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overview
planning a search
researching jobs
developing a profile
designing resumes
sample resumes
writing cover letters
cover letter template
Once you start planning, you can really begin to research jobs in your profession. This section addresses that task in both general and specific ways. Some of what I provide here can only be used as a guideline. You will have to do some of your own research to be successful on the market. There are five topics addressed here.
Identify appropriate resources for finding positions
Study the job postings
Research the market
Follow up on specific companies and locales
Identify what is next
(Note: This page is set up with anchor links, so you can click down to the section you want and return from it to this table of contents for the Researching section.)
With your mission statement in mind, identify resources that are appropriate to your job search. On campus, you can visit Career Planning and Placement to begin. But there are also many other kinds of resources you can tap into. For example, many professional organizations sponsor job search sites for members. And there is a growing number of regional and international job search forums online. I list a few items for these categories below. But don't rely completely on my research; do you own as well.
SVSU Career Planning and Placement. SVSU Career Planning and Placement offers a variety of services to students , including links to useful websites, lists of cooperative education opportunities, and so on. Take advantage of what you have here, but seek out other resources as well.
Society of Technical Communication. The STC is a large professional organization for people involved in communication-related careers. The STC site has a job search section based on the regional divisions of the organization.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The IEEE is a large international organization for engineers (and business and technical communicators) that sponsors a very complete job search section of its site.
Other organizations. If you search for your own organization(s) online, or use keywords related to your chosen profession, you should be able to locate several potential online resources in minutes.
Newspapers. Newspapers tend to be a rich resource for regional job searches. Locally, many people look to the CareerBuilder site provided by the Detroit Free Press. The Minneapolis Star Tribune also has an excellent site. Any area will be covered by a major newspaper, even if it is relatively rural. A little research will show you where to look for the classified section.
Job services. There are several online job services now, and most allow you to search both nationally and regionally. See monster.com, careerbuilder.com, yahoo! hotjobs.com, and techies.com, just for starters.
The only way you'll know what pathways are most appropriate for you and your search is to try them out. As a general rule, do not rely completely on any one resource or on any one kind of resource. Maybe you'll find exactly what you're looking for quickly, but chances are, you'll have to shop around a bit before you find the right resources.
Many people write one resume that they send to every company with an interesting job posting. If you study several job postings, you may be able to write one resume that fits a general pattern for all, but more likely, there are slightly different expectations of employers for each position. The key is to read job postings carefully and decide how to market your abilities and experiences most effectively.
When I say "study the job postings," I mean that you need to read a bunch of postings and look for patterns. You may want to apply for several related but slightly different jobs: maybe some in accounting, some in communication, and some in management, for example. Each kind of job will want a different employee profile. By studying the posts, identifying common requirements for each posting, you can be more intelligent about your search.
Physically highlight (or underline, or something) the key elements of each job posting. Some people use several colors to signify different things: yellow for specific requirements; green for things the company would like to see in a candidate but that are not required; red for deadlines. The details matter less than your diligence at developing a system and using it consistently. It is really easy to reread postings once they are color coded.
When you have finished making your world colorful with highlighters, go back to studying the job postings. Make lists of the things in each category. How many qualifications can you identify that fit general patterns? From the "wish lists" of qualifications presented by employers, what items are used to consistently distinguish good candidates from great ones? All of this will help you figure out where you fit in, and potentially what you are up against in your job search.
Do you know the current trends in your profession? What areas of knowledge are in greatest demand? What skills are most respected? What companies are doing the most innovative things? Who is tried and true? These are questions that aren't always easy to answer. But you can educate yourself about your profession by talking to faculty, to other students, to working professionals, by going to career fairs, and by reading. It takes time, but it ought to be part of your ongoing efforts at professional development. If not, why are you in your degree area? If you aren't interested enough to research your career, how can you convince someone that they ought to hire you?
Example. I read several different journals and magazines regularly to keep up. Most are related to my profession (professional and technical communication), but I also read some that are more-general in their focus. I read local and global news on the Internet (e.g., CNN.com, MSNBC.com). I watch CNN and other such stations regularly, focusing at times on trends in business. I read business magazines (my favorite is Fast Company), and technology magazines (e.g., Technology Review).
Follow up on the companies and locations that interest you most. At the minimum, you can go online. But you can also accomplish a lot with a phone call. Lots of long distance phone calls can add up quickly, so I recommend doing such things only for companies you are serious about. But, if you are interested in a position, it rarely hurts to call and ask some questions about the job, the company, living conditions, and so on.
Example. I have researched every company I applied for work within. That isn't too difficult, given our increasingly web-ready world. But for positions that really intrigue me, I go looking at the locales as well. I called the chamber of commerce in a small Wisconsin town when I applied at a company there. I talked at length with some very nice woman there who gave me her version of the local politics, schools, shopping strategies, and so on. Yes you have to filter a lot of information, but that can be a useful activity in and of itself.
Once you have thought about where to find job posts and have gathered a few, then you need to think about what you have to offer to these companies. That topic is addressed in the section on Developing a Profile.