Finding a Job
Introduction
Back in undergraduate school, I decided to become an English major because I was pretty good at reading and writing. It wasn’t until my senior year that I realized I had no idea what to do with an English major after graduation.
As my May graduation date drew closer, I got more nervous about where I might find a job. I emailed some of my English major friends who had already graduated to find out what they were doing. Becky was a server at Applebee’s, Michael was a manager of a music store in the city, and Jeremy was a gardener. They certainly didn’t have any idea what to do with an English major and neither did I.
It was only a few years later, as a graduate instructor of various writing classes, that I realized many business majors, pre-med majors, and engineering majors didn’t really know what they were going to do after graduation either. Of course, business majors go into business, pre-meds go into medicine, and engineering students become engineers. But, what sort of businesses can business majors run? What area of medicine do pre-meds go into? Where is there a demand for engineers? Of course, there are a hundred more questions like these that we could list if we had the time.
So, what do you want to be when you grow up? How realistic are your goals and what do you have to do to achieve those goals?
During the course of the Job Search Portfolio project, you will prepare to enter the job market by conducting research about your field and major, locating and analyzing potential jobs you could realistically obtain after graduation, writing various pieces of job related correspondence, preparing for interviews, and composing two different types of resumes.
Keep in Mind
Before you start your job search, and as you begin, keep the following in mind.
- Know yourself. If you want to stay in sunny Florida, then don’t search for jobs in North Dakota. Want to work in the sports industry? Don’t rule it out! There’s nothing worse than getting a job and realizing that you hate it — you’ll spend your days wondering if there’s something better out there.
- Know the organizations. Make sure that you’re applying for “real” jobs. I can’t tell you how often I’ve located what appeared to be an interesting position online, started reading, and realized it was really a position with a temp agency or for a telemarketing position. If you find an attractive job offer, Google the company name and read about them.
- Know what’s valued. As you browse job ads, take some notes about common preferences of employers. If many potential employers value the ability to speak Spanish, you may want to think about polishing your speaking skills. If they need public speakers, think about taking a summer class.
Where to Look
After working with job seekers (both as an instructor and as a consultant), I’ve learned that many people head straight to Monster, HotJobs, CareerBuilder, or similar websites to find jobs. Unfortunately, these sites are becoming increasingly flooded with advertisements for telemarketing positions and temp agencies. Sometimes, what appears to be a legitimate job advertisement for an entry level position is actually telemarketing or office work. You may have the same experience with misleading advertisements in your searches, particularly on the biggest sites like Monster and HotJobs.
While these massive job listing websites may provide some good leads, you should be aware of other places to start your search.
Professional Associations
According to Wikipedia:
“A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is usually a nonprofit organization seeking to further a particular profession, the interests of individuals engaged in that profession and the public interest.
The roles of these professional associations have been variously defined: ‘A group of people in a learned occupation who are entrusted with maintaining control or oversight of the legitimate practice of the occupation;’[1] also a body acting ‘to safeguard the public interest;’[2] organizations which ‘represent the interest of the professional practitioners,’ and so ‘act to maintain their own privileged and powerful position as a controlling body.’[2]“
My undergraduate major was English. My Ph.D. is in Rhetoric & Composition (considered a a subfield or cognate field of English studies). My current industry is education, specifically higher education. Say I had to relocate to a different part of the country. If I wanted to look for a similar position as the one I have now — Associate Professor in a Department of English — I might look for job listings with one of the major professional organizations in English/higher education such as the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) or the Modern Language Association (MLA). The NCTE keeps an updated list of open positions on their Career Opportunites page, and the MLA publishes the most well-respected, most used source for job listings in college and university level teaching, administration, and research called the MLA Job Information List (MLA-JIL). I might also look to more broad publications in higher education such as the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Vitae. or Inside Higher Ed’s Careers.
How do I know about these resources? From keeping current about developments in my field through membership in my discipline’s professional organizations (like NCTE and MLA), by reading publications in the field of higher education (like Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed), and when I was still in school, by talking with my professors and with friends who graduated ahead of me.
Finding Professional Organizations & Associations in Your Discipline
You have professional organizations and trade associations in your field, too. All you have to do is find them. While you can certainly find them by searching online, you may not be able to determine which are the biggest, the most reputable, or the most popular. I strongly suggest speaking with a few professors in your department — ask them what the most respected professional publications, organizations, and associations are in your field.
