm. The man was from an old waspy sort of Los Angeles family and was pretty classy and well spoken in all respects. Generally, if an interview ended around 5:00 p.m. I would take someone out for drinks or to dinner, but on this occasion I simply asked the man if he had plans. He told me he was going to his club to exercise and I asked him which club. He informed me that it was the same club that I had been kicked out of with the recruiter from Texas just a few months previously. He then did something extremely smart: ‘‘Would you like to come to the club with me and have a look around?’‘ he asked. This is something I was definitely interested in. He took me to the club and then proceeded over the next few weeks to introduce me to other members. In the process, I ended up hiring him. While he was very qualified for the job I hired him for at the time, I am not sure if from an economic standpoint he was someone that made sense for me to hire. He was a great guy, but at that point the company simply was not at the level where it needed him. In retrospect, and this is a sad thing to say, I think a part of me hired him because I had a desire to belong to his group which I had been an outsider of previously. This brings me to you and ‘‘closing’‘ and getting a job. When someone is hiring you or making a decision about whether or not they should hire you, one of the things they are always asking themselves is ‘‘What’s In It For Me’‘–or WIFM. You need to look at getting hired and getting a job from your perspective, and from the perspective of the person who is doing the hiring. I once heard a well known copywriter, Ben Mack, say something along these lines. I wrote this down so these are probably not his exact words, but I wanted to share them with you because they are so powerful: People will follow you anywhere to the extent you encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them throw rocks at their enemies. For the past several years, a great deal of my time has been spent interviewing and working with the very best-educated attorneys throughout the United States. One of the things you will find in the resumes of attorneys who went to law school from the 1990s onward is that, if they went to most of the top 10 law schools, they generally have an extreme amount of liberalism in their background. By this I mean they are extremely liberal politically and were involved in very liberal organizations in college. They generally were the head of these liberal organizations. Why this is relevant is due to the fact that most of the administrators and admissions officers at top law schools around the United States are extremely liberal as well–I do not know why this is, but it just is. I know this because I have met most of them. It probably has something to do with the fact that a good portion of these admissions officers were student activists during Vietnam. If the admissions officers are young, their predecessors were probably activists during the 70s and hired their replacements based on having similar views. When these liberal admissions officers are making admissions decisions for top law schools they are faced with an overwhelming number of highly qualified applicants. Accordingly, they need to ‘‘look beyond the numbers’‘ when they are making admission decisions. What I believe happens is that they do everything they can to admit people who share their same ultra liberal views and this is what their ‘‘looking beyond the numbers’‘ means. Admitting ultra liberal students:

• Encourages their dreams of a liberal society
• Helps confirm their belief that social action is necessary
• Helps them ‘‘throw rocks’‘ at their conservative enemies.

These are the people who ultimately ‘‘get the job’‘ and get into many of the best law schools. This same thing also occurs at most top colleges throughout the United States. Admissions officers are seeking to admit the most liberal people they can among a pool of similarly highly qualified candidates. I once worked for a very conservative federal judge. Most of the people that he hired to work for him were also extremely conservative. I once worked in the office of a law firm where almost everyone was the Catholic religion. What ends up pushing many employers over the fence is a powerful group affiliation. Why does this occur and what does this mean for your job search? People who are offering you a job want to hire people who they believe are part of the same group as them and confirm the way they feel about the world. This is something that is incredibly important for your potential employers and they will be more likely to hire you, and you will be more likely to ‘‘push them over the fence’‘ and close the deal, if you are able to identify with a particular group or cause that is important to an employer. When I was in high school I remember being invited to a college to spend the night there as a prospective student. Something very strange happened when one of the hosts (who was a college student) came up to me and said: ‘‘You seem too white bread and boring. This school wants people with passion.’‘ Actually, I am the opposite, but I was acting very subdued because that is what I thought it was going to take to fit in. When you are yourself and have passion one way or another, that is something that often closes the deal. The student who told me I was ‘‘white bread’‘ was right in many respects because he was pointing out that the more normal we seem the less likely we are to influence people one way or another. Pushing an employer over the fence to make a hiring decision is no easy thing to do. There are a million closing techniques that I could write about, and a discussion over every closing technique could compose a 1,000 page book. I think you have the ability to close because we all do. Your ability is instinctual. What you need to do is tap into your instinctual closing ability and push employers over the fence to make them hire you. You need to push employers that little extra bit to ensure you get the job. Anyone can go out on an interview, but only the most talented can actually close the deal.

The pilot fish’s relationship with sharks is a mutualist one; the pilot fish gains protection from predators, while the shark gains freedom from parasites. It was often said by sailors that sharks and pilot fish share something like a “close companionship”; there were even tales of this fish following ships which had captured “their” shark for up to six weeks and showing signs of distress in its absence. Whatever the veracity of such reports, it is extremely rare that a shark will feed on a pilot fish, and smaller pilot fish are frequently observed swimming into sharks’ mouths to clean away fragments of food from between their teeth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilot_fish

This relationship between the pilot fish and the shark is an example of two species collaborating to achieve an outcome. The pilot fish are smart: They let the shark do all of their work for them. You should be smart in your job search as well. Why should you spend all of your time tracking down jobs and learning about employers when there is a faster and much more effective way to do this? You can get other job seekers to do the work for you. When you get other job seekers to do work for you, you can tap into all the pavement pounding, research, and trial-and-error that the other job seekers have done. Think about how much time you may have spent looking for a job. If you can let others do all this work for you, you will do much better in your job search. If you know of others who are looking for jobs in your industry, the smartest thing you can possibly do is to contact these people and talk to them about their job search. If you do this and nothing more, you will do incredibly well. I had an intensely private attorney acquaintance who, at one time, decided to move from another market to Los Angeles. Since I was actively involved in the legal recruiting market and this person was an excellent attorney, I could have easily helped him move to a high-paying and reputable law firm in Los Angeles. However, the person did not want to “network” with me or other recruiters, and decided to pursue his job search all on his own, without letting others know anything about what he was doing. This attorney, who had been making $180,000 a year before he moved to Los Angeles, ended up taking a job for around $110,000 a year. “The job market is really bad. There were not a lot of ads in the paper and this was the best job I was able to get,” he later told another acquaintance of mine. The paper? I was incredulous when I heard this. Most legal employers had stopped advertising their jobs in the paper more than a decade ago. The jobs were, instead, listed in online publications and other areas. This person had been so private about his job search, though, that he did not even know any of this. Had the person been aware of this, he could have easily gotten a job paying $180,000 a year, or possibly more. However, because he was not able to network with others, and to obtain valuable and current information about the market, he accepted a job that offered well below his market potential. The few times I saw the attorney over the following years I told him some stories that illustrated the importance of having good information when searching for a job–just to get him thinking. The attorney stayed with his lower-paying job for several years before eventually moving on to a better job. I think (but do not know) that he probably followed my advice the next time he looked for a job. In your job search, you must make use of each and every asset available to you. It is important to be strategic and to take advantage of the experience and knowledge of others. Remember that others often possess the knowledge and have done the work that can help make you successful in your own conquest. Seek out this knowledge, and learn from the experiences of others. Then use this information to the best of your ability, and you will find success. THE LESSON Use every available asset in your job search, including people; network with your peers and ask them about their own job searches. In doing this, you are taking advantage of the knowledge and experience of others, who have done the work that can influence your own job hunting success. Seek out this knowledge and learn from the experiences of others.

• On one hand, the culture of Athens left a legacy of art, drama, architecture, philosophy, the enjoyment of wealth and opulence, the idea of a governmental democracy and a strong navy.
• On the other hand, the government of Sparta left a legacy of asceticism, military supremacy on land and oligarchy (rule by a few).

