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Finding a Job
You know
exactly what kind of career you
want. Your
resume is perfect.
You've forced your friends to
spend hours asking you practice
interview questions. Everything
is in order - except you don't
know how to go about finding the
job openings.
The first step
is to shift your networking
skills into high gear. Start
asking friends and family
members to ask their co-workers,
friends, hairdressers,
optometrists, accountants, and
other acquaintances if they've
either heard of any available,
relevant job openings, or if
they know of someone to whom you
ought to talk.
Another good
way to make connections is to
contact your college alumni
office or career services center
to see if either has a list of
alumni who have volunteered to
serve as mentors and contacts to
young jobseekers.
While there's
truth to the adage that the best
jobs are never advertised, that
doesn't mean you can't find a
good job outside the networking
realm:
- Check out
Internet job listings.
- Go to
trade websites for the
career field in which you're
interested. Often,
occupations have
professional associations
with websites that include
job listings. If you don't
know the name of the
association or trade
organisation that unifies
your potential colleagues,
do a search or ask someone
in the field. Those websites
are also an excellent way to
cull contact names.
- Go to
career expos. You can
usually find advertisements
for job expos in your local
newspaper.
- Visit the
websites of companies for
which you would like to
work. See if they have any
job listings posted within
the site.
- If you're
interested in working for a
medium- or large-sized
company, call the human
resources departments of
potential employers and ask
if they have any job
openings.
- Read the
classified section of the
newspaper. If you want to
relocate, find out what
newspapers serve the places
you'd like to live and then
browse those papers'
classified sections on the
web.
The most
important thing to remember is
that the job search is often
like a roller coaster ride. You
might find some great
opportunities, only to find that
positions have been filled. And,
in turn, you might investigate
something you don't think you're
interested in, only to strike a
gold mine. The important thing
is to keep you head up, and keep
pushing forward. As long as
you're persistent and patient,
you will either find a good job,
or you'll find a job that will
serve as a transitional job that
will open doors for you. |
