Your Job Search

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Your Job Search!

• Internship Career Services CenterNorth
  Carolina Wesleyan College

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Presentation Outline

• Networking
• Direct Marketing
• Mail
• Telephone
• Answer Ads
• Employment Agencies

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Networking
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Networking

• People connecting through other people.
• 75 of all US jobs are not advertised!

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Why?

• 2 Reasons
• Referrals are seen by hiring managers as less of
  a risk than prospects they have no information
  on.
• 88 of employers surveyed said that employee
  referrals brought the highest quality
  applicants
• Advertising jobs costs .

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Building Your Network

• Friends Relatives
• Professors
• High School Teachers, Previous Coworkers,
  Teammates, etc.
• Preacher
• Coaches
• Consider how the person referring you might be
  perceived. You dont want someone with a poor
  reputation recommending you.

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Building Your Network

• You probably know at least 50 people your
  Primary Network
• Each of those people know another 50 people
  your Secondary Network
• That adds up to potentially 2,500 helping in your
  job search!

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How to start?

• Set a goal talk to 5 people every day and make
  notes of ways people say they might be able to
  help.
• What to say?
• Give them your resume and ask them to pass it on
  if they hear of anything.
• Follow up with them weekly.
• Network right up until an appealing job offer
  comes in!

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Direct Marketing

• Mail

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Direct Marketing (mail)

• 2/3 of all job hunters send letters asking for an
  interview gets the resume in someones hands!
• How to find addresses phone numbers
• Online Phone Directories
• Chambers of Commerce
• Employment Security Commission

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How successful is this?

• 50 letters 1 interview
• Keep in mind not all companies have immediate
  openings but something may open up in a month!
• Just 1!!! Why bother???
• That 1 could be the perfect 1 and you never know
  where the others may lead down the road.
• If you arent into networking this is almost a
  must!

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How much will it cost?

• Postage, envelops, printing, etc.
• Estimate approx. 45 cents per letter or 22.50
  per interview
• Get more for your money with 2 steps!
• Call ahead to get the correct spelling of the
  name and title of the person in charge of the
  department you are interested in rather than To
  whom it may concern, Attn Manager, etc.
• After a few days of sending, follow up via phone
  and ask for an interview!
• -- This should increase your your results to 3
  interviews!

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Direct Marketing

• Telephone

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Direct Marketing (phone)

• Businesses earn 100 billion annually by selling
  products over the phone. Why cant you sell
  yourself this way?!
• Managers will talk with you but plan what you
  will say in advance!
• Elevator Speech!
• Practice makes perfect keep making calls even if
  the first few dont go so well. Whats the worst
  they can say? Whats the best? Is it worth it?

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Direct Marketing (phone)

• When should I call?
• Before 10am. Managers can get busy with meetings
  and such after this time.
• If you are told he/she is unavailable ask for a
  better time to call, leave a voice message, and
  call back again at the recommended time.
• What if theyre not hiring?
• Dont get discouraged. Thank them for their time
  and move on to the next call.
• How well does this work?
• 1 interview per 15 calls made

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Answer Ads
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Answer Ads

• Newspapers
• Online
• Monster, Career Builder, Hot Jobs, etc.
• ICSC Online Postings
• Local/regional job sites (ESC, East Carolina Help
  Wanted, Raleigh Jobs, etc.)

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Narrowing online search options

• Begin with large general sites
• Next, move to local job sites
• Look for specialty sites (specific to your
  industry)
• Determine your top 10 employers and make a point
  to visit the HR portion of their site weekly and
  apply for any jobs of interest.

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How to respond

• Read for specific job requirements the ideal
  candidate will
• Write a personal letter to EACH employer matching
  yourself to their job requirements
• If you dont have something they have requested
  supplement with something else you do have and
  explain how it can benefit them.
• Include a copy of your resume and send it in the
  method requested in the ad (in the letter include
  a job if in the ad).

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Keep track!

• Stay organized by saving an electronic and paper
  version of every letter you send out and job
  announcement you respond to.
• Also save copies of any correspondence between
  you and the employer.
• Keep these files with you at all times in case
  you get a call. If youre not prepared, dont
  answer the phone.
• Remember that it could take a few weeks to hear
  something but you should follow up.

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Employment Agencies
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Employment Agencies

• 20,000 in the US
• They play match-maker
• Receive staffing requests from companies and then
  recruit and screen candidates before sending the
  best to the company for an interview.
• These arent all the same
• Some are field-specific, some are general
• Some temp only, some permanent only

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Employment Agencies

• Benefits
• Getting your foot in the door
• ¾ of all temporary workers are eventually offered
  permanent jobs
• Learning new skills since some agencies provide
  training
• Building contacts references
• Where to find agencies
• Chambers of Commerce, Yellow Pages
• Look for categories like employment,
  staffing, recruiting, etc.

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Reference

• This presentation was adapted from The Job
  Hunting Handbook (2008) by Harry Dahlstrom