These two societies fought repeatedly between the years of 500 BC and 350 BC. Their clash was a fight between two civilizations in the fullest sense. Each believed that their society and their way of doing things was the correct way. They fought in different ways and they ran their societies in different ways. Most of what we know about the Spartans comes from the writings of the Athenians, because the Athenians were the ones who spent their time writing and thinking. And since the Athenians did not like the Spartans, the writing is somewhat biased. I believe, and have always believed, that being a successful job seeker requires you to be more of a Spartan than an Athenian. In fact, I would propose to you today that a great deal of what is wrong with our current economy is due to many of us approaching our careers and our jobs more like an Athenian would than a Spartan would. I have been witnessing what appears to be a decline in a solid work ethic, job finding skills and the ability to do good work in the United States since I have been a young child. It seems to me that this decline is just getting worse and worse. Most people use all their sick days each year, even if they are not sick. Many people who are not working spend years unemployed and refuse to take a job unless it pays as much as their last one. In the automobile industry, unions have contributed to a slow death among American automobile companies by demanding more and more benefits and less and less work. Our government is bailing out companies and banks when they cannot make a profit. Our leaders are intellectuals with no experience running armies or groups. Worst of all, there is something developing in this country where we reward people for making mistakes. For example, between 2000 and 2005 hundreds of thousands of Americans made an incredible amount of money buying and selling houses. Now that the economy has started to slow down and they are no longer making money, we are stepping in to fix all of this. It is like a child running back to their parent for help. Our health care costs are incredibly high compared to other cultures. The people of our country are very unhealthy and do not watch their diets. Our highest paid workers in the law and other disciplines form communities online where they spend more time complaining about what they are making than appreciating what they have. Our jobs in this country have begun migrating to places where people can do them more cheaply and are hungrier for work. With manufacturing, it happened already with jobs migrating to China. In the information technology sector our jobs are going to places like India. Our country is getting fat, lazy and developing a massive sense of entitlement. We are turning into intellectuals, as opposed to soldiers. Our children spend time playing video games and not learning. Our national test scores are going down on an almost annual basis. We are innovators in many sectors, but something is changing. We have a sense of entitlement about what we deserve and yet we are not delivering. Much of the success we have experienced in the recent past has been the result of financial chicanery and financial manipulation. The cultural icons of our youth are other kids who have never worked. Some of our most popular shows at this point in time are of people who are not even required to memorize lines. Instead, a camera follows around young adults on shows such as The Hills, as they go on dates and socialize. Our country spends more than it saves. Our government has a deficit and most households do as well. There is something going on in this country that is more “Athens” than it is “Sparta,” and it is dragging us down. I know there is not a lot you can do about what is going on–and I know you may not agree with me as well. However, what you can do personally is be more “Sparta” than “Athens,” and being more “Sparta” than “Athens” is something that can help you reap incredible rewards in your career. As I will discuss below, being more “Sparta” than “Athens” will enable you to: (1) get a job more quickly, (2) be more effective in your existing job and (3) survive in all economic conditions. In ancient Greece, Sparta had the most feared military force there was. The Spartan soldier was, and still is, legendary. A Spartan soldier’s training began at birth and the Spartan soldiers never lost a battle in the conflicts that waged between the small city-states of ancient Greece. When a baby was very young, it was tested for weakness and deformity. Babies were bathed in wine shortly after being born by their mother. The babies that survived the bathing were brought by their fathers before a governing body of Sparta (a council of elders known as the Geousia). Babies that seemed as if they would be unlikely to become strong soldiers, or who were considered “puny”, were thrown in a gorge to die. (If a baby made it past this stage and died in another manner later on, they were not even allowed a headstone. The only Spartans who were allowed headstones were those of Soldiers who died in battle where Sparta was victorious, and women who died in childbirth or a divine office.) For those who were allowed to live, the training of the Spartan solider was nonstop and savage. Spartan boys began formal military training at the age of seven in what was called the Agoge system. The boys lived communally, and were given grueling physical training and learned to work with weapons at a young age. Men could not not live with their families until they left active military service at the age of the thirty (Spartan men remained in the reserves until the age of sixty). Plutarch, a Greek historian and essayist, wrote that for many Spartan soldiers going to battle was a welcome relief from the grueling training: “For the Spartans, actual war was a holiday compared to their tough training.” What is so significant to me about this early aspect of Spartan training, is the incredible focus that the young were forced to develop at a young age. Their lives were all about their jobs and they were toughened and taught to be “warriors”. Instead of being coddled by schools, they were toughened by schools. They were pushed both physically and mentally in these schools. The emphasis in the schools was not on being academic. For example, while Spartan boys studied reading, music and and writing, the boys were punished if they failed to answer questions laconically (i.e., briefly). The idea for Spartans was that they were to be warriors who were educated but did not sit around debating the nature of good and evil, for example. The idea of intellectualism and debate was not something that was part of Spartan society. A Spartan was trained as a soldier whose job it was to get something done. While I am not sure I personally would be all that comfortable with the Spartan educational system, what makes it so interesting to me is that it emphasized utility and action over the converse. The idea that was being taught was that focus is what is important. By being focused, you are much more likely to reach your point than by talking around the truth. The Spartans’ educational system was geared towards this focus. In modern society, our academics will traditionally sit around debating this or that. Our best students are often those skilled in the art of giving long-winded answers. Lawyers spend a great deal of time debating this or that, and this makes up a giant portion of what goes on in our culture. Students in school are coddled and given the sorts of learning environments that “nurture” them. While I am not going to debate this in great detail, I would go so far as to argue that the nurturing of our modern educational systems gives people in the United States a certain sense of entitlement about what society owes them, instead of what they owe society. This coddling ends up instilling a sense of entitlement that may go on in peoples’ lives forever, and continually put them in the role of being takers rather that doers. This is not something that would have happened in Sparta. In Sparta, failure was also something that was not allowed. According to Thucydides, when Spartan men were going off to war their mothers, wives, or a woman of significance in their lives would present them with their shield and the statement “With this, or upon this.” This meant that the solider could only return to Sparta having won the battle, with their shield in hand (“with this”) or dead (“upon this”). Spartans who returned to Sparta without their shield were presumed to have thrown it at their enemies and then fled–something that was punishable by death or banishment from Sparta. The entire Spartan culture was one that enforced incredible discipline upon its soldiers. For example, one Spartan legend discussed a man who ran away from battle and back to his mother. Instead of comforting him, the mother chased him around the streets hitting him with sticks. In our current society, failure is allowed. While there is nothing wrong with failure, it should never be an attractive option. Celebrities and well known figures repeatedly go into rehab for drugs and alcohol. We quit jobs if we do not feel we are being treated as well as we could be. We coddle people for failing and give them “easier” tasks to do if one task seems too difficult for them. Our government steps in if people make horrible economic choices and does not allow them to fail. We pay people unemployment who get fired from their jobs. We bail out companies with government money that are making bad products that no one wants to buy. When a Spartan went off to battle they had no choice but to succeed. There would be no warm homecoming for them if they failed. Consequently, the Spartans did not fail and always won their battles among the city states of ancient Greece. According to one commentator:

The life of a Spartan male was a life of discipline, self-denial, and simplicity. The Spartans viewed themselves as the true inheritors of the Greek tradition. They did not surround themselves with luxuries, expensive foods, or opportunities for leisure. And this, I think, is the key to understanding the Spartans. While the Athenians and many others thought the Spartans were insane, the life of the Spartans seemed to hark back to a more basic way of life. Discipline, simplicity, and self-denial always remained ideals in the Greek and Roman worlds; civilization was often seen as bringing disorder, enervation, weakness, and a decline in moral values. The Spartan, however, could point to Spartan society and argue that moral values and human courage and strength was as great as it was before civilization. Spartan society, then, exercised a profound pull on the surrounding city-states who admired the simplicity, discipline, and order of Spartan life.

Sparta’s emphasis on military supremacy and a simple lifestyle was the major emphasis behind Plato’s book, The Republic, which was one of the first attempts to formulate an ideal community. Was Sparta ideal? In many ways I believe it was. In our current society everything is just far too complicated. Our emphasis on leisure and eating has made us a nation that is predominantly overweight. Our ability to manufacture goods the world wants to buy continues to decrease. As a group, we do not have discipline. Our military is not valued and held in esteem by many of our highest leaders. We surround ourselves with luxuries and more emphasis seems to be put on this for many of us than on the value of our work. In contrast to Sparta, Athens was a very different society and far less rigid and militaristic. In Sparta, the emphasis of the society was on the military and in Athens the largest emphasis was upon culture. Some very important accomplishments were made by Athenians in science, art, philosophy and other disciplines. For example, the philosophers Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and the playwrights of Euripides, Aristophanes, Aeschculus all lived during Athens’ golden age in the fifth century BC. Athenians believed that they were culturally superior to the Spartans. They enjoyed luxuries and foods from all over their empire. The homes of wealthy Athenians were very nice and had inner courtyards. A good description of Athens also comes from Pericles famous funeral oration:

Further, we provide many ways to refresh the mind from the burdens of business. We hold contests and offer sacrifices all the year round, and the elegance of our private establishments forms a daily source of pleasure and helps to drive away sorrow. The magnitude of our city draws the produce of the world into our harbor, so that to the Athenian the fruits of other countries are as familiar a luxury as those of his own.

