The Serious Job Seeker

Most people will do anything to avoid or postpone their job search. While helping my daughter on her quest to find a summer internship it became quite obvious to me how difficult people find job seeking because it requires talking to people. Many people engage in the most unproductive activities, ones that require the least direct contact with people. Monster.com is a great avoidance tool. All you have to do is paste your resume into place and then go back to whatever else you would rather be doing. But the reality is that you have to talk to people to get a job.

My daughter was in town for a week for spring break of her freshman year trying to find a summer internship. She sent her resume out a couple of months before to a number of organizations expecting that when the summer arrived someone will just call her and offer her the perfect position. When I told her she needed to follow up she was perplexed. “Why don't they just hire me because I am good? Can't they see that from my resume?" she complained. To which I responded "because they don't know you are good unless they meet you and see that you can walk and chew gum at the same time."

I instructed her to network with people to get leads and introductions to people who were well connected in the Capitol and at the California EPA. These were the places she wanted to intern. I responded to her anxiety over making calls: It will most likely be a person that you have met that will hire you. I told her “This is an interconnected society. Making contacts will lead you to the perfect job. People help each other. That is why the contacts you make are important. You have to cultivate and nurture contacts not for what you can get but because that is what community is: it is helping each other get through life. Think of it as having a cup of tea with people... keeping in touch with people, keeping up with people's lives”. Email makes it even easier to make contact and connect in a big world.

So after a little bit of prodding she sent emails, made several phone calls, and set up appointments for the week. We practiced her approach from the handshake (with eye contact and a smile), to giving her name and explaining that she was there to explore the possibility of a summer internship. As we went through the routine, I noticed little tears streaming down her face. I asked her why she was crying and she said, "I am afraid". I guess we are all afraid of rejection. I said, "These are nice people and are going to be nice to you. Even the people you will meet for the first time will be nice."

We assembled a great outfit and off she went on Monday morning to meet with people. She came home absolutely gushing with how nice people were to her, both on the phone and in person. She had a very encouraging phone call with a person at the Air Resources Board who sent her resume around and had several promising "bites." She had a fantastic tour of the Capitol with a family friend, and interviewed in an assemblywoman's office and scheduled more appointments. The day after her meetings she sent thank you notes to everyone. She finally "got it"! (And she also got a great internship with the California EPA!)

8.8 Get Moving - Job Search Quick Organization Plan

2011-09-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

Getting a job is a full time job that requires drive, discipline, and determination. This is true no matter what your life situation. So many people are unemployed- it is easy to believe that there are no jobs. Many people have just stopped looking, discouraged by the prospects, and discouraged by the process. The news is rife with stories of the long-term unemployed - people who have failed to ignite at graduation or whose job has flamed out with a layoff notice. It is easy to just chuck it all and give up looking, give up trying.

Here is the risk- if you believe there are no jobs you will act accordingly. If you do not look, you will not find a job. Even in the tightest market people get jobs; you want to be one of them.

When things feel hopeless that is the time to buck up and have a plan- to create your own purpose and your own schedule. It should be an ambitious schedule with time spent on all aspects of self-improvement and self-determination. YOU DETERMINE WHAT YOUR PURPOSE IS. At any given time you can make the decision to find your purpose in life. It may not be the one you planned for a few years ago or even a few months ago; but it will be a good one if you commit yourself.

Get out of bed early. Sounds simple. But even simple things are difficult when you find yourself without purpose and depressed by the prospects. Depression is a very common affliction of job seekers. One of the best cures is to get moving early. Tumble out of bed at 6:00 am with a plan and a whole world of possibilities will occur to you. You will be taking control of your life once again.

Start your day with exercise- running, walking, biking, tennis - all things you can do on the cheap to improve your outlook and your outward appearance. Do it first thing in the morning to get the endorphin kick and clear your head. Put exercise on the schedule just like you would any other appointment. Set the alert on your phone to remind and reinforce your plan. Exercising will open your mind to the possibilities and reduce the stress and anxiety you feel about not having a job. You will start to think about what you should be doing to move on with your life.

Exercise with a partner and you have your morning office meeting right there on the trail - and you will have the support you need for your new beginning. The support and encouragement will help tremendously. Bounce your ideas as you bounce your body!

Carve out a space where you can work each day. It is amazing how just having a place to go will make you more productive. A corner of a room or Starbucks works – as long as it is a place you feel comfortable and motivated to produce.

Set your goals. Start this process by listing your long-term and your short-term goals. What do you want to accomplish over the next 3 to 6 months? What do you want to accomplish over the next 3 to 5 years? Write a "to do" list each day with your goals in mind.

Get organized! Put together a job search binder and a calendar to organize your search. Your job search is an adventure... an opportunity to explore your field, meet new people, and find openings. Be positive – people will respond accordingly.

Get help! Doing it alone is arduous at best – find a career counselor, or a career planning class or read a career-planning book – The Serious Job Seeker (free online). You need to establish a solid strategy for getting a job and this is where to start. A professional can help move the process along with better results. (You would not try to set your own broken leg would you?)

Be well informed. Read the news for the geographical area you are searching for a job in and search professional journals for exciting breakthroughs, professional activities, ideas, and leads. Develop a list of possible companies to apply with and hit their web sites. Research a minimum of ten companies on your target list each day. You will be amazed how many companies are actually hiring. You only need to find one job – right?

Network! Use your contacts to connect with people inside of the organizations that interest you. Linkedin or friends and faculty can provide you with names of persons you might connect with for more information or a company visit. Send email expressing interest in the organization and describing your qualifications. Follow up with telephone calls and schedule appointments.

Follow-up with thank you email to anyone and everyone who gives you ideas, contacts, or leads. And get used to some rejection... don’t let it stop you! Just get more creative the next time.

People are getting hired now – Do not give up!

Next:
8.9 Successful Career and Job Option Research Experience

14.2 Leaving Gracefully: how to handle job termination and start setting a course for your future

2011-09-13T14:15:00.000-07:00

It is no secret right now that the world is in a recession that could last for a while. If you get laid off, there are good ways of reacting and there are bad ways of reacting. Giving up and getting angry is not an option. Staying positive is the best approach. Interestingly, while some people are reporting layoffs, other students and alumni of the College of Engineering and Computer Science are reporting job offers. There really are companies hiring, so do not despair and do not burn any bridges to your future.

As millions are losing their jobs, there is no end of discussion about how to leave and how to survive. If you are ever faced with the unpleasant reality, you want to handle it in the most eloquent way possible. Your behavior is going to be judged and reviewed by your colleagues for years to come. Whether you know it or not, you are interviewing for your next job. People who move to other companies will decide if you warrant an invitation to join them at their new firm based not only on the work you did but on your tact and grace under "fire".

Being upset after a layoff is natural. It is one of the biggest rejections in life. It is like being served with divorce papers when you didn’t even know there was a problem. You show up on time, do great work that is well recognized, and then bam!, out of nowhere, you get served with the pink slip. And to add insult to injury, while you are in the "layoff meeting" your are being locked out of your computer access and a company security officer is waiting outside your boss’s door to escort you out of the building... oh yea, and your ID badge will be confiscated...

If you are the person who’s on the way out the door with pink slip in hand, you really should think twice about telling everybody what you really think, especially in writing. Especially if you are angry, or hurt or resentful. Do not do any thing rash. As you leave, do it like an Oscar award speech, thank everybody and their dog.

Consider this as a practical matter. The people who remain behind are your professional contacts and may very well be the ones who help you find your next job. They may hear of a new job, or they may be planning their next move with you in mind. You do indeed want them to know how to contact you, but you don’t want to leave any impressions that might cause them to hesitate before contacting you.

If you leave angry, you could be the one who reminds them that they hate their job just as much as you did. That increases the burden they carry as they continue. No reason you should remind them. And if they like their job, they are going to think there was something wrong with you.

You also want to make certain that you do not do anything that might cause anyone to question your judgment. Some of those you work with now might soon be in new jobs themselves. They might be starting their own business and looking to hire, or they might end up in a position where they can recruit or hire others in your field. The way you leave this job may be instrumental in whether you land the next one.

Keep in mind that losing a job is one of the worst experiences you will ever have in life. You are losing that daily contact with friends and venturing out into the unknown. You are bound to feel a sense of loss and disappointment. Indeed, it is not at all unexpected that you will experience a sense of depression. Writing on the topic: "Recession, Depression and Depression," my husband, psychologist Paul G. Mattiuzzi noted: "there is an extensive literature on the connection between unemployment and psychological well-being... work is often essential for psychological health."

Networking your way to your next job starts the minute you decide what you want to do in life and continues until you retire.

Always focus on the future. Start thinking about what next from the time you start a new job and definitely before all heck breaks lose. If the worst thing happens, my advice is that you leave graciously and effectively, with a seriousness of purpose. Positive is good, but it involves more than "just be positive."

First and foremost, make it a practice to have all of your contacts in an accessible database and that you always have an email address you can use for professional purposes. Gmail is great! Get linked on LinkedIn. Don’t wait until you leave your job to start your professional network. Start this process from the moment you arrive in college and keep it going all through your professional life and into retirement. You are a professional! Act like one!

After a layoff, don’t send anyone any email until you have collected yourself. That is always a good practice. Never do or say anything in anger. It will come back to haunt you! Take time to exercise and reduce the shock and the stress of the "event". Fresh air will help you think about life and your larger purpose. Things happen for a reason. I rarely have someone tell me, after things sort out, that it was really the worst thing that ever happened. More often than not, positive things come from the challenge you face after a layoff. Change is good! Keep that in mind. Also keep in mind that you do not qualify to be permanently unemployed.

Once you have adjusted to the new reality, think about what you are going to say in your email to colleagues and friends. Let people know that you view this as an opportunity to explore your options, consider new directions, or to gain some education, training or experience that you have long considered. You are the master of your future! Keep that in mind.

If you have some enterprise or activity already lined up, let them know how you will be actively engaged and involved. Let them know if you have a side business or project that you will be focusing on (this is also an advertising opportunity).

If you know what your next career objective is, tell them. Let them know what you are looking for. Give them your resume. Let them know that you would appreciate hearing from them, especially if they have any ideas or suggestions, or if they hear of any opportunities. Ask them to keep you informed if their contact information should change. Above all else, make certain that they know how to contact you by email, and through LinkedIn or some other location on the web where they can easily access your constantly updated resume.

The departure email is not where you want to share your feelings or look back on the past. It is OK to tell your colleagues and co-workers that it was a pleasure working with them, that you appreciate their support and/or friendship, and to express "best wishes." By way of your attitude, you want to let them know that you are not depressed and that you have passed The Serious Job Seeker IQ Test.

Bob Shallit: Sacramento State adviser puts free job tips online

2011-05-08T10:26:00.000-07:00

From the Sacramento Bee ... Bob Shallit's Column:

"Cici Mattiuzzi says her job hunting book contains several self-evaluation quizzes.From her front-row seat on the recession, Sac State career expert Cici Mattiuzzi has seen the increasing frustration of job-seeking college grads. This summer she's doing something about it.

After 31 years in career advising, Mattiuzzi is rewriting her job-hunting book aimed at CSUS engineering/computer science students and turning it into a how-to manual for any job seeker.

Better yet, she's posting the book online - for free - at www.seriousjobseeker.com.
Putting it online will cost her some book royalties. She doesn't mind.

"Will it really make a difference in my life? No," she says. "But could it make a difference in some kid's life? Yes."

The online book, called "The Ultimate Career Planning Manual for the Serious Job Seeker," is not yet finished. But Mattiuzzi is posting chapters and sections as she completes them.

It's filled with personalized features, starting with an "IQ" test to determine if job seekers are really serious - and self-assessment tools to identify their skills and accomplishments.
There's also a personality test to help job hunters determine "who they are" and what jobs best suit them.

By the end of summer, Mattiuzzi will have added résumé templates where "all you have to do is type in your information and it electronically formats this amazing résumé."

Mattiuzzi's advice: Finding a job requires hard work and being prepared to stay at it for months."

"There are jobs out there even in the toughest economy," she says. "You just need to know how to look for them."

15.1 Quitting is an Option

2010-12-02T15:45:00.000-08:00

Twice last week, people came to me to ask if they should quit their jobs. I get this kind of question regularly. When faced with a really big decision it is hard to just do what you want to do. It is a dilemma. And it is paralyzing ... so many things ride on the decision.

We are just coming out of a hard recession. A piece of you dies each day you spend in a job that you hate. To quit or not to quit, that is the question . “What should I do?” It is not an easy question to ask. We like to think we are in control of our own lives. Both individuals who came to me are at the end of their rope. Things have gotten so bad that unemployment seems to be a better option than staying with their current job. Work has gotten so unpleasant that it is affecting their health and happiness. A screaming boss is more than they can bear. Depression is a constant.

A career counselor’s job is to help people sort their options and sometimes to give people permission to do what they want to do anyway. Sometimes the tough decisions in life are best made with a coach who helps you see all sides of the issue. It could be a parent or a spouse, or a counselor who helps you decide. There might be something you missed in your analysis. But ultimately, you make the decision: stay or leave?

Here are the questions I ask:

How unhappy are you?
How is your job affecting your life?
Is your job affecting your health?
How are you going to finance your search?
Can you ask your parents for help? (It doesn’t matter how old you are, no one cares more about you than your parents.)
Have you done a budget with your current costs? What can you cut?
How long can you last given available resources?
How can you make sure you will qualify for Unemployment Insurance?
What is your back up plan?

Getting a new job is what people most want to accomplish. Up until recently, losing a job has meant that unemployment could stretch to 24 months. Having a back up plan means finding purpose in your life if you cannot find a job immediately.

The financial industry is notorious for MBS: management by screaming. One person who spoke to me is a young woman who is the top producer in a financial firm. She has to endure weekly phone “meetings” where her boss and her boss’s boss rant at her. The rest of the financial staff has been laid off, and for a long time she has been waiting for the ax to fall. She has survived all of the layoffs, but her quality of life is suffering terribly.

In 2009 I coached a VP of finance out of his position with a major bank. When he came to me he looked close to a heart attack. He had taken the job less than a year before and inherited a myriad of problem commercial real estate mortgages. He too endured a screamer boss. When he sought my help he was paralyzed. He was afraid to quit but feared being fired. (Some companies use abuse as a tool to make people quit rather than having to fire them). He had a son in a private college and burdensome debt. He could not see a way out. The situation was killing him. He took the leap. He was highly motivated. I explained what steps he needed to take after leaving to preserve his ability to collect Unemployment Insurance to finance his search. Within six weeks of leaving his old job I coached him into a new job where his salary is much higher, and where he is very highly valued. He is now in an industry that is not plagued by the mortgage mess.

A young engineer was in my office last week and was just fried. His boss is relentless in his criticism and gives no instructions or encouragement. Constructive criticism would be nice.

Who knows why bosses scream. Maybe their job is in jeopardy and they figure this is the way to motivate the staff. Maybe they forgot that happy people perform better than people who are scared, nervous and unhappy...

Bad economic times bring out the beast in a lot of people. I have heard horror stories about screamer bosses who make life miserable for their workers. This is a vexing problem for people in a recession because they feel they do not have the option to just quit. It is very hard to find another job when there is a 9+% unemployment.

In a good market, people have alternatives. They can just quit and find another job when things at work get too awful to endure. Quitting is it’s own revenge.

Think of it like this: you are not stuck and helpless. You have options. You are not actually trapped by reality. You are only trapped by your fears. When you get rid of the fears, you can start to think creatively and discover the possibilities. You get to choose: is this a trap or is it a challenge.

Things are picking up: maybe this is the time to jump.

Quitting is an Option

15.0 Managing Your Career

2010-12-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

Wouldn’t it be nice if everything in life just fell into place? It would be so much easier if you could just relax and not think about your career. Imagine going to college, having a perfect job waiting for you, keeping on track for 40 or so years, and finally retiring in comfort. There are a few souls for whom this is possible. They were born into their destiny. For those of us who were not descended from royalty or didn’t inherit the farm, it is a bit more difficult.

Chances are you were not born into wealth or you would not be reading this article. Most people have to work hard at figuring out their purpose in life, making things happen, and keeping things on track. Managing your career in this day and age is absolutely essential. Having a job doesn’t absolve you from this obligation. Once you get the job you need to show up on time, have a good attitude, and do your best work. But that will only get you a paycheck.

If you are going somewhere in life, and want to have a little stability, you will have to take over the control panel and push the right buttons at the right time to keep your career and your life moving forward.

Rules for Managing Your Career Life:

Manage Your Manager - Start by finding the very best leader you can, and tie your string to that kite. If you find you are working for a dolt, find another boss. Work your way around the organization and see who is sharp and innovative… aim to get into that group. If there are no smart managers to work for in the organization- find another place to work. You need to be challenged and you need to be happy. You won’t be happy if you’re not challenged.

The smart employer empowers you to do your job and encourages you to ever more amazing feats of brilliance. This ensures the success of the organization. The bad manager is just killing time (and the people under him) until he can impress his boss and get a promotion… not the best guy to work for.

Never Stop Learning – It should go without saying but so often I see people who have stalled out… Track down every training opportunity that is available to you - technical training, computer training, management training, communications training, conflict resolution training – go for it!

Get a Graduate Degree - Good organizations not only encourage you to continue your education but they will also pay for your master’s degree. You will have much more flexibility in a layoff situation if you are more highly educated than the next person.

Get Licensed - If your profession has a licensure requirement or option associated with it- get the license, even if it is not necessary for the organization you currently work for. It is a no brainer and it is an insurance policy for the inevitable ups and downs of the economy. You will have more options if you get the license. You can always set up a home office in the backyard and go after business.

Maintain a Contact List - Keep in touch with other professionals in your field who work for other companies. They will be your life-line if you need to move quickly to another job. They will also be a good resource when you are stumped by a problem.

Join Professional Organizations - This is the absolute best way to keep up with what is happening in your field. You will receive journals and email newsletters that will keep you informed about all things professional- technological breakthroughs, emerging fields, political issues, licensing changes, and job listings. You will also know when there are conferences and events that will put you in contact with other people in your field. This is soooooo essential to your success. You need to be able to connect and network with people who are in other organizations that might provide you with upward career opportunities. Here is how it will happen: You will meet someone at a conference who has a new contract and there you go- an opportunity to move up!

Take on Responsibility – Smart companies in crisis look to keep the high performers. No one ever made a good impression by shirking responsibility. Stop hiding and volunteer for that big project. It will get you noticed!

Anticipate Change and Be Prepared – Most people can expect to change jobs about every three to five years and will most likely make a major career change three times in a life time. Even the most charmed life has disruptions. You will discover that between technological, political, economic and social change – stuff happens.

Be Aware of Changes Around You - Read technical journals, business publications and a weekly news publication in addition to your usual news feed. Stay informed - big disruptive events rarely happen without warning.

Know what your next move will be both inside and outside of your organization. Stay informed about what is happening in your profession and in your industry. Keep abreast of the broader field you are in to identify areas of growth and companies that are innovating. Pay attention to world news - global events can reek havoc on the economy - and thus your job.

Maintain a Solid Financial Cushion - When the economy is good it seems like it will last forever- it never does. Have a back up plan- a solid savings and investment plan goes a long way to helping you weather any storm that occurs. Have enough resources to last up to two years. It is as simple as spending less than you earn and paying off your debt immediately. Do both. You will sleep better at night if you know that you are covered even if you never use it. Lets face it- if you have ever been a starving student you have learned to live on less.

Maintain a Career Binder – Include in your binder:
1) An ideas section.
2) An accomplishments diary with pictures of projects and products you have worked on.
3) A problems encountered, problems solved diary.
4) An updated version of your resume and a cover letter template.
5) A list of potential companies that you might consider allowing to employ you.
All of these items put together will help you hit the ground running if the unthinkable happens- you lose your job.

Next:
15.1 Quitting is an Option

Managing your career is not that hard. It just requires that you tend to it over time in a consistent way- just like watering the plants. You will be glad you did.

14.1 Keep Calm and Carry On

2010-09-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

During WWII, the British government placed inspirational posters in strategic spots all across England. London was being bombed relentlessly and people were on the verge of panic. The message was simple: “Keep Calm and Carry On.”

Sometimes there is very little you can personally do to change things - you just have to keep calm and carry on. This recession is one of those globally devastating events that cannot be fixed by any one individual. No one escapes the new reality. Recently laid off workers face tons of competition. New graduates are particularly hard hit by the downturn as they struggle to find their way in life. An entire generation of young people is caught up in the recession’s paralyzing grip.

Life until 2007 was soooooo promising. Before 2007, technology, expected baby boomer retirements, and the constantly expanding global economy offered what appeared to be an extraordinarily bright future. For those who recently joined the ranks of the unemployed, life is not so promising. It is, in fact, very challenging.

Keep Calm and Carry On. The message is two-fold. It is important to be calm, but you must also carry on. There may be nothing that you can do to end the recession, but there are things you can do to help yourself during these trying times. Keeping calm and maintaining a positive attitude is essential. Carrying on is where the power lies.

Sometimes it is necessary to find alternative, legitimate uses of your time during a period like this. Carrying on means having purpose in your life even when you can not find someone who values your services with a salary. You place value on your time by doing something of value.

I was reminded in a most graphic way recently about the consequences of doing nothing. I saw a young man who graduated in June of 2009 and had been interviewed for a very good job. A ton of other new graduates qualified for the job but he got the interview. As the interview progressed, the interviewer asked: “What have you been doing since you graduated?” It had been more than a year since the young man had been doing something really productive (being a student) and it was a legitimate question. The young man was perplexed by the question and answered, “I have been looking for work.” The interviewer probed: “Is that all you have been doing?” The first answer was not impressive ... The real question the interviewer was asking was, “What have you been doing to improve yourself as you look for work?” The answer was: “Nothing.” That young man is still unemployed.

These times are challenging and you have to measure up. Employers will expect you to multitask on the job so you must demonstrate the ability now. Besides looking for work, DO SOMETHING! Do something for yourself, do something for someone else...

You need to have an answer to the question, what have you been doing since you graduated or since you were laid off, other than just looking for work. Yes, looking for work can seem like an all consuming task, but it is not enough to impress an employer when you have been out of work for more than 6 months. The average length of time it takes to find a job is now 6 to 8 months. Many people are taking much longer - up to two years - and some people will become part of the permanently unemployed as certain jobs disappear from the labor market forever.

There are a ton of people out there running a little faster and jumping a bit higher than you are. People always say, “I don’t have time to do anymore”. When I was a student I took a class from the famous artist, Joseph Raffael, who said, “The more you do, the more you can do. The less you do the less you can do.”

What do you need to do to make yourself an attractive candidate for your ideal job when opportunities are not quite so boundless? What will make you stand out from the pack? Take a career class, learn a new language, improve your computer skills, travel, build something, start a small business, volunteer at a homeless shelter ... the possibilities are limitless.

One construction management student started his own home repair and remodeling business and even employs other students on the projects he takes on. He has more work than he can handle and is finishing his degree while he works. Every job he does affords him referrals to the friends of his current customers. Every job he does is another reference for the incredible work he is capable of doing.

Sometimes it is a matter of being in the right place, doing the right thing, at the right time, organizing your luck by being ready for opportunity when it occurs. Taking a career planning class or reading a career planning book (seriousjobseeker.com) goes a long way to preparing you to take advantage of the possibilities even before they hatch.

My all time favorite story is about a job seeker in the last recession who could not find a position no matter how hard he tried. He had interviewed repeatedly with no resulting offer. He volunteered to teach a computer class at Mustard Seed, a school for homeless children. That so impressed the interviewers at a large state agency that they offered him a job.

One job seeker who took my career planning class met a hiring manager at a career fair last spring, and then noticed that the market was faltering. He wrote a letter offering to volunteer for the summer. The manager and the company president were so impressed with his approach that two weeks after he started volunteering they hired him.

Another job seeker who took my class last spring met a manager at the spring career fair and requested an informational interview (on site company visit - a class requirement). During the visit he learned all about the company and they got a chance to look him over and see his enthusiasm. That (and having a resume ready) was all it took for them to offer him a summer internship that will last well into the fall ... this in the middle of the recession.