Below, I’ve listed a few job listing boards at professional/trade organizations in a couple of disciplines. These should only serve as an example — they aren’t necessarily the biggest or most respected organizations in their disciplines (since I’m not in your discipline, I don’t know what the best organizations in your discipline are).
You should note, however, that all of the professional and trade organizations below are non-profit, and to varying degrees, are focused on education (including research, standards, issues in the field, etc.), professional development, and include statements about furthering the interests of the discipline and its members as part of their missions.
- Career Center at the American Nurses Association (ANA)
- Job Board at the American Marketing Association (AMA)
- Management Job Listings at the American Management Association (AMA)
- Careers at the American Finance Association (AFA), organized into tabs to search for positions in academic, the finance industry, and government & institutions.
- Job Bank at Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA)
- Career Center at the Society for Technical Communication (STC)
- Education & Careers at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- AICPA Career Resources at the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), including the AICPA Career Center: The Official Job Board of the AICPA and various other resources
I strongly recommend identifying some professional organizations in your field. Talk to your professors and do some Google searches. Try [career field] professional organization, [major] professional association, [industry] society, etc.
Benefits of Joining a Professional Organization
Many professional organizations maintain job lists or job boards where businesses post job openings and invite applications. Some businesses only post their open positions to reputable professional associations’ websites — they don’t bother with Monster, HotJobs, LinkedIn, CareerBuilder, etc.
In addition to career information and job listings, many professional organizations offer education, advice, and networking opportunities.
- Professional Development & Education: Most reputable professional/trade organizations and associations offer professional development and education in the form of publications such as scholarly journals and position statements; workshops, trainings, and conferences; and news on issues, trends, events, and legislation that affect the field and its members.
- Career Advice: On major professional organization websites, you can often find career and professional development advice from experienced professionals in the field. Some organizations have advice columns, FAQ and Q & A sections, and discussion boards for students and professionals to discuss issues in the field (including job searches, professional development, and career advice).
- Networking & Mentoring: Some organizations offer various opportunities for networking, including professional conferences and dedicated networking events.
- Scholarships Some professional organizations offer scholarships for pre-professional members of the field — students in high school, college, or graduate school.
While most professional organizations require a membership fee, many have reduced rates for student members. And of course, you can list professional memberships on your resume! It will help potential employers see that you’re actively participating in your field, engaged with other professionals, and interested in professional development and education.
Additional Reading on Professional Organizations
Don’t take my word for it — read about the benefits of joining professional organizations and trade associations.
- Millennials Have Rediscovered the Benefits of Joining a Professional Organization from Entrepreneur
- Invest In Yourself And Trade Associations from Forbes
- 5 Reasons College Students Should Be in Professional Organizations from Mashable
- Tap the Power of Professional Associations from Crain’s New York Business
LinkedIn & Social Media
According to findings from a 2015 report titled “Work Trends Study” by Adecco and Università Cattolica on trends in social networking and social recruiting:
LinkedIn is for job searches but Facebook defines reputations. Among job seekers, there is a clear division between the use of LinkedIn and Facebook. LinkedIn has proved to be the most popular platform for all online job search activities, whereas Facebook is the go-to network for all social activities including personal branding and checking out what other people say about employers. Recruiters do not make such a clear division between Facebook and LinkedIn. They prefer both networks, though LinkedIn is more popular for recruiting activities. They use both networks for employer branding and checking a candidates’ online reputation. They also use both LinkedIn and Facebook at an equal rate to evaluate a candidate’s personality.
The study is worth a read, particularly the executive summary which lists 11 report findings germain to job seekers.
LinkedIn Best Practices for Job Seekers1
Include a Professional Picture or Head Shot
Professional photos are helpful as you start meeting more and more people because some people may remember your face more easily than your name or background.
Add a Summary to Your Thumbnail Sketch
Your LinkedIn profile is basically a thumbnail sketch of your résumé. It’s important for you to include a short, succinct summary of your background and where you are now in your career. You should also include each school you’ve attended, along with the years. Include each work experience you’ve been a part of, again, along with the years, in a professional and formal format. This will allow individuals to identify how they have known you in the past.