In contrast, Spartan men were taught to get along with almost nothing. Spartan citizens were not permitted to own gold or other luxuries. These differences between the Spartans and Athenians remind me of a conflict I see today all around me. There are people who talk a lot about what they are going to do and read a lot about what others are doing and have done, and there are people out there doing things and actually getting work done. Which are you? I would encourage you to be on the side of action, self denial and create effective contribution, rather than on the side of those who simply talk and do very little. One of the greatest conflicts I have personally witnessed in working with thousands of job seekers over the years has been a similar conflict–there are job seekers who are Spartans and there are job seekers who are Athenians. The Spartans are always the more successful in the long run. When I was around 18 years old my parents stopped giving me money completely. I did not have a traditional home to come home to where parents cooked and looked after me, either. Without any money coming in and expenses that included car maintenance, gas for my car, clothes, books for school and other essentials I was put in a position where I had to work. While I resented my parents for their personal situation which put me in this role at the time, it was something that I ultimately came to appreciate as I got into my 30s because I realized how much more scrappy it made me compared to others. In ancient Sparta, the boys were intentionally underfed so they would always be hungry and so they would develop the skill of being able to steal food. Here, without any money coming in, I needed to toughen myself and learn skills that other kids my age were not learning at the time. I sold knives on the street. I worked as a pizza delivery boy. I worked in the school bookstore. I started a business doing asphalt work. I worked on cars in my spare time. I did not have the same luxuries and other accouterments as other kids had. I also knew that I did not have any “backstop” if I failed. If I did not have any money then I would simply not be able to function. I needed to look out for myself. This was something that personally toughened me up. It made me quite self reliant and it put me in a position where I learned over time how to make use of existing resources, find the best deals for things and make the most of what I was given. This is an incredibly valuable skill to have, and as a “Spartan” I toughened myself up quite a bit. What this means for you and your job search is that you need to put yourself in the position of a Spartan. If a Spartan were looking for a job today they would show up to an interview ready for work. They would not debate the idea of retreat or running home if they did not get the job. They would not debate the idea of quitting the job if they were unhappy with the work conditions or they did not like their boss–they would make it work. They would only accept victory. Moreover, a Spartan would go to work ready to work and would work very hard. A lot of people enjoy sitting around and talking about things. They are undisciplined when it comes to their job search and quite lazy. Many may purchase a book or two here and there, and not do anything with it. Others may lament the state of the market and cite accounts in newspapers and other sources that there are simply not enough opportunities. They will sit around and try to see what benefits they are entitled to. They will take all of their vacation and sick days. Instead of working on their existing weaknesses and acknowledging them, they may move between jobs to find employers who will not bring to light their weaknesses. None of this does them any good in the long run. I think a lot of what is wrong with this country today is that we are too Athenian and not Spartan enough. I would encourage you, in your job search and career, to be more Spartan than Athenian. THE LESSON While Athens prioritized culture and intellectualism, the people of Sparta devoted themselves to simplicity and discipline. You need to approach your job search as a Spartan, not an Athenian; don’t retreat from the negative aspects of your life and current job, but rather make them work for you and remain focused on your success.

• the hours they are going to be working,
• where they will be working,
• the benefits the company offers,
• stock options,
• the amount of vacation time they will be getting,
• what the company culture is like, and
• who they will be working with.

Most interviewees I have spoken with throughout the years seem focused on questions like these. There is absolutely nothing helpful about asking such questions during an interview. Although these are definitely things you should be considering when evaluating an employer, you should wait to ask these sorts of questions until after you have secured the job. Once you have an offer in hand, you are going to be in a far better position to get good information anyway. Your line of questioning during an interview should focus primarily on what the company needs from you. The interview is the best time to ask as many questions as possible about

• what the employer is going to expect of you,
• why the opening exists,
• what the ideal employee in your position would be,
• how you would distinguish yourself in the job if you got the job,
• whether there are additional responsibilities in the job that you could undertake,
• what the people who have been most successful in the job have done right,
• when the employer need someone to start.

You can end up with a lot of job offers if you really take the time to probe employers for exactly what they are looking for. To induce someone to hire you over others, you generally have to offer some advantage that fulfills the hirer’s needs more than others. Let’s review some of the needs employers have:

• the need to look good to their superiors
• the need to feel calm and relaxed at work
• the need to make sure that sales goals and quotas are met
• the need to minimize expenses
• the need to feel like they have a friend at work
• the need to be more effective at their job
• the need to increase revenue
• the need to make the company seem reliable
• the need to represent the company as friendly, considerate, and professional

There are literally thousands of needs that any given employer might have, and you never know exactly what they may be. The better you probe to understand the needs of an employer, the more likely you are to secure (and maintain) the job. For example, for a Malibu, California, fashion boutique, the most important thing for the employer may be to have extremely attractive girls working behind the counter, wearing the latest fashions. If a girl interviewing for one of these jobs comes into an interview knowing this, she could talk about how she is “obsessed” with the latest fashions and looking good–and get the job. If this girl later on were to become fat and to start wearing apparel from other stores to work, she would probably lose her job. She might not even be told why she was being fired, but she would quickly be replaced by somebody who was more in tune with the employer’s needs. Conversely, if a person were interviewing for a job in a watch store down the road that routinely sold $25,000 watches to wealthy people, the most important thing might be to have a passion for timepieces along with an ability to explain complex movements to people, while keeping a strong, business-like appearance. If this person showed up to the interview wearing an expensive suit, looking the part and speaking with an educated accent, he or she might get the job. But if this person suddenly started showing up in cheap suits, talking very loudly, with bad grammar–that person would also lose his or her job and might not ever be told why. This would be another example of how an employee might fail to meet an employer’s needs. The more you understand your employer’s needs in the interview (and at all times), the better opportunity you have to make sure that you succeed within the organization. You can know by asking an employer’s needs in the interview if you are someone who can fill them or not. If you can fill your employer’s needs, you need to be able to let them know this in no uncertain terms. Employers will not always be completely direct with you about what they want. It is up to you to discern this in the interview. Over the years I have employed many young women who have had jobs during their careers as production assistants for various soap opera actors, television announcers, and others in Hollywood. Because each opening for a production assistant will draw hundreds of hungry applications, the studios do not need to offer much more than minimum wage for these jobs. What the soap opera actors, announcers, and so forth really want, however, is not just someone to assist them on the set and whatever is in the formal job description. They may want a driver, a house cleaner, a babysitter, a personal shopper, a cook, maybe even someone to find them drugs when they are traveling… you name it. They also often want someone who is willing to work not just the 40 hours or less that the studio is willing to pay them for, but who is willing to work 80 or more hours per week for the price of 40 hours of minimum wage work. Now, in fairness, many of these stars pay their assistants in cash under the table for this extra work, but some do not. If you wanted to be a production assistant for one of these Hollywood types, do you think the star would tell you directly that he or she wants you to work for less than minimum wage, or to bill time to a studio for walking their dog, or to pay you under the table in cash? They may allude to this by talking about how they have a very busy personal life and how they need help with all sorts of random things. The stars may drop a lot of hints about the things that they need. If the production assistant asks the right questions and shows a willingness and ability to do all this sort of work, she will probably get the job. There is a lot of skill in getting these jobs, and they can lead to great things. For example:

Producer Kathleen Kennedy started out as a production assistant on the Steven Spielberg movie 1941, and was asked to help him organize a number of special effects notes that he had in various states of disarray–some were scribbled on cocktail napkins, half sheets of paper, etc. She took the notes home with her, organized and bound them up in separate notebooks. This so impressed Steven Spielberg that he took her under his wing and eventually helped her become one of the most powerful producers in Hollywood. http://filmtvcareers.about.com/od/basics/p/CP_ProdAsst.htm

However, most people will never get a production assistant job if they do not show a real willingness to do exactly what the hirer wants. One star is going to have needs that are different from another. Learning what is required in each job when you are interviewing is extremely important, and the more you understand this, the more likely you are to get hired. When you are interviewing for a job, you are there to get hired, and you are only going to get hired if you are a fit. The only possible way to be a fit is to know exactly what the employer is seeking, and to find this out you must ask lots of questions. A few months ago, I was seeking an assistant in Las Vegas and I received a response that went something like this:

I am a fastidious gay male who excels in the areas of punctuality, order, neatness, and cleanliness. I make sure at all possible costs that the man I am working for has a clean and organized desk, that he keeps his appointments and has a well ordered life.