Still another job seeker who took my career planning class two years ago discovered that his current employer, Sacramento Regional Transit, was not going to be able to offer him a permanent position at graduation. He networked with the RT managers he had worked with. They put in a good word for him with a San Francisco consulting firm doing railway design and construction management. That connected him with a full-time career position that is just perfect given his interests.

Even in the tightest market, things are not always what they seem. If you only look at the bad news you miss the good news. There are always companies hiring. I read local and national stories about companies that are growing. For example, the Sacramento Business Journal is full of articles about companies that are expanding operations. The most exciting story I have read recently is about Altergy Systems. According to the Sacramento Business Journal, this company has 50 employees in Folsom and “plans to hire 20 more employees -- mostly in sales, engineering, and product line management -- by the end of the year”. Now that’s a tip!

There are things you can do now to enhance your chances. What are you doing with your time right now?

Keep calm and carry on.

Next:
14.2 Leaving Gracefully: how to handle job termination and start setting a course for your future

14.0 The Value of Positive Thinking

2010-05-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

Being fired, laid off, or unexpectedly unemployed will test you like almost no other experience in life. It causes a terrible loss of identity. It can feel like you have lost your purpose in life. It causes depression for many people and it can create tension between you and your family and friends. It can be one of the loneliest and saddest experiences. A lot depends on your attitude, your coping mechanisms, and your support system.

The one thing you have to understand is that if you are reading this, you most likely do not qualify to be permanently unemployed. I say that all of the time to my students and people I counsel through the job search process. It is true... I know. I spent 4 years with the California Employment Development Department at the beginning of my career and I know what permanently unemployed looks like. It is the person that no one wants to sit beside. It is the person who has zero skills, a seriously bad attitude, a really bad personality and probably smells really bad too. It is a package. My guess you do not have that complete combination of problems if you are this far into reading this so it is time to buck up! and figure out how to get out of this little blip on the screen.

I often speak with my husband Paul, a Clinical Psychologist, about stress and job loss. One of the major points he always makes is that it is not just a situation or an event that causes stress, it is how you perceive the event that really makes a difference. "One person might lose a job and be devastated; another person could see it as a challenge and an opportunity." Your very success in life depends on being positive. A good attitude helps you deal with the stuff that comes at you in life. You are more likely to do well in life if you perceive the world as a basically friendly place, filled with opportunity.

I think it happens right when you are born. A nurse-fairy either sprinkles sugar, or squeezes lemon on your little noggin, and you turn out to be a happy person with a good attitude or you are an unpleasant whiner. And you wake up each and every morning with a smile on your face, or you wake up crying and screaming. That is how your earliest experiences are formed. Your parents either see that cute smiling face or they get jolted out of bed with your screaming, and they react accordingly. And all throughout your life people respond to that perception of you.

According to my husband, the psychologist, people either thrive and survive or fail in life based on their attitudes. "The most important attitude is referred as the "sense of coherence", which has three elements: a sense that you understand what is going on around you; a belief that you can handle things and take care of business; and a feeling that things are worthwhile and meaningful."

A positive attitude will lead to your success. Being positive is not only essential, it is also much more efficient. If you believe that you can handle things and take care of business you will set goals and map out a plan and proceed with it. Life is more manageable, and other people and opportunities are drawn to you. The converse is also true. If you are negative, you put out bad energy and no one wants to be around you. In life, there is not enough time to have a bad attitude. You will act based on your positive or negative view of the world. If you believe, for example, that there are no jobs out there, you will act accordingly and you will not be doing the things that are efficient like looking for a job.

Negative people also manage to thwart any opportunities that come their way. One close friend put it this way: "Being negative is a turn off." Facing rejection is a part of interviewing, but you are not allowed to lose your positive attitude and your smile. And criticizing or complaining about a previous employer, or a project, or a team member, is the surest way to leave a bad impression. The result is that the employer is left with the sense that you have a problem or you are the problem.

Attitude. Exercise. Network.

Attitude - hire a counselor or a coach if you need an attitude adjustment. It is important to know when to get help...

Exercise daily and vigorously - depression takes a toll on your body. It will clear your head and help you move forward.

Network- Get out of the closet. You will not find a job in there... You need to get around other employed people.

So buck up! Recognize that you are a multi-talented individual who doesn't qualify to be permanently unemployed. You will get a job. You did learn a lot from prior jobs and from your training and education. Now figure out what the positive things are that you can share with the world, and get out there and work on it every day until you get to where you want to be. I love the quote from Thomas Jefferson: "I find the harder I work, the more luck I have".

Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. For in action there is magic, grace and power. - Goethe

Next:
14.1 Keep Calm and Carry On

13.6 The Facts

2010-05-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

Finally there are some facts that you must understand when it comes to deciding on which job to take. You may not have done enough to get that right job. Here are the facts:

Fact #1: The average length of time it takes to get a job is three to six months.

Fact #2: Looking for work is a full time job. That means you need to work at finding a job 40 hours per week.

Fact #3: You need to commit yourself to finding a good job! The best use of your time is to find the best job for you.

Fact #4: If you waste your time on a substandard job, you waste your life.

Just make sure that you are not selling yourself short by taking an inferior offer. You are worth more than that. You deserve a great job in a great organization where you can thrive and make a difference. Don't settle for anything less. Keep working until you find the right job in the right place. You will be glad you did!

If you have not already read the chapter on job search strategy you know what you need to do right now.

13.5 Evaluating an Offer

2010-05-10T18:44:00.000-07:00

Things to consider when evaluating an offer:

Have you done enough to know you have explored your options thoroughly?
Do you have enough information to make the decision?
Do you like the work?
Will you be learning something that fits with your interests?
Will you gain valuable experience that you can use for your next move?
Do you have a good chance to succeed?
Will you be challenged?
Could you thrive in the company?
Does the work environment feel right?
Do you like the people working there?
Do you like your manager's style?
How are the money and the benefits?
Do you know what your other options are? Could you do better? Are you just taking this offer because it is easy?
Have you worked hard enough to get the right offer or are you being lazy and making due with less than you should?

You are a responsible adult... you can decide which offer to take.

Next:
13.6 The Facts

13.4 Making the Decision

2010-05-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

Here is how it will happen. You interview well and come out with an offer. Now, faced with a decision, what do you do? You have an offer in hand and you have to decide if you really want it? Should you take it? Should you keep looking and try to find the perfect job? Do you really have the option to stall a company that has made you an offer especially in a tight or uncertain market?

Making such a big life decision is not easy. Every time you make a decision and choose one course of action, you give up every other choice. That which you give up represents your "opportunity cost" ... or more precisely, your "lost opportunities". This is what keeps career counselors and psychologists in business - the fact that people perpetually have to make decisions and make choices, perpetually giving things up and creating lost opportunities for themselves. There is fear and anxiety associated with the possibility you will make the "wrong" choice. And there is just as much reason to fear that you will fail to make any choice at all. Think of the deer, frozen in the headlights, failing to run this way or that way and ending up in the worst possible situation. Indecision and paralysis often go hand in hand. If you are going to move forward, you have to make a decision.

An engineer called me and asked me to help him make a decision on what to do with an offer he had just received. The offer was about 20% less than he was making at the high tech firm he was laid off from about six weeks earlier. The position is also at a much lower level than he was previously at. He told me that it was discouraging to receive the low offer but he was really interested in the technology the company uses and feels he can learn a lot. He also told me he was concerned about national and international economic uncertainty might make job offers scarce and he was afraid of being unemployed for a much longer period if he didn't take the offer.

After exploring all of the parameters with him, I suggested that he take the job but that he also start working on a master's degree to give him a safety net if he is still underemployed come two years from now. Two years from now, if the market is much better, he will graduate with a masters degree and will have great experience and be able to spring ahead. If he just takes the position and does not increase his level of education he is creating a benchmark for underemployment in the future and a distinct liability when he starts looking for another job in the future.

Another individual who was graduating with her bachelor degree called and told me that she has received an offer from one company but had several interviews yet to complete before she could make a decision. She would like to have all of the offers in hand before she made a decision, but she was getting pressure from the company that made her the offer. What should she do? How could she preserve the offer she already had without offending but still finish exploring all of her options?

The best way to hold off a company is to ask for enough time to finish your interviews and make a good decision. Most companies recognize that it is in their best interests if you make a thoughtful, unhurried decision. Some human resources people might try to pressure you to get an answer so they can move on to the next candidate if you pull out. If the company has to know right now, accept the offer. You can back out later with a "Dear John" letter. (Detailed in Chapter 7.1)

Usually, however, you won't have to make a decision right there on the spot. If you can, you will want to take your time. When someone makes you an offer, be positive; let them know that you are interested. But tell them you need to think about it, and to compare it with the other offers you've received. Anyone who is willing and able to pay you a salary is smart enough to know that if you make a bad decision, it is going to cost them. And if you take time to think and to weigh your decision, you are going to have more leverage when it comes time to negotiate the details. It's a lot easier to choose a good restaurant when your hunger is under control.

Next:
13.5 Evaluating an Offer

13.3 Quantitative Analysis for Job Offers

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When you have received an offer, you will need to decide if it is a good offer for you. A quantitative analysis is the best way to approach the decision. Many people I have worked with are delighted to hear that this task can be broken down into numbers.

Take a piece of paper and divide it into two columns, labeling one column “pros,” and one column “cons." Then, make a list of the pros and the cons of the offer. These will include things that relate to your goals and work/life style preferences. Then, adjacent to each item, assign a numerical value on a scale from one to ten: how important is that item? Do this analysis for each offer you receive and you will now have a way to choose between the offers.

One IT professional that I worked with a couple of years ago had an offer from a company in San Francisco that was several thousand dollars higher than another offer she had from the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) here in Sacramento. She was very nervous about taking an offer that was lower. After she finished doing the analysis, she was able to see that the FTB offer represented the best professional and personal move for her and her family.

One individual was deciding between a military career and a civilian job offer with a defense contractor. Here is how he analyzed the offers and made the decision:

Sample of Quantitative Analysis of Job Offer Comparison
Choosing One's Path in Life

Pros and Cons example

Pros and Cons (blank chart)

That is how you sort the offers and plan your career and your life!

Next:
13.4 Making the Decision

13.2 Self Assessment for Offer Decisions

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List your goals and set your priorities. The first thing you need to do when faced with a major decision in life is to list your goals. Putting things down on paper clarifies the issues. You need it on paper to actually see what is really important to you. This list should include personal as well as professional goals. If you have an important other that you would like to share your life with, it is good to factor in their goals, or at least discuss the big decision together. If you want to stay in a relationship, you need to have common or compatible goals.

After listing your goals, set your priorities. Forget the less important goals and focus on the most important. A good method to identify your most important goals is to label them as A goals or B goals, and then number them (A1, A2, A3 etc.). Focus on the A goals. (This is explained in detail in Chapter 6.5).

List your work style and life style priorities. What do you need to start your career? Your work style list should include things you need to thrive at work such as: a good training program, a good team of professionals to work with, a boss who empowers you (if you are pursuing a professional license like with engineers or psychologists you definitely need your boss to be a licensed professional in your field, under whom you will work and receive qualifying hours of supervision), good technical support and equipment, a clear corporate mission statement, a competitive salary with great benefits, and a chance to apply what you have learned in your education. Prioritize the list.

Your life style list should include things you need to thrive outside of work. What should you include? Well, your list might include: affordable housing, a reasonable commute, a livable community, quality schools, a low crime rate, a major university where you can continue your education, proximity to family, being close to your "important other", a short drive to the ski slopes and an even shorter drive to the ocean. Include whatever you need to feel like life is good and not just all work. I have worked with an electrical engineering graduate, who loved surfing and number one on his priority list was that he be able to surf from time to time. He now works as a design engineer at Port Hueneme, California, and he surfs during lunchtime everyday. This is one happy camper!

Once you have done your personal reflection by listing your goals and your life style/work style preferences, set your priorities. Now you have criteria by which to assess which offer represents the best possible move for your career and your life.

Next:
13.3 Quantitative Analysis for Job Offers

13.1 Assessing The Offers

2010-05-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

More jobs are offered to job applicants and new college graduates during the spring than at any other time of the year. This is when employers fill new positions and cultivate new employees. Many candidates are in the enviable, but difficult position of selecting between competing offers and figuring out who they will allow to employ them.

As exciting as it is to get more than one offer it is a stressful time because there are so many opportunities and so many decisions to make. Where will you start your career or your next career job? Where will you start your life or move your life? Who will be part of your life? You are going to spend more of your waking time with the people you work with than the people you choose to marry. Think about it... You will definitely want to decide who you want to work with.

I have coached many individuals through this process over the years, and as exciting as it is to be wanted by many companies, it is also nerve racking. You have to worry that you might make the wrong decision.

I worked with one individual who was deciding between multiple offers in multiple locations. He was concerned he might make the wrong decision. He wanted to know if I had ever seen a person who later regretted the decision that they had made.

In my experience, the biggest regret that people have in this situation is leaving a loved one behind, assuming they just need a job, forgetting that they are starting a life. I have received frantic calls from individuals who have said, “I left my girl-friend or boy-friend back in California, and now I miss them so much, I realize that I don’t want a life without them.”

Another regret is moving to the wrong location. People mistakenly think that they can live anywhere if they just have a job, forgetting that they also need a life. One individual called from Hobbs, New Mexico. He was making tons of money wildcatting for Schlumberger, a major supplier of technology to the oil and gas industry. He was driving around with a crew of guys drilling for oil in the desert. When he called, he said, “Get me out of Hobbs, New Mexico. There are no women here!”

Deciding which offer to take is a two-step process. The first step requires personal reflection and introspection as to what you want in life. This is your self- assessment. The second step requires a careful analysis of the options.

Next:
13.2 Self Assessment for Offer Decisions

13.0 Which Offer Should You Take?

2010-05-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

When you start your job search you will want to apply for positions in a variety of different places. That means that you will probably receive more than one offer of employment during your search. There is risk involved in accepting the wrong offer so assessing each opportunity carefully and deciding which offer to take is critical. Once you accept an offer you are actually removing yourself from the market. You are saying, I am no longer seeking a job. I have found what I want. There are things you can to do to assess the viability of accepting a particular offer.

No matter how bad you hear that the market is, there are jobs out there and people are getting hired. There is always opportunity for good candidates. Even in the tightest market qualified candidates still get good offers and have making decisions on which offer to take or what their timing should be in accepting an offer.

It would be nice if all of the offers came in at the same time. It would be nice if you could set each one on the table and carefully compare it with every other offer you've received. Better yet, wouldn't it be nice if you could plug all the data in and let your computer tell you what moves to make next in your life? But it seldom happens that way. Most of the time the offers straggle in and the less desirable ones arrive first.

Job seekers are always tempted to grab the first thing that comes along. But that is not always the best course of action. Sometimes it pays to slow the pace and assess the offer and to reject offers that do not meet with your requirements. Yes, you need to have minimum requirements as to which offer to accept just as employers have minimum requirements for which candidate to hire.

One candidate that I worked with was interviewed by a human resources outsourcing company. His antenna went up instantly as he was greeted by the interview team. The interviewers were dressed in shorts and flip flops. As the interview progressed he was not impressed. The team spoke about the youth culture, heavy partying and the need for someone to fit in. Everyone he saw was under 30. He was young, dressed in a suit and interested in a professional position. This looked like a really flaky company to him. During the interview he kept looking for a way out. Trusting his instincts, he emailed the interviewers when he arrived home and requested that his name be removed from consideration. He had been looking for a job for about six months so he was highly motivated to accept any reasonable offer. But as he assessed the situation, he realized that a position with this company would not take him where he wanted to go. He decided unemployment represented a better option than joining that zoo.

Sometimes you just know things are not right. It is better to keep looking for the right job. Trust your instincts. If it is not right, walk away. You can make the decision to do so. It is important for any candidate to trust their instincts. You know when a job is not a match made in heaven.

Once you accept an inferior offer, it is really difficult, if not impossible, to continue your search for the right job. Taking the wrong job is like putting on handcuffs, you feel trapped. You feel like you have no options. Once you start a job you incur obligations- rent, car payments, credit card debt for the wardrobe you need, and the stuff you want.

There are not enough hours in a day to learn a new job, perform well in a sub-standard environment and look for a good position. It is emotionally and physically exhausting. So by accepting a substandard job you are handicapping your chances of finding the right job.

Untangling yourself from a job you hate is dicey. You will not perform at your optimum while you are in a job you don't like or working with people you do not respect. Setting up interviews while you are being watched over as the "new kid on the block" will not be easy either. And you have to explain to the next employer why you are leaving your job so soon. Then there are the reference checks...

Getting the right job is like finding the right tennis partner. Your performance depends on playing with the best partners. You need to be challenged.

Next:
13.1 Assessing The Offers

7.1 Job Search Correspondence: The Essential Letters You Will Use to Get Hired

2010-04-30T20:32:00.000-07:00

Sample #1

Cover Letters
Cover letters are sent to employers along with a resume to explain to an employer why they are receiving your resume. The first paragraph tells the employer which position you are applying for and how you learned of their position. The second paragraph tells the employer about your qualifications. The third paragraph tells the employer what the next step will be.

Cover letters must be absolutely perfect in every way. The formatting is typically business letter style or slightly modified if you do not know the name of the individual doing the hiring. Examples in this section show both types of letters.

Any errors in your letter will automatically eliminate you from consideration for any available positions. You will need to have your cover letter as well as your resume proofed by someone who is ruthless with a red pen.

Cover letters are sometimes formatted directly in email or attached as a document along with your resume, in which case your email is a very short introduction to your cover letter and resume.

Sample #1

Sample #2

Thank You Letters
Thank you letters are one of the best ways to get yourself noticed by an employer. If you are one of the top candidates being considered, you will set yourself apart from the pack by impressing the employer with your thoroughness and thoughtfulness.

Thank you letters are sent immediately after the interview, thanking the employer for the time he/she spent interviewing you. They can also be used to correct a weak answer given in the interview. "I do feel I could have answered the Verilog coding question more effectively. If I had a second chance to answer the question, here is how I would answer it…"

I worked with a young engineering candidate, a number of years ago, who sent a thank you letter to CH2MHill, even after he had been told he was not going to be hired. He indicated in his letter that he was still interested and found the interview process to have been a great learning experience. When the candidate who was hired didn’t work out, he was offered the job!

Sample #1

Sample #2

Recommendation Letters
Recommendation letters are what I call your "walk-on-water" letters. It is a letter that you ask a former employer, a professor, a co-worker, or a co-team member of a project to write for you. The recommendation letter tells the employer that you are an exceptional candidate. You will need to ask someone who you trust will write glowing things about you. (see the section on references)

Recommendation letters are used not only for jobs. These letters are written for candidates for graduate school, law school, and the military as well as for job prospects.

You will need to provide the letter writer with enough information about the job, or other purpose for the letter, so that they are sure to hit the most important points.

Sometimes the individual writing the letter will ask you to write the letter, highlighting your best qualities relative to the job. That means you must construct the letter for yourself. You will need to identify your best qualities, knowledge, and skills relative to the employer's needs.

Sample #1

Sample #2

Follow-Up Letter
A follow-up letter is a letter that you send after an interview, or after an informational interview, or after an offer has been made. This letter is meant to hurry things along but it can't look like you are rushing things. It is your way of showing an employer that you are thoughtful, interested, and following up. It has to capture just the right tone without being pushy. It demonstrates enthusiasm and interest and impresses the hell out of employers! Very few people actually write a follow up letter so it is going to make you stand out from the crowd.

A poorly worded letter can cause irreparable harm so be careful!

Sample #1

Sample #2

Sample #3

Job Offer Acceptance Letters
The job acceptance letter is a letter that you send after you have received an offer of employment, accepting the offer. It states that you are excited about the opportunity and look forward to working with the company who is making the offer.

Sample #1

Dear John Letters
"Dear John" are letters that are sent in the event you have accepted a job and you later receive a superior offer that you just cannot pass up. You accepted the first offer in good faith but the later offer is exactly what you want to do. You will need to gracefully back yourself out of the situation without burning any bridges. With new graduates this happens when the market is heated and multiple offers are received. This situation is described in the salary negotiation section of this book in the article titled "Which Offer Should You Take". I created the "Dear John" letter when a young student came to me with the dilemma. She had accepted an offer from Lockheed Martin and later received an offer from Hewlett Packard that was a better professional and personal move- the HP offer allowed her to stay close to her boyfriend.

Sample #1

Volunteer Letters
Volunteer letters are your most desperate letters. Sometimes you find that a company you really want to work for is just not hiring. It could be that the entire economy has slowed down. Or it could be that you do not have enough to offer an employer when there are a ton of more experienced people on the market.

You need experience; you need mental stimulation; you need to be able to interact with other professionals in your field so that you do not lose your technical edge or your knowledge base. You also need the contact with people who might eventually be able to offer you a job or refer you to a colleague in another company that is hiring.

I have coached a number of people through the process of volunteering to work in a company that had not planned to take anyone on. It is a spark of innovative thinking that is a win-win for everyone. The employer gets a new, enthusiastic team member that does not cost them anything and you get experience and exposure to current issues. You are in the epicenter of where you want to be instead of alone in your room moping.

Sample #1

Sample #2

10.7 Costly Errors That Kill Job Offers

2010-04-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

Over the years, I have had an opportunity to observe many people during their job searches. Most people are pretty careful about how they present themselves, but there are some glaring errors that have been deal breakers for even the most talented candidates I have worked with. The owner of a small engineering firm in Auburn called me, after posting a position on the web, to say that he had selected the candidates that he would be interviewing. He was astounded that he had received a number of cover letters that were so poorly written that he will not even consider interviewing the candidates who sent them.

Having errors in your cover letter or on your resume will instantly turn the employer off. The resume and cover letter review is the first screening that an employer does of the potential candidate. Why should they waste any time on someone who cannot get it together on paper? I worked with one job seeker who came to me wondering why he was not having any luck getting an interview. After looking at his resume for about five seconds I noticed he had Microsoft spelled wrong... NEVER SEND ANYTHING WITHOUT PROOFING IT or having someone else proof your work. Often times, we miss our own errors because we see what we expect to see, so solicit the help of someone who writes well.

Stumbling into an interview late is just plain rude and is not going to win you a job. Always plan for unexpected delays and build plenty of time into your schedule. Plan to arrive at your interview thirty minutes to an hour early. Even if there was a traffic jam, it is a lame excuse to present to an employer you have kept waiting. And if the employer is interviewing multiple people on a tight schedule, your interview will be cut short.

Arriving for an interview unprepared is a major mistake. It shows a distinct lack of interest in the job and a basic disrespect for the person interviewing you. Average preparation time for a successful interview is about six hours. Figure you are studying for the ultimate final, the one that makes all of that education pay off. What is involved? Well you need to know yourself thoroughly: list your goals, your greatest strengths, your interests, your related work experience. Do an inventory of who you are. Then do some research on the company. Figure out what technical information you need to study. Study old notes from past training and classes, and find current articles on the company and the industry. Then, put it all together. Why are you qualified for the position and what do you need to share about yourself in the interview to get the job? Assemble a portfolio of your work to share with the interviewer. Hewlett Packard, or example, expects to see samples of your work from your senior project or other significant projects you have worked on.

Rambling on in the interview about irrelevant information is a waste of the interviewer's time. I once worked with a candidate who had just finished his MS in EEE. He was getting interviews but he was not getting any job offers at a time when everyone else was landing the jobs they wanted. I had him come to my office prepared to be interviewed. He came in dressed in his suit, with his resume and his portfolio, and a list of questions he was being asked. I proceeded to interview him. I started our mock interview with "Tell me about yourself." He responded that he had grown up on a farm in Patterson, and his performance went down hill from there. He spoke about his farm and his dog. That is not what the employer wants to hear. The employer wants you to tell him/her who you are relative to the job you are interviewing for. He started again and told me that he had built his first computer in a 4H club and that this experience had propelled him toward his engineering degree and a focus on electronic engineering and computer architecture.

Failure to maintain good grooming and personal appearance. A sloppy appearance in an interview indicates to the employer that you are careless and unprofessional. It is absolutely required that you have a professional looking interview outfit and that you maintain it by having it dry cleaned regularly.

