JOB SEARCHING

 

·       Individuals are responsible for their career path.

·       A college degree does NOT guarantee employment, but it sure helps give options.

·       Individuals must accept risks that accompany employment and plan for the future.

·       Commitment to lifelong learning will help keep an individual employable.

. . . Learning has just begun!

JOB SEARCHING PROCESS!

Four-Step Process:

1. Explore self
2. Explore the work world
3. Make decisions & set goals
4. Action

EXPLORE SELF

Where are you now? Draw a symbol or picture.

A symbol or picture which represents where you are with your career right now

Gather information about yourself (self-assessment):

• Interests
• Values
• Roles
• Skills/Aptitudes
• Preferred Environments
• Developmental Needs
• Your realities

SIX EASY WORDS TO HELP YOU NAVIGATE FOR JOB SEARCHING SUCCESS

The knowledge to manage your career comes from you (why, who, how) and from an understanding of the career you wish to enter (what, where, when)

Why?        Identify your goals

Who?        Network with people

How?        Learn the skills necessary

What?       Understand requirements

Where?     Find out points of entry

When?      Know when to start looking

EXPLORING THE WORLD WORK

Gathering career information is an important part of the job searching process.

This information includes employment outlook, salary, related occupations, education and training, and job duties. Find what you need in these articles, descriptions, and interviews.

MAKE DECISIONS & SET GOALS

During this phase of the process, you will:

1. Identify possible occupations
2. Evaluate these occupations
3. Explore alternatives
4. Choose both a short term and a long term option

ACTION

You will develop the steps you need to take in order to reach your goal, for example:

• Investigating sources of additional training and education, if needed
• Developing a job search strategy
• Writing your resume
• Gathering company information
• Composing cover letters
• Preparing for job interviews

RESUME WRITING

• Resume writing
• Effective interviewing
• Negotiating and conversation

RESUMES & COVER LETTER

Resumes develop the first impressions.

A sales brochure, a marketing tool, a 30-second commercial advertising a specific product, that product is YOU!

Resumes summarize skills, education, experience, and abilities.  Try to keep to one page.

Resumes are NOT an autobiography, telling your whole life story on a piece of paper.

Cover Letters serve as an introduction and should be company-specific if possible.  Make a connection and grab the attention of the reader.

PARTS OF A RESUME

Heading Identification

Name, address, phone number, and email address

Objective or Summary Statement

Summary of employment desired

Education

Name of school, type of degree, year of graduation as well as majors and minors

Experience

List your experience in reverse chronological order— list most recent experience and work backward.

Identify duties and accomplishments. Use ACTION verbs to describe duties and accomplishments.

Skills

Things you can do that makes you special—using the computer, speaking a foreign language, etc.  The

skills you list will change depending on the job.  Keywords are important.

Activities / Awards / Interests

Clubs, volunteer experience, sports . . . things that show community involvement and leadership skills.

EXAMPLE OF STRONG WORDS

·       Accomplished

·       Analyzed

·       Achieved

·       Coordinated

·       Contributed

·       Delegated

·       Designed

·       Devised

·       Enhanced

·       Established

·       Formulated

·       Generated

·       Implemented

·       Supervised

·       Trained

·       Researched

N.B!

There is no ONE “right way” to write a RESUME — everyone is unique.

Proofread your resume very carefully for grammar, punctuation, and spelling.  You do not want ANY mistakes in your resume.  Have someone review your resume for mistakes.

JOB INTERVIEW

When one sees or reads the word “interview” one quickly gets the image of job hunting. Indeed, employment is one of the reasons for attending an interview. But interviews are conducted also for other various purposes for instance: appraising performance, selling ideas or products, giving instructions, receiving instructions, handling grievances, or solving problems.

There is yet another type of interview which is not job-seeking but it is still categorized as an interview situation; for example, a communication transaction between lectures and their students, lawyers and their clients, doctors and their patients, police and their suspects, journalists and their sources.  As a student who will ultimately graduate and start hunting for a job, your interest will, therefore, be on how to prepare for an interview and how to handle the interview situation. Hence this chapter will revolve around only one type of interview for the job application interview.

PREPARATION FOR THE INTERVIEW

Just like you prepare for your examinations, you must also prepare yourself well before attending an interview. Remember that you are not attending the interview for the sake of attending; you are attending believing you will pass it and finally secure the job you had applied. Similarly, the employer wants to employ the best candidate out of those who attended the interview. So preparations before appearing in an interview are of paramount importance.

We would like to borrow Murphy and Hildebrant29. Suggestions regarding preparations conduct during the interview and questions that are often asked during the interview. On preparations, they suggest the following:

Know yourself – Evaluate yourself against the qualifications attached to the job you are seeking.

Do some research on the organization – read or ask about the organization. If you cannot get any report or document which contains the organization’s profile, then learn about the organization from its employees.

