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Learn effective strategies for the job search process, including building a network of contacts, identifying appropriate jobs, analyzing yourself, building a resume, and preparing a cover letter.
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Chapter: 9 Strategies in the Job-Search Process
The Job Search • Begin the search by building a network of contacts in this way: • Broaden your circle of friends • Know your professor • Meet executives • Make contacts through internships • Work with community organizations (charities, fund-raising groups, etc.)
Identifying Appropriate Jobs • To find the right job, you need to investigate both internal and external factors. • The best fit occurs when you have carefully looked at yourself: your education, personal qualities, experience, and any special qualifications. • These internal qualities need to be analyzed in light of the external factors. Some of these factors may include the current and projected job market, economic needs, location preferences, and family needs.
Analysing Yourself • Begin with a self-analysis covering these background areas: • Education: For specialized curricula, the career path is clear such as accounting, finance, marketing or information systems. You must look at the quality of your educational reports (grades). • Personal Qualities: communication skills, leadership, etc.) • Work Experience (4) Special Qualities: language, etc.
Building Your Resume • When employers receive a resume, they expect to see specific blocks of information, including your name, address, phone number, education, and work experience. • Some resumes also mention job objectives, community and professional activities, and employment references.
Building Your Resume • Name, Address, and Phone Number: Open your resume with your name, address, and phone number. • This information identifies you and gives employers a way to reach you if they are interested in your qualifications. • Place this information at the top of the first page. • There is no need to identify your resume with a label like “Resume”, “Qualifications in Brief”, “Curriculum Vitae”, etc.
Building Your Resume • Job Objective: The next heading is often “Objective”, which reflects the job target. For instance: • Objective: Production editor for print media. • Objective: Entry-level compensation and benefits administrator. • Objective: Credit manager in a retail firm. This information helps prospective employers pinpoint a slot into which you might fit.
Building Your Resume • Education: The skills and abilities that you have acquired, major career-related courses and projects, grades and awards, and extracurricular activities all point to your ability to achieve results. • Your resume should tie your accomplishments to job objectives. • Include the names and locations of all the higher-education institutions that you have attended, the dates you attended and the degrees you received. • Mention awards, special projects, and grades if they are job-related or show distinctive personal qualities.
Building Your Resume • Work Experience: Your resume also lists your previous work experience. • Be sure to include part-time and summer jobs, especially those that are related to the kind of work you want to do. • Community and Professional Activities: You may also decide to mention community and professional activities tied to your job target, e.g. fund raising.
Building Your Resume • References: It is a list of people whom an employer may call to learn about your ability, character, and background. • References may be previous employers, college professors, community leaders, or even well-known or influential friends. • Many resumes include a standard tag line like “References available upon request”. • When employers request references, give the names, titles, organizations, addresses, and phone numbers of all references. • Before including people on your personal-reference list, be sure to tell them about your intention and ask permission.
Choosing an Effective Layout • If possible, limit your resume to one page. • Use plenty of white space: to produce a feeling of openness and readability, you should use one-inch margins and also double-space between major sections. • Use upper-case letters: Type headings and important titles in UPPER-CASE letters. • Use underlining and bullets effectively. Underline results or accomplishments you want to emphasize. Punctuate specific accomplishments with bullets. • Produce a perfect final copy: Crossing or whiting out mistakes is unacceptable on a resume. To eliminate spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors, draft your resume on a word processor and proofread the final copy several times. • Print your resume on high-quality paper.
Preparing a Cover Letter • With each resume send a cover letter --- written correspondence to a prospective employer aimed at convincing the employer to grant an interview. • Cover letter, in other words, are sales letters intended to sell your value. • The best cover letters are written from the employer’s perspective. When they have jobs to fill, employers are looking for people who will help them once they have been hired. • You should tailor each letter to the unique requirements of the job, the company, and the industry.
The Elements of an Effective Cover Letter • Effective cover letters include no more than four or five paragraphs. • Each paragraph has a purpose as a selling tool. • Introductory paragraph: Open your letter with attention-getter ---- a statement that convinces the employer to read on. Create interest. • You might begin by naming a person either within or outside the company whom the employer knows, by citing specific knowledge of the company’s business, or by using a compliment. • The last sentence of your introduction should state directly your interest in employment with your reader’s company.
The Elements of an Effective Cover Letter • Use Contacts: The best way to stand out from the crowd is to mention a personal contact ---- a professional colleague, a friend, or a relative ---- whose name the reader will immediately recognize. For example, “ Albert White, an employee in your accounting department, told me about an entry level position at your company…..”. Or, “Andrea Swain, a close family friend, suggested that I contact you about a position…”
The Elements of an Effective Cover Letter • Cite knowledge of company business: This comes from research ---- from reading local papers and national publications. • Complement the company: Example,”Ever since I began studying advertising in college, I have been impressed by the work of Dreamworks Ltd….”
The Elements of an Effective Cover Letter • Middle-paragraph # 1: Sell your value. Answer, “How will hiring this person help me do my work and improve company profits?” • Sell your value through results ---- the achievements in school or workplace.
The Elements of an Effective Cover Letter Middle paragraph # 2: Summarize your background. Closing the paragraph: A call to action. Example, “ I would appreciate if an opportunity is given”, or “ I look forward to hear from you”. Following up: If you have not received a reply after two or three weeks, consider calling the company. Your purpose is to ask if your letter and resume have been received, not to restate your job qualifications.
Identifying Formal Sources of Employment • College placement officers: These are job-search professionals hired by colleges and universities to help students and alumni find jobs. • They offer personal career counselling and testing as they help students analyze their career goals and guide them through the job market maze. • This is often done through job fairs in which numerous employers talk to students about available job opportunities.
Identifying Formal Sources of Employment On-campus Recruiters: • When companies like Motorola and General Motors have job openings, they often send representatives to college campuses. • These representatives, known as on-campus recruiters, are highly trained professionals in the company’s human resources department who interview students for jobs. • On-campus recruiters also look for candidates interested in summer internships --- unpaid or low-paid positions held by students while they are still in school. • These positions give students the opportunity to learn about a company and give the company the opportunity to evaluate the student for a job after graduation.
Identifying Formal Sources of Employment Employment Agencies: Interviewers sift through the applicant pool --- reviewing resumes and references --- to present a handful of qualified people for company interviews. • With hundreds of business contacts and with a large inventory of jobs on file, well-established agencies can shorten your search by matching you with available jobs that meet personal career and financial needs.
Identifying Formal Sources of Employment Executive Search Firms: Also known as “headhunters”, executive search firms are specialized employment agencies that work for companies rather than individual job applicants. • Used primarily to place high-level personnel, they earn more than 30% of the first year’s salary for each job placement --- a fee always paid by the company. • Executive search consultants do not work for recent college graduates with limited job experience.
