Job and Internship

Search Strategies

in a (Really)

Tough Economy

Job and Internship Job and Internship

Search Strategies Search Strategies

in a (Really) in a (Really)

Tough EconomyTough Economy

Catherine W. Swearingen

Graduation is racing at you, you need experience, and you need a job.

Now what?

Graduation is racing at you, you need experience, and you need a job.

Now what?

Self-Assessment/Branding

Research/NetworkingMarketing

Make a plan.

Where are you going and

how do you get there?

•values

•transferable skills

•accomplishments

•experience

•career path

•goals

Know Yourself

Self-assessment

Some More Things

to Think About . . .

What is my work style?How do I accomplish tasks?

What is my learning preference?How do I like to learn?

What is my interaction style?How do I communicate?

Self-assessment

Branding

You are the product.

What is your career identity?

What do you present to potential employers?

Career Identity

What do you want potential employers to know about you?

Your skills and how they will benefit their company.

Branding

Career Identity

Branding

How do you tell the world how great you are?

Make a portfolio.

No one will know if you don’t tell them.

Career Identity

What is a portfolio?

A job-search tool that gives employers a complete picture of who you are - your education, your talents, your attitudes, your

accomplishments, your activities, your experience, your skills and abilities, and what you have the potential to become.

Branding

Career Identity

Branding

Evidence of communityinvolvement

Letters of recommendation,testimonials

Letters of commendationand appreciation for excellent work or service

List of references

Resume

Transcript(s)

Student involvement transcript

Awards, honors, scholarships, grants

Area of emphasis

Presentations

Organization membership,committee Involvement

What goes into a portfolio?

Career Identity

Elevator Speech (the 30-second pitch)

List the benefits that you can provide to the employer. Articulate the benefits to identify the most

compelling reason for the employer to hire you.

Quantify the benefits wherever possible.

You are the product.

Branding

www.rileyguide.com

Job boards represent approximately 20% of available jobs.

The other 80% isn’t posted anywhere.

Research and Networking

craigslist

So Where Is This 80%?

Look for people who are in a position to hire you at some point in the future.

The “insiders” know where the jobs are.

Focus on ten to fifteen companies you really want to work for.Develop a list of “these people” and establish a relationship with them.

Sell your services to them.

Research

How Do I Find These People?

Look for companies, products and services that impress you

(whether or not they are currently hiring).

Do some snooping . . .

Learn about the owners, managers, board of directors, the company culture, competition, etc.

Research

Where Can I Snoop?

Company websites

Business Week Online

Hoovers Online

Forbes Private Company List

Inc. 500 List

Zoominfo

http://www.learnwebskills.com/company/index.html(“Researching Companies Online”)

Uniworld

Research

How Do I Reach These People?

Network.

The most important tool in your job search.

Network. Network. Network. Network.

Six-degrees of Separation

Create a list of people you know. Aim for 100.

school family and friends neighbors

summer jobs internships social clubs

professors parents of friends church

coaches DU alumni mentors

Tell them you are job hunting. Ask for four connections.

Ask their connections for four connections . . . .

Networking

Get Out There!

Unusual places in which people have networked:

“Some of the wildest ones include during a slaughterhouse fire, in a cadaver lab, while getting a mammogram, as a car-accident witness, on a gondola ride to a mountain top, during a prolonged rain delay

at a baseball game, while donating blood, in a hot tub at a conference, and at a psychic fair waiting for a tarot-card reading.”

Katharine Hansen, Ph.D.

Creative Director and Associate Publisher of Quintessential Careers

Networking

Marketing

It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.

44% of employers use social networking sites to view profiles of job candidates.

Vault.com

Put your brand online.Linkedin

VirtualCV

Twitter

Facebook

Brazencareerist

Be confident and leverage your strengths.

So What About That Portfolio?

Marketing

Use your brand to market yourself

through distribution channels.

Networking contacts

Job postings

Informational interviews

Career and internship fairs

Professional association meetings

So What About That Portfolio?

Marketing

What Else?

•Webinars

•Networking events

•Interactive tele-classes

•Job postings

•Career Fairs

•Alumni networks

•One-on-one counseling

•On-line library information

•Resume review

•Workshops

•Blogs

•Podcasts

Utilize Available Resources

And Finally . . .

Be flexible.

You might not find the job you expect when you set out.

Be aggressive.Put yourself out there and get noticed.

Be persistent.Don’t stalk, but follow-up.

Most of all,Don’t give up.