FINDING JOB LEADS

Making the Most of What's at Your Fingertips

SOURCE: www.blackboard.com

Computers and in particular the Internet:
  Offer the means to review job descriptions, transmit your cover letter and resume, complete company application forms, submit writing samples, take a battery of aptitude or psychological tests, provide written responses to interview questions, and even receive and accept job offers via e-mail. However, there are some genuine concerns about the security and confidentiality of the personal information you transmit electronically. Discuss these issues with your career counselor so that you can make an informed decision about sending your information electronically. Jobs on the Internet: The number of job listings on the Internet is increasing at an astronomical rate. In additional to national databases, there are now regional, state, even city job listing systems. Today, many newspapers include their employment classified ads online, and employers of all types are posting current vacant positions on their company web sites. Many of these sites provide search engines to help you narrow your selections; often such sites include instructions about how to apply - sometimes by mail, but increasingly directly online.

Your strategy - For all resumes you post or transmit on the Internet, be sure to use key words to describe your academic, employment, and extracurricular experiences.

Follow the rules for scannable resumes so your information is readable. Whenever feasible, customize your resume and include a cover letter that tells the employer how you are qualified to do the job.

 Read the application instructions and be careful about routinely giving permission for anything and everything to be done with your information. (When in doubt, print the instructions and discuss them with a career adviser.)
  Alumni career networks:
  Many schools have a group of alumni who have volunteered to provide career-related information to currently enrolled students or fellow alumni. Often, these networks can help you explore and clarify your career options, conduct informational interviews, seek internship and externship opportunities, make valuable connections for employment, even consider graduate and professional schools. Increasingly, these networks are computerized, allowing you to query the databases for information such as academic majors, occupational interests, geographic locations, and/or other key job search criteria. In some alumni networks, the volunteers are able to specify the level of their involvement (for example, some may only feel comfortable providing advice over the telephone while others indicate a willingness to take a more active role in helping you).

Your strategy - Be courteous and gracious - volunteers are the most precious of resources. Contact the alumni in the manner they prefer and follow the procedures established by your career services and/or alumni offices. Use the alumni network as a springboard to develop an even larger job search network by soliciting the names of additional contacts.

                     Send your resume, accompanied by a cover letter, anytime you think it might be helpful. Send a letter of appreciation after every contact. When you graduate, be sure to sign up as an alumni career network volunteer.
  Professional associations:  
Most, if not all, academic programs of study have national or regional professional associations or societies that provide a variety of services to members (e.g., newsletters and job listings). Some have services to help members network with other members.

Your strategy - Be courteous and gracious and follow the procedures established by the professional association. If applicable, contact the members in the manner they prefer.

Use the network as a springboard to develop an even larger job search network by soliciting the names of additional contacts. Send your resume, accompanied by a cover letter, anytime you think it might be helpful. Send a letter of appreciation after every contact. When you graduate, be sure to join your regional or national professional association.
 

 Telephone interviews:  
Your ability to distinguish between an employer's telephone call and a telephone interview can make a big difference in whether you get a particular job. Telephone calls from employers might include invitations to attend an information session, participate in an on-campus interview, or make arrangements for an on-site interview. Telephone interviews, however, are just that - they are efficient and relatively inexpensive ways for employers to conduct initial screening interviews, even follow-up interviews. Sometimes, calls are hard to distinguish from interviews, and in a rather casual, unannounced manner you find yourself responding to a set of questions that require as much thought and preparation as would be necessary if you had traveled to the employer's office dressed in your best interviewing attire.

Your strategy - Determine whether it is a call or an interview - calls are primarily informational - interviews include job-related questions. If it is an interview, decide quickly if this is a good time to talk. If not, simply ask if you can arrange a mutually convenient time to conduct the interview. Apply your best interviewing skills (even if you are dressed to play tennis). Follow-up as you would for any interview.
 

 Electronic mail:  
E-mail is widely used in the job search process as a means of communication, and its applications continue to grow. For example, after interviewing on campus, one employer realized that she had selected too many students for on-site interviews. Upon returning to her organization, she contacted some of her hiring managers to develop a list of follow-up questions that might help her further screen the candidate pool. She then e-mailed the list of questions to each student. All of the students responded, and after she and the hiring managers reviewed their answers, they realized that some of the students had much better writing skills than others. Because strong communication skills was listed in the position description as an important and job-related qualification, those students who demonstrated the best writing skills were the ones invited for on-site interviews.

Your strategy - Access and read your e-mail at least once daily. Take your time replying to official, job-related e-mails. If you need assistance, have a draft of your note proofed by someone before cutting and pasting it into your e-mail reply.
 

 Personal URLs:  
Personal web pages or URLs share a characteristic with telephone answering machine or voice mail messages--they can leave a great, first impression or a first, last impression. Career counselors hear numerous stories from employers who, after hearing a candidate's "unprofessional" answering message, simply never call again. The same care and cautions can be applied to personal URLs.

Your strategy - Regularly review and screen the information on your personal URL. Include site information in your resume and/or cover letter especially when it points to some professional work experiences or hobbies. Periodically update the information,especially if you include such items as your resume or personal calendar/class schedule. Maintain some level of security for your site.


Resource: Dr. James L. McBride, Jr.
University Director, University Career Services
University of Virginia

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