Failure to maintain a positive attitude. This is perhaps the hardest one to remember after you have been rejected by multiple employers. It takes three to six months minimum to find a job. Looking for a job is a full time job! You will have to devote all of your efforts to the goal of getting a job if you expect to get results. You will have to be utterly positive for the entire search. If you walk into an interview with a dejected look, you have blown the interview before you even open your mouth. You must truly believe that you do not qualify to be permanently unemployed and that the perfect job will come along. It will help if you burn off stress with some serious exercise plan that you execute each and every day. And each and every time you walk into an interview, you must say to yourself: "If this job doesn't come through, something better will." And you must believe it!

Sweat the details and get help if you need it!

Next:
10.8 How Employers Evaluate the Candidates

7.0 Putting it All Together: Your Career Chart

2010-04-30T18:33:00.000-07:00

First, let's look at what we've done
before moving on to Developing a Career Search Strategy!

When we looked at Career Planning Challenges and the tasks that lie ahead, I said that there were five challenges that you face. We're almost done with the first three:

Organization Getting organized with a career binder: creating a space for your ideas and inspirations, developing a success timeline, setting up a daily to-do list and calendar and creating a place to keep your contact notes and all of the applications and resumes you will send.

Awareness Becoming aware of who's hiring and how change happens and affects you, and learning how to research career options.

Focus Gathering information about yourself through self-assessment.

The last task for the Focus Challenge is pull together all of the information you've obtained from the self-assessments:

Career Personality Type
Motivated Skills Assessment
Work Values and Priorities
Key Knowledge Areas
Life Interests and Passions
Your Ideal Life/Work Environment
Your Goals and Priorities

Make sure you've done all of the Self-Assessment exercises before you move to the next step!

Now, let's put it all together!

To "put it all together," you are going to create a statement of purpose, using the information you gathered in the previous exercises. Here is the template for this task ...

Career Preference Outline and Summary: My Career Chart

Download the template as a Word Doc, or "open" it in you own Google Docs account.

Use the information you gathered during the self assessment to complete your summary statement.

This is your Statement of Purpose!

Next:
7.1 Job Search Correspondence: The Essential Letters You Will Use to Get Hired

8.0 Introduction: Networking to Your Perfect Job

2010-04-30T17:32:00.000-07:00

Networking to Your Perfect Job
The key strategy you are going to employ to find a job is to network and go out and conduct informational interviews. That is how it works. This is by far the best way to find out about jobs and to get connected to the job you want!

Yes, you want to look for jobs that are posted or advertised.

But you need to know that 80% of the jobs out there are never posted. Some people call it the "hidden job market." And the fact is that people who go direct and have a conversation with someone are the ones who find the jobs!

The most important tools you need for finding a job are information and contacts:

You gather information by using published sources.
You gather more critical and timely information through informational interviews.
You use your network of contacts to find and get connected with people to interview.
You get the people you interview to give you more contacts.

Informational interviewing is a tool used by job seekers to help get inside companies to find out about what really goes on in various fields, and to explore career options and opportunities with the people who really know.

The people you interview are the ones who really know what jobs are available and what the immediate hiring trends are. They know who you should talk to and where you should look.

The important thing to keep in mind is that if you ask someone if they have a job, they're probably going to say "no." That's the end of the conversation. Their response is usually going to be different if they know that you're just looking for information: you want to learn from them, you're not expecting them to give you anything, all they have to do is share their knowledge and their expertise.

When you ask someone to spend a bit of time speaking with you, they are also more likely to say "yes" and let you in the door if you can say: "this is who told me I should speak with you." It's always easy for someone to blow off a complete stranger. People are usually going to be more helpful when you can tell them who sent you and how you are connected.

Everyone who takes my career planning class is required to interview someone who is doing something related to their career interests. Here is how it worked for one of my students:

The student was an intern at a huge federal agency. For his class assignment, he decided he would just interview his supervisor. That was a contact he already had. His supervisor shared information about his career and all the different assignments he has had over the course of his career. It was exactly the type of information the student needed to think about his own career options, the type of information you can't just get out of a book or off the web. And then, he told the student that his wife was an engineer in a private consulting firm here in Sacramento. He said that he would be happy to connect him with her to explore job opportunities in her firm.

What my student learned is that this is an amazingly interconnected world. When you explore your options with one person, you not only learn about their career path but you also get access to their network.

Informational interviewing can also be used prior to an interview to help you understand the position requirements and the company’s expectations. When you interview, you won’t know the answers you need to give unless you have gathered that information in advance.

One way to approach a contact is to say: "I will be interviewing for a position with your organization next week and I want to get as much information about the organization as I can before my actual interview."

If you are just exploring your options, all you have to do is call someone you know who is employed in your field of choice and ask to speak with them about their career.
If you don't know someone, ask everyone you know, family, friends, people you meet, or your professors for a name of a contact in your field. I have coached a bazillion people through this process. The reality is that "who you know" is what will lead you to a job. The object of the game is to get information and to make connections.

When you call to ask for an appointment, be sure to explain that you are exploring your options and that you are a student, a recent graduate or someone who is thinking about making a career change.

Next, tell them who referred you, and that you just want a 20 minute appointment. Be sure to meet with them on site, not on the phone. You will get so much more information and you will forge a much tighter relationship for future hiring possibilities.

People are impressed when someone takes the time to come in and ask questions.There are dozens of questions you may want answered, but think about them carefully before you arrive at your interview.

Write your questions down just in case you get nervous, but try not to act like you are interrogating the person. Even though you will have a list of questions, you want to let the conversation flow. You don’t want it to appear like you are a rigid survey taker with a preset script. Be sensitive to the time constraints of the person you are talking with and remember you asked for just 20 minutes.

The main questions you want to ask your contact is what they do, what is required to be successful in the field, and what advice they would give to someone considering a career in their field or a job with their company. If you decide that you are interested in their organization, be sure to ask about the best way to get in. You also want to ask if they can recommend other people for you to talk with to gather more information.

Never stop informational interviewing. Find as many people as you can to talk to. Do it formally, do it informally... You will find that it either gets you to a better place or helps you realize you are already where you want to be!

And remember, this is definitely a situation in which you will want to send a thank you note later!

Next:

8.1 Researching Career and Job Options

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Before you go out and try to schedule any informational interviews, you need to identify the industries you are going to focus on and develop a list of companies where you might find opportunities. And before you contact anyone, you will need to do some research on the companies and industries you're going to be trying to reach.

We have already talked about using published sources of information to conduct research. We went over this before so you could start getting some ideas about the world-of-work and the range of opportunities. You are going to need to keep doing this again, this time focusing on specific companies and specific jobs.

Your Career Chart is your guide for finding the types of companies you want to reach. As you do research on those companies and the jobs available, you may need to go back and revise your Career Chart. You might also need to revise your Career Chart after you conduct informational interviews and gather information.

Make sure you do your research before you actually go visit anyone. Yes, you are going to be doing informational interviews in order to gather information, but your questions will seem smarter and you will seem better prepared to take on a job in the field you are targeting if you already know a fair amount. You don't want someone you interview to think that you are someone who needs to start at square one!

Next:

8.2 What you will learn from an informational interview

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The informational interview is not a job interview! You are not asking for a job and you are not expecting to be offered one. All you are doing is meeting with a professional in your field in an informal way and asking questions about his or her work.

If they think you are there actually looking for a job or expecting one, they are probably not going to meet with you. At this point, they have no reason to offer you an opportunity, they don't know anything about you. And you are hardly going to get to meet with anyone if you are only meeting with people who actually have jobs available.

I have already told you that the main questions you want to ask your contact is what they do, what is required to be successful in the field, and what advice they would give to someone considering a career in their field or a job with their company.

This is the information you are trying to gather:

information about your career field and and about specific jobs
details about a typical day in your field of interest
more information about the skills necessary to be successful in a specific career
the future prospects of a field
how you fit in with your current level of education and experience

You also want to:

make contacts for possible job leads and interviews
develop leads on positions as they become available

If you decide that you are interested in their organization, be sure to ask about the best way to get in. You also want to ask if they can recommend other people for you to talk with to gather more information.

The information you gain from these interviews is like gold! People who are working in your field will be able to tell you things you just can't find in any published resource.

It is also the case that if they have taken the time to speak with you, they are going to want to be helpful. They are going to want to feel like it was worth their time. They will want to know that they have helped contribute to the success of someone else.

Next:

8.3 How to find people to interview

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Finding people to interview

Tell everyone you come in contact with what you are doing- that you are exploring your options and researching the possibilities. Remember - it's both what you know and who you know. As you firm up your career focus, talk to people: Talk casually with people whenever and wherever you can. Be sure to explain clearly what you are interested in. I have heard of people getting leads in the strangest places like: hot tubs, riding buses, at Greek food festivals, playing volleyball, and from family members at holiday dinners just by sharing their career interests. "I am exploring careers in financial planning." After you get a name, call and say: "I got your name from so and so, and I am exploring my options and so and so said you would be a good person to talk to."

On candidate I worked with was on a golf course waiting with a friend to be pared up with another twosome. (Evidently you have to be a foursome to golf...) He and his friend were pared up with a manager from Chevron who by the end of the golf game offered him a job! Everyone always asks "what do you do?" You need to be prepared with a great answer: "I am changing careers (or I have recently graduated) and I am researching careers in finance (or urban planning or whatever you determine the key words that trigger a good response are)."

Ask people you know: Ask your contacts such as former professors, career coaches, friends, and relatives for the names of anyone they know who is in a company you are interested in or who is in a field you are pursuing. If they don't know any names of people, ask for the names of companies that are engaged in a specific activity that interests you.

Local newspapers: The local newspapers will frequently have published lists of local companies in various industries. The Business Journal publishes several books of lists for the markets where they publish. They have lists of everything from hospitals, consulting firms, accounting firms, manufacturers, colleges and universities, private schools, software companies, to high tech manufacturers, to engineering firms and everything in between. This is the best source of company lists I have ever found!

Local university career center: Talk with the staff at the local university career center about companies that hire in your specific field of interest. They can give you lists and tons of information about companies. Some even post the information on their web sites. This angle might take some resourcefulness on your part, as many university career centers are only open to their alumni and students. I am a big believer in openness and transparency, so at CSUS I keep all of my stuff visible on the College of Engineering and Computer Science site.

Contact professional associations for information and contacts. Join associations associated with your profession and attend conventions for leads and information. You will also find job listings and recruiting ads in professional journals. You will also gain valuable information on trends in your field. What is hot and what is not. Most professional associations have web sites and send monthly journals with fabulous articles and jobs listings for their members.

Alumni club publications: Use your alumni publication, club, or network to obtain names of individuals who graduated from the same school you graduated from with a similar area of study or career field of interest from whom you might gain information and leads. Who knows, them might be hiring. Who better to know the quality of your background and education?

Periodicals and Resource Books: Scan written material such as technical journals, newspapers, magazines, directories for articles on your area of interest, for company names or names of individuals doing things of interest.

Reference Librarians: Ask your local reference librarian for any other reference sources for local companies in your area of interest.

If all else fails, walk into the target company, approach the secretary or receptionist and ask him/her to recommend someone with whom to speak. Make sure to explain that you are only seeking information, (not a job), about this career. A random entry in the company "contact us" link has also yielded great results. This method has worked quite well for some people.

Whatever you do, go out there an find people to interview!

Next:

8.4 How to arrange an Informational Interview

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How to arrange an Informational Interview

Telephone the person you are interested in talking with and request a meeting.
Explain that you are exploring your career options.
Tell them who referred you to them and explain that you really are just seeking advice.

You absolutely must follow up this phone call with an email confirming your appointment and indicating how much you are looking forward to meeting with them.

Always tell the person that you are seeking to meet with that you need only 20 minutes of his or her time to meet at his or her convenience. Most people - even the busiest - have 20 minutes to share with a person exploring a career field. (Your appointment may last longer, so don't book yourself too tightly.)

Remember these important rules:

If you call or write, be absolutely clear in how you present your request. You must avoid allowing the person you wish to see, the receptionist or the secretary to assume that you are seeking a job interview. Some individuals have had luck just dropping in and requesting to meet with an individual in a particular department. This is a little dicier than making an appointment.

Don't be late. Get there on time. The person you are seeing is doing you a favor. Be businesslike and dress professionally. You don't want to dress like you are there for a job interview, but you want to look nice. Slobs don't get jobs!

Don't bring a resume!!! You can send one after your informational interview, tailored to the needs of the company, if it seems appropriate.

Prepare your questions beforehand and write them down to take with you. Ask yourself what you need to know about the occupation, firm or industry. Do your homework!!!

Next:

8.5 How to approach an informational interview ... questions to ask

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The basic approach to an informational interview:

You are in the process of making some decisions about your career, and you want to learn more about the opportunities in a given field for someone with your skills and experience. There is a lot at stake in terms of your future, so you want the best information you can get.

Be prepared for a response such as: "I think our human resources people can probably answer your questions."

You may want to respond with: "I'm sure that would be true if I were looking for a job, but I'd like to talk with you because ________ told me you could give me the best advice and suggested that I would benefit from your experience and insight."

How to start your informational interview and questions you can ask:

Start your interview with a brief statement reminding the person you are talking with why you are there, who referred you, and what you hope to gain. Example: "I am interested in exploring careers in the __________ field. I am trying to get a better understanding of what a person does in this field and what it takes to be successful in this field and how to get into the field. I was referred by so and so who said you'd be a good person to talk with."
What do you do? - Your job title? Ask for a business card at this point.
How did you get involved in this field?
What is your background? - What other types of backgrounds do people in this field have?
What kinds of projects or activities do you work on?
What types of skills are needed for this field? What makes someone successful in this field?
What is a typical day like?
What do you like best about your job?
What do you like least about your job?
What areas in the field are growing?
How is the future of the field changing?
How is this field tied to economy? How is it being affected by the current economic climate?
What are the entry-level jobs in this field?
What is the salary range for entry-level jobs? Top-level?
Is there much upward opportunity or room for career growth?
Can you recommend any sources of information for this field - professional associations, publications, or conferences? Who are the other key players in this industry?
Are there any drawbacks to a career in this field or in this industry?
Can you give me the names of any other people that I might speak with for more information?

There are dozens of questions you may want answered, so think about them carefully before you arrive at your interview. Write your questions down just in case you get nervous, but don't get too rigid or just read them off. Be sensitive to the time constraints of the person you are talking with and remember you asked for 20 minutes.

Remember, this should seem like a conversation and not an interrogation.

The key to this whole process is enthusiasm. If you are truly interested in a topic, that will shine through. When it does, the person you are talking with will most likely respond positively.

Next:

8.6 After the informational interview ... tasks and follow-up

8.7 The Biggest Mistakes Job Seekers Make - Fear of Applying

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The biggest mistake that unemployed people make is that they hang around with other unemployed people. The second biggest mistake is that they keep their status a secret. It is embarrassing to be unemployed. It is hard to surround yourself with employed people if you spend your day glued to a television set or a computer screen. You will never hear about good job opportunities if you are isolating yourself. If you want to get a job, you need to get out there and meet people and apply! Yes, you will face rejection, but the alternative is just too ugly to contemplate, and furthermore, you don’t qualify to be permanently unemployed... Do you?

Places where you will meet people include: job fairs, professional activities and conferences, and by taking specialized training and classes, even if you have graduated. You will be meeting people and enhancing your chances of finding really great opportunities, as well as improving yourself. You might also meet people in casual situations like at Starbucks, on a soccer field, on a golf course, in a hot tub, on a bus, on light rail, or in a bookstore. Over the years, people have told me that they have made valuable and productive contacts in all of these situations. I have heard about people getting jobs or job leads in some of the most unusual places, but I have never heard of anyone getting a job sitting in a closet.

The reality is that if you want a job you have to put yourself out there! 80% of the jobs that are available at any given time are not posted anywhere. That means that you will need to develop a little 1 minute speech where you will describe yourself, telling people what you are interested in. I know you are shy and you are busy and you have a million excuses for not doing the things that I am telling you to do. Do it anyway!

I have been told by many job seekers that it is helpful when I gave them explicit instructions on what to say when calling an employer. So here it is, explicit instructions on what to say when you meet someone at a conference or in line at Starbucks: "Hi my name is (fill in the blank) and I will graduate with a (BA or BS, or whatever) in (Urban Planning, Marketing, Psychology, Computer Science, Engineering or whatever) ... I am studying (fill in the blank) and I am exploring opportunities in (fill in the blank)".

Scenario 1, At that point they will jump all over you with "well, we are looking for good candidates in your field". Scenario 2, you will start asking questions like: What do you do? What is a typical day? What do you like best about your job? What qualities are required for success in this field/company?

This is not brain surgery. You are trying to make contact and get enough information to figure out where to go with your life. So get out there and just do it! Connect with people. You are not doing yourself any good by sitting on the sidelines with other unemployed people or in the closet hiding.

Next:
8.8 Get Moving - Job Search Quick Organization Plan

8.6 After the informational interview ... tasks and follow-up

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Immediately after the interview, document the contact and place the information in your career binder. Here's the template I showed you when we were talking about your career binder.

Remember what I said before: even if you keep your contact information in a database, you still need to have this information in hardcopy where you have a place where you can quickly take notes. You need to keep everything organized for easy access and review!

Staple the person's business card to the form, and make sure you have written down the names of everyone they referred you to.

Next, "debrief" yourself. You can do this on the contact form. Make sure you have answered the following questions:

What did I learn?
How does what I learned fit with my skills, values and interests?
What else do I need to know? Who else do I need to talk with?

Then, before the day is out, send a Thank you note. It only needs to be a few lines long. Express your appreciation and tell them what you plan to do next.

Finally, review the notes you've taken: Are there any other action steps to be taken on the basis of the information you obtained?

At the end of each interview, it is time to make certain that you have your next informational interview set up. A really good interview is one that has provided you with names of more people to speak with.

The really best interview is one where you learn that you have found an approachable organization, one that has job opportunities that you can start considering and following up on.

The more of these interviews you do, the more likely it is that you will find a company you want to work for and it will be time to start tailoring your presentation (i.e., your resume) to secure that position.

Next:

8.7 The Biggest Mistakes Job Seekers Make - Fear of Applying

9.1 Presenting Yourself with a Resume ... resumes explained

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So how do you convey to an employer that you are the perfect candidate? If you are going to get the attention of an employer and get the job, you need to stand out from the crowd. You have five ways of showing employers that you have the right stuff: your cover letter, your resume, your portfolio, your interview and last but not least, your enthusiasm.

You need to have an extremely well designed resume that makes it clear that you are the perfect candidate. An employer will look closely at your resume to find courses, project experience and work experience that fit with their needs. They will also want to know that you have a certain combination of soft skills that will allow you to perform well on the job. There are three areas of your life that you can mine for the knowledge and skills that employers want: your education, your experience and your extra-curricular activities. If you have not already completed all of the Self Assessment Exercises, you need to do that now, before you start working on your resume. That is where you have cataloged the most important information that will appear on your resume.

To begin with, employers want to hire candidates who can demonstrate that they have the technical expertise that fit with the job requirements. Your degree from an accredited university goes a long way in telling the employer that you have the right stuff. Show your degree(s), certification, your courses, and describe any projects you have that are relevant to the needs of an employer. Your course list and class projects will show that you have learned things that make you likely to succeed in a particular position. The project experience you have had, either in a career related internship or job, also shows that you have the technical expertise you need to perform on the job. In the real world, projects are the primary focus of a technical professional. Show your projects prominently!

Employers will also assess whether you have basic soft skills that give you the ability to perform well in their work environment. Being a good student is not enough to get you a job. You will need to demonstrate to an employer that you have successfully used your soft skills too. Potential employers want to know that have you have learned how to manage a project, lead teams, worked as an effective member of a team, worked with customers effectively, as well as how to stand up and give a great PowerPoint presentation. Be sure to share it all.

Your cover letter, resume, portfolio and actual interview should all convey the same message and work in concert to show the employer you have what they need. You may feel you are repeating yourself, but actually you are reinforcing the message over and over again. When you get to the interview, your resume and the work you put into it will help you stay on message and avoid rambling, and it helps the employer grasp your true strengths.

Lastly, enthusiasm for what the employer does also goes a long way to making you a fabulous candidate. Chase what you love and ignore the rest. Being the perfect candidate means chasing the right job.

Resumes Explained

Your resume is probably your most important job-seeking tool. It is frequently the thing that gets you noticed first. Writing an effective resume is one of them most tricky parts of your job search. It really needs to be well thought out and focused on the industry and the employers you are targeting.

Before you write a resume it is essential to know what you want to do, and who you are relative to employers’ needs. To develop a good understanding of what you need to convey in your resume it is helpful to analyze the job description for the types of positions you are pursuing. It is also important to speak with people in your chosen field (this is why we focused on informational interviewing). Ask them what they look for in a candidate and what qualities are necessary to be successful.

Before you start trying to write your resume, it is helpful to have a job description to help you focus. A good place to find great job descriptions is the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH). (There's a search box on the left.) The wording you will find for various occupations is incredibly helpful. You can use some of the wording found in the OOH for descriptions of jobs you have held in the past, as well as for the job you are now seeking. Another good exercise is to go to potential employers’ web sites and print job announcements that interest you. This is a great source for ideas and wording to include in your resume.

When you sit down to write your resume, use the job description or announcement as a guide. Focus yourself on the employer’s stated requirements.   First, inventory the knowledge you have that will be of greatest interest. (You will probably need to write more than one resume if you are applying for more than one job - you always want it tailored to the needs of the company you are applying with.) Second, make a list of your skills relative to the needs of the companies or industry in which you are applying.   Third, make a list of your activities that relate to your career or job choice.

Limit your resume to one page unless you are applying for an academic position. This is easier than you might think. Use half-inch margins on the top, bottom, and sides in order to get maximum use of your page.   Format your header (name, address, phone, email) horizontally and limit it to the top one-inch of the page.

In the body of your resume put an objective.   This is a focal point and the “controller device” on your resume. Your objective must relate to the employer’s needs before you will be considered for anything. (Anything that does not relate should be left off of your resume). It should be simple and concise. For example: Objective: A position in Civil Engineering.

Things following your objective are put on to the resume in descending order of importance. The next thing that goes on your resume after the objective depends on what you learn is the most important thing you have to offer the employer.   This rule is followed for each and every subsequent item.   Your skills are usually the most important item and are usually placed first.

Remember that a resume is a summary of who you are. It should tell an employer who you are and that you're "right" for the position. It must be extremely well organized and well formatted to have the greatest impact. The resume should not go on forever. The purpose of a resume is to gain the attention of the employer you hope will hire you.   It is a professional statement of what you have to offer. It should be brief and concise.

Resumes of recent college graduates should include the following master categories:

Objective
Education
Knowledge and Skills
Project Experience (this might be merged with related experience)
Related Experience (meaning related to your objective)
Other Work Experience (such as food service; this section might be left out)
Professional Activities and Accomplishments

This list of seven items works for just about every new graduate I have worked with, regardless of major.

Resumes of experienced professionals should include the following master categories:

Career Objective
Qualifications Summary
Knowledge and Skills (this section might be left out)
Related Work Experience
Education
Professional Activities and Accomplishments

Rules for resume writing:

Limit your resume to one page.
Include only items that support your objective.
Use only one font for the entire resume.
Use bold, italics, and upper case letters judiciously.
Bold all of your master category headers in upper case letters.
Bold all of your sub-category headers in lower case letters.
Use action verbs to describe your experience.
Don’t use I, me or my on your resume if you can avoid it.

The above provides a complete guide for preparing your resume. But to make sense of this process, you really need to look at some samples. These samples are all templates (use in Google Docs or download to Word) that you can adapt for your uses. These are all effective resumes, resumes that actually worked in helping people land the jobs they wanted.

Next:
9.2 Resume Samples

9.0 Portfolio Construction: a presentation tool for advanced serious job seeking

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A Portfolio is a hinged cover or flexible case for carrying loose papers, pictures or pamphlets. For job seeking and interviewing purpose it is a set of work samples, such as reports, drawings or photographs, either bound in book form or loose in a folder.

Portfolios are a tool commonly used by artists, architects, and interior designers to show potential clients and employers their work.

For all other professionals, it is a relatively new idea. A portfolio is a way to show an employer samples of your work and pictures of projects you have worked on. It allows you to assemble, in an orderly fashion, representations of your best quality work. It gives you a chance to stand out from the competition by showing the employer you hope will hire you, a visual display of your work. You will most likely be sharing it in an interview.