This was not exactly what I was seeking; however, if this level of detail and neatness and so forth were important to me, this person would have been my first choice. In reality, what I prefer is someone who is mellow, quiet, understands what is going on, and is flexible. Someone who interviews with me and understands this is more likely to get the job than the guy above. Had this person shown up and asked a bunch of questions to determine my preferences, he would have had a far better chance of getting the job. You can be perfect for any job if you find out what the employer is seeking. Let the employer tell you what they are seeking, and ask a lot of questions to get to the heart of their needs. One of the greatest causes of people losing their jobs is the failure to take the time to consistently take into account their employers’ needs. Job seekers and employees who do take the time to understand the needs of employers seem to be the ones who end up with the best jobs, and who have the most luck staying employed. If you truly understand what your employer needs, then you are rarely going to lose a job. Once you have this information, all you have to do is precisely what is expected of you–and you will succeed at your job. THE LESSON Assessing your employers’ needs will lead you to success in both your job search and your career, so work to ascertain exactly what it is they are looking for. Once you know what your employer wants, do precisely what is expected of you and you will succeed. Determine exactly what your employer is seeking by asking lots of questions in the interview. Those who take the time to understand their employers’ needs are those who wind up with the best jobs.

While it may seem like overkill to search each of these sites for jobs, I can assure you that the effort is often well worth it. For example, this random association admits it doesn’t post all of its jobs on USAJobs.gov right on its own website: Jobs with State Governments Most states have what are called Career Information Delivery Systems. They can be found in a lot of places, but most of them have information online. A simple search online should help you find a directory of state government jobs. Here is a List of State Employment Sites

Alabama	Department of Industrial Relations Department of Labor Personnel Department
Alaska	Alaska Job Center Network Department of Labor and Workforce Development Office of Equal Employment Opportunity
Arizona	Arizona Workforce Connection Human Resources Division Industrial Commission of Arizona State Compensation Fund
Arkansas	Arkansas Workforce Department of Labor Department of Workforce Education Employment Security Department Workers’ Compensation Commission
California	CalJOBS Department of Fair Employment and Housing Department of Industrial Relations Department of Personnel Administration Employment Development Department Employment Training Panel State Personnel Board
Colorado	Department of Labor and Employment Department of Personnel and Administration
Connecticut	Department of Labor Workers’ Compensation Commission
Delaware	Department of Labor State Personnel Office Virtual Career Network
Florida	Agency for Workforce Innovation State Jobs
Georgia	Department of Labor Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity State Merit System of Personnel Administration
Hawaii	Department of Human Resources Development Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
Idaho	Department of Commerce & Labor Idaho Career Information System
Illinois	Department of Employment Security Department of Labor Illinois Civil Service Commission Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission
Indiana	Department of State Personnel Department of Labor Department of Workforce Development
Iowa	Department of Personnel IDED: Iowa The SmartCareer Move Iowa Jobs Iowa Workforce Development
Kansas	Department of Labor KansasJobLink
Kentucky	Cabinet for Workforce Development Department of Labor Department of Personnel Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet Office of Employment and Training
Louisiana	Department of Labor Department of State Civil Service
Maine	Department of Labor Department of Labor: CareerCenter
Maryland	Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
Massachusetts	Division of Employment and Training
Michigan	Department of Career Development Department of Civil Service Michigan Talent Bank Office of the State Employer
Minnesota	Bureau of Mediation Services Department of Economic Security Department of Employee Relations Department of Employment and Economic Development Department of Labor and Industry Minnesota’s Job Bank
Mississippi	Department of Employment Security Mississippi Job Bank Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission State Personnel Board
Missouri	Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Department of Labor and Industrial Relations: Unemployment Insurance Tax Great Hires
Montana	Department of Labor and Industry Montana Job Service
Nebraska	Department of Labor Department of Labor: Nebraska Job Service Wrk4neb
Nevada	Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation Department of Personnel
New Hampshire	Department of Labor NH WORKS
New Jersey	Department of Labor Department of Personnel Workforce New Jersey Public Information Network
New Mexico	Department of Labor
New York	Department of Civil Service Department of Labor New York State Insurance Fund Workers’ Compensation Board
North Carolina	Department of Commerce: Employment Security Commission Department of Labor Office of State Personnel
North Dakota	Department of Labor Job Service North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance
Ohio	Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Department of Job and Family Services State Employment Relations Board
Oklahoma	Department of Labor Employment Security Commission Office of Personnel Management
Oregon	Bureau of Labor and Industries Department of Consumer and Business Services Employment Department State Jobs Page
Pennsylvania	Department of Labor and Industry
Rhode Island	Department of Labor and Training
South Carolina	Employment Security Commission Workers’ Compensation Commission
South Dakota	Bureau of Personnel Department of Labor
Tennessee	Department of Labor and Workforce Development Department of Personnel
Texas	Texas Rehabilitation Commission Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission
Utah	Department of Human Resource Management Department of Workforce Services Labor Commission
Vermont	Department of Employment and Training Department of Labor and Industry Department of Personnel Labor Relations Board
Virginia	Business and Employment CareerConnect Department of Human Resource Management Department of Labor and Industry Virginia Employment Commission
Washington	Department of Employment Security Department of Labor and Industries Department of Personnel
West Virginia	Bureau of Employment Programs Division of Labor
Wisconsin	Department of Workforce Development Office of State Employment Relations
Wyoming	Department of Employment Department of Workforce Services Wyoming Job Network

The number of jobs on these sites is astonishing. Even Delaware, which is a small state, has plentiful opportunities. It’s such a cool to look for jobs. Can you even believe how many of these jobs sites there are? It’s absolutely insane. I’m glad we didn’t go through all of the federal government ones. Even though USAJobs.gov offers a very comprehensive list of sites, as you undoubtedly noticed upon visiting it, you still had to go to FedWorld.gov to get a full list of various agencies. The same thing goes here. Just like USAJobs.gov, the state information sites don’t offer a complete list of all the jobs available. For that, you have to visit all of the state agency websites for a given state. Here is a list of all of the State Agencies in Texas, for example:

