I’ll Have a Job with a Side of Fries, Please
Remember how I mentioned that another U.K.-based firm offered to post content on my blog? I had intended to save it for when I was “in the weeds” later in my semester, but lo and behold, I am already there. It is timely too, because I have been engaging in conversations with quite a few alumni and students who seem utterly perplexed about how to conduct what I lovingly refer to as an “adult job search.” Below you will find some job searching tips from reed.co.uk, the U.K.’s #1 job site as well as a career blunder and video which address how to engage in a more meaningful job search process.
Job Searching Tips Courtesy of reed.co.uk:
For those students graduating in the coming months, the real world of work is looming. Whether you’ve just finished a Bachelor’s degree or are finishing up your postgraduate studies, the question of what to do next is a pressing one. Though the recession has meant that job hunting is undoubtedly more challenging, there are still plenty of places that graduates can go to find out about the latest vacancies and get tips and advice on finding the perfect role.
Open up your local or national newspaper, for example, and you’ll find a wealth of ads about current vacancies. If you’re hoping to work close to home, local newspapers can be a good way to find out what’s available in your immediate area. If, however, you’re not restricted to one particular area, national newspapers like the Guardian and the Times [or the Dallas Business Journal/Dallas Morning News] inevitably offer more varied and numerous job ads.
Recruitment agencies and job centres are also a good place to head to in order to get help and advice on job hunting, as well as a wide variety of vacancies in lots of different sectors. Job hunting from home can sometimes feel like a long process where you aren’t achieving very much, so getting out of the house and down to an agency or your local job centre can help to keep the momentum going and stop you from feeling too disparaged.
Compared to other job-seekers, graduates are quite lucky in that they have various resources on offer, which are targeted specifically at helping students move into the world of work. Websites like prospects.ac.uk [or U.S.-based entry-level job search sites] have both job listings and tools to help graduates make the most of their skill sets and decide which career direction to head in.
And, of course, there are plenty of job sites like reed.co.uk that advertise jobs for graduates and jobseekers alike. These sites generally have vacancies helpfully divided by sector, area, and type of contract, and also feature advice on CV writing, cover letters, and interview techniques. They can form a good base for your job hunt, though of course you want to have as many feelers out there as possible in order to make the process both speedy and effective. Ultimately, perseverance and flexibility will be the key to finding your first job as a graduate. Don’t lose hope thanks to reports of doom, gloom, and the recession – making the most of the resources available to you will help you on your way to the world of work.
Big Mac Career Blunder:
Applying for posted jobs is only half the battle. An alumnus of the university where I am employed visited my office recently requesting that I spread her resume to candidate-seeking employers and that I include her career documents in a resume book. I politely informed her that Career Services is not an executive search firm and that even if we did have a resume book, employers are looking for soon-to-be grads, not alumni. In spite of what I thought was a clear explanation of how to conduct an “adult job search” she still pressed me to essentially "order her up" a job.
In addition to the advice I shared in a previously written blog entry, Don't Blame it on the Rain, I encourage job-seekers to first identify several job functions of interest and then a list of organizations for which they might want to work (taking geography, organizational culture, and advancement opportunities - among others - into consideration). Once they have found an intersection of the two, I suggest leveraging their network of human gatekeepers to identify contacts in these organizations who can help introduce them to or get their resumes in front of the right people. Conducting a “hidden job search” is not easy, but it is how 80% of jobs are sourced. In my opinion, this kind of search produces the best opportunities. Check out the video below courtesy of ABC News and Writer, Speaker, and Job Search Expert, Tory Johnson for more advice on networking in the context of the Hidden Job Search.