It is important to understand that a portfolio is not a resume. A resume is a summary of your background and talents. A portfolio is a display of your work. (A resume should be included as the first item in your portfolio.)

Items that you choose to include in your portfolio depend in large part on what you have to show, and what you determine the employer needs to see. You will decide what to include after you have done some research and analysis. Read the job description and talk to people that currently work for the company to see what to emphasize. Visit the employer’s web site to glean relevant information.

The employer is looking for a basic set of skills and some specialized expertise specific to their industry. Included in the skills and expertise sought by employers are the following:

Technical Expertise
Computer Skills
Communications Skills

Written
Verbal
Presentation

Analytical/Problem Solving
Leadership Skills
Organization Skills
Team Skills

You should already know what skills you want to emphasize from the work we did with the Skills Assessment activities.

For your portfolio, you want to be able to actually find and show the work you've produced that demonstrate these skills and expertise. Examples of your talents can be seen in the things you have done such as reports, projects, designs, drawings, computer programs, diagrams, flow charts, class lists, documentation, memos, events, and letters of recommendations (employers are also looking for what others have said about you), etc.

They come from your:

School work
Work situations
Professional activities
Leisure activities
Community activities

If you are a recent graduate your school projects (such as a senior project or your masters thesis project) will provide a rich sources of material to include in your portfolio.

If you are an experienced professional, your work product will be the source of materials for your portfolio.

To construct your portfolio you will need to get fresh, crisp, clean copies of the documents you plan to use. Do not use originals. Be sure to run spell checks on everything. And go to a professional copy service. Take pictures of your senior project with the whole team smiling! Then use the copies with captions under the pictures. You can get color copies at any of the commercial copy centers.

You will have to invest some money in stationary supplies such as sheet protectors, binders and dividers. Don’t be cheap! Buy high quality supplies.

Your portfolio should not be just thrown together. It should be extremely well organized and very professional looking. You will need a table of contents at the beginning and you will need to place dividers with labels in front of each new item. You should not throw in absolutely everything; just use the most impressive representations of your work and skills.

Your table of contents might include:

Resume
References and Recommendation Letters
Projects
Writing Samples
Photos

The use of a portfolio can really make you standout. It increases your confidence and it impresses employers. A portfolio helps you compete when the competition might have more experience. You will have a better presentation of your experience! That can make the difference in getting the job.

Next:
9.1 Presenting Yourself with a Resume ... resumes explained

9.2 Resume Samples

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Sample Resume #1 - Project Manager
Sample Resume #2 - Electrical Power Engineer
Sample Resume #3 - Manufacturing and Development Engineer
Sample Resume #4 - Student Intern
Sample Resume #5 - Electrical Power Engineer
Sample Resume #6 - Entry-Level Position Retail Management
Sample Resume #7 - Dietitian Assistant
Sample Resume #8 - International Business Administration
Sample Resume #9 - Masters Engineering-Electrical & Electronic
Sample Resume #10 - Management Info. Science
Sample Resume #11 - Mechanical Engineer Technology
Sample Resume #12 - Engineering-Electrical & Electronic
Sample Resume #13 - Construction Management Engineer
Sample Resume #14 - Civil Engineering
Sample Resume #15 - Civil Engineering intern
Sample Resume #16 - Legal Secretary
Sample Resume #17 - Administrative Services
Sample Resume #18 - Facilities Manager
Sample Resume #19 - Event Planning
Sample Resume #20 - Recreation Planning

10.0 Preparing for Interviews

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Interviewing effectively is an acquired skill. Very few people are so talented that they can do it well the first time without much preparation. If you really want to be successful in interviewing, I recommend that you start by understanding that there are things you must do before you interview, there are things to expect during an interview, as well as things you must do to follow up after an interview.

Employers are interested in some very specific things. They want to know that you fit their needs on a variety of things. They want to know that you have the right stuff. The things that will either make or break your interview include:

Do you have the technical expertise or breadth of knowledge necessary to perform the job? They will most definitely quiz you on your knowledge that fit with the needs of the position you are interviewing for.
Do you have solid communication skills? Can you communicate effectively with customers, clients, co-workers, other managers and the myriad of government agencies or subcontractors and organizations that interface with their company?
Do you have good computer skills? Can you create effective, professional documents?

Bottom line, can you do the job?

Next:
10.1 What to do before you start Interviewing

10.1 What to do before you start Interviewing

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RESEARCH YOURSELF AND THE EMPLOYER - Know yourself thoroughly: your goals, your interests, your values, your strengths and your weaknesses. Employers will be asking you questions on all of these topics to see how well you fit with the position for which they are hiring. Take time and write out lists. Start by listing your long-term and your short-term goals. Where do you want to be in 3 to 5 years? Where do you want to be in 7 to 10 years? What are your interests? What knowledge do you have that you really want to apply? What are your greatest strengths? What are some of your weaknesses, and what are you doing to improve?

Know the employer thoroughly before your interview. Research as much as possible through the web and by visiting the job site and meeting with current employees to gather information about the available positions. You will want to know as much as you can about what specific expertise you will be using so you can go back and study notes from past classes and read current articles on industry related topics. You will want to study as if you are preparing for a final exam. Successful candidates have told me that they spend about 6 hours studying before an interview.

Now put together what you know about yourself and what you have learned about the employer and figure out how you fit the needs of the position and the organization. You will be asked questions like "Why are you interested in this position?" and "Why do you believe you would be successful in this position?"

Interviews are not really a mystery if you understand that employers are looking for a candidate that fits with their organization. They are going to ask you some standard questions. After a few interviews, you will quickly discover that they all ask pretty much the same questions. You can prepare for standard questions by reading a book that I recommend called "Knock 'em Dead" by Martin Yate. It has a great list of questions, and it includes some really good answers so you can see what makes for a good answer.

What happens during the interview

RELAX - Interviews are just like any conversation with a new person. Employers will size you up based on how relaxed you are, if you are dressed professionally, if you know how to shake hands and just how well you handle meeting new people for the first time. Little things like showing up a little early, smiling, being confident and being extremely well prepared make all the difference in the world. I recommend that you show up at least 20 minutes early to use the restroom, do breathing exercises and review your notes, your resume, and your portfolio before your interview.

You can expect that you may be interviewed by several people over the course of the day, so don't double schedule yourself. Share all information with enthusiasm with each person even if you end up saying the same thing seven or eight times.

My absolute best recommendation is to walk into every interview with the following thought on your mind... "If this job doesn't come through, something better will." That gives you confidence even when you have been interviewing for three months and you are just about panicked that you will never get a job. I promise you that you will get a job... Chances are that if you are reading this book you don't qualify to be permanently unemployed! It is just going to require that you find the right company and be extremely well prepared. It will happen.

What to do after an interview

DEBRIEF AND FOLLOW UP - After an interview you will want to sit in your car and scream or disintegrate into a little puddle. Resist the urge... Instead immediately write down everything you remember about the interview. This will help you prepare for your next interview by allowing you to analyze your performance and do better in your next interview or salvage the interview with a plan. What questions were you asked? What did you do well? What did you do poorly? What do you wish you had done or said that you did not?

Next, send a thank you note to each of the persons who interviewed you. Thank them for the time they spent interviewing you and tell them that you appreciated the opportunity to share your interests and career goals. Tell them that you would welcome an opportunity to work in their company and tell them why. If you feel you could have answered a question more effectively, tell them what your answer would be now that you have had time to think. Many people that I have helped over the years have told me that sending a thank you note was the thing that distinguished them from the other candidates and got them the job.

Always follow up after an interview with a phone call in 2 to 3 days. Tell them that you are “checking on the status of your application” and that you are very interested in the job. One employer told me that he waited for candidates to follow up with a phone call and did not hire anyone who did not call. Many people are afraid of being pesky. Very few of the people I work with are pesky. Technical people are much more likely to let the ball drop than to be pesky in this situation.

Luck has nothing to do with interviewing well. Preparation and planning are everything!

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10.2 Typical Questions asked During interviews

10.2 Typical Questions Asked During Interviews

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Why are you interested in our company?
What do you know about our company?
What do you know about the position?
What makes you qualified for this position?
What are your long-term goals (i.e. what do you want to accomplish in the next 5-7 years)?
What are your short-term goals (i.e. what do you want to accomplish in the next 3-5 years)?
What are your greatest strengths?
What are your weaknesses?
How would you describe the ideal boss?
What tools do you believe you will need to be successful in your career?
What courses did you enjoy the most during your education? Why?
What courses did you like the least? Why?
Be prepared to answer very tough technical questions that relate to your major and the specific employer you are interviewing with.
What courses gave you the most difficulty? Why?
Describe your senior/masters project.
What was the most challenging aspect of your senior/masters project?
What conflicts arose during the course of your project? How did you resolve the conflicts?
How would the members of your team describe you?
Describe any leadership roles you have had during the past 4 years.
Do you prefer to work in teams or alone?
Describe your related work experience. What did you learn? Why was it important?
What is communication and why is it important to your success in a company?
Do you have anything to add?
Do you have any questions?

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10.3 Quick Guide to Phrases of A Successful Job Interview

10.3 Quick Guide to Phases of A Successful Job Interview

2010-04-30T15:48:00.000-07:00

Breaking The Ice Phase
Arrive 30 minutes early! Relax and tell yourself “if this job doesn’t come through, something better will”. When called for your interview, start with a warm, firm handshake and a smile as you introduce yourself. Maintain eye contact when speaking to your host/interviewer. This is a formal interview so don’t be too casual or familiar with the people you meet. Be polite and courteous. Ask for a business card to help you remember their name and functional area.

Sharing General Information Phase
Once you are seated your interview will begin with broad open-ended questions like “Tell me about yourself”; “Why did you choose this field?”; “Why are you interested in our company?”; “Why are you interested in this position?”; “What courses did you enjoy the most?”; “What are your long term/short term goals?”; “Tell me about your work experience.” They will also ask personality trait questions like “What is your greatest strength?” and behavioral questions like “Give an example of how you used this strength to solve a problem in a team project?”; “What is your greatest accomplishment and why?”. Show them your portfolio during this stage if you can work it into an answer.

Technical Questions Phase
This phase is like a final exam. The technical questions you will be asked will stretch your technical expertise to the limit. Be prepared to cover material that relates to the company’s mission, products and industry. This is where your research and course review will pay off. Be prepared to be intensely questioned on the field-specific courses you have taken and anything you have listed on your resume. Spending 6 hours studying before the interview is standard.

Interviewing The Interviewer Phase
This is your opportunity to shine. If you have done your homework you will be able to ask good questions about the company’s position in the industry, training programs, initial project that new college grads work on and anything you can glean from headlines or professional journals. A recent successful candidate with an energy regulatory agency asked questions about a current crisis that was in the news and featured in technical journals. The interviewers were very impressed.

Summary Phase
At this point the interviewer will ask, “Do you have anything to add?” You will want to think back over what you have included thus far and add anything you have not covered yet. It is also your opportunity to summarize your most important points (senior project, pertinent work experience and class experience. Make sure you pop out your portfolio if you have not already done so.

Wrap Up and What’s Next Phase
This is your last shot. Tell them you really want the job. Ask about further steps you should take (completing an application form, sending transcripts, sharing references). Also ask when you can expect to hear from them. Ask for a business card if you have not already gotten one. When leaving shake hands, and thank them for the interview with a big smile. Tape the business card into your note book and debrief. Then send an email thank you note immediately!

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10.4 Asking the Interviewer Questions Gets the Job

10.4 Asking the Interviewer Questions Gets the Job!

2010-04-30T15:45:00.000-07:00

Candidates often ask me how to prepare for a job interview. One often- overlooked element of preparation is developing a list of questions you can ask the interviewer. Candidates should have a few well-researched questions ready to ask the interviewer when it gets to that often-awkward "Now, do you have any questions for me?" part of the interview. Employers are always impressed when someone has something really intelligent to ask at that point (something that shows not only that they are interested, but also that they know enough about what the company does to be able to craft a good question).

Every now and then I work with someone who is clueless about their impact on others. This is particularly lethal in an interview situation. I once had reason to call an interviewer at Lawrence Livermore National Labs to find out what one of my students had done wrong in the interview. The student asked me how he could improve his interview skills, since he had received a call indicating that he had been rejected after the interview. He needed feedback from the interviewer. He really felt he had done well in the interview. He thought he had been right on with his answers and that an offer would be forthcoming. I made a call to the interviewer to get some frank information about how the interview had gone. There were a series of small mistakes (things that might have been overlooked for a geek candidate)- somewhat sloppy appearance, a bit of awkwardness but the biggest complaint from the interviewer was that the candidate didn't have any questions when it came to that stage of the interview. Very bad!

Asking questions demonstrates enthusiasm. You need to have questions to ask! It looks like you didn't do your homework or that you are not really interested in the position or the company if you don't have any questions. You have to have a question or two for each and every person who interviews you. In many instances, multiple people will interview you during a visit to a company that is considering you for employment. You can ask the same questions throughout the day to get different people's opinions. Human resources people will interview you early in the process. But as you make your way though the day, you will be interviewed by people you will work with and people you will work for. The manager frequently interviews you last.

When I discussed the feedback I had received with the candidate, he said he had asked questions of almost everyone, but that by the end of the day he felt he had enough information and that he just stopped asking questions of the last person or two. He was also tired. Well that didn't work too well did it? The last interviewers of the day frequently have the most influence. They are frequently the people who are the most powerful. They are also the people who remember best what occurred in the interview because the information is fresh in their minds. They are the last people to speak with you before they meet to decide whether you should be hired or not... And there you are, too tired and too worn out to make a good impression. Really!

Wake up! Make sure you are making a good impression on everyone you talk to throughout the entire interview process. Everyone you meet is important. Everyone who interviews you will weigh in on the decision. Answer the questions of the last interviewer with as much gusto as you showed the first person that interviewed you. If you feel yourself fatiguing during the interview day, hit the bathroom and throw cold water on your face. Say to yourself, "This is it! This is where all of that hard work pays off! I cannot afford to let up now! I have to be fresh and energized. I don't qualify to be permanently unemployed."

You are like a runner, or a swimmer, an Olympic athlete. You have to reach way down within yourself and find that inner strength to do your best for a longer period than you thought possible. You can do it! I know you can! You will be glad you did.

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10.5 Phone Interviews Done Right!

10.5 Phone Interviews Done Right!

2010-04-30T15:42:00.000-07:00

Many people struggle with what to do when confronted with an interview on the telephone. Telephone interviews are one of the toughest events a job seeker faces. First of all, the phone call frequently comes unexpectedly or at an inconvenient time. Secondly, you have more difficulty judging the reaction to your comments and answers when you cannot see a person's face. Should you continue? Should you stop? Hard to say. Thirdly, it is harder to establish rapport with someone when you are not in the same room. There are things you can do to make yourself more comfortable and improve your chances of a positive outcome with a telephone interview.

The first rule of telephone interviewing is: get information before giving information. Ask for the name and title of the person calling and what department they are calling from. You will also want to ask what position they will be interviewing you for. I would also suggest that you ask them to describe to you the available position or positions. Get the name and phone number of the person so that if you get disconnected you will be able to call them back. (If you are on your cell phone, it should capture the number but if the number is blocked you may not get the number if you do not ask for it, so always ask).

Rule number two of telephone interviewing is: do not allow yourself to go through an interview if you feel you are not at your very best. It is OK to ask to schedule another time when you are more prepared. Your chances of making a good impression are much better if you are feeling good when you are interviewed. You will want to reschedule for the soonest possible time. Sometimes you may just want to get your thoughts and notes together. You can ask if you can call them back in ten to fifteen minutes.

Picture this. You just got home from a long day of work or if you are a student from classes and working on your senior project. It is 9 PM and you are rung out, dead tired and you haven't had anything to eat since early morning. The phone rings and it turns out to be a manager from a company you met at a job fair. (Since some candidates are hard to reach during the day, managers frequently call late at night to try to catch you). How do you handle it? Do you really want to be interviewed under these circumstances? It is a great company and you would just love to work for them but you don't want to blow it by answering tough questions while you are in a hunger fog. Since you are not at your best, you want to reschedule the phone interview to a time when you can put your best foot forward.

If the call came at a time when you are not too tired or distracted or stressed or disorganized or dripping on the rug because you just stepped out of the shower, the time you spend listening to the information the caller/employer is sharing with you will allow you to get your thoughts and notes together so that when the questions begin, you will know who you are interviewing with and what position you are being interviewed for. You will know what you want to say about your background because you will have information on which to base your comments.

If you are too tired or have had a beer and don't feel you can present well, ask if you can schedule a time when you are fresher and more alert. Get a phone number and an email address. Be sure to establish who is calling whom at the appointed time. Then email a confirmation and tell them you are looking forward to your phone interview. Make sure when you are being interviewed that you find a quiet place and pull yourself together and assemble your notes before the call.

Sometimes it is best to just not answer. Yes, you can just ignore the phone when you might make a less than favorable impression. That is why you pay for a voice message service. Use it!

Remember the career binder with the A to Z index, that you developed to organize your career plan, where you file all of the information on the jobs you are applying for by company name? Now is when it will pay off. Be sure to place the binder by the phone for easy access when the phone call comes in. Have fresh paper and a pen in the binder to take notes while the caller is explaining the available position and giving you his/her contact information. Review anything you have from your previous contacts with the company: review job descriptions; information gathered during your research on the company; the history of your application process including names of the individuals to whom you have sent your resume and transcripts.

Telephone interviews can work out great! Just make sure you are at your best and that you have everything you need at your fingertips when you go through one.

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10.6 Interview and Dining Etiquette: You are being judged!

10.6 Interview and Dining Etiquette: You are being judged

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A meal, dinner, lunch or even breakfast might easily be the first stage of your interview. You will need to traverse a minefield of dining mistakes that could cost you the job. Even after you get the job, you will profit or suffer because of your manners. Good manners are always in style. Never forget that!

In life it’s the little things that matter, the little things that make an impression: a smile, a door held open, a thank you note, and nice table manners. These are the things that get noticed and that make you stand out. Or maybe it is the absence of the little things that make an impression. Good manners mean that you have good judgment. That is really important to potential employers.

One candidate that I worked with could have used some help on his table manners. He clearly forgot everything his mother told him. He flew all the way to Detroit, Michigan to interview for a job with GM (at their expense!). His interview started with breakfast at 7 AM along with a group of other new grad candidates from across the country. By 7:30 AM he had blown the entire interview. How could that be? He ordered steak and eggs... because it was on the menu... and he could. (He was thrilled to be able to order such a treat, forgetting that the job interview was the big event he was in Detroit for). Then, when confronted with a dull knife, he proceeded to fork the steak and lift the entire thing to his mouth. (It was a small little steak, he told me later). As he opened his mouth to take a bite, he looked up and saw the entire assemblage around the table open their mouths and stare in horror. He knew immediately it was over. Needless to say, no offer came at the end of the day.

My daughter was recently in a position to give input on who was hired to replace her when she left her internship. Each person let down their guard when they were in the room alone with her after the interview to ask questions, not knowing she would be sharing her impressions of candidates with the employer. The lesson is treat everyone you meet on site at the interview as though they will be part of the decision!

Sometimes when people are nervous they forget the most obvious little things. Good manners are basic common sense. Sometimes we get out of the habit of using our best manners. But manners are essential to your success in life. They are the lubricant that make social interactions run smoothly. The absence of good manners can make an otherwise good situation turn sour.

Here are a few essential etiquette rules to help you in your dining and social interactions:

Before your meal:

Show up early. Take time to collect yourself in the restroom. Breathe. A relaxed candidate makes a much better impression.
Turn off your cell phone when you enter the building for your interview and keep it off until the interview ends and you are out of the building.
Turn off your cell phone before entering a restaurant if possible, but definitely before you sit down at the dining table. What call or text message is more important than the interview at this moment?
Always hold the door open for the next person. Having a door slam in your face definitely makes an impression...
Always let the woman go through the door first. (This is so rarely done that it really makes you stand out if you are being interviewed by a woman or a man). If you are holding the door, turn around and look to see if there is anyone else behind you before letting it go.
Do not smoke at anytime, before, during, or after your interview. (As a matter of fact, quit smoking now if you do. Some companies screen you out if they detect the smell of tobacco smoke... it will cost them more to insure you).
Do not place your briefcase or purse on the dinner table. Set them on the floor near your chair.

Ordering your meal:

Do not order the most expensive thing on the menu. It shows bad judgment.
Do not order things that are difficult to eat. The barbecue ribs might sound good but they are too much of a challenge to be appropriate in an interview or business lunch.
Do not order any form of alcohol even if invited to do so. This is not the time to let your guard down, get silly, or fall asleep.

During your meal:

Your napkin is not a bib. Do not tuck it into the neck of your shirt. Lay your napkin on your lap as soon as you are seated.
Do not slouch! Sit up straight throughout the meal and keep your elbows off the table.
Wait to eat each course of your meal until everyone at the table is served. It is easy to forget this when you are hungry. Tip: eat an energy bar or some yogurt before you go out to eat. Then you will be able to focus on what is important... making a good impression and getting the job.
Eat slowly, this is not a race. If your food is hot; wait for it to cool; do not blow on it.
Cut things into small, bite size pieces so that in between bites you can join the conversation easily.
Do not split meals with anyone and never eat off of someone else's plate even if they offer. Decline politely. If you do not finish your meal, do not ask for a doggy bag. (You are not your grandmother).
Never, never, never talk with your mouth full. Spraying food bits across the table was funny at age five. It is a deal breaker in an interview.
Do not hover over your food and shovel it in. Sit as erect as possible and bring your fork up to your mouth.
Never lick your fingers - use your napkin!
Do not announce you need to use the restroom; just excuse yourself politely.

The importance of being pleasant: You are being judged!

Do not correct anyone or argue a point at the table. Eating should be relaxing.
Be very polite to the servers. Do not comment if the service is inferior. It is like spitting out of a moving car window... it flys back on you.
Listen to the other people at the table. Do not monopolize the conversation.
Be careful to share only good things. Do not let your guard down for a moment, even when you think you are just talking to the intern ... She probably has a say in who is going to be hired.
Send a thank you note to everyone you meet during your interview visit.

In the larger scheme of things, it's the little things that make you stand out, the little things that make an impression. Lets make a good impression!

One more thing. Before you go to any interview, or before you meet any recruiters for a meal, make certain you have read this article: Does the handshake matter? ... yes.

Next:
10.7 Costly Errors That Kill Job Offers

11.0 Salary Negotiations: Getting Paid What You Are Worth

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Getting paid what you are worth is essential to your career health! Negotiating is a skill and an art, and you are going to learn how to negotiate for the salary you deserve.

Salary discussions are one of the final steps in the job search process. Until the employer has actually made you an offer, you are not going to ask what a job pays and you are not going to discuss what you want. If the offer is lower than you expected, you need to be prepared to make the next move. It starts with the question: “Is That Salary Negotiable?”

But before you ask that question, you need to do your homework. When it comes to getting paid what you are really worth, you can't just guess. You won't be prepared unless you: first research current salary data, second itemize your assets relative to the particular position, and third compute your worth.

Computing your worth is going to involve some additional calculations. Every job offer brings with it positives and negatives that have to be figured into your ultimate negotiating position and final decision.

After you have determined that a potential employer is open to negotiations, and after you have done your homework, you have to have a negotiating strategy.

We are going to walk through the entire process, step-by-step. And just in case you are feeling intimidated by asking for more or for what you are worth, I'm going to say a few words about why it is so important that you get paid what you should be paid and how society and individuals suffer when employees don't receive fair salaries.

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11.1 Is That Salary Negotiable

11.1 Is That Salary Negotiable?

2010-04-30T15:03:00.000-07:00

One of the most frequent requests that I receive from individuals seeking my advice is how to negotiate their salary. The question often comes up during a job search, and later, when individuals want to renegotiate their salary. What you are paid is largely determined by the quality of the information you have regarding your worth to a company, and by your willingness to ask for what you are worth. Being able to demonstrate and document your value is exceedingly important.

