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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1981)
Page 6 STEP III: The Search By ROBERT B. NELSON The third step, the job search, is the most important in the job hunt. Mistakes made during this step are responsible for more fai lures than any other mistake made in job hunting. The key to success is how you start. The typical approach is to fol low one or two job leads obtained from a secondary source such as a friend or a newspaper ad. These leads perhaps turn into an inter view or two, but, more likely, they lead to rejections. A rejection after you have raised your hopes and expecta tions can easily be taken too per sonally. After two or three rejec tions the job hunter typically be comes depressed, and after five or six doesn’t even want to think ab out looking for a job, let alone actually continue to search. Sud denly, the existing job seems much more attractive than pre viously thought and the job hunter clings to it. The alternative approach takes more initial effort, but is the key to getting the job you want. It in volves pursuing not one or two leads, but 20 to 50 leads ... simul taneously. With this approach you develop your own network of job contacts from first-hand, primary sources. Although most individuals you know will not be able to hire you, they will probably each know of two or three people who might have a position for you. This process has several distinct advantages over the typical approach. You will not only get a job, but you will probably get to choose between job offers. You will also keep busy while waiting to hear from different companies, and you will come to accept rejec tion as the employer’s loss, not yours (“I didn’t have time to inter view with that company anyway. ”) Networking also helps you learn more about your chosen profes sion because you talk to people already in it. It’s an ideal chance to learn about problems, benefits and the future of the profession without yet risking a position in it. It’s an excellent chance to answer questions you developed in Step I, in which you decided what you wanted to do. After speaking with enough people you will become familiar SAMPLE RESUME Professional Objectives: Education: Employment History: Present 1977/78 1977 (Summer) 1977 1976/77 Extracurricular Activities: NAME ADDRESS PHONE NUMBER Corporate Management - Finance or financial management in a medium to large corporation that places special emphasis on personal development and individual performance. BA, 1978, College, Major/Minor: Economics/Philosophy - Concentration on quantitive analysis, econometrics, and monetary policy. Moderate computer experience. Wine Consultant, Surdyk’s Wine and Spirits, Minneapolis, MN. Promoted almost immediately from mass merchandise to sales/customer relations in fine wine and cognac. Interface with all management. Student Housing Administrator, Office of Residential Life, College. As one of nine senior assistants to the Dean, I was solely responsible for managing two student residence facilities. Promotion from 1976/77 Resident Assistant position. Financial Analyst Intern, Dayton Hudson Corporation, Minneapolis, MN. The position included project responsibilities in both the Planning & Analysis and technical assignments involving financial analysis or competitive data manipulation. Intern, Community Development, City of St. Paul. Conducted a pre-audit review of the locally administered $18 million • Community Development Block Grant Program. Resident Assistant, College Worked directly under the dorm director as an associate staff member. Responsibilities included: ordering maintenance work, programming, and supervision of one floor of a dorm. 1977/78 - 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974 Member, Omicron Delta Epsilon (National Economics Honor Society), Member, Board of Trustee’s Finance Committee, Member, Campus Media Board. (Interim term) Computer Simulations of Econometric Models. (Interim term) Management Seminar Group Leader. (Interim term) Winter Camping and Environmental Education Group Leader. Member, Selection Committee for a new Economics professor. (Interim term) Student teaching - remedial reading. with the profession and its jargon and start to sound like you are a part of it. As if by magic, you sud denly become one of them — a professional in your chosen pro fession. If you have been in the profes sion for a while and are looking for new opportunities at a higher level, contact senior professionals in your field; they may be people you briefly met at a conference or through a professional association. Ask them if they would be will ing to meet to discuss your career. Most people would be flattered to be asked advice about your future and would be likely to remember you the next time an opening occurs. Ask these people for addi tional names to contact about your professional interests. Building your network is the name of the game! Job questions to be considered What is the purpose of a job search? Surprisingly enough, not to get a job. A better initial objective is to learn as much as possible about your field of interest, the options available to you and to obtain as many interviews as possible. Who will hire me? An employer will hire you if you can convince him or her that you can contribute toward achieving the employer’s goals. Try to lower the employer’s risk in taking a chance on you. In other words: what you can do and how good you are at proving it determines who will offer you a job. W 7 hat do I say to people I don’t know when I call them for the first time? Try a variation on one of the following: “Hi, Mr. Smith. My name is ... Tm graduating from Podunk University in May of 198-, with a degree in philosophy. I wanted to find out about the services and products your business provides. Do you have a few minutes to talk?” Most people are willing to talk at least a few minutes about themselves and what they do. What if a secretary answers? If you wish to speak to a specific person, ask for him or her by name. If the person is not there, ask when might be a good time to call again. Try not to leave a message when the person you are calling does not know who you are. If you do not have their name, ask: “Who is the appropriate person to speak to about the products and services of... (com pany name)?’’ “Products and service” should be replaced with as specific an area of your interest as possible. Then what do I do? Learn from them. Ask about their products and services. Ask their advice. Ask to send a resume. Seek additional names and resources. Thank them for assisting. What else do I need to know? Take good notes and develop a good system of recording information. Indicate the times and dates of calls you made and responses you received. Is attitude important? It is essential, especially when your abilities are unknown and your experience is light. Attitudes represented by initiative, enthusiasm, motivation, confidence and energy go a long way. Sounds like a full-time effort? If you want to do it right, it is. A small sacrifice if a professional job is important to you. At the very least be ready to apply full effort when you will have the time — during vacation breaks, for instance. Have a resume drafted, start a list of leads, and be ready to go. Sounds like a game? Right again. Make it fun. Also recognize that there are formal and informal games. Should I avoid personnel departments? No. Just don t limit yourself to using them as your only method of searching. What is the informal game? The one that really determines who is selected for jobs. Besides specific qualifications, it in volves the right people liking you, lucky timing, setting your own rules, persistence and creativity. Why even bother with the formal game? Because although it may not get you a job, it can prevent you from getting one. It is necessary to play both games. How do I get people to like me? You can answer that easilv with what works for you. Show interest in others and in their activities, be considerate and polite, flexible and grateful. What if I become discouraged? Join the crowd. It’s bound to happen. Just make sure that you are not doing the wrong things. people