Internet job search tips

Over the past few years many job seekers have buckled up and taken a ride on the Information Superhighway. Unfortunately, many have gotten lost along the way. Sound familiar? If you're one of the many who have surfed the Net and can't seem to get the right results, these tips are just for you!

• Before submitting a resume online, research the opportunity to make sure you really are the right candidate.
• Go to a company's web site and if there is a chat room or bulletin board, take the time to connect with someone inside the organization.
• Structure your resume to meet the criteria for the position you're seeking.
• Find a contact person inside the company to whom you can e-mail your resume.
• Allow for off-line contact.
• Setup an e-mail address strictly for your job search (This is optional.)
• Be selective in your search; don't send your resume to every online employment site.

Post your resume

Which is the best online approach for finding a job? Posting a resume? Or searching and applying online? The answer is, both.

Applying online is basically the same process as answering newspaper help wanted ads by mail. You reply to ads one by one, using either the employer's Internet site or e-mail address and attaching your resume. It's rooted in the way we're used to doing things.

Posting a resume allows you to use the Internet to put your resume on the desktops of thousands of hiring managers and recruiters with only a few mouse clicks. It's fast and easy to do-just follow the directions.

For Chicago area jobs, CareerBuilder.com is a good bet for posting-but any employment web site will result in reaching a large number of employers. Usually, it's free for you and for anyone who searches, views, or downloads your resume.

It's also easy for an employer to send your resume to a colleague looking for just your set of skills. It's Internet marketing at its best and YOU are the product.

If you don't have Internet capability at home, remember that you can use the computer labs, at any of the E&ES One-Stop Career Centers, to set up an e-mail account and post your resume on the Internet.

Job fairs

How to prepare

• Determine which employers you want to visit.
• Research the employers attending.
• Learn more about company, its product/services, etc.
  
• Bring enough resumes.
  
• Bring a folder to carry resumes and a notepad for notes.
  
• Dress professionally.
  
• Prepare a "2 Minute Summary of Your Qualifications."
  
• Anticipate interviewing questions and practice answers.
  
• Prepare questions you want employers to answer.
  

During the job fair

• Go alone; if you go with friends or family walk the fair by yourself.
• Do not assume a company does not have open positions in your field. Instead, ask what positions they have available.
• When greeting a recruiter, introduce yourself and look confident by initiating a handshake with a smile.
• Express your interest by demonstrating knowledge of the organization.
• Relate your skills, interests and experiences to specific needs of the employer.
• Relax speak slow and confident.
  
• Listen and ask relevant questions about company and position. This is not the time to ask salary related questions.
  
• Take notes.
  
• Ask the company what the next step is and how to follow up.
  
• Get appropriate contact info and ask for a business card.
  
• Conduct yourself professionally at all times; remember that you could be making impressions when you are standing in line.
  

After the job fair

• Send a thank you card and reconfirm interest in the position and company.
  
• Within a week follow up with a phone call if you have not heard from them.
  

Good luck!

Write resumes that get read!

In today's competitive job market, your resume may be your only chance to get an employer's attention. While a good resume is no guarantee that you'll get an interview, a bad one will surely knock you out of the running. There are no rules, but here are some guidelines:

• Keep it short and simple. One page is best for most jobs. Once you get the interview, you can elaborate.
  
  
• Make it easy to read. Don't make the reader dig for the important points. Direct their eye by highlights, bullets, and leaving lots of white space. There are many good templates out there. Look for samples and advice in job search web sites.
  
  
• Avoid company jargon. The reader won't understand it.
  
  
• Get feedback from others. Give your resume the two-minute test: hand it to a several people who are not familiar with your work history. Give them a few minutes to read it. Ask them to tell you what you did in your last job. If they can't tell you, ask why-then go back to the drawing board if you need to.
  
  
• Use the same words as in the job description. If the words apply to you, use them in your skill descriptions. Many employers use scanners for on-line resumes and if you use the right descriptors, you have a better chance of being selected

Interviewing

What is interviewing?
An interview IS NOT life or death, the apocalypse, or a standardized test. An interview IS a conversation about possibilities, a chance to learn and an opportunity to share information. Make the most of your interview: relax, take the time to respond clearly, and be yourself.