In salary negotiations, Rule Number One: never try to negotiate a salary until you have received an offer of employment. Job applicants are often asked to provide a salary expectation or a salary history. I always advise job seekers not to respond to a verbal inquiry or on an application form. Instead, I recommend that you simply say that your salary demands are negotiable. When pressed I suggest that you indicate that salary is not your primary
concern at this point and explain that you are focusing on the learning experience you will have and the challenges you will face. Indicate that you expect that you and they will reach a reasonable salary agreement after you have had a full understanding of the opportunity the company offers and after they have a complete sense of the skills and experience you bring to the table.

Why wait? Why not just blurt out what you want at the offset? If you quote a salary that is too high, you will bid yourself out of the market. If you quote a salary that is too low, the prospective employer will believe that you do not understand the nature of the position, or that you are not really worth much, or that you are too anxious or too inexperienced for them to bother with. Why should they place a premium value on your expertise if you don't? You are in a much more powerful position when you have an offer in hand - after the employer knows exactly what you bring to the table, and after you know exactly what interesting challenges the job opportunity offers and what it entails.

The personnel folks may push for an answer about what you expect in your first interview, so you will probably need to be creative in fending them off. How should you approach the situation so as to not put the employer off? Tell them that you are flexible and that you really prefer to negotiate your salary after you have a complete understanding of the position. Say something like "At this point I am really more concerned about the learning experience I will have and the type of work I will do. I think we can come to a reasonable agreement about salary after I understand all that this position offers and you have a sense of the talent that I bring with me."

Rule Number Two: do your homework! There are three basic pieces of information that you need to develop before you respond to any questions about salary expectations.

First, you need information on competitive salaries for people already in the labor market who have skills, experience, and training similar to yours. (Salaries differ greatly from city to city, state to state, and country to country. This has to do with the cost of living and the supply and demand for different professionals and specific skills sets).

Second, you need to develop a list of your assets and abilities. This helps you and the employer understand why you are worth what you are asking for. (You should chronicle your accomplishments on paper throughout your career so you will know and be able to share pertinent data when it is time to renegotiate and on what basis.)

Third, you need to do a cost of living survey for the cities where you might be living. I frequently work with candidates who have no idea about the worth of their salary offers in different cities nor the cost of living in various cities. This is really important. Way too often individuals find that they have accepted an offer to move to a higher salaried position only to find that they will be living in a much higher cost living area. They are shocked to discover that they cannot afford the move.

Rule Number Three: have a negotiating strategy. Your decision to negotiate for a higher salary should only be made after you have received an offer and after you have done your research. If you feel your offer is not high enough now is the time to negotiate. Do not accept the job first and then try to get more money. Negotiate before you accept the offer. Timing and information are everything.

From your research, you should know what you are worth, what the market will bear, and the relative strength of your bargaining position.

When an unacceptable offer is made, your response is to ask: "Is that salary negotiable?" Your question is actually a statement ("I want more money"), but don't worry about this minor bit of miscommunication; the people on the other side of the table (or phone) will understand the question as a polite and proper opening move. Unless they tell you that the offer is the best they can do, they are undoubtedly going to counter with: "What did you have in mind?" When you hear that, the negotiations have been opened. You will be expected not only to give a figure of worth that you have arrived at, but you will also have to back it up with facts.

You will have to tell them what you want and why you deserve it. In essence, you have to explain the basis for your request and justify your demand. This is where your research pays off. In addition to the information you have gathered about what you are worth to them you will be expected to identify the element that make you an exceptional candidate.

During your job search you should be applying for multiple positions so that you have some options and hopefully receive multiple offers. This puts you in a much more powerful negotiating position. The easiest way to make your case for more money is by comparing their offer to other higher offers you have received.

When you present your opening salary request, it is usually best to go a little bit high so that you will have room for compromise. Go high, but be sure to keep it reasonable. And remember that you are not just talking about money. You have to evaluate the whole package, including benefits, opportunities, future potential, training, location, and so on. Be sure to have a folder with the salary information and a list of your assets to share with your employer.

Compromise is the key to good negotiations. You are looking for a challenging career with a competitive compensation package. Their interests are the same as yours: they want to pay you what you are worth so that they gain a committed employee. They want someone who is satisfied and who won't waste time and attention thinking about finding a better opportunity or leave when the market improves after they have trained you. To reach this common goal, there has to be flexibility on both sides of the table. Most companies are fairly motivated to negotiate especially if you are in a high demand field. This holds true for experienced as well as inexperienced candidates. The supply of talent worldwide is shrinking.

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11.2 Sources for Researching What you are Worth

11.2 Sources for Researching What you are Worth

2010-04-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Occupational Outlook Handbook

Your market research begins by obtaining a benchmark on what recent college graduates are receiving. There are some fabulous sources for information on competitive salaries for every field imaginable. The web has a ton of sites with great salary information. The Occupational Outlook Handbook is available online in it's entirety ... use the search box on the left. This resource will give you vital information (including salary data) on numerous occupations including:

Nature of the Work
Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement
Employment
Job Outlook
Projections Data
Earnings
OES Data
Related Occupations
Sources of Additional Information

Salary.com

Salary.com provides excellent salary and career planning information for the both inexperienced and experienced professionals. Be sure to use the free Salary Wizard. It allows you to collect salary data based not only on job title but also by zip code. The information is organized by discipline and by location. Drill down and be creative in collecting information from this source. Search multiple job titles and be sure to read the job descriptions to be sure that the job title you are using as a benchmark corresponds to the job description for the job you are being considered for.

You will find that there is a fairly wide range of salaries for any given job title. For example when I searched for salaries for city planners in Oakland, CA, salaries ranged from $42,453 to $60,286. Why such a broad range for the same job? Because candidates range pretty broadly in their qualifications and because the potential employers range broadly in their ability to pay. We will get to that when we discuss your assets. It is definitely part of the equation.

Another thing, government typically pays less than private firms, but not always... And if you have a MS degree you will typically start higher on the pay scale and require less experience.

Here is the salary data and job info that I found at salary.com searching "city planner":

10th percentile: $42,453
25th percentile: $44,884
75th percentile: $54,209
90th percentile: $60,268
Job Description: Urban Planner

Develops land-use plans for the beneficial development of urban areas. Requires a bachelor's degree in a related field and 2-4 years of experience in the field or in a related area. Familiar with standard concepts, practices, and procedures within a particular field. Relies on judgment and limited experience to plan and accomplish goals. Performs a variety of tasks. Works under general supervision; typically reports to a supervisor or manager. A certain degree of creativity and latitude is required.

Alternate Job Titles: City Planner | City-Planning Engineer | Land Planner | Regional Planner | Town Planner | Urban Planner

A young business graduate named Stephanie received an offer of employment from a financial planning company that she believed was low at $40,000. She asked the manager making the offer if it was negotiable. All of the interviews had gone well, they liked her, and they were very motivated to hire her. The manager was intrigued and impressed with her request. He asked her what she felt she was worth and why she felt she was worth it. She said she was looking for $46,000 and gave her justification. She showed him the salary data she had collected during her research and she showed him a list of her assets highlighting her academic and employment achievements as well as her skills that matched the position's requirements. He bumped her salary to $46,000. She made $6000 in just moments by being well prepared and by asking!

National Association of Colleges and Employers

Another one of my favorite sources is the quarterly salary surveys of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). This organization is one of the best sources for competitive salaries in the US for new college graduates at the bachelors, masters and PhD level. (Experienced workers are often shocked to find that recent graduates are being paid more than those already in the field. This is where you get that information.) Responses are compiled from placement offices across the US and are published four times per year. The data are broken down by degree, major, industry, and job function. Universities that are members of NACE receive copies of the survey that covers all academic majors.

I compile the info from NACE and other sources for technical majors. (You can find salary info for technical majors on the CSUS Engineering and Computer Science Career Services website.

Professional Associations and Organizations

Professional organizations associated with your field are another excellent source of both salary info and career information. For example the National Society for Professional Engineers survey their members and report salary information by education, experience, location, branch of engineering, industry and job function. I found the NSPE salary info at http://www.nspe.org. This organization requires that you pay for the survey. The Occupational Outlook Handbook will give you names of professional organizations in your field under "additional sources of information" under each job category.

Company Web Sites

Company web sites can provide you with information on available positions. Most reputable companies will post salary ranges along with any jobs that they post. They will also post complete job descriptions along with job requirements.

Next:
11.3 What You Bring to the Table

11.3 What You Bring to the Table Determines What An Employer will Pay You

2010-04-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

Itemizing Your Assets

It is time to get in touch with what makes you valuable to an employer. Making a list of your assets will help you lock in on just what makes you special for the position you are applying for.

To begin with, review the job description carefully. Dissect it and analyze the information. Highlight the "must haves" and the "preferred qualifications". What critical knowledge and skills are they asking for? What makes you a strong candidate?

Now select your top seven to ten strengths and list them bullet by bullet on a single piece of paper titled: Assets of Your Name- in big (24 point) bold letters. You will be sharing these items with your potential employer when you are engaged in your salary negotiating meeting. These are the items that give the employer the essential information they need to pay you the big bucks. What is special about you relative to the position you are pursuing?

Be sure to quantify where possible and to put the information in descending order of importance according to the employer's priorities.

Examples:

Assets of Eliza Madsen

MS in Urban Planning - UCLA (gpa 3.95)
BS Political Science - UC Berkeley (gpa 3.98)
2 years of internship experience with state and local government agencies
Exceptional writing skills
Well refined research and analysis skills
Experience in developing positive community relations
Specialized coursework in city and regional planning; urban sociology; cities, space and society

Assets of Raymond Ward

BS EE, GPA 3.9
9.5 years experience in operations
Graduated #1 from USAF Leadership School
5 years - first line supervisor
2 years - managing work center
Exceptional leadership, communication, team skills
Well-refined organization and time management skills
Bilingual – English/ Korean
Security Clearance

Next:
11.4 Computing Your Worth

11.4 Computing Your Worth

2010-04-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

Your relative value is determined by a combination of the assets you bring with you as you can see in the example above. Your assets include:

your education (including degrees and specialized coursework)
your specialized expertise
your experience
your skills (such as communication, organization, analytical etc.)
military experience
maturity
foreign language skills

Things external to you also enter the salary equation. The company size, the company's particular industry niche, the general economy (supply/demand), and the geographic location of your potential employer all play a role in the salary you will receive. The impact of these factors is constantly changing, and therefore, you need to stay current with your information. As an example, it used to be that salaries in Sacramento were discounted relative to the San Francisco Bay Area. Today in Sacramento, salaries for computer, electronics, and telecommunications professionals are quite close to those in the Bay Area.

Every company negotiates if they want you bad enough. A computer science graduate that I worked with received offers of $60K in the San Francisco Bay Area and an offer of $54K in Folsom at Intel Corporation. Intel initially told him the offer was not negotiable, but when he started his negotiations he shared the info on the other offers he had received and Intel immediately matched them. The more offers you have the better. In other words, you can use higher salary offers to leverage offers where the job description or location might be more attractive but the offer is lower. Although the San Francisco area is a higher cost of living area employers in surrounding areas compete for talent and must offer salaries that are competitive.

You can be a lot more flexible with your salary demands if you live in an area with a lower cost of living. In such an area, you can't necessarily expect as much, but you won't actually need as much. A good source for cost of living information is the "Places Rated Almanac" by Savageau and Boyer. You can find the book at Amazon.com. This publication ranks about 350 metropolitan areas, comparing living costs, employment outlook, housing, transportation, education, health care, crime, recreation and climate.

I typed "salaries in different cities" into a Google search and the first site that came up was a great source: CNN Money. This site allows you to input a salary offer in one city and see what salary you would need to meet the buying power of that salary in another city. Maybe you know how far your salary goes in one place and you need to know what kind of offer you would need to have a similar life style in the other city.

One job seeker I worked with had had little luck finding work by the time I met him six months after graduation. After we worked on his resume and his job search strategy he immediately had interviews with four companies and two offers with in a couple of weeks. He had one offer in Texas and one offer in California. The Texas offer was $20,000 less that the salaries for the same type of position in California.

Companies are looking for a combination of skills and abilities that make their companies successful. Couple that with the fact that huge numbers of baby boomers are retiring and the bottom line is they need you! If you have the right stuff they want you and they are willing to pay for your talents. Amazingly- you are more often than not, in the driver's seat.

I worked with an experienced candidate in Houston who was offered a job with Siemens, a large, multinational firm. The job offer included a better work schedule, it was closer to home, and at a significantly higher salary. The offer came through a former co-worker who had joined Siemens earlier in the year. When he submitted his resignation to his current employer they begged him for the chance to renegotiate the terms of his employment to keep him on board. He was stunned. The new offer motivated his current employer to work hard to keep him. The company exceeded all aspects of the international firm's offer. They arranged for him to work from home multiple days per week and increased his salary by 45% above the salary he had been working at in the same position. The fear of losing a really great employee motivated his employer to sweeten the pot to keep him. He liked the company and his
co-workers and really didn't want to leave his employer so he agreed to stay.

If the company you are negotiating with does not meet your expectations on the salary side, and they are unwilling to negotiate, you can explore other aspects of the package. Perhaps they can offer other inducements. Some companies pay tuition for your graduate degree. Other companies pay off student loans. I have also heard of companies offering additional weeks of vacation to entice a candidate. Signing bonuses, retention bonuses, and moving expenses are also common. There are also many things that you may consider advantageous like on site childcare or adult care for family members that might make the salary less important.

Maybe they can give you an office, instead of a cubicle, or perhaps there is a stock option sweetener. Yes, the stock market may be down now, but it will go up eventually. Keep in mind that all of those Ferraris down in Silicon Valley were paid for with stock that was owned before the company went public.

The final task is knowing when to say "yes" or when to walk away. Actually, this is something that you should have known from the beginning. Before you even ask if it's negotiable, you need to know your bottom line. It may change while you talk - as more information is thrown into the discussion - but you need to have available for reference or recalculation.

You can do this. Just remember, be reasonable, be informed, don’t be greedy, and most importantly, don’t be afraid to ask.

Next:
11.5 Why is What You are Paid so Important?

11.5 Why is What You are Paid so Important?

2010-04-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

Getting paid what you are worth is extremely important to your career success. Your first job and the salary you are paid after finishing college frequently sets the tone for your entire career. Think about it, every time your salary is computed for a raise and every time you are considered for a promotion your job titles and salary history are used to come up with a decision on whether you should be hired, promoted, or receive a raise as well as how much that raise should be.

What you are paid determines both how you will live and your potential career growth over time. In this culture your career is a huge part of your identity. Getting a competitive salary is an equity issue. Set your standard. Figure out what you are worth. If you undervalue yourself other people will undervalue you. You are the person who is in control of your value. If you have done your homework you should be in a position to decide whether an offer is acceptable based on solid information gained from your research.

Accepting a bad offer can slow your career way down or even sour you on your field. Think about it. You have spent countless hours in college developing knowledge and skills preparing yourself for a career. You may also have some significant work experience. How long did it take to get your degree and qualifications? Do you really want to jump at a substandard job? Wouldn't it be a good idea to invest some time in your job search just as you have in your education? Rejecting offers that do not meet your minimum standards allows you the time you need to continue looking for the job that is right for you.

When the market is tight you hear repeatedly that jobs are scarce and that you should grab what you can get. But even in the tightest market there are jobs for qualified candidates who know how to look, and where to look for good jobs. There is always a market for talented individuals. If you do not know how to look, hire a career coach.

Do you have to start at the bottom? Absolutely not. As a matter of fact, if you start your career at the bottom of an organization you will most likely stay there. You will get pegged as a low achiever. Yes, there are stories about people who have managed to climb in an organization from administrative assistant or janitor to CEO but they are few and far between, and I have yet to meet any of them.

It can take nerves of steel to reject an unacceptable position or to negotiate for the best possible salary. It also takes confidence that something better will come along if you reject a substandard offer. Sometimes it is the job of the career coach to give people permission to reject unacceptable jobs. You can give yourself permission if you know the job is not right. Why settle for something you know will fail? Keep looking until you find the right job. The payoff: you get a job where you can thrive.

It is a well worn myth that you should "just get in" and then move up. One woman that I coached had just returned to the US from Australia where she had played on a national soccer team after graduating from college. Upon returning to the US two years later, she was ready to put her degree in business management to work. She was looking for a job in high end fashion retail management but figured she would have to start at the bottom as a sales clerk anywhere. I explained to her that companies do not post all of their positions on their web sites. I suggested that rather than starting as a retail sales clerk, that she could target her most desirable company first and start her career as a retail management trainee. Great companies need talent to keep their businesses running. Companies hire college graduates from a variety of majors into all kinds of great professional trainee positions. She was
hired within days of our work together at Nordstrom's. We worked for a total of four hours developing a career focus, a targeted resume and a solid career plan. It took no time at all. She didn't have settle for "just getting in".

Another story - a woman called me to ask for career advice regarding her position with a high tech firm. As a new graduate, she was an electronics engineer, hired at the same time as several men. When asked by the interviewer what her salary expectations were she quoted a salary of half of the competitive salaries for electronics engineers at the time. She thought if she sold herself cheaply she would be more attractive. She was insecure about her knowledge and skills, even though she had graduated with honors and had had several internships in the field. Her reasoning was that the employer expectations would be lower if she asked for less and so she would be under less pressure. After she got hired she figured that she would be able to prove her worth and recover to reach salary parody later. Four years later the young woman called and indicated that she was still severely underpaid and that she was never given anything but technician level work to do. She was under paid and under valued. Now she was asking be what she should do. She was underemployed and her knowledge was stale. She had not gotten the opportunity to develop or update her skills over time with challenging work or training available to the engineers. I had to help her untangle the mess she had gotten into.

The serious job seeker sets their goals at an appropriately high level, commensurate with their education, skills and experience. I often hear people say, "I will take an administrative position and work my way up" or "I will take a technician level position just to get my foot in the door". That may work occasionally for some people but is is a very circuitous path to getting where you want to be. Aim for the dust and you will end up in the dust. My advice is to set your goals and aim for where you want to be if you ever hope to get there.

Sometimes looking for work requires surviving while you are looking. You may wish to take a survival job that allows you to pay your bills but also affords you the time to look for an appropriate career position.

Next:
11.6 Survival Job

11.6 Survival Job

2010-04-30T14:47:00.000-07:00

What is a survival job? It is a part time position in food service that supports your job search. A survival job is a job that pays you a sustenance wage- just enough to get by and make do. You should not become comfortable with a survival job. Discomfort is one of the great motivators. You need to be highly motivated to do the things required to find an appropriate career position. It is also a job that does not consume all of the available time. It might be an off hour job- nights or weekends, leaving enough of the regular, standard daytime working hours to look for work. Because your primary objective is to get a great job, you do not want your survival job to overpower or undermine your search. A survival job just finances your search. It should not imped your search.

There are other ways to support your job search. Some people use savings. Other people have family, parents or spouses, that help support them during the job search. As I have said before, the average length of time you need to find a career position, if you are looking full time and using the right techniques, is three to six months.

Next:
11.7 Individuals and Society Suffer When People are Underpaid

11.7 Individuals and Society Suffer When People are Underpaid

2010-04-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

Inadequate pay impacts both men and women, and it hurts American families. Since the 1970’s, it has required two wage earners to support a reasonable middle class family life style. With inflation and economic conditions worsening, very few families can afford to have only one person bringing home a paycheck. It is your job to make sure that you are getting an equitable wage for the work you do. If you do not do your home work you and your family stand to lose. Both men and women need to be armed with information about their worth and their assets to ensure that they receive an appropriate salary.

Unfortunately there is a huge discrepancy in what people in the same positions are paid in many work environments. Failing to get the info you need to negotiate effectively is lethal. This is particularly true for women. Women are paid about 77% of what men are paid for working full time, according to a 2005 US Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Minority women are paid even less. It all starts quite early in the career cycle. According to National Association of Colleges and Employers, at the entry level, male college graduates typically receive more than female college graduates. And we know that just with compound interest, the differences are amplified over the years.

It is true in the private and public sectors: women do not receive equal pay for equal work. The cumulative effect is devastating and it is long lasting. In the short term pay disparity affects a candidate's spending power and in the long term it diminishes their retirement earnings. It is a huge looming crisis for baby-boomers who are beginning to wonder how they will be able to save enough money and accrue enough earnings to see them through their retirement years.

According to the National Organization for Women, "If women received the same wages as men who work the same number of hours, have the same education and union status, are the same age, and live in the same region of the country, then these women's annual income would rise by $4,000 and poverty rates would be cut in half. Working families would gain an astounding $200 billion in family income annually."

Consider the case of Lilly Ledbetter, a supervisor for GM who was paid 15% to 25% less than her male counterparts, including those with significantly less experience than her. Although GM has a strict policy of secrecy on salaries, with employees forbidden to discuss their salaries, Lilly Ledbetter received an anonymous letter indicating that she had been underpaid for 19 years at GM. She filed a lawsuit and a jury awarded her a $3 million settlement. A judge cut that ruling from $3 million to $360,000 due to the limitation inserted into the Civil Rights Act of 1991 during the first Bush administration.

GM pursued the issue all the way to the US Supreme Court. The Court ruled that even though she was not aware of the discrepancy for 19 years, she had to file her suit within 180 days of when it occurred for the very first time.

The 2007 ruling effectively says that if you can keep it a secret, you can get away with paying less to women and minorities.

Typically, wage disparity is considered to be an issue in the private sector, a problem that does not exist in public employment. That, however, is not the case. In public employment situations, it can happen in much more subtle ways. In public employment, wage disparity discrimination is accomplished under the table through classification and promotion practices.

Secrecy is not a good thing, as was discovered by Lilly Ledbetter. Secrecy gives license for unequal treatment. What we need is transparency. One engineer I know who works in private industry has long made it his practice to tell his colleagues what he earns. His view is that he does not wish to be part of a conspiracy of secrecy, and he wants his fellow workers to have the opportunity to negotiate on equal footing. He is committed to sunshine and transparency in the workplace.

12.0 What is a Good Reference and What Should You Give Your References?

2010-04-30T14:38:00.000-07:00

Your references are one of your most important assets in the job search. The comments of a good reference can spur an employer into selecting you over other candidates. The comments of a bad reference can nix the offer in an instant.

If you are planning to interview for professional career positions in the near future it is time to get your references lined up! You will need three to five professional references. They need to be good references who will sing your praises.

To begin with, you will want to create a document that uses the header from your resume. Just below your resume header (that includes your name, address, phone, and email), the reference page will be titled "References" and will have two columns. One column will have the name, title, organization, address, phone, and email address of each of your references and it will appear as you would address an envelope. The second column will have a description of how you know the person. For example: Supervisor on bridge project; Sr. Project Professor; Co-team member on Sr. Design project; Co-worker at Air Resources, Inc.

A good professional reference is a person you ask, and who agrees, to allow you to use their name as a person who can be called upon to speak about your good professional qualities. Contact anyone you plan to use and ask if they would be willing to let you use them as a reference. Don't use anyone who you don't ask first and make sure that they will say only good things about you.

People who qualify to give you a good reference:
1. A professor who you have gotten a good grade from
2. A former or current employer or supervisor who knows the quality of your work
3. A co-worker who likes working with you
4. A sr. project co-team member (who doesn't hate you yet...)

Do not use:
1. Family members
2. Friends
3. People who don't know you professionally

Give all of your references a file folder with your name on the tab containing:
1. A recent picture of yourself
2. A resume
3. A list of your strengths
4. A list of your interests
5. A list of the types of positions for which you are applying
6. A list of the companies that may be contacting them

References need to have all of these things in order to give you a good reference. Some calls for references come months or years later when you are all but forgotten.

Employers will ask you for references and they will call! Keep in touch with your references and keep them posted on your progress. You will be glad you did!

Good Luck!

Cici Mattiuzzi

Next:
12.1 Sample of What to Give to Your Reference

12.1 Sample of What to Give to Your Reference

2010-04-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

Hi Cici,

This is Sam Chao from Alpha Team. As you requested I have compiled information that will help you give me a good reference. I have also attached my resume.

My technical skills:

Problem Solving

Coding

GUI Design

System Software

Management Skill

Database Applications

Software Detail Design

There are more in my resume as well.

