The Organized Job Search Online Workshop

1
The Organized Job Search Online Workshop

• Northeastern Illinois University
• Placement Office
• Created by Barbara Cosentino, Assistant Director
  of Placement

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Prepare For Your Job Search

• Whether you are a new graduate, about to
  graduate, a career changer or simply looking for
  a job while in school, you need to first prepare
  for your job hunt.
• The best way to be prepared is to be organized!!

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Materials You Will Need

• Large Binder
• Dividers with labels
• Plastic binder insert sleeves
• Filofax, card file, or other method of storing
  business cards

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Divider Labels

• Name your divider labels as follows
• Jobs Applied to
• Company Research
• Contacts Made
• Websites/Upcoming Events

5
Look For Jobs

• There are numerous places to look for jobs. Do
  not limit yourself to one or two websites or
  other resources. This is not a good way to job
  hunt. Be sure to utilize all resources available
  to you and consistently seek out new avenues to
  finding a job.

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Internet Job Search Options

• Giant Job Listing Portals (http//www.monster.com,
  http//www.yahoojobs.com, http//www.careerbuilde
  r.com)
• Smaller Industry-Specific Websites
  (http//www.museum-employment.com,
  http//www.shovelbums.org, http//www.computerjobs
  .com)
• Online Newspaper Classifieds (http//www.chicagotr
  ibune.com, http//www.chicagoreader.com,
  http//www.suburbanchicagonews.com)
• Online Websites for Professional Organizations
  (http//www.nabe.org, http//www.astd.org,
  http//www.awra.org)
• Company Research Capsules (http//www.hoovers.com,
  http//www.greenbook.org, http//www.corporateinf
  ormation.com)
• Chambers of Commerce (http//www.uschamber.com,
  http//www.2chambers.com/illinois3.htm)
• Cultural Organizations (http//www.polishamericanb
  usiness.com/index.asp, http//www.hace-usa.org/,
  http//www.black-collegian.com)
• Listservs/Audience Sharing Websites
  (http//groups.yahoo.com, http//www.craigslist.co
  m, http//www.geocities.com/HotSprings/1505/listse
  rvs.html)
• Temporary Employment Agencies (http//www.allstarj
  obs.com, http//chicago.about.com/od/employment1/,
  http//www.chicagojobresource.com)
• State Unemployment Office (http//www.ides.state.i
  l.us/)
• Placement Office/Career Office (http//www.neiu.ed
  u/CarServ.htm)

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To Post or Not to Post?

• You might be tempted to post your resume on a
  website hoping that a job will find you rather
  than you finding a job yourself.
• Be careful and selective as to where you post
  your resume and whether or not to include all of
  your contact information on your resume.
• You may wish to set up an alternate email address
  and use only a cell phone number on any resume
  you post online. This will protect you from
  unwanted spam cluttering up your main email
  and/or telemarketing calls.
• Remember If you post your resume and then stop
  job hunting, hoping that jobs will find you, then
  you have become the worse kind of job hunter The
  Couch Potato Job Hunter!

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Research Before Applying

• If you see a job you wish to apply for, stop
  before you hit that submit resume button!
• Visit a company research site or the website for
  the organization and do some research first.
• Read their mission statement, current company
  news and find out what exactly they do!
• Print out any pertinent information about the
  company and insert it into your binder. Highlight
  any details that you deem particularly important.

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Review Your Job Ad

• Go back to the job ad you are interested in.
  Print it out and highlight any details that seem
  particularly important before inserting it into
  your binder. For instance, here is a job ad an
  organized job seeker marked up for herself
• Responsible to build the store to be a
  destination store, a fashion leader in an upscale
  and unique sales environment where someone can
  create their own fashion, fragrance and style
  build the store to have uncomparable customer
  service and be the model for global expansion.
  REQUIREMENTS BA/BS degree preferred with
  minimum of 2 years as store manager- multi-store,
  multi-department management experience preferred.
  Prior retail sales experience with an emphasis on
  fashion merchandise including personal care,
  clothing jewelry products is required. Solid
  track record with proven sales success, customer
  relations, employee recruitment, training
  development, merchandising, and inventory/shrink
  control. Requires excellent organization,
  prioritization written/verbal communication
  skills.Able to stand on feet for long periods of
  time, daily bending/lifting to retrieve
  under-stock, use of stepladder to
  arrange/re-arrange merchandise displays and able
  to lift up to 50 pounds.

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Use Your Highlights to Tailor Your Cover Letter
and Resume

• Reread your highlights These are the qualities
  employers are looking for specifically for this
  job!
• If you have the skills and experience mentioned
  in the ad, then use those words in your cover
  letter and resume.
• Only after doing that, apply online. Follow up
  your application with a snail mail resume and
  cover letter within 2 weeks after applying online.