Agency	TRAIL Page	Website	Archive
Accountancy, Board of Public	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Adjutant General’s Dept.	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Administrative Hearings, Office of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Affordable Housing Corporation	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Aging and Disability Services, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Agriculture, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
AgriLife Extension Service, Texas	TRAIL	Home	Archive
AgriLife Research, Texas	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Alcoholic Beverage Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Anatomical Board	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Angelina and Neches River Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Animal Health Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Apiary Inspection Service (Entomologist, Office of the State)	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appeals, Court of — 01st	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appeals, Court of — 02nd	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appeals, Court of — 03rd	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appeals, Court of — 04th	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appeals, Court of — 05th	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appeals, Court of — 06th	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appeals, Court of — 07th	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appeals, Court of — 08th	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appeals, Court of — 09th	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appeals, Court of — 10th	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appeals, Court of — 11th	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appeals, Court of — 12th	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appeals, Court of — 13th	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appeals, Court of — 14th	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Architectural Examiners, Board of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Arts, Commission on the	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Attorney General	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Auditor	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Banking, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Bar of Texas, State	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Blind and Visually Impaired, School for the	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Bond Review Board	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Brazos River Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Canadian River Municipal Water Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Chiropractic Examiners, Board of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Coastal Coordination Council	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Competitive Government, Council on	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Comptroller of Public Accounts	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Consumer Credit Commissioner, Office of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
County and District Retirement System	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Court Administration, Office of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Court Reporters Certification Board	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Credit Union Dept.	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Criminal Appeals, Court of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Criminal Justice, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Deaf, School for the	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Dental Examiners, Board of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Developmental Disabilities, Council for	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Developmental Disabilities, Office for Prevention of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Drought Preparedness Council	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Education Agency	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Educational Technology, Center for	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Educator Certification, State Board for	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Edwards Aquifer Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Emancipation Juneteenth Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Emergency Communications, Commission on State (911)	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Employees Retirement System	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Engineering Experiment Station, Texas	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Engineering Extension Service, Texas	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Engineers, Board of Professional	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Environmental Quality, Commission on	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Ethics Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Facilities Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Family and Protective Services, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Feed and Fertilizer Control Service (Chemist, Office of the State)	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Finance Authority, Public	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Finance Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Fire Fighters Pension Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Fire Protection, Commission on	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Forest Service, Texas	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Funeral Service Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Geoscientists, Board of Professional	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Governor, Office of the	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Groundwater Protection Committee	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Headwaters Groundwater Conservation District	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Health and Human Services Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Health Professions Council	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Health Services, Dept. of State	TRAIL	Home	Archive
High Plains Underground Water Conservation District	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Higher Education Coordinating Board	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Historical Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
House of Representatives	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Housing and Community Affairs, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Information Resources, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Injured Employee Counsel, Office of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Insurance Counsel, Office of Public	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Insurance, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Jail Standards, Commission on	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Judicial Conduct, Commission on	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Judicial Council	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Juvenile Probation Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Land Board, Veterans	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Land Office, General	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Land Surveying, Board of Professional	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Lavaca-Navidad River Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, Commission on	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Law Examiners, Board of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Law Library	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Legislative Budget Board	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Legislative Council	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Legislative Reference Library	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Library and Archives Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Licensing and Regulation, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Lottery Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Lower Colorado River Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Medical Board	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Military Facilities Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Motor Vehicles, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Municipal Retirement System	TRAIL	Home	Archive
North Plains Ground Water Conservation District	TRAIL	Home	Archive
North Texas Tollway Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Nueces River Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Nursing, Board of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
On-Site Wastewater Treatment Research Council	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Optometry Board	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Parks and Wildlife Dept.	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Pension Review Board	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Pharmacy, Board of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Examiners, Executive Council of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Plumbing Examiners, Board of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Podiatric Medical Examiners, Board of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Preservation Board	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Prosecuting Attorney, Office of State	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Psychologists, Board of Examiners of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Public Safety, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Public Utility Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Public Utility Counsel, Office of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Purchasing from People with Disabilities, Council on	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Racing Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Railroad Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Real Estate Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Red River Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Residential Construction Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Rio Grande Regional Water Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Risk Management, Office of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Rural Affairs, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Sabine River Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
San Jacinto River Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Savings and Mortgage Lending, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Secretary of State	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Securities Board	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Senate	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Skill Standards Board	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Soil and Water Conservation Board	TRAIL	Home	Archive
State-Federal Relations, Office of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Sulphur River Basin Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Sunset Advisory Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Supreme Court	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Tax Professional Examiners, Board of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Teacher Retirement System	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Toxic Substances Coordinating Committee	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Transportation Institute, Texas	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Transportation, Dept. of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Trinity River Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Upper Colorado River Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Upper Guadalupe River Authority	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Veterans Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, Texas	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Veterinary Medical Examiners, Board of	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Water Development Board	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Wildlife Damage Management Service, Texas	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Workforce Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive
Youth Commission	TRAIL	Home	Archive

Though the site for the state of Texas or North Dakota–or any state, for that matter—is going to have most of the state jobs listed, you still need to visit individual state agency websites for access to every opportunity. Here are lists of each of the State Agencies

State	Website
Alabama	http://www.info.alabama.gov/directory.aspx?range=2
Alaska	http://alaska.gov/akdir1.html
Arizona	http://az.gov/webapp/portal/alpha.jsp?name=agency
Arkansas	http://portal.arkansas.gov/government/Pages/default.aspx
California	http://www.ca.gov/casearch/agencies.aspx
Colorado	http://www.sos.state.co.us/CCR/AlphabeticalList.do
Connecticut	http://www.ct.gov/ctportal/cwp/view.asp?a=843&q=246466
Delaware	http://delaware.gov/topics/agencylist_alpha
Florida	http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/fgils/agencies.html
Georgia	http://www.georgia.gov
Hawaii	http://www.govspot.com/state/hi.htm
Idaho	http://www.idaho.gov/topical.html
Illinois	http://www2.illinois.gov/pages/agencies.aspx
Indiana	http://www.in.gov/core/find_agency.html
Iowa	http://phonebook.iowa.gov/agency.aspx
Kansas	http://www.kansas.gov/government/
Kentucky	http://kentucky.gov/portal/orglist.aspx
Louisiana	http://louisiana.gov/Government/Agency_Index/
Maine	http://www.maine.gov/portal/government/state-agencies
Maryland	http://www.maryland.gov/government/Pages/Serving.aspx
Massachusetts	http://www.mass.gov/portal/global-agency-list.html
Michigan	http://www.michigan.gov/statewebsites
Minnesota	http://www.state.mn.us/govtoffice/index.html
Mississippi	http://www.ms.gov/state_agencies_alpha.jsp?Category_ID=16
Missouri	http://www.mo.gov/
Montana	http://mt.gov/govt/agencylisting.asp
Nebraska	http://www.nebraska.gov/allagencies.html
Nevada	http://nv.gov/agency/department/
New Hampshire	http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rules/listagencies.html
New Jersey	http://nj.gov/nj/gov/deptserv/
New Mexico	http://www.newmexico.gov/AtoZ.php
New York	http://www.nysegov.com/citguide.cfm?superCat=102&cat=449
North Carolina	http://www.ncgov.com/NCAgency.aspx
North Dakota	http://www.nd.gov/agency.htm
Ohio	http://ohio.gov/agencies/
Oklahoma	http://www.ok.gov/agencies.php
Oregon	http://www.oregon.gov/a_to_z_listing.shtml
Pennsylvania	http://pa.gov/
Rhode Island	http://www.info.ri.gov/browse.php?choice=show_az&letter=a
South Carolina	http://sc.gov/Pages/OrgList.aspx
South Dakota	http://www.sd.gov/state_agencies.aspx
Tennessee	http://www.tn.gov/directory/
Texas	http://www.tsl.state.tx.us/apps/lrs/agencies
Utah	http://www.utah.gov/government/agencylist.htm
Vermont	http://www.vermont.gov
Virginia	http://portal.virginia.gov/commonwealth_website_directory/
Washington	http://access.wa.gov/agency/agency.aspx
West Virginia	http://www.wv.gov/Pages/agencies.aspx
Wisconsin	http://wi.gov/state/core/agency_index.html
Wyoming	http://www.wyoming.gov/agencies.aspx

I hope you see the massive opportunities here. This dramatically increases the number of potential places you can look for jobs. If you understand what I’m getting at, as I’m sure you do, this means each state has its own website with jobs listed. But you can take your search even deeper than that. Jobs with City and County Governments Most counties in every state of the country have their own websites with jobs on them. They are no different from USAJobs.gov and the state-specific sites. A great way to find the list of counties in your state, or the state in which you want, is to do a search on Google for the state name plus “counties.” Generally, Wikipedia can provide the best result. Here is a List of Local State Governments for all 50 States: Alabama State and Local Government State Home Page

• State of Alabama

Local City and State Resources

• LocalHometown.com

Statewide Offices

• Governor
• Attorney General
• Secretary of State
• State Treasurer
• State Auditor
• Lt. Governor
• State Comptroller

Legislative Branch

• Alabama Senate
• Alabama House of Representatives
• Alabama Legislature
• Legislative Reference Service

Judicial Branch

• Alalinc: Alabama’s Legal Information Network
• Administrative Office of Courts
• Alabama State Law Library
• Alabama Judicial System

