Black Collegian Career Center

Make the right connections

In a perfect world, you would be reading this article at the outset of your college career as you embark on the beginning of your job search. Realistically, however, graduation may be right around the corner. If you fall into the latter category, don’t stop reading! This is not just another article telling you how important it is start your job search early. What follows are three simple strategies to help you no matter when you start the process, as long as you S.T.A.R.T. N.O.W.! (Strategize To Attain Resources That Net Opportunities for Work). "This is the best job market in 20 years; employers can't find enough good candidates to fill all their vacancies. But, as always, the best rewards go to those who are best prepared. Being a master of your job search means you stand a good chance of getting exactly the job you want," says Karen Hansen, executive editor at Peterson's, a Thomson Learning Company.

While in high school Kia Daniels knew she wanted a master’s degree in business, so she put a plan in place that would save her some time. Upon her 1993 high school graduation, she enrolled in a five-year MBA program at Florida A&M University. This plan helped her avoid the typical path of four college years, two years in the world of work and back into school for a graduate program. For Daniels, a 24 year-old product manager for Bell Atlantic in Falls Church, VA, this program was clearly a good choice. She received her master’s degree in May 1999 and had impressive work experience because the program had internships built into it. "Lots of students have a plan, but few put it into action as effectively as they should," she said. "Time lines are the key no matter when you start because they force you to set objectives; accomplishing your objectives is what enables you to move through the process more efficiently. It’s easier to make a map when you know where you are going," she added.

And so she began to work her plan by setting and meeting her main objective: making decisions that would keep her focused and moving forward. Some of them were selecting the telecommunications industry (in her freshman year); identifying the top 10 companies in that industry according to Fortune magazine; and registering at her school’s Career Center to research them. Once she narrowed down her geographic preference she contacted the chosen companies located there to find out whether they would be attending any local career fairs. Making these early decisions helped her establish a solid network within her industry and she stayed in touch with her contacts throughout the job search. In fact, she got her current job by doing just that. "You have to make sure to follow-up with networking contacts regularly, and that means being organized and timely in doing so," she warned.

Daniels, a past participant in the INROADS program, called the coordinator at Bell Atlantic to let her know the status of the job hunt and to wish her happy holidays. Coincidentally, the coordinator was organizing a recruiting forum and told her to send in her resume. The very next day three people from Bell Atlantic wanted to interview her; they flew her to Boston, and the rest is history.

If you are motivated to start planning and need an overview of the job search process read The Ultimate Job Search Survival Guide by Paul L. Dyer (Peterson’s, 1998). It also contains a great list of research resources as an appendix.

Judson Walker, 26, deliberately networked through paid and unpaid jobs before getting a position at Electronic Data Systems in Herndon, VA. As a result of networking he began his job as a communications administrator in June 1996, two months before he received his B.S. in electrical engineering from George Mason University in Virginia. Within two years he was promoted to Communications Engineer. Walker made an art of connecting with others. He worked closely with deans and professors in the School of Information Technology and Engineering, the Career Center staff and the student and professional members of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE).

"If you are going to be productive, you have to take the initiative to get out there and talk to people," he said. In the first two years, Walker was involved with the social activities of NSBE, but in his third year he attended his first conference and was amazed at the contacts he made through vendors, employers, and professionals in the field. During his fourth year he began to ‘work’ by accepting the nomination to be NSBE’s president of the George Mason Chapter.

In addition to networking with the professionals and working in NSBE he found valuable work experience through his academic contacts. "The deans and professors were very helpful in uncovering vacancies and giving me the confidence to apply for internships and co-ops," he recalled. He eventually completed two summer internships and a two-semester co-op. And, despite taking his senior year off from work, he still got hired with ease. "Having these contacts made the transition into the corporate world easy. My interview was a 20-minute lunch with someone who was willing to take a risk because of a networking contact," he said.

Angel Reid, the advisor in Customer Value Management for Nortel Networks in Raleigh, NC, encourages college students to network more often, especially through professional organizations.

"Knowing people in your field is one of the best ways to tap into that market because it can help you circumvent the more standard technique of just sending in the resume," said Reid, who monitors the effectiveness of the internal staffing function for managers and new hires. She believes that membership in professional associations is the best way to meet these people. Since they often allow attendance at a function or two without membership and have special rates for students, make a point to attend them. When you find one that meets your needs, become a member. Likewise, be aware of other groups that can result in good contacts. Some of them are fraternities and sororities, your school’s alumni association, athletic teams, and church groups. To identify and learn more about specific professional associations, review the Encyclopedia of Associations (Gale Research, 1997) and call, write or visit their Web sites.

Do people really get jobs from the Internet? Use of the Internet is one of the most successful job search strategies, according to James C. Gonyea, developer of America’s first online career guidance service, now known as the Gonyea Online Career Center (use keyword "gonyea" on AOL), the Internet Career Connection (www.iccweb.com), and Gonyea Guide to Online Career and Employment Sites (www.onlinecareerguide.com). "Many people don’t realize the power and potential in the number of openings to which it provides access and in the immediacy of electronically applying for jobs anywhere in the world," he said. "Employers readily post entry-level jobs more than mid- and upper-level ones, therefore the Internet can be a primary tool for recent college grads," added Gonyea. Another excellent source to check out is THE BLACK COLLEGIAN Online at http://www.black-collegian.com.

Angela Reid, who managed the U.S. Co-op program for four years at Nortel Networks in Raleigh, agreed saying, "Access to the Internet is becoming a necessary tool for job hunters, especially for jobs in the high-tech industry." Still not a believer? Just ask Terri Lewis, a 32 year -old corporate project manager for Ethicon, Inc., a Johnson and Johnson company. She made the right connections by working the net. "At the time, I was engaged in a casual search, not an intensive one," she said.

Terri was employed as a Process Department manager at The Clorox Company in Aberdeen, MD, and was simply exploring her options for career advancement upon completion of her master’s degree in business from Johns Hopkins University. She registered with several online search agents just to see if they would work for her and soon began receiving e-mails announcing that she had been matched with jobs based on the resume and search criteria she submitted. "Applying for the jobs was easy because the announcements included hyperlinks that took me straight to where the employer wanted me to submit my resume," she added.

She also posted her resume on several general job search Web sites and was contacted by her current employer as a result of it being at monster.com. She was ultimately offered a job in Somerville, NJ, which included 20 percent more pay and a sign-on bonus. In addition to employer Web sites, there are many superb sites at which you can research general job search information, such as about industries or salaries, get job search advice and post your resume. Some of them are THE BLACK COLLEGIAN Online (http://www.black-collegian.com) and IMDIVERSITY.COM (http://www.imdiversity.com).

Career experts warn against spending hours on end just surfing the "net." Know what you are looking for and select appropriate sites before you log on. You may even want to browse through some books that offer suggestions for efficient job search use of the Web, such as Hook Up, Get Hired: The Internet Job Search Revolution by Joyce Lain Kennedy (John Wiley & Son, 1995) or 110 Best Job Search Sites on the Internet by Katherine K. Yonge (Linx Education Publication, Inc., 1998). Gonyea suggests obtaining directories of Web sites from bookstores. "Just make sure they are as current as possible and that they contain the kinds of data you want," he warned.

Furthermore, remember that you still have to interact with people. No job search can be done completely online. Although vacancies and candidates are plentiful in the current job market, don’t lose sight of the fact that locating good hires remains a difficult, expensive and time-consuming task. Make the right connections so employers will see you as a hassle-free, low-risk solution to a tough problem.