My interests:

Software Applications

System Software

Database Design

Networking

Software Development

My responsibilities in JFESS project are:
Designed Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the system.
Coded two modules:
1. Taking data from the database - put it into the Excel file for survey’s reports.
2. Taking data from the database - put it into the Excel file for webmaster posting the information on the web.

Beside that I was responsible for:

Managed group meetings and handled project risk management.

Initially designed and created the JFESSDb database.

Partially involved in most aspects of the software lifecycle.

Recommend the best solutions for the team.

Those are my strengths and my responsibilities in the JFESS project.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,
Sam Chao

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12.2 Sample Reference Page

Job Search Correspondence: The Essential Letters You Will Use to Get Hired

2010-04-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

Job related correspondence is often treated like an afterthought, something that should go at the end of the book. In fact, you will be writing to a number of people and for a number of reasons from the start to the end of the job search process.

Many people are intimidated when it comes to sending formal correspondence to potential employers. They know that there is a lot riding on it. The key is to keep the communication short, clear, and focused. It is not that difficult if you know what to include and if you edit and review your letter carefully before sending!

Although not necessarily difficult to prepare, these are some of the most challenging letters you will ever write. We will be looking at some templates or samples you can use.

Today, in most cases you will be communicating by email. Email has changed everything - the U.S. Mail is just not fast enough for job seeking purposes.

The "thank you" note is still sometimes sent by mail and hand written- not always though- it is a judgment call. It depends on what type of job you are applying for and what type of impression you are trying to make. If it is a counseling job for example, you might want to go soft tech. Think about who you are sending your note to, what job you are applying for and what stage of the process you are in. If it is a software developer job you are probably going high tech.

But everything else happens in a heartbeat these days, and hiring decisions are frequently made in a matter of hours. If you are unable to respond to opportunity instantly, you are out of the loop. You need to be able to send a resume and cover letter quickly. You need to send your thank you letters on the day of your interview.

Keep in mind that you may be sending similar correspondence to different people. It is perfectly fine to recycle your letters, after you have downloaded a template and edited it or adjusted it for the next person or next company. But make sure you check it each and every letter carefully: is the date correct? is it addressed to the right person? does it reference anything specific (job title, company name, industry) that does not apply? Check it line by line before you hit send!

Also, if you are copying text from one document to another, or even sometimes just from one email to another, you may need to run it through a generic text editor first. When you cut or copy from here and from there, unwanted formatting may get thrown in, and it may not show up on your screen. If you paste it into Notepad or TextEditor and then copy it from there, you will be sure to get rid of anything strange.

Sometimes the letter you send will simply be an email. In other cases, you will attach your letters as documents to your email. If you are sending something as an attachment, make certain that you have given a brief description or introduction to the attachments in the email message.

Always make sure you have given all of your contact information in every email. You don't want someone having to search for it. Design a signature that includes your name, cell number, and your email address. (Do not include any quotes or "happy face" icons below your signature on job related email).

If you decide to attach your letters as documents instead of as an email I would suggest that you use the same header as you use on your resume with your name, address, phone, and email address. In other words the header of your resume is the letter head of all of your letter documents.

Letters used in job searches include:

Letters of Inquiry
Letters of inquiry are perhaps your first foray into contacting an employer. In this letter you are asking the employer or company representative for information or a chance to meet to gain more information about the company and opportunities for individuals with your qualifications.

A computer-engineering student sent a "letter of inquiry" to a local electronics firm, using the contact section of their web site, requesting a meeting to find out more about the company and to explore opportunities as she was nearing graduation. She had sent a blind email through their web site indicating that she was a student and that she was interested in finding out about the company. A representative from the company immediately responded to her email and invited her to visit and tour the company. At the end of her visit they offered her a job.

Cover Letters
Cover letters are sent to employers along with a resume to explain to an employer why they are receiving your resume. The first paragraph tells the employer which position you are applying for and how you learned of their position. The second paragraph tells the employer about your qualifications. The third paragraph tells the employer what the next step will be.

Cover letters must be absolutely perfect in every way. The formatting is typically business letter style or slightly modified if you do not know the name of the individual doing the hiring. Examples in this section show both types of letters.

Any errors in your letter will automatically eliminate you from consideration for any available positions. You will need to have your cover letter as well as your resume proofed by someone who is ruthless with a red pen.

Cover letters are sometimes formatted directly in email or attached as a document along with your resume, in which case your email is a very short introduction to your cover letter and resume.

Thank You Letters
Thank you letters are one of the best ways to get yourself noticed by an employer. If you are one of the top candidates being considered, you will set yourself apart from the pack by impressing the employer with your thoroughness and thoughtfulness.

Thank you letters are sent immediately after the interview, thanking the employer for the time he/she spent interviewing you. They can also be used to correct a weak answer given in the interview. "I do feel I could have answered the Verilog coding question more effectively. If I had a second chance to answer the question, here is how I would answer it…"

I worked with a young engineering candidate, a number of years ago, who sent a thank you letter to CH2MHill, even after he had been told he was not going to be hired. He indicated in his letter that he was still interested and found the interview process to have been a great learning experience. When the candidate who was hired didn’t work out, he was offered the job!

Follow-Up Letters
A follow-up letter is a letter that you send after an interview, or after an informational interview, or after an offer has been made. This letter is meant to hurry things along but it can't look like you are rushing things. It is your way of showing an employer that you are thoughtful, interested, and following up. It has to capture just the right tone without being pushy. It demonstrates enthusiasm and interest and impresses the hell out of employers! Very few people actually write a follow up letter so it is going to make you stand out from the crowd.

A poorly worded letter can cause irreparable harm so be careful!

Job Offer Acceptance Letters

The job acceptance letter is a letter that you send after you have received an offer of employment, accepting the offer. It states that you are excited about the opportunity and look forward to working with the company who is making the offer.

Dear John Letters

"Dear John" are letters that are sent in the event you have accepted a job and you later receive a superior offer that you just cannot pass up. You accepted the first offer in good faith but the later offer is exactly what you want to do. You will need to gracefully back yourself out of the situation without burning any bridges. With new graduates this happens when the market is heated and multiple offers are received. This situation is described in the salary negotiation section of this book in the article titled "Which Offer Should You Take". I created the "Dear John" letter when a young student came to me with the dilemma. She had accepted an offer from Lockheed Martin and later received an offer from Hewlett Packard that was a better professional and personal move- the HP offer allowed her to stay close to her boyfriend.

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Job Search Correspondence and Letters: tools you need from the start to the end!

Job Search Correspondence and Letters: tools you need from the start to the end!

2010-04-28T04:04:00.000-07:00

Thank you Letters

Sample #1

Sample #2

Cover Letters

Sample #1

Sample #2

Acceptence Letters

Sample #1

Interview Follow-up Letter

Sample #1

Guide for "Dear John" Letter

Sample #1

1.0 Start here! Read this first!

2009-03-06T13:27:00.000-08:00

My textbook, The Ultimate Career Planning Manual for Engineers and Computer Scientists, has gone through its second printing.

This is the next edition.

Instead of going back to print, I've decided that I want to make the material more immediate, accessible and affordable. I want the book to be dynamic. That's why I'm publishing it here and in this form.

If you are in one of my classes: this is the textbook!

This "book" is for the serious job seeker. It will serve as your guide to the career job search process. It provides the tools necessary to create and implement an effective, proactive, career development plan.

This book is not about how to find a job, or just any job. It is a guide on how to develop a career life plan that secures the next job that is right for you. It will help you assess each career move you make relative to how you really want to live your life. It will help you develop a planful life rather than a random existence.

Work through the material in order, as it is presented. Even if you think you know what you want and are ready to write the resume or file the application, you will not be able to put your best foot forward unless you are in fact planful, self-aware and deliberate, and unless you've done your homework.

So, enjoy and do well! And if you have any comments or suggestions, please don't hesitate to send me a note.

Cici

Are you a serious job seeker? Take the Serious Job Seeker IQ Test

1.1 Are you a serious job seeker? Take the Serious Job Seeker IQ Test!

2009-03-06T09:58:00.000-08:00

The serious job seeker understands that finding a job is full time work and gets up every morning and goes to work to find a job. More importantly, the serious job seeker has spent some time figuring out who they are, what they have to offer, what they are looking for, and who they will allow to employ them.

The serious job seeker is proactive, thoroughly organized and entirely serious about the job search process. When the serious job seeker accepts an employment offer, it will be on their terms.

Are you a serious job seeker? Take the Test

1.2 Job Seeking and Career Planning is a Journey. This is the path you will follow

2009-03-05T23:00:00.000-08:00

There are four basic elements to the process of finding the perfect job:

Self-Assessment
Researching Career Options
Job Search Strategy
Presenting yourself

Most people just want to write a resume and get it out on the web, or just file an application and be done with it. This is not a serious approach to job seeking.

Before you write your resume or file that application, you need to go through the preliminary steps that are essential to finding the right job. You have to seriously engage the process of self-assessment and career exploration. You have to research the market and research your options. When you present yourself in writing or in person, you need to be focused on the needs and expectations of particular employers you have identified through a strategic job search.

The first step on your journey is self-assessment. The purpose of doing a self-assessment is to make certain that you understand what you really want to do. You need to discover what type of work will actually allow you to thrive. This involves a careful look at your strengths, your interests, your goals, and your values. It also involves an assessment of your skills, focusing on your most motivated skills. It is certain that you can do many things, but you need to know which skills you really enjoy using and are motivated to use. We will focus on what you love and will find a path to the right job, rather that just any job.

If you take time to focus introspectively, you will get clues about what you do well and you will start to think about yourself in all new ways. It is empowering to be able to focus on what you love. You will learn about yourself, and in the process you will discover your options. You will begin to discover the possibilities.

The next step is to research your options. You need to carefully research your career options so that you don’t limit yourself without good reason. Most people do not really know what exists out there. You don’t want to rule-out possibilities, simply because you weren’t aware of them. You want to be certain that you will be able to recognize the job that fits you when you find it.

Next, you need to develop a job search strategy. The knowledge you gain from self-assessment and research is critical to the development of a job search strategy.

When Alice in Wonderland asked the Cheshire Cat: “would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?”

The Cat responded: “that depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”

The job search strategy is actually much the same as the research process. The idea is that as you go about researching your options, you should be able to find jobs that you want to pursue and to find employers who will want to hire you.

The final step in the process is to hone your presentation and present yourself, on paper and in person. What you learn through self-assessment and career research is critical to your self-presentation and your effectiveness in securing the position you want. You need to be prepared to tell an employer that you have the skills they are looking for, that you have used them before, and that you are motivated to perform. After you have convinced them of all of that, you need to convince them that you are well worth the salary you are going to negotiate.

Next:
1.3 The Big Picture

1.3 The Big Picture

2009-03-05T21:36:00.000-08:00

Whether you start your career search in good times or in bad times, there are always a lot of opportunities for serious job seekers. A positive attitude goes a long way towards opening doors and creating opportunity.

No matter when you start your search, you have to believe that now is a great time to be looking for a job. Believing that is a key to success.

If you are a serious job seeker, you do not qualify to be permanently unemployed. You have to understand that you are not struggling to find a position. You are simply trying to find the job that fits with your needs and that meets your requirements.

Looking for work in the new millennium, you are in a good position to make a difference in this world. You will be called upon to solve many of our most vexing problems: educating our children; cleaning the air; developing alternative energy solutions; dealing with waste and waste water issues; transporting people, goods and services more efficiently; creating community; solving poverty; creating better technology; and building stable, secure and affordable infrastructure.

If you are a thinker, a dreamer, a writer, or problem solver, there is no end to the opportunities that await.

Here is some advice to help guide you on this this journey:

Set ambitious goals and work hard to make them happen.
Get help and advice from successful people- they can tell how they got there.
Learn from your mistakes and move forward - you will learn more from your failures than you will from your successes.
When you have a set back, view it as opportunity - pick yourself up and find a better place and a better way to proceed.
Reinvent yourself regularly - things change, so should you.
Give back after you get there - help others to achieve their goals too.
Don't worry about whether you've got enough, worry about whether you have given enough.
Take a good long vacation every year with the people you love! You need time away from work to make your work productive and meaningful.

This life is not a race to the finish. It's a journey to be enjoyed and savored. It's what you do in between that makes a difference. You will have many choices in life. You are not bound to any destiny. You get to choose how you will spend your time and how you will live your life. Make sure that you choose wisely.

Next:
1.4 Career Planning Challenges: the tasks that lie ahead ...

1.4 Career Planning Challenges: the tasks that lie ahead ...

2009-03-05T21:22:00.000-08:00

As a serious job seeker, you will face a series of challenges or tasks to be mastered. There are actually a number of ways you might go about finding a job, but you want to do it the smart way and in the most effective fashion, especially if you want great results.

You can think of it like taking a vacation in a place you have never visited before. You could just grab a bag and go, but it makes more sense to do some planning, read about the locale, talk to people who have been there, make a packing list, and get some reservations. There are many ways to ruin a vacation. Most of the pitfalls can be anticipated and avoided.

In planning your career, there are five challenges you face:

Organization
Awareness
Focus
Strategy
Presentation

What I have found is that when students or clients decide to see me for individual career assistance, they are invariably focused on or stuck on one of these specific challenges.

Organization

Organization refers to your ability to maintain documents, notes, contacts, correspondence, schedules and appointments in an orderly fashion. The serious job seeker knows that career planning involves developing a significant level of organization around the career planning and job search process.

For your job search, it is absolutely essential that you put together a binder to keep track of the ideas you develop, the contacts you make, the correspondence you have sent, the information you obtain, the applications you have filed, the companies you have researched, the tasks you need to complete, and so on. Your career binder is where you will keep your "daily to do" list. Knowing what you need to do tomorrow is important, because if you waste your time, you waste your life ...

Awareness

Awareness refers to your understanding of events happening in the world around you.

Every day in the news, there are reports about social, political, economic, demographic and technological changes that will impact the labor market and alter the range of occupational choices. Often times, things will change in what seems like a heart beat. Other trends are slow moving and long lasting.

Your challenge is to pay attention to the news and to think about how different events might ripple out in some way that changes the dynamics of the job market. Will an opportunity be created? Or will an industry die? What doors will open and which ones might slam shut?

Perhaps you have heard of “the butterfly effect.” It’s the idea that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings will change the atmosphere ever so slightly, and that this seemingly insignificant change could ultimately result in a tornado blowing across some other part of the world. That is what you are looking for as you maintain awareness.

Focus

Focus refers to the task of gathering information about yourself. In other words: self-assessment.

This topic was introduced in the first chapter where I spoke about the need to make certain that you understand what you really want to do. Serious job seekers do not start out expecting that they will simply settle on what they thought they were supposed to do or what they think they are qualified for.

What you are looking for is the position that will provide you with career satisfaction. Satisfying work empowers you and plays a critical role in psychological health and well being.

Satisfaction depends partly on performing tasks that you enjoy. It involves using the skills and the knowledge that you enjoy using and that you are motivated to use. When you do what you like or what interests you, you are more likely to be successful, and that leads to greater satisfaction.

Satisfaction at work also comes from employment that is consistent with your needs, values and priorities. Different things are important to different people, and at different different career stages. Your career should satisfy both your short term and long term goals.

Somewhere out there, there is a ideal position for you. But it is not just a matter of skills and interests. You also have to consider where you want to be located and what type of lifestyle you wish to pursue. You need to know what type of people you would enjoy working with, and what type of people and working conditions you might find intolerable.

Strategy

Strategy refers to your ability to conduct the career development and job search process with a plan, and in a proactive and systematic fashion.

What you will learn is that the fundamental strategy for finding a job involves the simple act of gathering career information.

You have probably heard it said a thousand times that most job openings are never posted or advertised. You’ve heard it said that people find jobs primarily through their contacts. This is essentially true, and this insight is the key to your job search strategy.

It is not the case, however, that you can count on finding a job just because you know people, or because you have good luck. What it means is that you need to get to know people, and to learn what they know, and to organize your luck.

You will need to talk to people about what they do, and to ask them for the names of other people you can speak to. It is much easier to speak with someone about what they do, rather than why they should hire you. And every time you speak with someone and ask them whom else you might speak with, you will be amplifying your list of contacts. You will also be gaining invaluable information about what you really want to do and about those who are most likely to hire you.

The more people you speak with, the more likely it is that you will find that perfect situation. The more contacts you make, the better the chances are that someone in a position to make a hiring decision will make the decision to hire you. The basic strategy involves getting to know all that you can, and getting yourself known to the people who can make it happen for you.

This does not mean that you will ignore employment advertisements or jobs that are posted online. You may get lucky and find a position that is listed somewhere, a job that is perfect for you and for which you are exactly the right candidate. But simply looking at the want ads, submitting applications and hoping that lightning will strike is not the way that the serious job seeker goes about the task. The serious job seeker will in fact look at the want ads and submit applications, but will always keep in mind that this is not enough.

To make the strategy work, you need to learn how to organize your time, how to find information in publications, how to find "what's out there," how to make contacts, and how to approach informational interviews. The checklist of daily and weekly activities that you need to follow is quite specific and reads like a job description itself. You will also need to avoid any of the "costly errors that kill job offers."

Presentation

Presentation refers to your ability to look your best in person, on paper and on the phone.

Presentation is about what you put on your resume and how you organize and format it. It's also about interview skills: knowing how to prepare, knowing what questions to ask and knowing what questions you need to be ready to answer. Presentation is about thank you letters and letters of reference, and in the end, it's about salary negotiation strategies.

When you start working on your presentation, you will understand why all of the self-assessment exercises were important. If you skip over the self-assessment, you are not going to be able to put your best foot forward on your resume or application. You won't be prepared to describe your skills in a way that will make an employer take notice. You won't be prepared to explain why you are a good fit for the job, why you are motivated to perform and how you can contribute. In an interview, a potential employer will probably ask questions that have little to do with the job and a lot to do with getting to know you as a person. You need to be prepared to present yourself in a favorable light, and you can't do that if you haven't gone through the process of sorting out who you really are. And when it comes down to that last and final step of negotiating a salary, you have to be able to present a good argument as to why you are worth the extra money you are going to be asking for.

The Career Planning Challenge in Thumbnail Form:

You need to gather a fair amount of information and keep it organized at every stage in the process.
You need to research the world-of-work and develop an awareness of what's going on in that world.
You need to focus on knowing who you are by conducting a careful self-assessment of your skills and interests.
You need to develop and implement an effective job search strategy, do it correctly and avoid mistakes.
You need to look good in person, on the phone and on paper.

2.0 Getting Organized with Your Career Binder ... absolutely essential!

2009-03-04T19:51:00.000-08:00

If you are serious about finding a good job, the right job, you need to gather information and keep it organized. You need to be able to access the information you need when you need it, quickly and efficiently. Don't assume that it's OK to just create another stack of papers on your desk or that you can just throw everything into one drawer. This is serious business.

The BEST way to organize your job search is to put together a binder to keep track of the ideas, applications, and contacts you make during your job search. In fact, to keep your career search materials organized, a Career Binder is absolutely essential!

A career binder is particularly helpful when you are working with a career coach. Don't even think about coming to see me in my office if you don't have a career binder! I'll talk to you even if you just have some papers in hand, showing that you have given some thought to your career search. But if you want me to pay serious attention, I'm going to want to see your career binder.

Your Career Binder should be constructed with dividers. It needs to be divided into five sections, labeled as follows:

Ideas and Inspiration
Timelines/Calendar/To Do Lists
Career Plan/Job Search Strategy
Contacts
Job Applications/Resumes Sent

For the last two sections (Contacts and Job Applications/Resumes Sent), you need to have a set of A to Z index dividers.

Don't make the mistake of trying to file everything online or on your computer or on your cell phone! This is hands-on stuff and there is a lot of information you need to have in hardcopy where you can touch it and take notes (you can worry about saving trees after you get a job).

For many of the tasks involved in finding a job, you are going to have to keep pen and paper handy, and to get in the habit of hitting the print button.

Make sure you read each of the five sections that follow and to look at the templates to be used for organizing. The templates you see here can be downloaded to your word processor, or opened with your Google Docs account ... we'll look at the Google tools after we finish with the Career Binder section.

Here: Getting Organized with Your Career Binder...absolutely essential!
Next: Your Career Binder: the ideas and inspiration section
            Staying Organized with a Success Timeline
            Staying Organized with a Daily To Do List and Calendar
            Your Career Binder: the job search contact notes section
            Your Career Binder: the job applications and resumes sent section

3.0 Awareness: you need to know who's hiring!

2009-03-04T02:30:00.000-08:00

Everyday, things are happening in the economy and the world around you, things that might impact your career plans and your job aspirations.

Events across the street, across the country or across the world might impact your employment situation or the demand for your skills. Some job categories are declining and some are disappearing altogether.

Your best insurance policy against unemployment is to keep yourself well informed. Knowing when to make a move is essential to your success ... not just today, or tomorrow, but for the rest of your career life. If you are a serious job seeker, your job is to know what industries are growing and what organizations are likely to be hiring.

And once you get a job you will want to be aware of things that can disrupt your employment before it becomes a crisis. When things change, the first ones to move are the lucky ones. It is like being on the Titanic when a company or industry is going down. If you are not one of the first ones off and into a lifeboat, you are going to be sucked down with everyone else. This isn't brain surgery.

Every day in the news, there are reports about social, political, economic, and technological changes that will impact the labor market and alter the range of occupational choices. Often times, things will change in what seems like a heart beat. Other trends are slow moving and long lasting.

The outsourcing of jobs to China and India is a long term trend that has caused a significant decline in certain manufacturing jobs here in the US. The run up in health care costs over the past twenty years is also a long term trend.

In contrast, the 2007 melt down in the mortgage lending industry happened almost over night, and it created layoffs in areas as diverse as financial services and housing construction. The resulting shock to the stock market, the impact on interest rates and the tightening of credit sent ripples throughout the entire economy. In 2008, it became clear that it wasn't just a ripple, it was a recession. By early 2009, it became clear that the economy had gone into crisis mode.

Earlier, I mentioned “the butterfly effect.” It’s the idea that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings will change the atmosphere ever so slightly, and that this seemingly insignificant change could ultimately result in a tornado blowing across some other part of the world. That is what you are looking for as you maintain awareness.

There are a lot of stories in the news reflecting ordinary and routine events. But many events that hardly seem newsworthy at all have implications that go far beyond what might immediately seem apparent. Think of it like dropping a pebble into a pond. One small stone can send ripples to the pond's farthest edges.

Next:
Awareness: change happens!

3.1 Awareness: change happens!

2009-03-04T02:20:00.000-08:00

Economic realities have changed in the past few decades. Lifetime job security no longer exists.

Many if not most workers can expect to change jobs every three to five years and to make major career shifts three to five times in their lifetimes. Workers across the globe are having to reinvent themselves regularly to maintain their livelihoods.

Change happens in response to: New Realities, Trends and Events.

New Realities

The role of education in the pursuit of employment is a new reality. Good paying jobs require more education and a well refined skill set than they did in years past. Many jobs that previously required a high school education now require a two or a four year degree. Indeed, when President Obama gave his first speech to Congress, he said that education and training after high school is no longer desirable. It is necessary. The new reality is that career success requires lifelong learning. You can no longer be successful if you do not remain current in your field and ready to re-train for the emerging jobs that are replacing old fields of employment.

Another new reality is that the normal age for retirement is changing. 72 (or older) is the new 65. With the economy as it has been, many people simply cannot afford to retire when they expected. They need to stick it out for a while or find a new job for their retirement years. Economists had for years predicted that there would be tremendous labor shortages occurring when the baby-boom generation started retiring, and that their retirements would create endless opportunities. For now (in 2009 and beyond), that prediction is on hold.

Part of the reason that retirement is changing is that now, more than ever, you are on your own with your career. There was a time when workers could count on their employers providing security, health care, education and retirement benefits. That is no longer necessarily the case. It used to be the norm that employers would provide defined benefit packages. That meant you knew exactly what you would get and that the employer would keep paying for those benefits, even if the costs went up. Now, most employers offer defined contributions. In other words, they will put a certain amount of money into providing, above and beyond salary, but when costs go up, you're on your own.

