How to Lay a Solid Job Search Foundation Before You Graduate

Presented by

Lee GamelinJob Search Training and Development Specialist

Licensed Facilitator, Get Hired NOW!™

Sponsored byGamelin Associates, Lancaster PA U.S.A.

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A Little About Lee Gamelin

• Business owner, career school owner, Campus Director, Admissions Director, Career Services Director, Compliance Director, Career Services Consultant

• Created and facilitated over 700 programs, workshops, seminars and webinars on job search effectiveness for various schools, colleges and agencies

• One major program validated for CEUs by a national institutional accrediting agency for outstanding results.

• Licensed Facilitator, Get Hired NOW!™

Introduction

• What exactly does it take to find the right job?• How long will it take?• How can you make it happen faster?

Why some graduates suffer extended unemployment

• They don’t know where to start.• There are too many things to do.• It’s difficult to stay motivated.

Job seekers rarely fail because there are no job opportunities. More often, they

fail because of 3 fatal mistakes.

• They don’t have a clear picture of what they want.• They don’t have a strong network.• They don’t have a plan.

1. Know What You Want

To determine exactly what job you want, you’ll need to use a combination of three different methods:

1. Getting to know yourself better2. Gathering more information about industries

and jobs3. Finding out what others think about where

you fit

Getting to know yourself better

• Start by creating a skills inventory.• Another tool for getting to know

yourself is a career assessment.• Johnson O’Connor Research

Foundation, http://www.jocrf.org/

Gathering more information about industries and jobs

• You may need to conduct industry research. Begin at Industries At A Glance• http://www.bls.gov/iag/

Finding out what others think about where you fit

A highly effective method of learning what job might be right for you is through conducting informational interviews.

2. Build A Powerful Network

Finding a job is all about people. It’s the people you know, people you meet, and people you locate who have information who will inevitably help you get a job.

Social Media

• LinkedIn• Facebook• Twitter

Three good how-to resources for using LinkedIn as a powerful job search tool.

1. Jason Alba’s eBook, I’m on LinkedIn, Now What???2. Louise Fletcher’s eBook, The Blue Sky Guide to LinkedIn3. Steve Dalton’s book, The 2-Hour Job Search, Using

Technology to Get the Right Job FASTER

3. Your Action Plan

The third and most important element in cutting your job search time in half is to design and implement a specific, organized action plan.

Job Search Approaches

Six different job search approaches in order of effectiveness:

1. Networking and referral-building2. Contacting potential employers directly3. Informational interviewing4. Employing recruiters and agencies5. Searching specialized job listings6. Using Internet job boards and help-wanted ads

When Do I Start Using These Approaches?

The answer is when you know what you want!

Assuming you’re going to school to learn the skills needed to carry out a defined job or career begin building your job search foundation

• at the beginning of your studies at a career school, community college or junior college,

• at the beginning of your junior year at a senior college, or

• no later than one year before graduation.

Choosing Where to Focus

Each job search journey is made up of 5 separate stages:

1.Knowing what you want2.Finding opportunities and contacts3.Applying to employers4.Getting Interviews5.Landing the job

Take Advantage of Technology

If you're looking for a comprehensive approach to managing your contacts, and automating some of your letter writing and email messages, we suggest you explore some of the career management and talent transition platforms such as JibberJobber.

Putting It All TogetherIn order to cut your job search time in half after graduation, you need to pull three elements together now.

• Determine exactly what you want• Concentrate on building a strong network• Make a plan that includes your job search

approaches, and taking advantage of technology and social media.

Put your plan in writing and post it where you can see it often.

Your Action Plan

1. Complete a skills inventory2. Arrange to take a career assessment with

your career center or private agency3. Sign up for a free LinkedIn account4. Read Jason Alba’s and Steve Dalton’s books5. Complete your LinkedIn profile6. Start building your connections7. Subscribe to JibberJobber (It’s free!)8. Arrange Informational Interviews.

What To Do NextI hope you have found the ideas in this introductory webinar helpful! If you wish to receive a full transcript of “How to Lay a Solid Job Search Foundation Before You Graduate,” go to http://findjobsquickly.typepad.com/my-blog/webinars.html

To download the Skills Inventory, go to http://findjobsquickly.typepad.com/my-blog/helpful-downloads.html

And I invite you to subscribe to our blog to discover little-known and really uncommon material that will enable you to make quantum leaps in your job search success.

Best wishes for a very successful job search, and have a great day!

Lee Gamelin, FindJobsQuickly

FindJobsQuickly is a service mark of Gamelin Associates, Lancaster PA