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• Job Search

JOB SEARCH

When is the best time to begin a job search? If you're asking the question, the best time is now. Before your first interview takes place, plan your career moves. It's not unusual for an entry-level job seeker to spend six months to a year finding the job that best matches their interests and skills. For a full-time position after graduation, some begin a job search during the school year while others wait until after graduation. Your career interests, values and financial status also have an impact on when to begin. For an internship, part-time, temporary or seasonal position, any time is the right time!

Once you begin a job search, how can you avoid job hunt anxiety? It may be easier than you imagine if you customize your own job search plan. Let us help you by answering some large and looming questions:

What's an internship? Opportunities for internships exist in every type of organization, including non-profit agencies, corporations, small businesses and at all levels of government. Internships may be completed during the academic year while you are taking classes, or they might involve a more extensive program during the summer months. Internships may be paid or unpaid, may be full-time or part-time, and may involve academic credit.

Internship benefits:

• Real world experience
• An opportunity to gain new perspectives from professionals doing the work you might seek
• Development of self-confidence, professionalism, and other transferable skills
• Creation of relationships that may be able to assisit you throughout your career path
• Application and enrichment of skills learned in your classroom experience

Federal work-study
What's work-study? Federal work-study is federally funded program offered to some students as part of their financial aid package. This program allows students to earn money while learning valuable jobs skills. Qualified students work part-time in an educational environment. Students select from over 3,000 work-study positions, including departments on campus as well as non-profit organizations off campus. Federal work-study does not mean that students study while on the job.

Part-time jobs
Part-time employment, regardless of the work you do, provides valuable experience that helps you build important transferable skills like time management, communication and problem-solving. Furthermore, like an internship, part-time employment as a means of career exploration will help you build self-confidence in the job search process as well as make you a competitive candidate for a position.

WHY SHOULD I NETWORK?
In the career world, networking has several purposes:

• Exploring career fields: Contacts can offer advice that can help you focus your career planning and determine if a particular line of work is of interest to you and if you might fit into that work setting.
• Finding job leads: Contacts can help you uncover the hidden job offers market that composes 85-90% of all professional jobs (those which are never advertised publicly), and may possibly open channels for an interview.

Write an effective cover letter and resume

Cover Letter
Present a one-page cover letter with every resume you provide. Your cover letter is your marketing tool and should not duplicate your resume. Attract the interest of the prospective employer, communicate your interest in the job and organization, communicate your marketable qualifications, offer contact information and ask for an interview.

• Address your letter to the individual responsible for hiring and include their title if known - do not use sir or madam.
• Ensure your letter is free of typos and grammatical errors.
• Use action verbs to convey warmth and enthusiasm.
• Describe how your skills, abilities and personal suitability will benefit the organization.

Resume
Always direct your resume to a concrete position within an organization. Request for a copy of the job description and clearly identify how you meet those qualifications and skills required by the job.

• State your contact information at the top of your resume examples.
• Employers often use the resume as a screening device. Thus, most resumes will be given a thirty-second glance. Keep it to three pages or less and list your qualification statements in bullet form near the top.
• Match your qualifications to those advertised or to the statement of qualifications.
• Back up your qualifications by using specific examples in the body of your resume.
• Technical companies, especially those advertised on the Internet often use a software program to screen resumes. Pay close attention to key words used to identify the required qualifications, skills, experience and education and use these key words in your resume sample and cover letter.
• Keep your resume upbeat and enthusiastic by using succinct, positive action verbs to identify your qualifications.
• Be sure to have the names, contact information and consent of at least three references on hand.
• Always include a cover letter.

How to Ace the Job Interview
The person who is accountable for hiring, a human resource manager, a panel or combination thereof generally conducts a job interview. It can be formal, informal, screening, multiple, situational or group. The better prepared you are for the job interviews, the less anxious you will be and the more chance you will have for success.

• If possible, find out what type of interview the organization will be holding.
• Practice by asking a supportive friend or a career counselor to role-play the interview with you or practice in front of a mirror or video camera until you are comfortable.
• Research commonly asked interview questions. Practice answering them.
• Assess your strengths and weaknesses. Work on improving speaking too rapidly, too loudly, too softly, and appearing nervous.
• Dress for success by being well groomed and wearing clothes that are clean, pressed and appropriate for the industry in which you are seeking work.
• Research the organization prior to the interview.
• Take extra copies of your resume with you and your list of references.
• Arrive TEN minutes early. Greet the receptionist in a professional and friendly manner.
• Make sure the interview works for you as much as it works for the prospective employer. Get the information you need to make an appropriate decision should the job be offered to you, such as why the organization is hiring, what they expect of the incumbent, and future plans that will affect the position and your growth within the organization.
• Follow-up with a note of appreciation for the interviewer's time.
• If you aren't successful in getting the job, ask for feedback.
• Don't give up! Keep improving your resume and practicing your interview skills.

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