Black Collegian Career Center

The process of finding a rewarding job can be confusing and frustrating. The U.S. Labor Department estimates there are over 22,000 U.S. occupations today. Choosing a career is a major life decision. Although identifying the right position for you is not easy, up-front planning can expedite the process and help you achieve maximum success. Recruiters want to hire those who know what they want and possess the skills, values, interests, and personality that will make the perfect candidate for a position. Think positive, plan, and empower yourself by doing research upfront.

Conducting A Self-Assessment

The first step is to develop your profile. Knowing yourself means understanding your strengths, weaknesses, skills, job preferences, and dislikes. This will go a long way toward helping you understand the skills you have to offer. Take time to list all your strengths, your skills, and your preferences (i.e., geographic, work environment, etc.). Next, you should rank these personal attributes and pick your top two to three in each category. Knowing your top skills, strengths, and preferences will help you eliminate jobs that are not right for you. A lot of first time graduates say they will take any position to just to get their foot in a door. This is not the wisest perspective. People are most successful in positions that utilize their strengths and skills, and that they are happy in. There are many self-assessment tools available today. Your college counselor and college placement office can also assist you in identifying self-assessment tools to utilize.

Identifying Your Target Industry And Job

The second step in identifying your perfect job is to identify the top three target industries and top five companies to target your search toward. There are career books available that provide information on occupations and industries in the U.S., such as The Jobs Almanac by Les Krantz and The Book of Government Jobs by Dennis Damp and Samuel Concialdi. Select industries and positions, which appeal to you and fit your profile. Once you narrow your choices to the top three industries and the top five companies, you should conduct extensive research on the industries through the web, trade journals, and career publications. Career generalists, such as counselors, can also help you gain further insights. Write down the names of all individuals you know. Include your parents, friends, and relatives, etc. Ask them if they know anyone in your target industries you can call to gain more insights and to get leads for positions. Tell as many people as possible of your target industry and solicit them for possible individuals to contact to learn more about your target industry or company. If they cannot meet with you, they will typically recommend someone you can call. This then becomes a referral you can reference to schedule the information interview. It is always easier to get an interview if someone referred you.

There are three steps for an information interview. The first step is to call the person over the phone to request the 30-minute interview. The second step is to go to the information interview "dressed for success" with well-prepared questions ahead of time (if meeting in person). The third step is to ask questions related to the person your are interviewing, their position in the company, the company, the industry, the career field in general, leads on opportunities, and referrals to other professionals within the company and outside of it. Always send a thank you note immediately following each interview, regardless of the type of interview.

Developing Your Self-Marketing Package

Your self-marketing package should include a resume, cover letter, and portfolio (if appropriate). The resume is the most important job search document. It highlights your experience, transferable skills, and academic training. First impressions are lasting. Don't underestimate the skills you have acquired in previous positions. For example, if you managed a hair salon, you can note your experience in scheduling, marketing, management, and operations. If you managed a restaurant or pizza parlor, you can highlight experiences in recruitment, training, team building, forecasting, and staff development. As a waiter, you gained skills in multi- tasking, handling conflict resolution, negotiations, and customer servicing.

Fundamental do's with resumes include making it easy to read, ensuring accuracy of content and grammar/punctuation (proof it at least seven times) and being strategic by stating your strongest content first. The best resumes emphasize your top skills and are tailored to impress. Resumes should be scannable with highlighting done using CAPs or bold lettering only. Fancy fonts do not scan well. Electronic resumes are very popular today and can be posted on the web. Keep in mind a resume posted on the web is public. Determine your comfort level with posting personal information in a public medium and determine what you do and do not want to post on the Web.

Common resume bloopers include writing "Resume" at the top, using flowery words, including personal information (i.e., gender, race, marital status), including reasons for leaving a previous position, (i.e., " hated my boss") and incorporating special requests. There are several resume styles. Chronological resumes are best used when your most recent position is most relevant, and there are not great gaps in your work experience. A functional resume highlights skills rather than duties and titles. Remember to proof your resume multiple times and ask others to do so. Accuracy counts.

Resumes and cover letters serve different purposes. The resume provides skills and what you are interested in, while the cover letter describes why you are interested in pursuing a particular industry or company. The cover letter is often the first contact a recruiter has. It tells the recruiter why you are pursuing a certain position. It is your opportunity to express your interest in the company and highlight your top two to three selling points. Its purpose is to highlight how your talents will benefit the company. It is important to plan your cover letter as you would plan your resume. The four parts of the cover letter are: the introduction; the interest; the selling points; and the closing. The introduction explains why you are writing and who referred you (referrals are very important). The interest section reveals why you are interested in the particular job or industry. In selling section, you should highlight the top three key selling points, which make you a perfect candidate. Finally, in the closing, you state what you see as the next steps (i.e., "I will contact you to schedule an appointment in the next two days to discuss my interest in your company further").

Since most jobs are not published in want ads or on the Web, the technique called the "invisible job cover letter" can be helpful in identifying hidden jobs available in your target company. The invisible job cover letter is similar to any other cover letter. It should be personalized and highlight selling points congruent with the company, based on your research. It should be targeted to a specific person, and not to "To whom it may concern." For example, you may want to start with the VP of Human Resources, and then work you way through the organization. Once you have identified individuals to send the letter to, write a one-page well-written letter and include your resume. Follow-up with a telephone call to ensure they received it, and try to set up an interview. Do not be discouraged. If one person will not grant an interview, they may be able to recommend someone who will. If a position is not available today, it may be available five months from now. Keep in touch with friendly contacts in the target company so they will think of you when an opportunity does present itself.

Job Search Strategies

There are other strategies you can use to find a rewarding job. Public employment agencies may be helpful depending upon your targeted career. On the negative side, they often have few white-collar jobs. Temporary employment agencies can be another option. They are typically available and serve as an excellent skill building opportunity. They can also offer networking opportunities allowing you to find "friendly contacts" who can provide leads for permanent positions. Job Fairs are highly visible job search opportunities and require minimal time on your part. They can also serve as excellent networking opportunities. Do research ahead of time to identify the companies you will visit during the career fair. Your College Career Center is the primary resource college juniors, seniors, and alumni can use and should be the starting point in your job search process. College Career Planning staff members have contacts with corporate recruiters and can assist in scheduling information interviews and networking opportunities with your target companies. Career Web sites are helpful to identify leads, provide a list of career fairs available, and provide links to career consultant Web sites.

Landing The Perfect Job

During interviews, focus on your strengths, skills, and personal attributes, which make you an excellent candidate for the position. If asked to discuss yourself, stick to the relevant skills and talents that relate to the position, not where you were born and where you grew up. You should also prepare questions to ask the interviewer, which should be job, organization, career and industry-related in nature. Now that you have prepared, you are ready for your interview and potential career opportunity. Good luck!

Rosalind Derricotte is the president of The Career Empowerment Institute and a faculty member of the Temple University Fox School of Business concentrating in human resource administration.