Include Recommendations
Include recommendations from two or three individuals who know your work. You must be connected to people to request they provide a recommendation. Recommendations help your marketing because they add a dimension to your profile that is not included in your résumé.
Join Groups
Join groups with which you share a common interest. Groups are formed from common associations, such as college alumni groups (be sure to join your school’s alumni group, even if you’ve yet to graduate), industry groups, and mutual goal groups, such as people interested in finding employment. Groups enable you to connect to more people, translating into even more people who will see your profile. You can join approximately fifty groups, and you can also elect to have your group memberships displayed or not displayed on your profile. Tailor your groups to reflect specific professional interests as another way to market yourself as being involved with that area.
Use Applications
Use LinkedIn applications such as reading lists and presentation or blog sharing. With a paper résumé, it is unwieldy to include a lot of attachments, such as a portfolio of your work. An online profile allows you to link to an online collection of your work and create a comprehensive view of everything you offer. You can share a list of what you are reading with the Amazon reading list application. Listing books related to your career targets shows that you are staying current about your target industries and functions and are committed to training and development. You can use the SlideShare application to post PowerPoint presentations you have created. Perhaps as part of a class assignment, you have done a group project that is relevant to prospective employers. If you have a blog and your blog showcases examples of your work, your LinkedIn profile can be set to update with samples of your work whenever you post to your blog. While this level of detail seems onerous for a paper résumé, when online it is easy to page through and access as much data as you’d like, so you can offer the reader (in this case, recruiters and employers) much more information.
Maintain Your Profile
Remember that it is important to maintain your online profile. Continually update your LinkedIn profile because as your career grows and changes, so should your LinkedIn profile. Link to new people you meet. Update your summary and experience. LinkedIn also has a status section for more frequent updates that are broadcast to your connections. In this way, you can market your activity on an ongoing basis.
What if your plans don’t work out? What if you aren’t accepted into graduate school? What if you are accepted and can’t afford it? What if your family business’s economic situation shifts and they can no longer hire you? What if you can’t find an internship? What if the situation at your current job changes and the opportunity for a potential promotion disappears?
The economy is unstable, the job market is flooded, and situations change.
Hope for the best; prepare for the worst.
Job Ad Criteria for JSP
Some students plans include applying for an internship before graduation. Some students post-bachelors degree plans may include graduate school, a position with their family’s business, moving up in a company where they are already employed , or something else other than taking in entry-level position in their field.
While I acknowledge all of these possibilities as reasonable plans for before and after graduation, these situations are not appropriate as the basis for the job search portfolio project. Students must use real, desirable, entry-level positions (or positions they would – or would almost – qualify for immediately following graduation). These positions must be advertised publicly with businesses or organizations that are accepting applications from the general public.
- be for a position in your career field or industry
- be for a position you will qualify for (or nearly qualify for) after you graduate (and take any necessary licensing exams)
- be for a position you would be satisfied with—in an industry you’d be comfortable working in, in a geographic area where you want to live, etc.
- include the name of the business or organization hiring, a position title, a job description/list of duties, and minimum qualifications/requirements for applicants
- you may not use an internship or graduate school application/opening
- you may not use a position in your family business or a friend’s business
- you may not use a position that has no job advertisement; a position that is not publicly advertised (internal) or not accepting applications from the general public
- you may not use an opportunity for a promotion at a business you already work for
- you may not use telemarketing, temporary/temp agency, or office positions (such as administrative assistant, secretary, etc)
- you may not use positions advertised by job placement or recruitment agencies that do not include the name of the business or organization that is hiring
- you may not use multi-level marketing positions, network marketing positions, or referral marketing positions.
While being an “entry level” applicant will limit you (somewhat), you should still consider what you want from your job, what you want to do, where you want to live, and what type of organization you want to work for. Ask yourself:
- What does my realistic ideal job look like?
- What is my preferred geographic location?
- What sort of organization do I want to work for? (profit, non-profit, large, small, environmentally conscious, in a particular industry, etc.)
- What work environment would I prefer? (friendly and collaborative, competitive and goal driven, flexible or firm deadlines, working alone or working with others, challenging or mundane? etc.)
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