11
Job Hunt Via Networking

• Up to 95 of jobs are never advertised. They are
  part of the hidden job market. (Sources
  Katherine Hansen, author of Dynamic Cover Letters
  for New Graduates The Wall Street Journal and
  Richard Nelson Bolles, author of What Color is
  Your Parachute?)
• Often the hidden job market can be best
  characterized by this phrase Its not what you
  know, its who you know.
• Networking can be time-consuming but the results
  from networking job offers, notifications of
  upcoming openings, and valuable contacts are
  worth it.

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Figure Out Who You Know

• Begin to list out anyone you know from the
  following group that has worked in an
  organization or company that hires individuals in
  the job you are interested in
• Family Members
• Friends/Neighbors
• Former or Current Job Contacts/Supervisors (This
  includes former co-workers, vendor or distributor
  contacts, etc.)
• School contacts (Professors, Graduate Assistants,
  Guest Speakers, Administrators, Fellow students)
• Community Contacts (Religious leaders,
  volunteer/charitable organization members,
  professional organizations, clubs, outside
  activities).

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Begin Networking

• Using your list, approach your contacts as a
  source of information. Important Do not ask for
  a job!! Your contacts may not be in the position
  to give you a job.
• Instead, ask them to provide you with an
  informational interview at a time convenient to
  both of you in their office.
• For instance
• Hi, Ms. Bannister. You may not know this, but I
  am graduating in May with a degree in Finance and
  Im looking for information on what it is like to
  work in a large bank such as the one you work at.
  Would it be possible for me to set up a 20 minute
  appointment with you at your office for
  informational purposes?
• If an in-office appointment is not feasible, set
  up a phone informational interview time.

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Conducting Informational Interviews

• Once your appointment is set up, treat the
  informational interview as you would a job
  interview. Research the organization beforehand,
  arrive 5-10 minutes early, bring a copy of your
  resume, and dress professionally.
• You will also need to have a list of questions
  prepared for your contact. In an informational
  interview, you are the one doing the interviewing.

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Questions to Ask During an Informational Interview

• How did you get into your career path?
• What do you like most about working for a company
  such as this?
• What sort of advice would you provide someone
  like myself who is looking to break into this
  field/this type of company?
• Would you mind looking at my resume and providing
  some suggestions?
• Who else in the field in this organization or
  any other would you consider an expert?
• Would it be alright if I contacted this person
  for more information?

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After the Informational Interview

• Once your 20 minute interview is complete,
  follow-up with a thank you letter just as you
  would after a job interview.
• Include a resume with your thank you letter. If
  resume suggestions were made, be sure you follow
  them before including them in your letter.
• Follow up with your contact via email or phone at
  least once a month. A short message letting him
  or her know of your progress and how his or her
  advice assisted you is appropriate.
• Include your contact information and any
  interactions you had in your binder for follow-up
  later and to act as a reminder.
• Start the process over.

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Other Places to Job Hunt

• Job Fairs (These include University based events,
  community events, company-specific job fairs and
  online job fairs)
• Conferences and Professional Organizations
• Clubs (These can include city-based
  business-related clubs such as Young
  Professionals of Chicago http//www.ypchicago.or
  g)
• Volunteering (Volunteering time in your field
  for instance, creating a website for a local
  religious organization can net you valuable
  contacts and may even get you hired)

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Collect Contacts

• In all cases, no matter if you are networking,
  visiting a job fair, or attending a club meeting,
  ask individuals for their business cards.
• Keep all of your business cards together and log
  your transactions with these individuals in your
  binder.
• Add these individuals to your network by asking
  them for an informational interview, or emailing
  them (For instance, you can email a person after
  he or she has spoken to your class or club).

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Create Your Own Networking Cards

• You may wish to create your own networking cards
  to give out at networking events, informational
  interviews, etc.
• Networking cards should include your name and
  contact information, your degree or anticipated
  degree and your interests.
• Networking cards do not have to expensive. You
  can use card stock and a business card program
  from an office supply store to create your cards.

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And Repeat

• Looking for a job is a full time job.
• Devote at least 3-6 hours a week for job hunting.
  More if you are able to!
• Constantly network you may meet your next boss
  in the supermarket, bowling alley or at a job
  fair.
• Tailor your application materials to match the
  job.
• Stay organized A job you applied for 3 months
  ago may suddenly open up and you may receive a
  call. Your binder will allow you to quickly flip
  back and reference that initial job posting.