Interviewing tips

1. Be prepared! Learn as much as you can about the company and position in which you are interested. Check the Internet for the company's web site. Also, take the time to do self-assessment to learn about yourself and identify your interests, skills, and values. This step will help you identify and articulate what information you want to present to an employer about yourself.
2. There is a big difference between thinking about or writing out potential responses and having to say them aloud. Practice potential responses out loud, in front of a mirror or patient friends and family members. Discover various strategies, transitions, and lead-ins for answering certain kinds of questions, talking to one person or a group, and changing topics or focus. Practice asking questions. Employers will expect you to ask about matters that concern you. Familiarize yourself with the vocabulary of the industry (but never use words whose definitions you don't know).
3. Anticipate commonly asked questions and develop a set of related responses that you can mold to a variety of individual situations.
4. The interview is an opportunity to share information. You will have to talk about yourself, your interests, and your values. Don't be shy about your accomplishments and experiences but don't be cocky; just be yourself. Practice ways of phrasing replies about yourself that highlight your talents in a way that feels comfortable to you.
5. Demonstrate to your interviewer your engagement in the conversation. Ask perceptive questions, be alert, make eye contact, provide relevant information, and relay your knowledge of and interest in the field and the organization.
6. Observe all rules of courtesy and respect. Be punctual. Dress appropriately. Call people by their titles unless specifically directed to do otherwise. Express your thanks for the organization's consideration of your candidacy.
7. Arrive at least 15 minutes before the interview to collect yourself and take a few deep breaths. You'd be surprised how much that will help as compared to rushing in at the last minute. If you're at the company location, use that time to observe what's going on. Does this seem like a place where you'd like to work?
8. Bring an extra resume with you. This process is by no means an exact science and you will learn to expect situations like . . ."We seem to have misplaced your resume."
9. Rest assured that both interviewers and job seekers enter into the process hoping that it will proceed successfully. It is possible, though, that in spite of this good will the interview might not go as well as planned. To the greatest extent that you can, muster your courage, keep your chin up, and keep your confidence, dignity, and humor intact. Interviews are great ways to learn about career fields, particular positions, and, perhaps most importantly, yourself, whether or not you get a job offer.
   

Commonly asked questions by interviewers

• Tell me about yourself.
• How would your friends describe you?
• What makes you different from the other candidates for this position?
• Describe the accomplishment of which you are the most proud.
• Why should we hire you?
• What strengths and attributes could you bring to this position?
• Why did you choose Harvard?
• How did you select your concentration?
• Describe the course that has had the greatest impact on your thinking.
• How did you become involved in your extracurricular activities?
• How did you find your summer jobs?
• Describe the job or the activity which has had the greatest impact on your career goals.
• If you could make a major policy change at Harvard (or another institution with which you are affiliated), what would it be?
• What are your career and educational goals?
• What would you like to be doing five/ten years from now?
• Why are you pursuing this field?
• What interests/impresses you about this company?
• What do you believe are the key issues and problems in our industry today?
• What do you think it takes to be successful in this field?
• What other jobs/fields are you considering?
• In what kind of work environment do you do your best work?
• With what kind of people do you like to work?
• What kinds of tasks and responsibilities motivate you the most?
• What is your ideal job?
• Do you have a geographical preference?
• Tell me about what you learned from your previous jobs.
• What did you dislike most about your last job?
• What do you think you would like least about this job/company/field?
• What is your greatest weakness?
• Have you ever failed at anything?
• What has been your greatest challenge?
• What do you enjoy doing outside of work in your free time?
• If you had six months ahead with no obligations and no financial constraints, what would you do?
• If you could invite anyone you would like to a dinner party (famous or historical figures, dead or alive), which ten people would you invite?
• If you could trade places with someone for a week, who would it be?
• What is your favorite book/movie/song/painting-or author/actor/singer/artist?
• Which magazines/newspapers do you read regularly?
• Which books have you read recently?
• What would you like me to know about you that is not on your resume?
• What would you like your lasting impression to be?
• Do you have a final statement?
• Do you have any questions you'd like to ask of me?