With change happening rapidly and relentlessly, the new reality is that you have to be prepared to reinvent yourself on a regular basis. The pace of change is accelerating and it comes in many forms: technological, social, political and economic. You could show up one day at the job you thought was stable and secure, only to find out that you've been laid off. Your job may not exist tomorrow. In fact, your industry may not exist or it may have been shipped off to another country. The new reality is that you will need to re-tool and reinvent yourself more than just once. You have to be ready when change happens, and you need to maintain awareness to know when it's coming.

Trends

Work has become a moving target due to a myriad of factors. In the last two decades we have become all too familiar with terms that dump tens of thousands of workers out into the cold:

Globalization
Buyouts
Downsizing
Restructuring
Mergers
Outsourcing
Right sizing
Off shoring
Disruptive technologies
Meltdowns
Recession and Depression

All of the above can be described as trends that will impact the labor market for years at a time.

There are other trends that should have a positive effect. The buzzwords here are: recovery plans, stimulus packages and budget priorities.

We will have to wait to see what happens over the long run, but soon after his inauguration, President Obama released a budget plan that set ambitious goals in the areas of health, education and energy.

The outcome of the health care debate will fundamentally alter the employment market for years to come. The ever increasing demand for nursing professionals is not going to stop. Aging baby boomers are going to demand more services. New medical technologies are required, and with each advance, there will be research, development, production, public relations, sales and advertising. The leisure industries will also become a part of this wave of change. People have started traveling to obtain medical services, and recreation is recognized as a significant factor in wellness. The outcome of the healthcare debate will also determine whether manufacturing in America will survive. Right now, when you buy an American car, you are paying more for worker benefits than you are for the steel.

On the education front, new investments will mean more jobs for teachers, more money for research, and more opportunities for workers to upgrade their skills for a 21st Century economy. If education policies advance, their will be more opportunities at home, here in the U.S., for workers in the information and service industries. With a better educated workforce here at home, employers won't be looking to ship high tech jobs overseas.

The new energy frontier is part of another trend that is fast gaining momentum: the “Greening of America.” With the world having finally woken up to the threat of global warming, there will be a wide range of employment opportunities created in response to environmental demands. And they won’t just be in science and technology. It is going to affect service, transportation, manufacturing, information, finance and so on.

Events

Sometimes, the world-of-work will change dramatically in response to immediate events.

When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the economic impact was felt throughout the country. Building supplies became more expensive in Seattle. Home insurance rates went up in Sacramento. Labor costs went up in South Dakota. Even if there had not been as much devastation, gasoline prices everywhere would still have been impacted by the closing of a few refineries.

When oil prices spiked up more than 100% in 2008, there was tremendous upheaval in many industries. There were good and bad repercussions. People thought harder about their automobile choices and where they will live. They thought more about fuel economy in both decisions. Manufacturers realized that if they manufacture in China, they might lose all of the savings gained from a cheaper labor market by incurring heavy transportation costs to get their goods to market. Cheap oil allowed for inexpensive transport of goods across the globe. But once the cost of shipping a 40-foot container to the US jumped from $3000 earlier in the decade, to $8000 in 2008 things changed. And then in 2009, oil prices dropped back down.

Things happen everyday. Someone introduces a new product. Someone recalls an old one. A pile of coal ash breaks free from a dam and pollutes a river. A study reports that subsidies for corn-based ethanol impact food prices. A computer battery catches on fire. A bank goes belly-up.

It can be good news or it can be bad news. Your task is to maintain awareness and to figure out what might happen next. When things happen, your task is to pay attention and to connect the dots.

Next:
Awareness: do this exercise!

3.2 Awareness: do this exercise!

2009-03-04T02:00:00.000-08:00

Awareness Exercise

Choose a story from today's paper, or choose one from the internet. Then, on a piece of paper, see if you can come up with ten things that might happen as a result of that event.

You can just make a list, but here is an example of how things could happen:

McDonald's decides to sell gourmet coffee, and to compete with Starbuck's on price. They will need to purchase more cups. Somewhere, a cup manufacturer will have to gear up production, and somewhere, they will be purchasing more raw materials. Along the way, a new job might be created in the transportation sector and a new house might be sold in the community with the manufacturing plant. Feeling confident, a worker in a paper products plant might buy a new television or take her husband out to dinner. Sensing that times are good, a restaurant owner might decide to spend more on advertising or might finally decide to hire an accountant. Someone might decide they can afford a vacation and purchase an airline ticket. Someone might decide to buy a new set of golf clubs. Because more trucks are rolling on the highway, a State might decide to upgrade a road with the increased tax revenue. A construction company might hire a new engineer and perhaps a government relations specialist. Maybe they will buy a new bulldozer and the heavy equipment manufacturer will decide to build a new plant. Perhaps one day, after that plant has been built, one of the employees will decide to buy a cup of coffee at McDonald's.

So do the exercise. Find an article about some news event, and write down at least ten things that might happen as a result.

This was not a one time exercise!

For the serious job seeker, this task does not end with having analyzed just one news story. Instead, it has to be a way of thinking about what's going on and what different events might mean. You don't want to be the person who goes out looking for a job as a mortgage broker while the mortgage industry is melting down.

You also don't want to be the last one to know which industries are going to grow in the coming years. You don't want to miss or overlook an opportunity, or fail to consider an option because you thought it wouldn't be worth it. You don't want to train for a job that won't be there and you don't want to pass up a training opportunity because you think there won't be any jobs in that field.

Maintaining an awareness of the world around you is also going to improve your chances of landing that job that you want. When you interview, a prospective employer is going to want to know that you know their industry, that you know the trends that might affect it, and that you are alert to the forces that will shape it. An employer will want to know that you are thinking!

Companies of all sizes actually hire people to figure out what's going to happen next. Spotting trends and anticipating the future is important in every type of business, and in the same way, it is important to you as a job seeker.

Next:
Researching Your Career Options: Introduction

4.0 Researching Your Career Options: Introduction

2009-03-03T00:19:00.000-08:00

Researching your options and exploring careers is not just about gathering information. It's about getting excited and getting yourself motivated about the possibilities. It's about understanding that there are worlds of opportunity that exist, just waiting for you to discover them.

Here, the research focus is on using published information. Later, when we get to the job search Strategy phase, you will learn how to research your career options by going out and talking to people, using contacts and informational interviews. Both types of research are important.

In theory, the research phase of your career plan should come after you have completed the self-assessment, after you have identified your skills and interests. But that's not how it works. The research has to start in advance of skill identification, and has to continue in an interactive fashion as part of the self-assessment process.

We have already talked about Awareness in terms of keeping yourself informed about the world around you. Here, the task is to start developing an Awareness of the world-of-work.

You will find that the work you do here is important when you begin to assess your skills and interests. When you begin to Focus on gathering information about yourself, you will need to constantly check to see how what you learn fits with different types of careers.

You probably already have a number of ideas about what type of job you're looking for. In order to Focus on what you really want to do, you need to find out more about the career ideas you already have in mind.

It is impossible to make decisions about what you will do with your life if you do not have information about occupations that correspond with your interests and aspirations. For any career you might consider, you need to know what a typical work day is like, what training and education is necessary, and what industries provide the best opportunities.

There are certain things that allow people to achieve success in specific careers. Different jobs require different skills, interests and temperaments. This is part of what you will be looking for as you start exploring careers.

You also need to know the working conditions for different jobs, where those careers are located, how much demand there is for those workers, what the future holds and what type of salary you should expect.

Information is power!

Next:
Researching Careers Using Published Sources

4.1 Researching Your Career Options using Published Information on the Web

2009-03-02T16:05:00.000-08:00

The absolute best sources for career and job information include:

The Occupational Outlook Handook (OOH)
Indeed.com
O*Net Online
Company web sites
Salary.com and/or Payscale.com

Occupational Outlook Handbook

You can find tons of great information about hundreds of occupations in the OOH. I have been using it and recommending it for more than thirty years. Published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it used to be a set of huge books and quarterly updates. Now, of course, it's online and includes important information about different jobs, like:

the training and education needed
earnings
expected job prospects
what workers do on the job
working conditions
information about the job market in each State
information about the jobs and economy of tomorrow
salary information from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program.

To find an occupation in the OOH, use the Google Custom Search Box on the left. You can search by job titles or occupational fields, and you can also enter tools or skills you might use in an occupation.

For a really long list of job titles in 23 major groups, you can visit the SOC - Standard Occupational Classifications.

Indeed.com

Indeed.com is an aggregator of job announcements and advertisements from all across the web. If all you were going to do to find work was to look at the want ads, this would either be a perfect starting point or a one-stop solution.

In addition to showing ads, Indeed.com also has salary information and job trend information. Their data comes from what's being advertised.

To search indeed.com, use the job search box on the left.

As you look at job announcements online, you need to understand that this is not how you are actually going to find a job, not if you are a serious job seeker. The odds are that online announcements are not going to yield a position. You need to look at them to understand the types of positions being announced and to better understand your options and to have a sense of what is happening in the employment field.

O*Net Online

This resource used to be known as the Guide to Occupational Exploration and it used to be in one book that fit neatly on a shelf. It is now an exhaustive information source that is extensively cross-referenced. On the main search page, you might find it useful to search in the Career Clusters, Job Families or "In-Demand Industry Clusters." The "Job Zones" describe different preparation levels.

We are going to be using this more as a reference after you have done a self-assessment of your interests. The search by interests page is useful in a couple of ways. It can help you understand how your interests fit with different career paths and it can lead you to job descriptions that will help you filter through what you really like and what you really don't.

The way that specific occupations are described at O*Net (with exhaustive lists of characteristics) is not as useful as the descriptions in the OOH. But when it comes time to write your resume, you are going to want to go here to see the skill lists associated with different careers.

Company websites

Before you go on any informational interview or job interview, and before you file an application or send a resume, you absolutely need to check out the company's website. You need to know the business they're in and whatever else you can learn about the company's mission, goals and areas of operation.

Most companies post their available jobs on their websites, but often they are just posting information about their higher level positions. If you are at the entry level, this is often really good information because the job descriptions for the executives will tell you what the people down below must be helping with.

For company websites, we are going to be using Google.

Salary.com and Payscale.com

At the start, you only need to have some general information about the salaries you might expect. When it comes time to make decisions about accepting a job offer and negotiating a salary, you want as much information as possible. The OOH will give you the general ranges (see the OES data), but sites such as salary.com and payscale.com will give you information that is specific to particular cities or zip codes and that is based on large pools of data. For most purposes, the "free reports" are sufficient. If you are negotiating for that million dollar bonus, you might consider their fee based reports. Their data comes from compensation specialists with access, and from surveys and research.

When you use these salary estimators, make certain that you look carefully at the job descriptions. You want to make certain that the job for which you are getting a salary estimate has similar duties and requirements as the one you are applying for.

Next:
Research Strategy: Tasks and Summary

4.2 Research Strategy: Tasks and Summary

2009-03-02T16:00:00.000-08:00

Your immediate task is to start researching careers using the Occupational Outlook Handbook. This is part of the Awareness process, learning more about the world-of-work.

Use the search box in the sidebar on the left.

You should also start looking at job announcements, keeping in mind that this is only one part of the job search strategy, and often times not the most important part.

Use the search box for indeed.com.

Later, when you begin to Focus, and after you've started the self-assessment, we are going to be looking at job information at O*Net Online, matching your interests and your career personality to specific occupations. I will be giving you a list of links at O*Net that you will want to follow as part of your self-assessment. You will also be using this resource to help focus on the keywords describing skills that you will want to include on your resume.

When you get started on your informational interviews and focused job-seeking, you are going to be doing a lot more research at company websites.

Finally, when it comes time for salary negotiations, you are going to be using salary.com and also indeed.com for your research.

Self Assessment: Don't leave home without it!

5.0 Self-Assessment: Don't leave home without it!

2009-02-08T16:35:00.000-08:00

Self-assessment is a big topic. And it's the one that you probably think you can skip. But this is the heart and soul of the job search process for serious job seekers.

I know. You already know what you want to do and where you want to work and what you have to offer. But with 30+ years experience in this field, what I am telling you is that if you don't do these exercises, you are going to end up with a mediocre resume. You are not going to be prepared for interviews, you're not going to do your best when you fill out applications. And if you get an offer, you're not going to be properly prepared to negotiate that salary.

Crunch time is coming (hopefully). You're going to be sitting down for an interview and they're going to want you to be able to tell them who you are, what you know and what you have to offer. If you are not prepared to immediately describe your skills and abilities, your interests and your passions, your motivations and your aspirations, you're not going to get the job. You need to be entirely comfortable talking about why you get up in the morning, and you need to be convincing when you tell an employer why they should hire you. You also need to know if you are going to let them hire you.

That's what self-assessment is about. It involves a set of exercises that will help you know yourself and help you convey that to potential employers.

Self-assessment will help you put together your resume. It will help you list your skills and abilities on job applications. It will help you navigate the interview. When you get to the interview, you don't want to just make up the answers, When they ask you about yourself, you want to be totally prepared to tell them who you are.

Some of these exercises will seem insubstantial. Some of them will be redundant. But you need to do each and everyone of them. Don't even think about coming to see me in my office and to seek my advice if you haven't started this process.

My very best story about the importance of self-assessment involves a young man who studied engineering and manufacturing technology. He came to me perplexed about how to find a job. He already knew what careers were available to him and what companies he should be focusing on. He said he just wanted me to tweak up his resume. He thought he knew everything about where he was going. I insisted that he do the self-assessment exercises. What I learned is that he liked to play golf. He loved playing golf more than anything else in life. Fast forward through the self-assessment and job seeking strategy: he ended up with a job with a company manufacturing golf equipment. He is an engineer with a job where he spends half of his time "testing" out equipment on the golf links!

Had he not done the exercises, I'm sure I could have placed him in a factory manufacturing widgets. But he let me know what he was passionate about, and that helped us focus his career search, and that focus landed him a job that was a perfect fit with his interests.

So here's my advice: do all of the self-assessment exercises. Get to know yourself and get to be comfortable telling people what motivates you and what you are good at.

The first exercise I want you to do has to to with your career personality.

Next:
Self Assessment: What is your career personality

5.1 Self-Assessment: What is your career personality type?

2009-02-07T12:36:00.000-08:00

The first self-assessment task is about finding your career personality type or "Holland Code." John Holland is a psychologist who developed a "theory of careers" that is routinely used in assessing vocational interests. His view is that "the choice of a vocation is an expression of personality" and that there are six primary types. Your career personality is usually described in terms of the two or three codes that best describe you, so that means there are a lot more than just six actual types.

These personality types are not just used to describe your career interests and personality. They are also used to describe work environments and occupations.

The six primary personalities or interest profiles are:

Realistic
Investigative
Artistic
Social
Enterprising
Conventional

They are represented on a hexagon to show that the closer they are together (next to each other and across the hexagon), the more they are related (the Conventional and Artistic types are on opposite sides and are the least commonly related).

In a moment, you are going to fill in a short survey to chart out your vocational preferences and interests. But before you do that, you need to read the description of each type:

Realistic:

prefer "hands-on" work using tools and machinery.
like building and fixing things and solving problems in practical ways.
like working with materials, or outdoors or with plants or animals.
don't like a lot of paperwork or having to work closely with others.
practical individuals.

Investigative:

prefer working with ideas and data, rather than with people or things.
enjoy solving problems by thinking and studying and analyzing information.
jobs often require advanced education or training.
enjoy intellectual pursuits.
independent and often introverted individuals.

Artistic:

prefer work that involves the use of creativity, imagination and self-expression.
like working in unstructured situations.
don't like having to follow rules or set procedures.
jobs require a sense of design and an appreciation of aesthetics.
innovators who tend to be non-conforming and idealistic.

Social:

prefer teaching, communicating, and serving and helping others.
like to use interpersonal skills and have an understanding of human relations.
jobs require the ability to engage people at a personal and emotional levels.
have to able to cooperate in working with others.
individuals who are altruistic and sociable, friendly and socially responsible.

Enterprising:

prefer work that involves persuading, leading, influencing and managing others.
working to meet organizational goals or to make money.
work requires energy and ambition, and a fair amount of self-confidence.
jobs are usually business related and often involve sales and promotion.
energetic and optimistic, sociable and talkative individuals.
individuals who are focused on competing and getting ahead, entrepreneurs.

Conventional:

prefer work that is detailed and orderly, structured and routine.
prefer work that involves data and information, rather than people or things.
like the rules to be known and don't like to have to be creative.
jobs involve orderly processes and record keeping.
clerical and administrative jobs are typical.
reliable, persistent, efficient, conforming, practical and conscientious individuals.

Keep in mind that no one is really just one type and that these categories can combine in a number of interesting ways. In fact, if we looked at all six codes for any invidual, there are 720 different possible combinations. What we want to find are the two or three primary codes that describe your personality and interests.

Take the Holland Code Self-Assessment:
The Perfect Career Finder

5.2 Self-Assessment: Skills Assessment Introduction

2009-02-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

Skills are the basic building blocks of jobs.

While it is certain that you have many skills and many talents, you need to identify those that make you someone an employer will want to hire. You need to be able to describe them in a way that will make an employer want to hire you and make them understand that you are the best candidate for the job

You also need to clearly understand your skill set so that you can focus on finding the job that is just right for you. There are some skills you have that you probably have no interest in using as part of your daily work. For example, you might be a great typist but have no interest in typing for a living. You might be an excellent pool sweeper but have no desire to sweep pools for a living. What you need to identify are those skills that you prefer using (your preferred skills) and those that you are motivated to use (your motivated skills). It is certain that you have skills that you find to be a drudge to apply and others that bring you satisfaction and enjoyment.

Skills develop early in life and throughout life. Most of your motivated skills have served you in a variety of situations. Those skills have been refined by life experiences like sports, clubs, and hobbies, or even just hanging around working on the car with a parent or another adult. They provided enjoyment when you were a child, and as an adult, they will help you get what you want and what you need out of life. The ones we need to identify are those that have provided you with a sense of accomplishment.

Many of your skills are "transferable" and can be applied in a range of situations. These are skills that you have been using since you were a little kid. Think about it. There were kids in your grammar school class who were the leaders: the class president or team captain. There were also enterprising kids who could sell more tickets or cookies than anyone else. There was the artist who could draw fabulously in third grade. And there was the writer who could spin a marvelous tale for a writing assignment. Some were great communicators, never afraid to stand up and read their reports. Some were great at fixing things or building things. And remember the kid who always took notes and made sure that every detail on a group project was attended to?

When we looked at your career personality type, we were looking at your motivated skills and interests in a general sort of way. Now we need to drill down and focus on your skill set in a more specific fashion.

We need to be able to describe your skills in a way that will allow you to translate them into specific career choices and to communicate your interest in using those skills to an employer.

For this, we are going to do a few different exercises. We are going to review your skills in terms of what you are good at and in terms of how you have exercised those skills relative to past accomplishments. This is not just a matter of your being able to look at a job description and saying "I can do that and I can do that too." This is a matter of understanding what you really want to do and having the confidence to look an employer in the eye and tell her that you are the best candidate for the job.

Next:
Skill Assessment Exercises

5.3 Self-Assessment: Skill Assessment Exercises ... 3 tasks to complete

2009-02-05T22:27:00.000-08:00

To make this work, you need to do all of the skill assessment exercises!
As I have already told you, these exercises will seem redundant. But each one has a purpose and each one will contribute to your knowledge and understanding of yourself, each in a slightly different way. You need to know as much as you can about yourself so that you can effectively present that information on your resume, and in an interview, and when you sit down to engage in salary negotiations. So make certain you work your way through each of the exercises.

1. Motivated Skills Inventory. In this exercise, you are going to read through a list of skills and rate each one on two scales: how much skill do you have and how motivated are you to use that skill.

After reviewing your ratings for all of the skills listed, we are going to look at them in rank order and focus on the ones you gave the highest ratings.

2. Tying Skills to Accomplishments. For each of your motivated skills identified above, you are going to describe some activity, event or experience where you actually used or demonstrated that skill.

3. Finding Skills in Your Accomplishments. To make certain that you have identified all of your motivated skills, you are going to write a brief description of something you accomplished or succeeded at - something that made you proud or that you felt good about - and look to see what skills were necessary to make that happen.

4. Look at the notes (skills) you or your friend jotted down from your accomplishment narrative and turn them into skill statements, just like you did in the previous exercises.

5. The final and most important step in finding your skills in you accomplishments will be to categorize and prioritize your skills into an actual job description. This will help you identify jobs that fit your skills! Make a list of the jobs that could use these skills. Remember that it is impossible to draw conclusions about which jobs correspond until you categorize and prioritize your skills! Here is an example of an Accomplishment Narrative with the skill statements categorized and prioritized.

Next: Motivated Skills Inventory

and then: Tying Skills to Accomplishments

and then after that: Finding Skills in Your Accomplishments

6.0 More Self Assessment: Getting What You Want Out of Life!

2009-02-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

The rest of the puzzle ...

Figuring out what you want to do and where you want to work is a complex task. It involves answering a variety of questions about what you need to thrive and what you want out of life.

We have already looked at your career personality. Your Holland Code tells us in a general way what types of work tasks interest you and what type of work environments meet your demands. Knowing your Holland Code is essential if you want to use job classification systems to find out what types of careers fit with your interests.

We have also taken a careful and extensive inventory of your skills and your motivated skills. The skill descriptions you developed will help you match your interests with the demands associated with specific jobs. And perhaps more importantly, you now have those skills listed in a way that will help as you build your resume and present yourself in interviews. You are ready to tell prospective employers what you can do.

But there is still more work to be done to make certain that you know what you are looking for and to make certain that you find it. You still have to answer the "What" and the "Where" questions. You need to be clear about what you want to do and where you want to do it.

Many of the skills you have are transferable. You can use them in a number of different industries. You need to know which industries you want to focus on.

In deciding where you want to apply your skills and who you will allow to employ you, you need to consider your work values and priorities. What type of work environment suits you best? What type of people do you want to work with? What should your salary and benefit expectations include? Do you need to live in a city or would you be happier somewhere else? What really motivates you?

In the same way that you have different skills that can be applied to different situations, you also have an inventory of acquired knowledge that spans many different areas and interests. Which knowledge areas do you want to apply to your work in order to thrive? Is it just what you learned in college or do you want to apply the knowledge you've obtained from hobbies and extra-curricular pursuits? Do you have expertise in some area unrelated to your studies and training? Is it important to you to use that knowledge?

And what about life-style preferences? I know young attorneys, accountants and engineers who are happy working 80 hour weeks most of the year, then vacationing large at the end of the year. That might not be your style. Perhaps it's more important to you to drop your kids off at school in the morning and to pick them up in the afternoon. Maybe you like to be home for dinner, or maybe you like staring at your computer screen until you drop.

At some point, there are going to be trade-offs and compromises to consider. And there will be decisions to be made. You need to understand what is really important to you.

There are five exercises you need to complete before you set out on the task of implementing your job search strategy. And keep in mind that someone wanting to hire you might very well ask if you have given any thought to these issues.

You need to know what you need to be satisfied, to thrive and to get what you want out of life. At some point, you are going to allow someone to hire you. On the other side of the equation, an employer is going to want to know that the job they are offering is going to motivate and satisfy you. You are going to expect them to provide you with more training. They will want to know that they are making a good investment.

Here are the next steps in the self-assessment process:

1.   Identifying Your Work Values and Your Work Priorities
2.   Inventorying and Identifying Your Key Knowledge Areas
3.   Identifying Your Interest Areas
4. Identifying Your Ideal Life/ Work Environment
5.   Setting Your Goals and Priorities

Next:
6.1 Identifying Your Work Values and Your Work Priorities

6.1 Identifying Your Work Values and Your Work Priorities

2009-02-03T23:57:00.000-08:00

Work satisfaction is a function of individual needs, values and priorities.

Before you make career decisions, you need to identify what you need to thrive. This exercise will help you think about what is important to you in the work environment.

Different things will be important at different stages in your career. What is important to you right now? What should you be looking for?

There are two parts to this exercise:

First, you are going to rate a series of work values. Some will be important. Others will not. Some will be essential.

Then, you are going to rank order the things that are most important to you.

Be sure to print your list out when you are done!

Next:

Work Values & Priorities Inventory

6.2 Inventorying and Identifying Your Key Knowledge Areas

2009-02-03T23:00:00.000-08:00

You probably learned quite a lot by the time you graduated from college. And if you have been in the career world for any length of time, you are probably an expert in a number of fields. It is expected that you will have received additional training during the course of your career. And you have certainly learned from your experiences. Learning and the acquisition of knowledge is a life-long task, a task to be ignored only at the risk of peril to your career prospects and career success.

