Career Development Center n www.mtsu.edu/career

1. Building a Successful Job Search Strategy Career Development Center n www.mtsu.edu/career

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Difference Can Be Subtle Career Fair You get the recruiter to consider you for a marketing assistant position – that’s the HJM Career Fair • The recruiter is actively seeking chemical engineers – that’s the OJM 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

6. Sources of New Hires CareerXroads Annual Survey of Major Employers, Released in a SHRM Webinar 2/12/09

7. 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

8. 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

9. Networking Four Steps to Success • Identify a job you would like to explore • Find someone doing that exact job right now • Talk to them • Repeat until retired…

10. Finding People • 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 • Career Center • Alumni Office • Reference Librarian (they love to help) • Hoovers, Zapdata.com, and similar • SIC Codes • Chamber of Commerce Directory

11. 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

12. 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

13. Networking Online • LinkedIn Groups • MTSU • Groups by subject

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

15. Publications • National • Business Magazines • Newspapers • Industry Specific Newspapers • Regional • Business section of metropolitan newspapers • The Business Journals

16. Publications • Reading between the lines • E.g. Nashville Business Journal • Who is growing, expanding, and succeeding, and for networking leads

17. Big Book of Lists—Really!

18. People in the News Valuable Networking Source The “Achievers” section of the Nashville Business Journal list people who are being promoted or moving to new opportunities. 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!

19. Chambers of Commerce • What do they do? • List of employers • Networking events • Job Boards • US Chamber of Commerce • Locate other chambers • www.uschamber.com/chambers/directory/default

20. 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.

21. What to Expect • 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.” • I’m too busy - “This’ll only take a moment.” • Send me your resume - “Great. What’s your email? I’ll send it to you while we’re talking.” • 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?”

22. 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?

23. 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 December • 25 in January • 44 in February • 23 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.

24. 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!

25. 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?

26. Support System • Job Searching can be stressful—how will you handle obstacles and rejection? • Keep yourself emotionally and physically fit.

27. In Review… • Hidden Job Market • Networking • Informational Interviewing • Researching Prospects • Internships & Co-op Programs • Overt Job Market • University Career Centers (referrals, resume books, job postings) • Internet Job Boards (Monster, Career Builder) • Company/Organization Web Sites • Fee-based Agencies (Temp, Recruiting, Headhunters, Placement) • Government Agencies-Career Network • Job Fairs