JOB SEARCH TIPS

JOB SEARCH TIPS NUMBER ONE TIP: PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE, PEOPLE Every action you take in job searching gives you an opportunity to build on personal contacts. You’ll have more people helping you find that job than you realized! CALS Career Services offers many resources, trained advisors, and services to get you started. 1. Determine the TYPE of work you want to do. Most people need to spend more time on this step. CALS offers tools to assist you with the assessment process. Self-assessment  Abilities/skills (identify missing or weak skills to work on)  Interests (are they still the same)  Experiences (what do I need)  Criteria (i.e., location, salary, field)  Values (employers say they can teach you the skills to be a better scientist, but can’t teach you cooperation, honesty, persistence, motivation, etc.) Sources to develop your skills, abilities, values and interests  Continuing education  Volunteering (commitment, did you stay with one place, or did you hop around from place to place…which looks better to an employer)  Job shadowing or job information interviews  Internships  Temporary or summer jobs (did you stay long enough, worked hard enough to get promoted or increase your level of responsibilities)  Jobs outside your degree or field (biochem major worked in sales during the summers, now has interest in being a pharmaceutical representative) Research careers  Translate current skills/experiences to a different field (i.e., agricultural sales to pharmaceutical sales)  Update your awareness of job trends (what’s hot, what’s stable over the years)  Resources available at CALS Career Services/on the Internet  Job information interviews 1 2. Preparation Resume  Access your ePACK account and upload your resume  Ask several people to review and make suggestions (receive good advice, further your self-assessment and identify areas to develop, feature field specific skills, and gather possible job lead)  Review other resumes (books, ask others to see theirs, especially people in higher positions) Cover Letters  Network, broadcast, or advertising  Ask others to review your sample letters References  Update your references (do they remember you? Give them your resume; are they still current, contact them; do they have any job leads?) Mock Interviews  Practice, practice, practice (friends, mentors, family, colleagues)  Books like The top 250 Interview Questions you’ll most likely be asked and the answers that will get you hired by Peter Veraki. Thank you letters  Send to people who helped you with mock interviews, resume review, job information interview or shadowing…..everyone you were in contact with. Professional Wardrobe  Does your appearance reflect your level of interest in this job? 3. Action Plans  Develop goals (average job search takes 400 hours, that’s 10 weeks at 8 hrs/day)  Daily action plans (make 4 appointments a day, contact 4 leads a day)  Follow-up leads, contacts, meetings  Keep a record of your contacts (who, what, when, etc.)  Go in person to deliver your resume packet maximizing face-to-face contact  Try a part-time job to increase your contacts (coffee shop, bookstore, delivery) 2 *Personal Contact Ideas Every person you know is a contact. The key here is GET TO KNOW every person.  Every member of your family (don’t forget cousins, second cousins, in-laws….3rd cousins…)  Every friend of yours (what’s my friend Bert from 5th grade doing…okay, not that far back)  Every person in your address book (get a FAT book)  Every person on your Christmas-card list (start one now, and don’t drop people off who don’t send you a card)  Every teacher, especially those in your career area (my major professor became an assistant dean of our college)  Every classmate (wouldn’t you like to know where they are now)  Every merchant or salesperson you ever deal with (develop good rapport)  Every person who comes to your apartment or house to do any kind of repairs or maintenance work (wait until they’ve billed you incase they work by the hour)  Every leisure partner you have as for walking, exercising, swimming, or whatever (perhaps you need to let them win sometimes)  Every doctor, or medical professional (talk to others in waiting rooms, the staff too!)  Every clergy person, rabbi, or religious leader you know (put in a good word for me)  Every person in your church, synagogue, mosque, or religious assembly (helps if you are an ACTIVE member….get busy and volunteer, even if it’s just to be a greeter at the door)  Everyone you know in Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, or other service organizations (offer to chair speaker programs so you can invite prominent “potential employers”)  Every person you are newly introduced to (get a business card and get them to talk about themselves)  Every person you meet, stumble across, or blunder into, during your job-hunt, whose name, address, and phone number you have the grace to ask for. (Always ask, all they can say is no) Still not sure, try your hair stylist, classmates, mail carrier (mine knows everything), teachers, that police officer that stopped you…get the picture. If you are looking at someone this is an opportunity to make a contact, get a lead, or at least get encouragement. LIST OF JOB SEARCH SOURCES Organized by percentage of success rates INFORMAL – 75% of your job search effort  Networking  Internships (available on CALS Career Services website)  Volunteering  Temporary work  Promotion  Conventions  Conferences 3  Career fairs  Job information interview or shadowing experiences Face-to-face contact, people hire people they know more often. Usually only 20% of jobs are advertised, 80% is by personal contacts. ADVERTISEMENT- 10% of your job search effort  Newspapers  Magazines/journals  Televisions  Radio  Internet billboards  Job listings (available on ePACK)  Company newsletters  Association newsletters  Book/registers  Flyers  Computer listings  Personnel office listings Customize resume, cover letter, and application to the details of the ad as specified by the employer. AGENCIES – 9% of your job search effort  Personnel agencies  Temporary agencies  Headhunters  Corporate recruiters  Federal/state employment agency Research the agency as far as who pays the fees OTHER – 6% of your job search effort  Create your own job  Start your own business  Mass mailings  Resume banks  Civil service testing  Unions Information expanded from http://www.pitzer.edu/departments/career_services/ 4