Career Development Center n www.mtsu.edu/career

Building a Successful Job

Search Strategy

Everyone’s Job Search is Different

• International, national, regional, local?• Family, spouse, children?• Need for immediate cash?• Working while job searching?• How much time before school loans are due?• Major, GPA, experience, extra-curricular• Grad school vs. immediate entry into work force

Two Approaches

Overt Job Market• University Career Centers (referrals, resume books, OCR, job

postings)• Internet Job Boards (Monster, Career Builder)• Company/Organization Web Sites• For-Profit Agencies (Temp, Recruiting, Headhunters, Placement)• Government Agencies-Career Network• Job Fairs• Jobs you find advertised on affinity sites (associations and clubs)• Jobs from aggregator programs such as simplyhired.com or

indeed.com

Two Approaches

Hidden Job Market• All the jobs that are filled before they are posted

• Or all the jobs obtained by someone who did not respond to a posting

• How to find?

– Networking

– Informational interviewing

– Researching prospects

– Internships/co-op programs

Difference Can Be Subtle

Career Fair• The recruiter is actively

seeking chemical engineers – that’s the OJM

Career Fair • You get the recruiter to consider

you for a marketing assistant position – that’s the HJM

Corporate Web Site• You apply to jobs that are

clearly listed – those jobs are part of the OJM

Corporate Web Site• But, at the same time, you

automatically may be considered for hundreds of other jobs not shown – all those jobs are in HJM

0%5%

10%15%20%25%30%35%

External Sources of New Hires

Sources of Hire

Sources of New Hires

CareerXroads Annual Survey of Major Employers, Released in a SHRM Webinar 2/12/09

Start with a Target

• Be specific, not vague– Something to do with green business vs. Industrial level

recycling and global trade of post-consumer electronics– A position in real estate vs. Residential income property

manager– A position in banking & finance vs. Investment banking –

mergers & acquisitions

• Know the lingo: “editorial assistant” vs. “assistant editor”

• Pick one to three targets only and exhaust an idea before wandering off after a new one

Networking

• Talking to computers doesn’t count• You do have contacts– Start with those nearest you: friends, incl. high

school friends, family, faculty, staff– Go to alumni, friends of family, family of friends– You need to get to outer rings as fast as possible

(to people you don’t directly know)• Everybody loves a college student

Networking

Four Steps to Success1. Identify a job you would like to explore2. Find someone doing that exact job right now3. Talk to them4. Repeat until retired…

Finding People

• Career Center• Alumni Office• Reference Librarian (they

love to help)• Hoovers, Zapdata.com, and

similar• SIC Codes• Chamber of Commerce

Directory

• Specialized directories such as medical directories; foreign firm directories

• Yellow Pages• Professional associations• Tennessean/DNJ (other

city’s papers)• Nashville Business Journal

(other city’s business papers)

• Websites

Finding People

• MTSU athletic events – tailgates• MTSU Alumni Association events• Chamber of Commerce events• Greek and/or student organization alumni events• Community organizations – Boy Scouts, Habitat, Lions Club,

Masons, church, etc.• Community volunteer activities or sporting events – high

school football games, Red Cross, Boys & Girls Club board meetings

Networking Online

• LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter• Ask everyone for introductions to someone in specific

industries or companies• “Does anyone know where I could get a job?”• “Does anyone know someone working in private K-12

education in Chicago?”• Hot tip: the best contact is not a vice president; it’s

somebody two years into the job you want

Networking Online

LinkedIn Groups• MTSU• Groups by subject

Professional Associations

How to Locate?1. What Can I Do With This Major? (CDC website)2. Occupational Outlook Handbook3. Google – [academic discipline] + “professional association

Publications

National • Business Magazines• Newspapers• Industry Specific

Newspapers

Regional• Business section of

metropolitan newspapers

• The Business Journals

Publications

Reading between the lines• E.g. Nashville Business Journal• Who is growing, expanding, and

succeeding, and for networking leads

Big Book of Lists—Really!

People in the News

Who Has a Linked-In Account?Most professionals do, check to see if they are in your 2nd or 3rd tier connections—then ask for an introduction!

Valuable Networking SourceThe “Achievers” section of the Nashville Business Journal list people who are being promoted or moving to new opportunities.

Chambers of Commerce

US Chamber of Commerce • Locate other chambers• www.uschamber.com/chambers/directory/default

What do they do?• List of employers• Networking events• Job Boards

Introductions

• Don’t begin by asking for a job—it will take you longer to get one

• Do– Ask for advice, ideas, leads, and referrals– Ask about the field as a whole– Ask which orgs might be growing, which areas of

the country might be doing better than others, etc.

What to Expect

1. We’re not hiring – “That’s okay. I’m not applying for a position with you. I’m just looking for information about this line of work.”

2. I’m too busy - “This’ll only take a moment.”3. Send me your resume - “Great. What’s your email? I’ll send

it to you while we’re talking.”4. Just apply online - “Actually, I’m going to be applying

through ‘official’ channels, as well, but I wondered if you could give me a little inside information. Could you answer a question for me?”

Info Interviewing Questions

• How did you get into this?• What kind of preparation is typical to get into this? Is that

really required, or just the typical approach?• What was different from what you expected? What was the

biggest surprise when you went into this? • Who else does this? What other companies? Who else should

I be talking to?• What ensures continued advancement? • What is the typical career path out of this position or field? • What advice do you have for someone like me?

Joe’s Job Search

• December 5, 2008 - downsized after 14 years with a small investment research company

• During the transition, sent 800+ e-mails to either connect or network with others• LinkedIn account went from 6 connections to 310 connections; 70 outstanding

invitations • Number of networking meetings (one-on-one or group meetings):

18 in December25 in January44 in February23 in first three weeks of March

• On average: 7 to 8 emails per day and 6 to 7 networking meetings per week• One formal interview and job offer - March, 2009

How? Landed a senior research analyst position with a bank through networking with someone at a local networking group whose cousin is in HR at the bank.

A Typical Week … In the Life of A Job Searcher

• Researching companies/organizations to send resume and cover letter

• Tailoring cover letters to employer/industry

• Making phone calls to generate leads/find out who to address cover letter

• Following-up on resumes and cover letters from last week

• Attending networking (group) events

• Setting up “informational interviews” or 1:1 meetings to expand your network

• Practice for upcoming interview/research further

• Interviewing• Managing online networking

(LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.)• Sending thank you letters

reiterating interest & skills• Making follow-up phone calls on

last week’s interviews• … And maintaining a life!

What is Your Contingency Plan?

• Always have a backup plan, and then another.• When do you need to have a job?• What will happen if you don’t have a job by then?• If an active job search takes 6-9 months, when do

you need to start your job search?

Support System

• Job Searching can be stressful—how will you handle obstacles and rejection?

• Keep yourself emotionally and physically fit.

In Review…

Hidden Job Marketa) Networkingb) Informational Interviewingc) Researching Prospectsd) Internships & Co-op Programs

Overt Job Marketa) University Career Centers (referrals, resume books, job postings)b) Internet Job Boards (Monster, Career Builder)c) Company/Organization Web Sitesd) Fee-based Agencies (Temp, Recruiting, Headhunters, Placement)e) Government Agencies-Career Networkf) Job Fairs