Executive Branch

• Retirement Systems of Alabama
• Geological Survey of Alabama
• Department of Revenue
• Department of Public Health
• Department of Public Safety
• Department of Education
• Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
• Alabama Medicaid
• Department of Industrial Relations
• Department of Agriculture and Industries
• Department of Finance: Executive Budget Office
• Department of Senior Services
• Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center
• Bureau of Tourism and Travel
• Department of Veterans Affairs
• Department of Environmental Management
• Department of Forensic Science
• Alabama Development Office
• Alabama Public Library Service
• Department of Finance: Division of Purchasing
• Department of Archives and History
• Department of Rehabilitation Services
• Emergency Management Agency
• Personnel Department
• Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation
• Department of Finance
• Department of Human Resources
• State Banking Department
• Department of Insurance
• Department of Labor
• Department of Transportation
• Department of Corrections
• Department of Economic and Community Affairs
• Department of Youth Services
• Department of Children’s Affairs
• Children’s Trust Fund of Alabama
• Alabama Film Office
• Alabama State Port Authority
• Department of Homeland Security
• Governor’s Office on Disability
• Governor’s Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives

Boards and Commissions

• Alabama State Council on the Arts
• Real Estate Commission
• Public Service Commission
• State Oil and Gas Board
• Alabama Historical Commission
• Alabama Forestry Commission
• Farmer’s Market Authority
• Alabama Ethics Commission
• Building Commission
• Commission on Higher Education
• Surface Mining Commission
• Board of Public Accountancy
• Alcoholic Beverage Control Board
• Board for the Registration of Architects
• Board of Auctioneers
• Alabama Securities Commission

Regional

• South Alabama Regional Planning Commission
• South Central Alabama Development Commission
• West Alabama Regional Commission

Counties

• Baldwin
• Blount
• Calhoun
• Chambers
• Colbert
• Cullman
• DeKalb
• Elmore
• Escambia
• Etowah
• Houston
• Jefferson
• Limestone
• Madison
• Marion
• Marshall
• Mobile
• Montgomery
• Morgan
• Perry
• Shelby
• St Clair
• Tuscaloosa
• Walker
• Washington
• Wilcox

Cities

• Abbeville
• Alabaster
• Albertville
• Alexander City
• Andalusia
• Anniston
• Arab
• Ashland
• Athens
• Attalla
• Auburn
• Bay Minette
• Birmingham
• Boaz
• Brundidge
• Calera
• Chickasaw
• Childersburg
• Clanton
• Columbiana
• Cullman
• Daleville
• Daphne
• Decatur
• Demopolis
• Dothan
• Fairhope
• Florence
• Fort Payne
• Gadsden
• Gardendale
• Goodwater
• Guin
• Gulf Shores
• Guntersville
• Hartselle
• Headland
• Heflin
• Hoover
• Hueytown
• Huntsville
• Irondale
• Jasper
• Leeds
• Lincoln
• Madison
• Mobile
• Montevallo
• Montgomery
• Mountain Brook
• Muscle Shoals
• Northport
• Opelika
• Orange Beach
• Oxford
• Ozark
• Pelham
• Prattville
• Rainbow City
• Saraland
• Satsuma
• Sylacauga
• Talladega
• Troy
• Trussville
• Tuscaloosa
• Valley
• Vestavia Hills
• Wetumpka
• Winfield

• Grant
• Leesburg
• Sardis City
• Shorter
• Summerdale

Village Other

• Association of County Commissions of Alabama
• Alabama League of Municipalities
• Alabama Association of Regional Councils
• Birmingham, AL City Guide

Alaska State and Local Government State Home Page

• State of Alaska

State Directory

• State of Alaska Employee Directory
• Alaska’s Webmart

Local City and State Resources

• LocalHometown.com

Statewide Offices

• Attorney General
• Governor
• Lt. Governor

Legislative Branch

• Alaska State Legislature
• Alaska Division of Legislative Audit
• Alaska State Ombudsman

Judicial Branch

• Alaska Judicial Council
• Alaska Court System
• Alaska Appellate Courts Case Management System

Executive Branch

• Department of Transportation and Public Facilities
• Department of Revenue
• Department of Public Safety
• Department of Natural Resources
• Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
• Department of Law
• Department of Health and Social Services
• Department of Fish and Game
• Department of Environmental Conservation
• Department of Administration: Information Technology Group
• Department of Administration
• Department of Corrections
• Department of Community and Economic Development
• Department of Labor and Workforce Development
• Department of Education and Early Development
• Department of Education and Early Development: Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums
• Department of Education and Early Development: SLED: Statewide Library Electronic Doorway
• State of Alaska Public Notices
• Alaska Housing Finance Corporation
• Alaska Job Center Network
• Office of Equal Employment Opportunity
• State Library
• Office of Management and Budget
• Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation
• Alaska Railroad
• Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
• Office of the Long Term Care Ombudsman

Boards and Commissions

• Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission
• Regulatory Commission
• Alaska State Council on the Arts
• Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority
• Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation
• Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority
• Alaska Commission on Aging
• Human Rights Commission
• Alaska Public Offices Commission

Regional

• Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference

Counties

• Aleutians East
• Bristol Bay
• Denali
• Fairbanks North Star
• Haines
• Kenai Peninsula
• Ketchikan Gateway
• Kodiak Island
• Lake and Peninsula
• Matanuska-Susitna
• North Slope
• Northwest Arctic

Cities

• Anderson
• Barrow
• Coffman Cove
• Cold Bay
• Cordova
• Craig
• Delta Junction
• Dillingham
• Fairbanks
• Haines
• Homer
• Kaktovik
• Kenai
• Ketchikan
• Klawock
• Kodiak
• Kotzebue
• Newhalen
• Nome
• North Pole
• Palmer
• Pelican
• Petersburg
• Seldovia
• Seward
• Shageluk
• Thorne Bay
• Unalaska
• Valdez
• Wasilla
• Whittier
• Wrangell

Village Other

• Alaska Municipal League

Arizona State and Local Government State Home Page

• State of Arizona

Local City and State Resources

• LocalHometown.com

Statewide Offices

• Secretary of State
• State Treasurer
• Governor
• Attorney General

Legislative Branch

• Arizona Legislature
• Auditor General
• Arizona Ombudsman-Citizens’ Aide

Judicial Branch

• Court of Appeals – Division Two
• Arizona Judicial Department
• Court of Appeals – Division One

Executive Branch

• Governor’s Regulatory Review Council
• Arizona Highways Online
• Department of Commerce
• Department of Corrections
• Department of Education
• Department of Library, Archives and Public Records
• Department of Real Estate
• Department of Revenue
• Department of Transportation
• Department of Water Resources
• Office of Tourism: Arizona Guide
• Department of Liquor Licenses and Control
• Department of Public Safety
• Game and Fish Department
• Department of Economic Security
• Department of Administration
• Department of Veterans’ Services
• Land Department
• Arizona Lottery
• Department of Insurance
• Department of Gaming
• Department of Environmental Quality
• Department of Agriculture
• Banking Department
• State Compensation Fund
• Department of Health Services
• Government Information Technology Agency
• Department of Juvenile Corrections
• Department of Weights and Measures
• Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting
• Department of Administration: Purchasing
• Department of Mines and Mineral Resources
• Arizona Geological Survey
• Arizona National Guard
• Human Resources Division
• Arizona Workforce Connection
• Division of Emergency Management
• AZTaxes

Boards and Commissions

• State Parks Board
• Board of Regents
• Peace Officer Standards and Training Board
• Structural Pest Control Commission
• Postsecondary Education Commission
• State Board of Equalization
• Arizona Commission on the Arts
• Corporation Commission
• Arizona Medical Board
• Arizona State Board of Accountancy
• Citizens Clean Elections Commission
• Arizona Board of Technical Registration
• Registrar of Contractors
• Industrial Commission of Arizona
• Arizona Criminal Justice Commission
• Arizona State Board of Nursing
• Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners
• Naturopathic Physicians Board of Medical Examiners

Regional

• Maricopa Association of Governments
• Yuma Metropolitan Planning Organization
• Pima Association of Governments

Counties

• Apache
• Cochise
• Coconino
• Gila
• Graham
• Greenlee
• La Paz
• Maricopa
• Mohave
• Navajo
• Pima
• Pinal
• Santa Cruz
• Yavapai
• Yuma

