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Job Search Tips

Marketing Yourself: An Overview

Know The Product -- You

What are your work values, goals, interests and skills? What are you strengths and weaknesses?

Develop a Good Sales Tool- Your Resume and Cover Letter

These resources accurately reflect you -- your goals, accomplishments, and your style. They should be brief and concise. The resume and cover letter should be focused toward the type of industry and/or company you are interested in. As a sales tool, they will be influential in securing an interview.

Identify Your Market -- Explore Career Options

Think about what you want from a company/job and start a priority list. Identify organizations most desirable to you and best suited to your talents and values. Next, list those you would choose second, and so forth. Utilize company literature and conduct informational interviews to help you clarify which companies fit your needs.

Advertising

Let everyone know that you are available. Since fewer than 12% of job hunters find jobs through ads and 5% through employment agencies, it is important that you be active in making personal contacts, letting others know what your skills are. This does not mean that you only get a job through "who you know". It means that you have to let others in on what you know. Also, you can get information on job openings through personal contacts. This is known as "building a referral network".

Develop a Referral Network

The most effective way of securing a position is through making personal contacts. To take advantage of this you have to build a referral network. In other words, try to identify the people you already know and the people you could meet who would be able to refer you to open positions. Why is this so important? Because a personal, face-to-face impression means more and lasts longer than any letter, phone call or resume.

• Sit down and make a list. Who do you already know who might be a potential referral person? Relatives, friends, former co-workers, faculty, schoolmates -- any of these groups can be valuable.
• Once you've identified these already known avenues of referral, make an effort to sit down with these people and make them aware of your skills and of the job search you are undertaking. Some of these people may be willing to write you etters of reference should you need them.
• Make sure those in your Referral Network have a copy of your resume.
• Keep records of who you've spoken to and of what information you've received. Some of your contacts may have already given you information on job vacancies.
• Build your list by looking at the organizations in which you are interested and finding out who is the responsible manager in that area.
• Contact and visit these organizations. Contact the person (by phone or email, by name) who is responsible for the area in which you are interested.

Remember, your primary emphasis should be on using personal contacts and building a referral network.

What about the companies you can't visit or call due to time limitations or locations? Do contact them -- by mail or email. Develop a good cover letter, enclose your resume and send it to the person most likely to be in a position to hire you. Make sure you send your letter to the person directly, not to "To whom it may concern".

Keep Records

A log, spreadsheet or binder is an excellent way to keep your job search organized. For every contact you make, fill out a log sheet with all the pertinent information on the person contacted, the company, the content of your discussion, and any action you need to take. Date the logs. You never know when someone you talked with two weeks ago will call you with an appropriate job opening. Your records will be a handy reference and enable you to respond quickly.

Follow-up

Always follow-up on your visits or phone calls with a letter thanking the person you contacted. You may want to send an additional copy of your resume.

Look for Other Referral Sources or Listings of Job Openings (Be creative.)

• Career Development Center -- Register for on-campus interviews.
• Career Search-- Database tool located in Job Finder listing over 4 million employers worldwide. You can identify potential employers by intersecting a variety of criteria including industry, geographic location (as narrowly defined as zip code), or size (e.g., revenue-based, employee-count). Staff members are eager to show you Career Search and the scope of its usefulness in your search efforts.
• Advertised Jobs -- Advertised jobs in national and local newspaper and in trade publications.
• Chambers of Commerce -- Chambers of Commerce and community service groups.
• Employment agencies -- Employment agencies use fee-paid agencies only and avoid overly directive employment counselors.
• State Employment -- State employment agencies (free service).
• Federal Employment Listings -- Contact your nearest Federal Employment Information Center.
• WPI Alumni -- Utilize only to gather information; don't ask for a job.
• Professional associations and publications -- identify and make valuable contacts and also review advertised openings.
• Faculty and Friends

Please enlist the help of the Career Development Center. Staff members are available to help you through your job search. Whatever strategies you may choose, set aside enough time to conduct your job search systematically.

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Last modified: August 07, 2008 10:14:26