Prepare questions and answers – Think of questions you might wish to ask the interview panel. You might probably want to know reasons which made the person who held the post you are now seeking left the organization. Or you might wish to know your salary and other fringe benefits. If you do, you may create an impression that you are only interested in what the organization could offer you and not your service to the organization.

Be careful of your appearance – We have already said in chapter two that your general appearance conveys a stronger non-verbal message to your listener than your spoken words. You should, therefore, dress formally for the occasion. Pay particular attention to your shoes, hair, fingernails. If you use perfumes, it is advisable to use it cautiously.

Be punctual – Appearing late to an interview would tantamount to committing a mortal sin. You should make sure you are around the interview venue at least 15 minutes early.

Of course you should also know the place where the interview will be conducted should anything happen to prevent you from arriving at the interview earlier or on time, use a telephone to apologize beforehand.

Have your important papers – Remember to pick your paper such as original certificates.

Sometimes the interviewing panel wants to see them. This is for verifying information appearing on the photo start copies you hand sent. In addition, do not forget to take with you a pen and notebook you may need to jot something down during the interview.

PROCEDURE DURING THE INTERVIEW

When it is your turn to appear before the interviewing panel, smile and greet the person(s) forming the panel. It is considered good manners to remain standing until you are invited to take your seat. Do not sit first and great later; this might be construed as sheer pomposity. Look at the interviewers and keep eye contact throughout the interview. Remember that the panel will be listening to each and everything you say, it will be watching your body language and whatever you do.

The overall impression will be influenced by first your oral communication ability and secondly your appearance. So as to create the best verbal and nonverbal impressions follow these advises:

Show enthusiasm and interest – do not put a gloomy face. After all, you applied for

The job on our own accord and you want the job. You must, therefore, show that you want the job.

Do not cheat – be honest and sincere. If you cheat and caught, you can count yourself out of the race.

Be courteous – Do not chew gum, if you smoke do not ask for permission to do so. Resist the temptation to smoke even if you are invited by the interviewer to do so. Once you finish your interview, do not simply walk out, thank the panel for the opportunity to meet you and close by saying you look forward to hearing from the organization or company. The courteous way you close the interview may be as important as the first impression you made.

Listen carefully – Be sure you have understood a question before answering it.

Be confident – Sometimes interviewer might want to test your emotion maturity and ability to respond under stress by asking you embarrassing question.

Use formal language – Avoid slang e.g. “dough” for “money and an expression such as year, you know, etc.

Do not blame – If asked about the reasons to leave your current employer say anything else other than blames him/her even if you have problems with him/her.

QUESTIONS OFTEN ASKED DURING THE INTERVIEW

The following is a list of possible questions that might be asked during the interview.

1.             Tell us about yourself.

2.             Why are you interested in this organization?

3.             What jobs have you held? Why did you leave?

4.             What course did you like best? Why?

5.             Why did you choose your particular field of work?

6.             What do you know about our organization?

7.             What qualifications do you have that make you feel you will be successful in the job you have applied?

8.             How much do you expect to be paid in terms of salary?

9.             What do you think determines a person’s progress in a good organization?

10.          Why do you think you would like this particular type of job?

11.          Do you prefer working with others or by yourself?

12.          How were you handled by your previous employer?

13.          Do you like routine work?

14.          What is your major weakness?

15.          Do you like to travel?

16.          Would you accept to work overtime?

17.          What kind of work interests you?

18.          How many subordinates are under you?

19.          Are you married?

20.          How big is your family?

21.          Are you interested in research?

22.          What are your greatest strengths?

The list is by no means exhaustive; there are so many questions that can be asked

Negative Factor to Avoid

There are factor/behavior which must be avoided during the course of the interview.

1.             Lack of courtesy

2.             Overemphasis on many

3.             Lack of confidence

4.             Lack of interest enthusiasms

5.             Poor oral communication

6.             Poor person appearance

7.             Shopping around not concentrating

8.             Interest in the job only for a short time

9.             Lack of knowledge of the field of specialization

10.          Lateness is an interview without good reasons

11.          Ignorance of an organization

12.          Long answers to questions

13.          Inability to take criticism.

There are just some of the negative factors to avoid, there could be many others.

Being called to an interview will usually depend on your later application and your curriculum vitae (CV). Once you have been asked to appear for an interview (usually in writing, and occasionally through telephone or both) start preparing for the occasion. Familiarize yourself with the organization you want to join, revisit your qualifications against the job requirement, answers to various possible questions that are likely to be asked and plan your general appearance. Remember that your general appearance will communicate non-verbal message to your interviewer. Above all present yourself as a serious job seeker not be seen as a person taking an interview for practice. Your answers should, therefore, indicate that you are sincerely interested to work with the organization and not any other.