Cities

• Apache Junction
• Avondale
• Benson
• Bisbee
• Bullhead City
• Casa Grande
• Chandler
• Coolidge
• Cottonwood
• El Mirage
• Eloy
• Flagstaff
• Glendale
• Goodyear
• Holbrook
• Kingman
• Lake Havasu City
• Litchfield Park
• Mesa
• Nogales
• Page
• Peoria
• Phoenix
• Prescott
• Safford
• San Luis
• Scottsdale
• Sedona
• Show Low
• Sierra Vista
• South Tucson
• St Johns
• Surprise
• Tempe
• Tolleson
• Tombstone
• Tucson
• Willcox
• Williams
• Winslow
• Yuma

• Buckeye
• Camp Verde
• Carefree
• Cave Creek
• Chino Valley
• Clarkdale
• Duncan
• Eagar
• Florence
• Fountain Hills
• Gila Bend
• Gilbert
• Guadalupe
• Huachuca City
• Kearny
• Mammoth
• Marana
• Oro Valley
• Paradise Valley
• Parker
• Payson
• Pinetop-Lakeside
• Prescott Valley
• Quartzsite
• Queen Creek
• Sahuarita
• Snowflake
• Springerville
• Taylor
• Thatcher
• Wellton
• Wickenburg
• Youngtown

Village Other

• League of Arizona Cities and Towns
• County Supervisors Association of Arizona
• Arizona Association of Counties
• County Supervisors Association of Arizona
• Phoenix, AZ City Guide

Arkansas State and Local Government State Home Page

• State of Arkansas

State Directory

• Arkansas State Government Resource Search

Local City and State Resources

• LocalHometown.com

Statewide Offices

• Governor
• Lt. Governor
• Attorney General
• Land Commissioner
• Secretary of State
• State Auditor
• State Treasurer

Legislative Branch

• Arkansas General Assembly

Judicial Branch

• Arkansas Judiciary
• Arkansas Supreme Court Library

Executive Branch

• Arkansas Crime Information Center
• Arkansas Public School Computer Network
• Department of Education
• Department of Health
• State Bank Department
• State Library
• Department of Parks and Tourism
• Department of Arkansas Heritage
• Department of Labor
• Department of Finance and Administration
• Department of Environmental Quality
• Highway and Transportation Department
• Arkansas Student Loan Authority
• Department of Information Systems
• Department of Human Services
• Employment Security Department
• Department of Workforce Education
• Department of Correction
• Department of Economic Development
• State Police
• Department of Emergency Management
• Arkansas State Building Services
• Department of Community Correction
• Development Finance Authority
• Department of Higher Education
• Insurance Department
• Arkansas National Guard
• Rehabilitation Services
• Department of Rural Services
• Science and Technology Authority
• Securities Department
• Arkansas Workforce
• Arkansas Election Results
• Office of the Executive Chief Information Officer
• Arkansas Fair Housing Commission

Boards and Commissions

• Arkansas Arts Council
• Workers’ Compensation Commission
• Arkansas Forestry Commission
• Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
• Public Service Commission
• Arkansas State Medical Board
• Arkansas Fire Prevention Commission

Regional

• Metroplan

Counties

• Baxter
• Benton
• Clark
• Craighead
• Crawford
• Crittenden
• Faulkner
• Garland
• Jackson
• Jefferson
• Mississippi
• Nevada
• Poinsett
• Pulaski
• Saline
• Sebastian
• Sevier
• Sharp
• Union
• Washington
• White

Cities

• Arkadelphia
• Bentonville
• Booneville
• Cabot
• Carlisle
• Cherokee Village
• Conway
• Crossett
• El Dorado
• Eureka Springs
• Fayetteville
• Fort Smith
• Greenwood
• Hot Springs
• Jacksonville
• Jonesboro
• Lavaca
• Little Rock
• Maumelle
• Mayflower
• Melbourne
• Mena
• Nashville
• Norfork
• North Little Rock
• Pine Bluff
• Rogers
• Russellville
• Searcy
• Sherwood
• Siloam Springs
• Springdale
• West Memphis

Village Other

• Arkansas Municipal League
• Association of Arkansas Counties

California State and Local Government State Home Page

• California State Government

State Directory

• California On-Line Directory

Local City and State Resources

• LocalHometown.com
• Mortgage Rates California

Statewide Offices

• Governor
• Attorney General
• Insurance Commissioner
• Secretary of State
• State Board of Equalization
• State Controller
• State Treasurer
• Superintendent of Public Instruction
• Lt. Governor
• State Auditor

Legislative Branch

• State Assembly
• State Senate
• Official California Legislative Information
• Legislative Analyst’s Office
• Legislative Counsel of California
• California Law Revision Commission

Judicial Branch

• Judicial Branch

Executive Branch

• Governor’s Office of Emergency Services
• California Public Employees’ Retirement System
• Department of Finance
• Department of Food and Agriculture
• Department of Industrial Relations
• Department of Personnel Administration
• Office of Administrative Law
• Office of the State Public Defender
• State Library
• Business, Transportation and Housing Agency
• California Housing Finance Agency
• Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
• Department of Corporations
• Department of Financial Institutions
• Department of Housing and Community Development
• Department of Motor Vehicles
• Department of Real Estate
• Department of the California Highway Patrol
• Department of Transportation
• Teale Data Center
• Environmental Protection Agency
• California Air Resources Board
• California Integrated Waste Management Board
• Department of Pesticide Regulation
• State Water Resources Control Board
• Department of Aging
• Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs
• Department of Developmental Services
• Department of Health Services
• Department of Mental Health
• Department of Rehabilitation
• Department of Social Services
• Emergency Medical Services Authority
• Employment Development Department
• Employment Training Panel
• Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development
• Resources Agency
• California Coastal Commission
• California Coastal Conservancy
• California Conservation Corps
• California Tahoe Conservancy
• CERES: California Environmental Resources Evaluation System
• Department of Boating and Waterways
• Department of Conservation
• Department of Fish and Game
• Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
• Department of Parks and Recreation
• Department of Water Resources
• State Lands Commission
• Board of Architectural Examiners
• California African- American Museum
• Contractors State License Board
• Department of Consumer Affairs
• Department of General Services
• Department of General Services: Office of Public School Construction
• Franchise Tax Board
• State Personnel Board
• California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency.
• Division of Tourism: California Travel and Tourism
• Youth and Adult Correctional Agency
• Board of Corrections
• Department of Corrections
• Department of the Youth Authority
• California Lottery
• Health and Welfare Data Center
• Department of Toxic Substances Control
• California Energy Commission
• Office of Traffic Safety
• CalGOLD: Business Permits Made Simple
• California National Guard
• CalJOBS
• Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism
• Medi-Cal
• Rural Health Policy Council
• State and Consumer Services Agency
• Health and Human Services Agency
• Department of Managed Health Care
• Department of Fair Employment and Housing
• California State Teachers’ Retirement System
• California Spatial Information Library
• Office of the Inspector General

Boards and Commissions

• Board of Behavioral Sciences
• Building Standards Commission
• California Arts Council
• California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board
• California Horse Racing Board
• Commission on Teacher Credentialing
• Little Hoover Commission
• Office of Real Estate Appraisers
• State Board of Education
• Student Aid Commission
• California Transportation Commission
• Public Utilities Commission
• Board of Prison Terms
• Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians
• California Postsecondary Education Commission
• Commission on State Mandates
• Delta Protection Commission
• Fair Political Practices Commission
• Medical Board of California
• Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board
• Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training
• Seismic Safety Commission
• Commission on the Status of Women
• Veterinary Medical Board

Regional

• Association of Bay Area Governments
• Association of Bay Area Governments: ABAG Contracts Exchange
• Butte County Association of Governments
• Council of Fresno County Governments
• Kern Council of Governments
• Sacramento Area Council of Governments
• San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG)
• San Luis Obispo Council of Governments
• Southern California Association of Governments
• Western Riverside Council of Governments
• Merced County Association of Governments
• San Luis Obispo Local Agency Formation Commission
• Metropolitan Transportation Commission
• Santa Clara County Cities Association

