land a job in a tough economy janet civitelli, ph.d. associate director [email protected]
TRANSCRIPT
State of the Union
2009 – College hiring for new grads is down 22%
2009 – February unemployment rate is 7.6% 2008 – Highest annual job loss (2.6M) since
1945 2008 - Underemployment rate is estimated at
12.5%
How The Economy Affects Job Search
Boom Economy: Tough Economy:
Jobs are plentiful Jobs are scarce
Job seeker’s market Employer’s market
Salary negotiation First offer, best offer
Short job search Long job search
Dream job Compromise job
Top 5 Labor Market Areas: 2008
1. Houston, TX2. Austin, TX
3. Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
4. Raleigh, NC
5. Seattle, WA
Source: BizJournals.com
Industries That Are Hiring
Government Education Health care Energy “Green” employers
Jobs Seeking Employees
Nursing Sales and Business Development Mechanical Engineering Software Design and Development Account Management / Customer Support Accounting
Source: jobfox.com
More Jobs Seeking Employees
Administrative Assistant Counseling and Social Work Accounting & Finance Executive Networking / System Admin Store Management Finance Staff
Source: jobfox.com
The Big Picture
Interests – What do you love to do? Abilities – What are your strengths? Values – What matters to you? Personality – Who are you? Labor Market – How is the economy?
What Does It Take To Get Job Offers?
1. Focus
2. Accomplishments
3. Attitude
4. Action
5. Connections
Focus
Candidate #1: I can do anything. Please hire me.
Candidate #2: I’m a marketing major who completed internships at Disney and ABC. I’m seeking to use my communication and project management skills in a public relations role.
Accomplishments
Work history of on campus or off campus employment
Internships Volunteer work Leadership positions with student
organizations Team leadership from class projects
Attitude: Optimism
“Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”
Colin Powell
Optimism is helpful but not required. Optimism facilitates greater sense of control
and well-being during a job search. Optimism can be learned.
Attitude: Courage
Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.”
Mary Anne Radmacher
Attitude: Persistence
“It is not that I’m so smart…it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”
Albert Einstein
Attitude: Persistence
Dr. Seuss’ first book was rejected 27 times by publishers; he went on to write 60+ books and sell 222 million copies
Action
22 hours per week is a good goal
More hours = diminishing marginal returns
Talk to everyone you meet about your specific goal
Action
Pretend your job search is a semester-long school project
Use techniques from project management
I can predict who will land jobs by looking at a job seeker’s written plan
Use The Internet:
Research careers and companies – UCS pays for Vault.com and CareerBeam subscriptions for students – log in at career.uh.edu
Use The Internet:
Visit company Web sites Get contact information Online networking like listservs and
LinkedIn.com Personal job search agent at Indeed.com
More Internet Tips
Stay off line during the valuable time of the business day
Do not hide behind the computer screen
Focus on niche sites for specific careers, such as JobsInTheMoney.com, MarketingPower.com, etc.
Connections
Human nature hasn’t changed
The more people you know who like you, the better your chance of being hired
You can make connections through work or non-work avenues
Homework: Have Conversations
Every week, describe your job goal and your skills to five people.
Example: How To Start Conversations
“I’m an English major graduating from UH and I want to find a position where I could use my writing and project management skills. I’d like your advice about which companies in the advertising industry might be hiring.”
Connect Through UCAN
UCAN = University Career Advisory Network
Professionals with experience, skills, and ADVICE
Available through www.career.uh.edu
Graceful Networking
It is always a good strategy to ask for advice and information, which are free to give. Jobs are not free to give.
Practice Conversations
Career counselors are great at role playing networking conversations until you become comfortable doing them in real life.
Where Employers Find New Hires
Internship programs Co-op programs Campus recruiting Employee referrals Career / job fairs Professional
associations
Faculty contacts Direct application to
the company’s Web site
Student organizations Job advertisements Conferences
Resume 101
Include a Career Summary that tells what you have to offer and what you want to do:
CAREER SUMMARY:
Mathematics major with strong analytic skills seeking entry level position in the actuarial field.
Resume 101 (cont.)
An ad, not a legal document
Tailor each resume and cover letter
Ask faculty, professional contacts, and career counselors to critique your resume
No spelling or formatting errors!
Resume Grade
A resume gets an A+ if it lands you interviews!
Interviewing Tips
Prepare!
Two column method
Practice with a career counselor
Practice with a voice recorder
Interviewing Tips: C A R
Challenge – Situation you faced
Action – What you did about it
Result – The outcome
Survival Strategies for a Long Job Search
Temp
Volunteer
Survival job
More education or specialized training
Self employment or consulting
Portfolio career
A Word of Warning!
Never pay thousands of dollars to anyone who says they can introduce you to potential employers
University Career Services
Individualized Career Counseling
Workshops
Campus Recruitment
JOBank
Extensive online resources at http://www.career.uh.edu
Walk In Hours For University Career Services, Spring Semester
Monday and Tuesday, 9 am to 11 am, 2 pm to 6:30 pm
Wednesday and Thursday, 9 am to 11 am, 2 pm to 4 pm
Please come visit us!
Questions & Answers