February 11, 2003

Professional Opportunities Orientation Program

Karen PollardJosh Murer

Selecting an Employer

Goal:

Discuss factors that should be important to you in selecting an employer:

What industries interest you?

What are the employer’s values?

What role will you play?

Help you make the right decision…for you and…your employer.Help you make the right decision…for you and…your employer.

Industry

• What do they do? Type

– Service

– Manufacturing

– Public Service

– Diversified

Function– Examples: Consulting, Banking, Healthcare, Automotive, Energy

Goal: Discuss factors that should be important to you in selecting an employer:

Industry

• What stage are they in? Stable Growth Declining

• Do I want to work in this industry?

Core Values

• What are Core Values? Basic set of principles shared by an organization under which

decision-making is conducted

• Why are they important? Define the work environment Establish measurements for evaluation Identify the vision of a company

Core Values

• How do you understand an employer’s core values? ASK…and do so frequently! Research

– Letter to the shareholder– Financial statements– Website– Other company literature

Example:

Cardinal’s Core Values and How they Define the Workplace

• Ethical Maintains an open and honest environment

• Performance Driven Everyone works to deliver 20 % growth…every quarter

• Innovative Encourages creativity and innovation Not afraid of mistakes

• Collaborative Promotes teamwork Success, but leaving dead bodies is not accepted

Position: What Role do I Fill?

• What types of positions are there? Training programs

– Focuses on developing a specific area of expertise

Broad-based rotational programs– Provides exposure and diversity of experience

Traditional entry-level positions– Allows for mastery of a specific job

• What are “typical” career paths? Don’t focus on job titles, but rather:

– Career patterns– Employer expectations– Associate expectations

• Which environment do I feel most comfortable in?

Position: What Role do I Fill?

Conclusion

Which Company is the Best FitFit?