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Job Searching

• Planning and preparation are crucial every step of the way in a job search…taking extra time early on to prepare and to establish career goals will bring your job search process to an end more quickly.
• Before you begin a job search, it is important to know what your end result, or what your ideal job is. You should also give thought to where you would like to be geographically. Knowing both of these can help narrow down and focus your job search.
• For each step of the job search process, learn what will happen next before it does. Be prepared for each step to show initiative and foresight.
• If you do not currently have one, be sure you get an answering machine or a voice mail system before beginning a job search – and make the message a professional-sounding one. Employers will NOT keep calling you if they cannot get a hold of you, no matter how great your résumé is!
• Establish an email account (you can get free student accounts through UNA) to enable employers to contact you more readily. Also, be sure the address is not a cliché or nickname. (DorkBoy@aol.com will probably not convey the message that you want to make.)
• A job search is a full time job and takes time (an average of 6 months for active searchers). Have patience…for many job searchers, the process seems to go nowhere, and then they suddenly have three interviews the same week.
• Prepare a verbal summary – or ‘60 second spiel’ – of your background, achievements, and career interests prepared to facilitate your networking and interviewing.

Cover Letters/Résumés

• Never address a cover letter “To Whom it May Concern” unless you do not care if you don’t get the job. Whenever possible, avoid sending your letter to the personnel department as they generally do not have hiring power – only the power to screen you out.
• Never staple, fold, paperclip, bind, or punch holes in a résumé. Do not use correction fluid, correction tape or make pen and ink changes or deletions
• Describe your experience on your résumé with concrete words rather than vague descriptions. For example, it is better to use "managed a team of software engineers" than "responsible for managing, training....". Use words and phrases that define the level and scope of your experience and skills, i.e., write complex technical documents; prepare routine correspondence; speak before groups of 100 or more people; etc.
• When describing a previous job on your résumé, use jargon and acronyms specific to your industry, but also spell out for readers unfamiliar with the terms. Use specifics when describing your work experience or skills, such as the names of software you use, i.e., Microsoft Word or Lotus 1-2-3.
• There is no absolute right format to use when creating a résumé. This is your personal work, so create a résumé that represents you well and that you like. However, make sure that your résumé is consistent (margins, order/layout, bolding, capitalization, and style must be consistent) and never use a template or wizard…your résumé should be your own work.
• Make sure your résumé says the most about you in the fewest number of words (one page is recommended for Bachelor’s level students, but there are some exceptions, e.g. more than ten years of employment experience).
• Your résumé must tell the most about you in the fewest number of words (one page is recommended for Bachelor’s level students, but there are some exceptions, e.g. more than ten years of employment experience). Only items leading directly to setting up an interview should be included. Salary requirements, supervisor’s names, reasons for leaving jobs, and personal information such as health, age, marital status, etc. should be excluded.
• Both your résumé and cover letter should be examples of your best work! Maintain a positive tone by excluding negative aspects of your experience, and PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD!
• Remember, that your potential employer may photocopy your résumé, so be sure that the paper is not too dark or “blotchy” to photocopy well! Use a laser printer on light-colored professional résumé paper.

Dress for Success

• Always dress the part. First impressions are critical, even if you are merely picking up an application, so dress in conservative, professional tailored, well-pressed clothing. How you look will play a big part in determining employer interest.
• You have to make the team before you get to wear the uniform, so be sure you dress professionally for any job interview, even if "casual dress" is what you will be wearing on the job.

Interviewing

• After a job interview, be sure to keep a record of the name and title of the person you interviewed with, along with names and titles of anyone else you may have met. (Ideally, you will have collected their business cards.) This will not only help you remember whom you interviewed with but will also assist you when you write your Thank You notes!
• Before you go on a job interview, it is MANDATORY that you research the company and know yourself. If you do not complete these first two steps, you will have a much more difficult time obtaining that offer!
• If the job is not important enough to you to prepare for an interview in the first place, you should not be wasting your time or the employer’s time...do not “interview just for practice.” Instead, utilize the Career Planning & Development’ Mock Interview Program.

Thank You Notes

• Letters or emails of thanks after a job interview are necessary. You should have sent a note to your prospective employer within 24-48 hours of the interview. This is your chance to remind your potential boss of your qualifications, how you would fit in with company culture and to makeover any mistakes you made in the interview.
• When writing a thank-you note, keep your writing professional and focused. Use titles such as Mr. or Ms. unless you have a prior relationship or feel it would introduce a false note of formality. Also, if you have met with more than one person during an interview, write to everyone.

Graduate School

• Begin planning in the summer before your senior year of college or at least a year before you plan to start graduate school. Study deadlines for specific programs carefully since they may vary significantly depending on the institution to which you apply.
• Start preparing by graduate school by writing a draft statement of purpose (why you want to be admitted to the program to which you are applying). Start browsing through directories of graduate programs and college catalogs early!
• When applying for graduate school, do not forget to meet with your current faculty members to discuss your statement of intent and possible institutions and programs. Talk to them early enough that they have time to write your proper letters of recommendation.
• If you need to take any standardized tests to be admitted to a graduate school program, sign up for an early time slot. That way, you will have time to retake any test that you need to in order to get the scores necessary for admission.

References

• You may also choose to include a separate page of references when you submit your résumé to an employer. While reference information should never be included on your actual résumé, including an additional sheet may be a good way to provide the employer with additional information about yourself.
• When choosing references to use, it is important to consider those people who can give a good, professional review of your qualifications. Recent graduates will want to include a combination of professors, organizational advisors, work supervisors, or others who can speak about you at a professional level. (If you have several years of work experience, it may not be necessary to include former professors.)
• For graduate school, it is VITAL that you choose at least several references from among your professors, and at least one from the area in which you plan to get a graduate degree.
• Be sure to ask for permission before including someone as a reference. In addition, you may want to ask your potential reference if he or she would be able to provide a good reference for you.
• Finally, be sure to provide each of your references with a copy of your résumé. Some of them may only know a segment of your experience and that would provide them with a complete picture.
• If you ever want a reference to be a reference for you again, be sure to send them a thank-you note and let them know what job you've accepted and/or where you've decided to attend graduate school.

Negotiating an Offer

• Employment negotiations are different from other types of negotiations. They are not a one-time deal like buying a house or a car. When the employment negotiations are over, you will have to work with your former "adversary" on a daily basis; more important, your career success may depend on the person with whom you have just finished negotiating. Therefore, even though you want to negotiate the best possible deal, you need to proceed in a way that does not tarnish your image.
• Honesty is important. If you lie during job negotiations, eventually you are likely to be caught. Once you are caught lying, you lose all credibility. Even if you do not lose the job, you will be placed at a tremendous disadvantage, and your future credibility on the job will be undermined. On the other hand, total candor will not be rewarded. You are not required to answer a specific question directly unless the answer helps your position. You can determine what you want to say and how you want to say it.