Transcript Land A Job In A Tough Economy

Land A Job In A Tough Economy
Janet Civitelli, Ph.D.
Associate Director
[email protected]
State of the Union
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2009 – College hiring for new grads is down
22%
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2009 – February unemployment rate is 7.6%
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2008 – Highest annual job loss (2.6M) since
1945
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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, TX
2.
Austin, TX
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX
Raleigh, NC
Seattle, WA
3.
4.
5.
Source: BizJournals.com
Industries That Are Hiring
 Government
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Education
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Health care
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Energy
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“Green” employers
Jobs Seeking Employees
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Nursing
Sales and Business Development
Mechanical Engineering
Software Design and Development
Account Management / Customer Support
Accounting
Source: jobfox.com
More Jobs Seeking Employees
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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?
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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
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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
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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
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22 hours per week is a good goal
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More hours = diminishing marginal returns
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Talk to everyone you meet about your specific
goal
Action
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Pretend your job search is a semester-long
school project
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Use techniques from project management
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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
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More Internet Tips
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Stay off line during the valuable time of the
business day
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Do not hide behind the computer screen
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Focus on niche sites for specific careers, such
as JobsInTheMoney.com,
MarketingPower.com, etc.
Connections
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Human nature hasn’t changed
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The more people you know who like you, the
better your chance of being hired
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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
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Internship programs
Co-op programs
Campus recruiting
Employee referrals
Career / job fairs
Professional
associations
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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.)
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An ad, not a legal document
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Tailor each resume and cover letter
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Ask faculty, professional contacts, and career
counselors to critique your resume
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No spelling or formatting errors!
Resume Grade
A resume gets an A+ if it lands you
interviews!
Interviewing Tips
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Prepare!
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Two column method
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Practice with a career counselor
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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
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Temp
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Volunteer
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Survival job
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More education or specialized training
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Self employment or consulting
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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
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Individualized Career Counseling
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Workshops
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Campus Recruitment
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JOBank
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Extensive online resources at
http://www.career.uh.edu
Walk In Hours For University
Career Services, Spring Semester
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Monday and Tuesday, 9 am to 11 am, 2 pm to
6:30 pm
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Wednesday and Thursday, 9 am to 11 am, 2
pm to 4 pm
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Please come visit us!
Questions & Answers