The point of this exercise is to take an inventory of your knowledge base and to identify the learned elements that you are interested in using as you move forward in your career. Some of what you know represents foundational learning. It is the basis of your skill set and your ability to learn more. Some of what you know and have learned represents knowledge that you can directly apply.

Identifying the knowledge elements you wish to directly apply in your next (or first) career move is essential to identifying the businesses, industries or government agencies where you will seek employment.

The task here is to make a list of the knowledge you have acquired:

from formal education
from work experience
and from your general life experiences

More specifically, the task is to identify the knowledge you have that you want to apply in your career.

There is probably a lot you know that you don't care to use. The question here is: what knowledge have you acquired that to you want to apply?

Next:
The Knowledge Inventory

6.3 Finding Life Interests and Pursuing Your Passion

2009-02-02T21:00:00.000-08:00

Identifying your interests is a critical step in finding a job and finding your place in life.

You probably have a lot of interests that you think are entirely unrelated to your career preferences. We are all interested in things but think: "That can't be my day job, I can't make money doing that!"

Well maybe that could be your day job, or maybe your day job could be something related to what you really love and are really passionate about.

I've already told you my favorite story about a young mechanical engineer whose passion in life was playing golf. He didn't think that he needed to do any of these self-assessment exercises. His plan was just to find a job as a mechanical engineer. When we looked at his motivated skills, we found that he had excellent design skills and that design is what he wanted to do. After we completed the interest survey, I advised him to start researching companies that use mechanical engineers to design golf equipment. And he ended up working for Karsten Manufacturing in Phoenix, Arizona. He ended up designing golf equipment and spending a fair amount of time testing out their equipment on the golf links.

What helped him nail the job was the fact that the company he focused on realized that he wasn't just bringing a set of skills. He was bringing a passion for the product and the industry.

Let me share another example. I met with an accountant who was completely bored working in an accounting/consulting firm. He made good money but couldn't stand the work. He was interested in cars. He loved cars! He did the work necessary in identifying his skills and his interests, started searching, and ended up as the accounting manager for a high end Sacramento automobile dealership. That's where he belonged and where he could thrive.

Sales and marketing jobs are particularly ripe for linking skills and interests. You know when you go into a store whether or not the person is really interested in the product. I recently bought a new camera at a large electronics store. I had some questions that were answered by two different sales people. I still wasn't certain which camera to choose, and started to think that maybe I wasn't ready to buy one at all. A third sales person asked if he could help me, and I could tell right away that he didn't just know everything about the different cameras. He knew everything about photography and wanted me to be as interested as he was! He wasn't necessarily doing what he wanted career wise, but he was working with exactly the things that interested him, sharing his passion and his knowledge with others.

The list of examples is endless. And it doesn't matter what your interests are. It could be cars or golf, video games, traveling, food, art, biking, hiking, police shows, fashion, mystery novels, sewing, painting, electronics, music ... whatever. The Lego company is now releasing a series of building kits based on famous architectural landmarks. That project was started by an architect who happened to be a Lego fan.

Identifying Your Interests (Passion) Exercise

This exercise is simple and fun and meant to help you focus on interests that you might not ordinarily have thought about as the basis for a career opportunity. The idea is to spend some time thinking about what you really like to spend your time doing, and to think about how your your education, experience and skills might be used in an industry that is aligned with your interests.

Start by making a list of your favorite things and favorite activities. (You can do this on a separate page or in your word processor). Make your list at least ten items long to make sure you've considered everything that interests you.

1. __________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________

3.__________________________________________________________

4. __________________________________________________________

5. __________________________________________________________

6. __________________________________________________________

7. __________________________________________________________

8. __________________________________________________________

9. __________________________________________________________

10. __________________________________________________________

Now go back and underline or highlight the activities or interests that you would most like to make a part of your career path ... and don't assume that it's not possible. This is not the time to be thinking about whether or not you can make money in some way related to your interests.

Later, we are going to be looking at how you can use your skills in relation to your interests. For now, let me just give you one more example:

Music is a really common interest and it's where people typically talk about "not giving up my day job." But think about it for a moment. There are people in the music industry who have the talent and the skill. They are the artists. But there are also the people who do the publicity and public relations. There are people who do the accounting. There are sales people and sales managers. The music industry requires technicians and engineers, building and designing the equipment, training those who will use it, and actually working in the studios and theaters operating the equipment. There have to be managers of all types for people and facilities. And there are attorneys dealing with contracts and intellectual property. The music industry also needs writers. They need caterers and travel agents. They need investment specialists and some times real estate professionals. And certainly there is a need in the music industry for therapists and substance abuse counselors.

If you think about this one industry, you will find that there are people using the skills and motivations that are associated with each and every career personality type that we looked at when we discussed the Holland Codes.

This is why it is so important to think about your interests in this way! You have to know what you are passionate about if you are going to find a career that gives you satisfaction.

Next:
Identifying Your Ideal Life/Work Environment

6.4 Identifying Your Ideal Life/Work Environment

2009-02-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

We've already looked at your work values and work priorities, the things that are important for you to experience satisfaction in your career. We've also looked at the things you've learned, the key knowledge areas that you want to apply in your work. And, we've looked at what really interests you in life. When we did the skill assessment exercises, we took an inventory of your motivated skills and how you have used them in your past accomplishments.

All of the above information is essential for answering the What and Where questions, but there is still more for you to think about as you decide where you want to work. Where is not just a matter of what company or organization you want to work for. It also includes "location, location, location" and the lifestyle you want to maintain.

The job environment includes the actual physical location and the physical environment where you want to live. And it includes the types of people you will be working with and the working conditions that will surround you.

I have a family member who lives in Texas and who works in the oil services industry. He thinks Houston is like heaven on earth. There are good schools for his kids and a local park with a swimming pool. It never snows and it's warm there all year. Houston is a metropolis with major sports, recreation and entertainment. The country is as flat as can be and absolutely ideal for biking. If you like to eat beef, there's plenty of it. In his job, he's on the road all the time and constantly connected to the office via a smart-phone. He travels the world regularly to places most people rarely hear of, except when there are wars or revolutions. His co-workers are high energy achievers who expect everyone to take on substantial responsibility, making important decisions on a daily basis and working without a net.

My view of his work-life environment is quite different. To me, Houston is a flat, dense, and teeming metropolis, always on the move and with no escape from the oppressive heat and humidity. I like to be home at night and to turn off my cell phone. I don't mind that you can't go to the swimming pool in December. I like to hike in the mountains and go to the beach, and to have them close at hand. I don't mind making difficult decisions, but when I do, I don't want to be out there on my own without support. I hate jumping on airplanes, and when I travel, I want it to be for vacation. I like the people around me to be relaxed and reflective.

Our lifestyle goals and preferences are quite different.

For this exercise, there are three questions to answer. For each, you need to look at the positives and the negatives. Here is a word processor template you can use. Make sure you look at it to see examples of some of the things you might consider!

1. Location/Life Style - What do you need in a location to thrive?

2. People - What qualities do you need in the people you work with?

3. Work Conditions - What do you need in your work environment to thrive?

Next:
Your Goals and Priorities

6.5 Setting your Goals and Priorities

2009-02-02T10:27:00.000-08:00

Wandering lost in the woods, Alice in Wonderland encountered the Chesire Cat.

Alice asked: "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

The Cat responded: "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."

Alice said: "I don't much care where ... so long as I get somewhere."

The Cat concluded: "Then it doesn't much matter which way you go. You're sure to (get somewhere), if only you walk long enough."

Someone else once said: "If you don't know where you're going, you're already there."

Bob Dylan once said: "... and this ain't no place to be."

What I say is that if you don't know where you want to go, you're not going to get there. The point is that you have to set goals.

Right now, your most immediate goal might be to grab a cup of tea. You have to think beyond that. You have to think about tomorrow and the next day, and about next year and the years after that.

When it comes to your career, it is certain that you will be focused on what comes next and what your next move will be. But what is the point of that if it is not connected to some larger context, purpose and direction in life? Perhaps all you want now is to find a survival job, something that will keep you moving along or moving towards the next step. Perhaps you just want something that will get you started on the right path. Even if that is all you want, you need to have some idea about where the path might lead or where you want it to take you. That is what the Chesire Cat was trying to tell Alice.

Sometimes when people dare to dream about the future and future possibilities, they become paralyzed. It seems so far and so hard and so impossible. Sometimes people are immobilized because nothing seems to be happening now and it is hard to imagine that there might be some life beyond the immediate horizon. Your task now is to dare to imagine. Even if you can't get there from here and even if you can't do it today, you need to have the dream in mind.

A career counseling issue that often comes up with adolescents is that they set their sights on "impossible" goals. A young kid will say that he plans to become an NFL quarterback and that he has no other interests or goals. Those advising him could set him straight. They could tell him that it is an almost impossible goal. My view is that if that's the goal, it should be encouraged. What would I tell that young man? I would say that he needs to stay out of trouble and to work hard and study hard. If you want to be an NFL quarterback, you have to finish high school and get into college and maintain eligibility for the team. You have to exercise regularly and stay away from drugs and alcohol. I would tell him to do all of the things I would tell him to do if he told me that he wanted to be an accountant. I would tell him to have dreams and to set goals and to see where the path might lead.

This is a task you want to do in your word processor or perhaps in an email to yourself.

First, make a list of your long-term goals. After you list them, number them in order of priority.

What would you like to accomplish over the long term? Think of what would you like to do over the next seven to ten years. Here are some examples: have a well established career, buy a house, get a graduate degree (a Masters or a Ph.D.), get married, have a family, move into management, start a business, develop a consulting practice, travel, write a book... whatever you can imagine!

Second, make a list of your short-term goals.

What would you like to accomplish in the next three to five years? Here are some examples: get a job, start your professional career, get a car that runs, pay off you bills, travel, get your own apartment ...

Finally, make a list of your immediate goals.

What is it you want to accomplish in the next few days, weeks or months, in the next six months or before the year ends? These are more immediate goals and they will be the things you focus on first. Here are some examples: finish writing your resume, start making appointments for informational interviews, buy a new outfit for interviews, finish reading this book, enroll in that class you need, move to another city, start an exercise program, get you car fixed, build your career binder, clean off you desk ... and so on.

This is not a one time exercise. The third list - your short term goals - should be visited daily and it should be revised on a regular basis. Cross things off, add items and rewrite the list as a regular practice. Keep your longer term goals where you can see them and think about them regularly, and revise them as you move along.

Imagine yourself visiting a foreign city. What do you always have in your pocket, close at hand? You have a map so you don't get lost. These lists are your maps. Keep them handy and keep them up to date.

Next:

** Putting it All Together **

Putting it All Together: Your Career Chart

2009-02-01T23:38:00.000-08:00

First, let's look at what we've done
before moving on to Developing a Career Search Strategy!

When we looked at Career Planning Challenges and the tasks that lie ahead, I said that there were five challenges that you face. We're almost done with the first three:

Organization Getting organized with a career binder: creating a space for your ideas and inspirations, developing a success timeline, setting up a daily to-do list and calendar and creating a place to keep your contact notes and all of the applications and resumes you will send.

Awareness Becoming aware of who's hiring and how change happens and affects you, and learning how to research career options.

Focus Gathering information about yourself through self-assessment.

The last task for the Focus Challenge is pull together all of the information you've obtained from the self-assessments:

Career Personality Type
Motivated Skills Assessment
Work Values and Priorities
Key Knowledge Areas
Life Interests and Passions
Your Ideal Life/Work Environment
Your Goals and Priorities

Make sure you've done all of the Self-Assessment exercises before you move to the next step!

Now, let's put it all together!

To "put it all together," you are going to create a statement of purpose, using the information you gathered in the previous exercises. Here is the template for this task ...

Next:

Job Search Strategy

7.0 Introduction: Networking to Your Perfect Job

Your Career Binder: the ideas and inspiration section

2008-12-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

The Ideas and Inspirations section should include some blank paper so that when you have an idea, no matter how silly it may seem, you can jot it down. You will also want to insert articles you print from the web or clip from the newspapers, professional journals and magazines about people and companies doing interesting or innovative things, ideas that you may want to follow up on later.

Sometimes, the most ridiculous idea can turn out to be the perfect career.

I read an article about a service in San Francisco where a young man started a home vegetable gardening business for people who want to have a backyard vegetable garden but don't want to get their hands dirty. He does all of the dirty work, and his customers get all of the fresh produce.

I read an article about a guy who opened a golf driving range. I knew that he would be hiring instructors and groundskeepers.

I read an article about a car dealer that moved its operation to a new site, with twenty more service bays. I knew that they would be hiring more technicians and service mechanics.

I read an article about a marina that is dealing with abandoned boats, an article about a real estate agent who has houses for sale that no one is taking care of, and an article about people who have records needing to be shredded that they just can't get rid of.

Most of the ideas and inspirations that come to you will be of little or no value. But you never know when lightning will strke. Who would have thought that in the early months of 2009, opportunities would exist in the debt collection and debt consolidation industry?

Ideas and inspiration are like fish swimming by. If you fail to catch them when you see them they just disappear. Even if it seems like a long shot, write it down! ... or clip it out of the paper.

As a serious job seeker, you are going to gather a lot more information about job ideas and possibilities than you can efficiently keep in your ideas and inspirations section. For some of this information, you will need to clip or save pages from the web. Still, you need this section filled with blank paper so that you can jot things down when the ideas come to you, without stopping to open a file or bothering with a form or a template or a database.

           Getting Organized with Your Career Binder...absolutely essential!
Here: Your Career Binder: the ideas and inspiration section
Next: Staying Organized with a Success Timeline
            Staying Organized with a Daily To Do List and Calendar
            Your Career Binder: the job search contact notes section
            Your Career Binder: the job applications and resumes sent section

Staying Organized with a Success Timeline

2008-12-25T09:04:00.000-08:00

Getting organized requires that you create a Success Timeline, maintain a Calendar and keep a Daily To Do List.

These are your control devices. They allow you to organize your time so that you can get done what you need to do to achieve your goals. There are plenty of time robbers in everyone's life. Most people feel that someone else controls their time. Demanding professors, spouses, parents, friends, and children, to name a few, control your life. Many job seekers find that they fritter away their time and then wonder why they have not yet gotten a job.

The reality is that it takes between 3 and 6 months to get a job in just about any labor market- good or bad. If you are not doing the right things or if you are disorganized you will be sabotaging your efforts.

Your Success Timeline is the larger view of what you plan to accomplish and when. There are a lot of steps involved in finding a great job, and as you progress through the tasks and assignments in this book, your activity Timeline will develop and change. It will become more focused and detailed as you learn more about what you need to do.

Fasten your seat belt. There are a lot of things you will be doing as we progress!

Let's take a look at a sample Success Timeline. This template is a starting point for developing your own Success Timeline. Edit it as needed and then print it out. As your career search progresses, you will want to come back and modify your timeline so that you can keep focused on the big picture, beyond your daily to do list. It will be especially important to come back and edit your Success Timeline after you finish the Goal Setting section of the self-assessment process.

           Getting Organized with Your Career Binder...absolutely essential!
           Your Career Binder: the ideas and inspiration section
Here: Staying Organized with a Success Timeline
Next: Staying Organized with a Daily To Do List and Calendar
            Your Career Binder: the job search contact notes section
            Your Career Binder: the job applications and resumes sent section

Staying Organized with a Daily To Do List and Calendar

2008-12-25T06:20:00.000-08:00

Every day, you need to map out your next day's activities by creating a Daily To Do List. That way nothing gets lost in the cracks.

The four sections you need to fill in each day for your career search:

Tasks to be Done
Calls to be Made
Appointments to be made
Projects to work on

You can keep your To Do List updated online, but if you do, you need to print it out on a regular basis.   This is hands-on stuff, and you need to have it in hardcopy where you can touch it, feel it and take notes. The other reason you want to keep a printed copy in your Career Binder is so that you can see how you are progressing with your daily tasks. You also want to make sure you have a record of everything you've accomplished.

Here is a To Do List Template to use ... or create your own.

The Daily To Do List is meant to be immediate. It is meant to tell you exactly what you need to get done today. In reality ... you will also be using it to keep track of tasks that may take a few days or that may have a future deadline.  There are some tasks that you will want to schedule for upcoming days and that you will want to put on your Calendar. On Tuesday, you should be thinking ahead to what you will need to be doing on Thursday. Once you get in the habit of using a To Do List, it shouldn't take you long to figure out how to make it work for keeping track of immediate and long term tasks, and how to coordinate it with your calendar.

Your Calendar is separate from your To Do List and is essential for keeping track of your scheduled appointments.

You will be scheduling your time a couple of weeks in advance so that you can meet with the people you need to meet with to make things happen. You are going to be meeting busy people and you don't want to screw up by missing an appointment or scheduling two events at the same time.

You are becoming a busy person with a schedule that needs to be developed, maintained and adjusted on a constant basis. It is really easy to find a calendar template that you can print out. There's probably a calendar app on your computer already.

For the calendar, it's ok to go completely electronic or to buy an appointment book at the stationary store. However you do it, make sure it is handy and always with you and available. Don't do it on your phone unless you have a smart phone where you can see your whole day's schedule on the screen at one time (in other words, don't do it on the kind of ordinary cell phone that I use).

Whether you keep your Calendar in your Career Binder or you keep it separate, make sure that it's always with you.

So start planning and start looking at your Calendar and To Do Lists everyday ...

           Getting Organized with Your Career Binder...absolutely essential!
           Your Career Binder: the ideas and inspiration section
            Staying Organized with a Success Timeline
Here: Staying Organized with a Daily To Do List and Calendar
Next: Your Career Binder: the job search contact notes section
            Your Career Binder: the job applications and resumes sent section

Your Career Binder: the job search contact notes section

2008-12-25T02:50:00.000-08:00

This section is for maintaining information about all the valuable contacts you will make. For each contact, you want to keep a business card and a page of notes.

Keeping track of your contacts seems like something you really should be doing just on your computer, where the search function can readily be accessed. But the reality is that you are not going to have essential information available when you need it if you don't have it on paper and on your computer. You don't want to lose track. You also need to be able to organize the business cards people will be giving you.

For the cards in your Career Binder, you want to buy of set of business card sheet protectors from any stationary store. Just slip a few into your binder and as you receive cards from people, keep them here for easy access.

You also need a Contact Form for more detailed record keeping. You are going to learn a lot about your field of interest and you don't want to let anything that is important get away from you. Taking notes is essential to staying on top of things in your job search, and it is a task that won't wait until you are back at your desk or you open up your laptop. Remember, this is your job ... getting the right job.

Here is a Contact Form Template ... use it as is or as a starting point to develop your own. This one will give some ideas about the types of information you want to record for each person you meet or call.

          Getting Organized with Your Career Binder...absolutely essential!
            Your Career Binder: the ideas and inspiration section
            Staying Organized with a Success Timeline
            Staying Organized with a Daily To Do List and Calendar
Here: Your Career Binder: the job search contact notes section
Next: Your Career Binder: the job applications and resumes sent section

Your Career Binder: the job applications & resumes sent section

2008-12-25T02:40:00.000-08:00

This is where you will store the documents that you send to companies that you apply with: position descriptions, copies of completed applications, cover letters, resumes - anything you sent.

The best way to organize your documents is to use “a to z” index dividers so you can keep your materials in alphabetical order by the company name.

If the employer calls in response to your application, you want to make sure that you're on the same page. You need these materials in hardcopy because you will probably be sending slightly different versions of your documents for each job that you apply for. If an potential employer is asking you questions about your resume or application, you want to make certain you know what you said ... at the very least, you want to make certain that you know exactly what you put down on your resume for your "career objective."

And if the employer calls to screen you by phone, or if you need to prepare for an interview, you really want to be able to quickly find the job description. If an employer calls, nothing is less impressive than a candidate who cannot remember which job they applied for.

"Could you tell me which job we are talking about?" is a non-starter ...

          Getting Organized with Your Career Binder...absolutely essential!
            Your Career Binder: the ideas and inspiration section
            Staying Organized with a Success Timeline
            Staying Organized with a Daily To Do List and Calendar
            Your Career Binder: the job search contact notes section
Here: Your Career Binder: the job applications and resumes sent section

the Awareness Challenge

Awareness: you need to know who's hiring!

The Serious Job Seeker

Table of Contents

8.9 Successful Career and Job Option Research Experience

8.8 Get Moving - Job Search Quick Organization Plan

14.2 Leaving Gracefully: how to handle job termination and start setting a course for your future

Bob Shallit: Sacramento State adviser puts free job tips online

15.1 Quitting is an Option

15.0 Managing Your Career

14.1 Keep Calm and Carry On

14.0 The Value of Positive Thinking

13.6 The Facts

13.5 Evaluating an Offer

13.4 Making the Decision

13.3 Quantitative Analysis for Job Offers

13.2 Self Assessment for Offer Decisions

13.1 Assessing The Offers

13.0 Which Offer Should You Take?

7.1 Job Search Correspondence: The Essential Letters You Will Use to Get Hired

10.7 Costly Errors That Kill Job Offers

7.0 Putting it All Together: Your Career Chart

8.0 Introduction: Networking to Your Perfect Job

8.1 Researching Career and Job Options

8.2 What you will learn from an informational interview

8.3 How to find people to interview

8.4 How to arrange an Informational Interview

8.5 How to approach an informational interview ... questions to ask

8.7 The Biggest Mistakes Job Seekers Make - Fear of Applying

8.6 After the informational interview ... tasks and follow-up

9.1 Presenting Yourself with a Resume ... resumes explained

9.0 Portfolio Construction: a presentation tool for advanced serious job seeking

9.2 Resume Samples

10.0 Preparing for Interviews

10.1 What to do before you start Interviewing

10.2 Typical Questions Asked During Interviews

10.3 Quick Guide to Phases of A Successful Job Interview

10.4 Asking the Interviewer Questions Gets the Job!

10.5 Phone Interviews Done Right!

10.6 Interview and Dining Etiquette: You are being judged

11.0 Salary Negotiations: Getting Paid What You Are Worth

11.1 Is That Salary Negotiable?

11.2 Sources for Researching What you are Worth

11.3 What You Bring to the Table Determines What An Employer will Pay You

11.4 Computing Your Worth

11.5 Why is What You are Paid so Important?

11.6 Survival Job

11.7 Individuals and Society Suffer When People are Underpaid

12.0 What is a Good Reference and What Should You Give Your References?

12.1 Sample of What to Give to Your Reference

Job Search Correspondence: The Essential Letters You Will Use to Get Hired

Job Search Correspondence and Letters: tools you need from the start to the end!

1.0 Start here! Read this first!

1.1 Are you a serious job seeker? Take the Serious Job Seeker IQ Test!

1.2 Job Seeking and Career Planning is a Journey. This is the path you will follow

1.3 The Big Picture

1.4 Career Planning Challenges: the tasks that lie ahead ...

2.0 Getting Organized with Your Career Binder ... absolutely essential!

3.0 Awareness: you need to know who's hiring!

3.1 Awareness: change happens!

3.2 Awareness: do this exercise!

4.0 Researching Your Career Options: Introduction

4.1 Researching Your Career Options using Published Information on the Web

4.2 Research Strategy: Tasks and Summary

5.0 Self-Assessment: Don't leave home without it!

5.1 Self-Assessment: What is your career personality type?

5.2 Self-Assessment: Skills Assessment Introduction

5.3 Self-Assessment: Skill Assessment Exercises ... 3 tasks to complete

6.0 More Self Assessment: Getting What You Want Out of Life!

6.1 Identifying Your Work Values and Your Work Priorities

6.2 Inventorying and Identifying Your Key Knowledge Areas

6.3 Finding Life Interests and Pursuing Your Passion

6.4 Identifying Your Ideal Life/Work Environment

6.5 Setting your Goals and Priorities

Putting it All Together: Your Career Chart

Your Career Binder: the ideas and inspiration section

Staying Organized with a Success Timeline

Staying Organized with a Daily To Do List and Calendar

Your Career Binder: the job search contact notes section

Your Career Binder: the job applications & resumes sent section