Counties

• Alameda
• Alpine
• Amador
• Butte
• Calaveras
• Colusa
• Contra Costa
• Del Norte
• El Dorado
• Fresno
• Glenn
• Humboldt
• Imperial
• Inyo
• Kern
• Kings
• Lake
• Lassen
• Los Angeles
• Madera
• Marin
• Mariposa
• Mendocino
• Merced
• Modoc
• Mono
• Monterey
• Napa
• Nevada
• Orange
• Placer
• Plumas
• Riverside
• Sacramento
• San Benito
• San Bernardino
• San Diego
• San Joaquin
• San Luis Obispo
• San Mateo
• Santa Barbara
• Santa Clara
• Santa Cruz
• Shasta
• Sierra
• Siskiyou
• Solano
• Sonoma
• Stanislaus
• Sutter
• Tehama
• Trinity
• Tulare
• Tuolumne
• Ventura
• Yolo
• Yuba

Cities

• Adelanto
• Agoura Hills
• Alameda
• Albany
• Alhambra
• Aliso Viejo
• Alturas
• American Canyon
• Anaheim
• Anderson
• Angels City
• Antioch
• Arcadia
• Arcata
• Arroyo Grande
• Artesia
• Arvin
• Atascadero
• Atwater
• Auburn
• Avalon
• Azusa
• Bakersfield
• Baldwin Park
• Banning
• Barstow
• Beaumont
• Bell
• Bell Gardens
• Bellflower
• Belmont
• Belvedere
• Benicia
• Berkeley
• Beverly Hills
• Big Bear Lake
• Biggs
• Blythe
• Bradbury
• Brawley
• Brea
• Brentwood
• Brisbane
• Buellton
• Buena Park
• Burbank
• Burlingame
• Calabasas
• Calexico
• California City
• Calimesa
• Calistoga
• Camarillo
• Campbell
• Canyon Lake
• Capitola
• Carlsbad
• Carmel by the Sea
• Carpinteria
• Carson
• Cathedral
• Ceres
• Cerritos
• Chico
• Chino
• Chino Hills
• Chowchilla
• Chula Vista
• Citrus Heights
• Claremont
• Clayton
• Cloverdale
• Clovis
• Coachella
• Coalinga
• Colfax
• Colton
• Commerce
• Compton
• Concord
• Corcoran
• Corning
• Corona
• Coronado
• Costa Mesa
• Cotati
• Covina
• Crescent City
• Cudahy
• Culver City
• Cupertino
• Cypress
• Daly City
• Dana Point
• Davis
• Del Mar
• Del Rey Oaks
• Delano
• Desert Hot Springs
• Diamond Bar
• Dinuba
• Dixon
• Downey
• Duarte
• Dublin
• Dunsmuir
• East Palo Alto
• El Cajon
• El Centro
• El Cerrito
• El Monte
• El Paso De Robles
• El Segundo
• Elk Grove
• Emeryville
• Encinitas
• Escalon
• Escondido
• Eureka
• Exeter
• Fairfield
• Ferndale
• Fillmore
• Firebaugh
• Folsom
• Fontana
• Fort Bragg
• Fortuna
• Foster City
• Fountain Valley
• Fowler
• Fremont
• Fresno
• Fullerton
• Galt
• Garden Grove
• Gardena
• Gilroy
• Glendale
• Glendora
• Goleta
• Gonzales
• Grand Terrace
• Grass Valley
• Greenfield
• Gridley
• Grover Beach
• Guadalupe
• Gustine
• Half Moon Bay
• Hanford
• Hawaiian Gardens
• Hawthorne
• Hayward
• Healdsburg
• Hemet
• Hercules
• Hermosa Beach
• Hesperia
• Hidden Hills
• Highland
• Hollister
• Holtville
• Hughson
• Huntington Beach
• Huntington Park
• Imperial
• Imperial Beach
• Indian Wells
• Indio
• Industry
• Inglewood
• Ione
• Irvine
• Irwindale
• Jackson
• King
• Kingsburg
• La Canada Flintridge
• La Habra
• La Habra Heights
• La Mesa
• La Mirada
• La Palma
• La Puente
• La Quinta
• La Verne
• Lafayette
• Laguna Beach
• Laguna Hills
• Laguna Niguel
• Laguna Woods
• Lake Elsinore
• Lake Forest
• Lakeport
• Lakewood
• Lancaster
• Larkspur
• Lathrop
• Lawndale
• Lemon Grove
• Lemoore
• Lincoln
• Lindsay
• Live Oak
• Livermore
• Lodi
• Loma Linda
• Lomita
• Lompoc
• Long Beach
• Los Alamitos
• Los Altos
• Los Angeles
• Los Banos
• Lynwood
• Madera
• Malibu
• Manhattan Beach
• Manteca
• Marina
• Martinez
• Marysville
• Maywood
• Mcfarland
• Mendota
• Menlo Park
• Merced
• Mill Valley
• Millbrae
• Milpitas
• Mission Viejo
• Modesto
• Monrovia
• Montclair
• Monte Sereno
• Montebello
• Monterey
• Monterey Park
• Moorpark
• Moreno Valley
• Morgan Hill
• Morro Bay
• Mountain View
• Murrieta
• Napa
• National City
• Needles
• Newark
• Newman
• Newport Beach
• Norco
• Norwalk
• Novato
• Oakdale
• Oakland
• Oakley
• Oceanside
• Ojai
• Ontario
• Orange
• Orange Cove
• Orinda
• Oroville
• Oxnard
• Pacific Grove
• Pacifica
• Palm Desert
• Palm Springs
• Palmdale
• Palo Alto
• Palos Verdes Estates
• Paramount
• Parlier
• Pasadena
• Patterson
• Perris
• Petaluma
• Pico Rivera
• Pinole
• Pismo Beach
• Pittsburg
• Placentia
• Placerville
• Pleasant Hill
• Pleasanton
• Plymouth
• Point Arena
• Pomona
• Port Hueneme
• Porterville
• Portola
• Poway
• Rancho Cucamonga
• Rancho Mirage
• Rancho Palos Verdes
• Rancho Santa Margarita
• Red Bluff
• Redding
• Redlands
• Redondo Beach
• Redwood City
• Reedley
• Rialto
• Richmond
• Ridgecrest
• Rio Dell
• Rio Vista
• Ripon
• Riverbank
• Riverside
• Rocklin
• Rohnert Park
• Rolling Hills
• Rolling Hills Estates
• Rosemead
• Roseville
• Sacramento
• Salinas
• San Bernardino
• San Bruno
• San Buenaventura
• San Carlos
• San Clemente
• San Diego
• San Dimas
• San Fernando
• San Gabriel
• San Jacinto
• San Joaquin
• San Jose
• San Juan Capistrano
• San Leandro
• San Luis Obispo
• San Marcos
• San Marino
• San Mateo
• San Pablo
• San Rafael
• San Ramon
• Sand
• Sanger
• Santa Ana
• Santa Barbara
• Santa Clara
• Santa Clarita
• Santa Cruz
• Santa Fe Springs
• Santa Maria
• Santa Monica
• Santa Paula
• Santa Rosa
• Santee
• Saratoga
• Sausalito
• Scotts Valley
• Seal Beach
• Seaside
• Sebastopol
• Selma
• Shafter
• Shasta Lake
• Sierra Madre
• Signal Hill
• Simi Valley
• Solana Beach
• Soledad
• Solvang
• Sonoma
• Sonora
• South El Monte
• South Gate
• South Lake Tahoe
• South Pasadena
• South San Francisco
• St Helena
• Stanton
• Stockton
• Suisun City
• Sunnyvale
• Susanville
• Sutter Creek
• Taft
• Tehachapi
• Temecula
• Temple City
• Thousand Oaks
• Torrance
• Tracy
• Trinidad
• Truckee
• Tulare
• Turlock
• Tustin
• Twentynine Palms
• Ukiah
• Union City
• Upland
• Vacaville
• Vallejo
• Vernon
• Victorville
• Villa Park
• Visalia
• Vista
• Walnut
• Walnut Creek
• Wasco
• Waterford
• Watsonville
• Weed
• West Covina
• West Hollywood
• West Sacramento
• Westlake Village
• Westminster
• Westmorland
• Whittier
• Winters
• Woodlake
• Woodland
• Yorba Linda
• Yuba City
• Yucaipa
• Yucca Valley