Bourbonnaispresentation

Career Search EssentialsThursday, June 26, 2008

by Jenna Venker Weidenbenner, MLIS, MATThe Career Center | 715 S. Wright St 217-333-0395 work | 217-778-4963 cell

[email protected] http://creativecultivator.vox.com http://gemini-monkeybusiness.com http://inkylibrarian.livejournal.com http://www.millennialelements.com/transitions

Windows Live ID: [email protected] Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/profile.php?id=1955940

http://twitter.com/creativej

Career Development & Self-Assessment: Career Assessment FundamentalsHolland’s Codes (correspond to results from Strong Interest Inventory; offer descriptions of personality characteristics, codes map to possible jobs/occupations in The Dictionary of Occupational Titles)Realistic Investigative Artistic Social Enterprising Conventionalhttp://www.roguecc.edu/Counseling/HollandCodes/test.asp (Holland Code Quiz online – Rogue Community College)

Career Assessments on the InternetCareer Information Systems http://www.careercenter.uiuc.edu/rc/databases/cis.asp (take values/skills/interest assessments plus get info on wages, education requirements and job duties for nearly 500 occupations; also, get help with resumes and find potential employers

Keirsey Temperament Web Site http://keirsey.com/ (gives Myers-Briggs results, focuses on work environment; for more about Myers-Briggs, see: http://www.myersbriggs.org/my%2Dmbti%2Dpersonality%2Dtype/mbti%2Dbasics/)

Career Mapp Assessment http://www.assessment.com/ (identifies interests and talents related to occupations, provides report with suggestions for resume statements, generates top occupation matches and links to O*Net)

How do you research How do you research career opportunities?career opportunities?

Bigger picture

Build competencies

Responsible, targeted approach

Respect good communication skills

When do you research When do you research career opportunities? career opportunities?

Exploring career paths

Building career networks

Finding internships

Writing cover letters

Locating job openings

Preparing for interviews

Researching Career Opportunities:

Researching Corporations and Non-Profits

Careers & Companies

•Hoover’s•http://hoovers.com/free/ -- get background information on companies, incl. industry overviews, competitors . . .

•Reuters•http://www.reuters.com/ -- latest world/business news, set news feeds for up-to-date info

•Job Searching – boards, associations, ethnic or industry-specific

Researching Corporations and Non-Profits

Non-Profit Organizations

● Guidestar http://www.GuideStar.org – organization dossiers

● Idealist http://www.idealist.org – organization dossiers,

search for jobs, search by area of focus

● Better Business Bureau’s Philanthropic Advisory Service

http://www.give.org/reports/index.asp - fund raising reports, organizational dossiers

Basic Information● address and contact information● locations, branches, divisions● nature of the business● products, services, etc.● names of corporate officers● staff size● stock exchange symbol● financial information: sales, profit ability, efficiency● competitive strength- rank of company in industry● officer bios● company history● new developments: products, mergers

Additional Information

• names of company employees• names of notable figures• Important events• mindful of patterns• transparency – read blogs for insight into corporate values and culture

Tutorials on Conducting Company Research

OhioLINK: http://iws.ohiolink.edu/companies/

Industry Research Desk: http://www.virtualpet.com/industry/howto/ search.htm

Transparency(know what businesses do)

•Everything is a business, even non-profits

•Find more resources for job leads, there’s so much more than monster

•You should want to contribute to the company for which you work

Transparencybusinesses for social responsibility

www.bsr.orgwww.ceres.orgwww.business-ethics.comwww.csrwire.comwww.globalreporting.orgwww.conference-board.orgwww.socialinvest.org

Online Job Search

Social Media & Online Resources: Choose the Right Tools

Digital Persona: First Impressions Last Forever

Electronic Correspondence: You Are What you Email

Searching for Positions The Lazy Way: job boards, company websites,

professional associations

Pros = doesn’t take too much time to post a resume, easy to find, company websites have good info, professional associations are good for networking

Cons = more job hunters using boards than employers, boards not always updated often, not active and personal

Searching for Positions – cont’d

The Great Way: organizational listservs, online journals, company blogs, company podcasts, yahoo/google groups

Pros = network through listservs and groups, new ideas from journals and podcasts, get foot in door through posts to blogs and groups

Cons = takes more time, can damage credibility if posts aren’t professional

Searching for Positions – cont’d

The Creative Way: professional digital portfolios, online social/professional networking, professional personal blogs, wikis, RSS readers

Pros = demonstrate your skills, make contacts, stay up-to-date professionally, show tech savvy

Cons = TMI (remove or limit personal info, photos, anything that can be used to discriminate)

Make Contact!

Remember: People still like personal contact – many workers

age 30+ prefer phone calls to electronic connections.

How do you want the world to see you?

Can you live with what you’re

putting online?

Online Tools

Social Networking Sites Blogs YouTube Virtual Worlds/MMOGs Chat Rooms Dating Sites Picture Sharing More …

Examples of Social Sites

Bebo.com Blogger.com Classmates.com Dodgeball Friendster.com MySpace.com Orkut.com Famster.com Univillage.com

Facebook.com Flickr.com LinkedIn.com Match.com Ryze.com SixDegrees.com Yahoo360.com Xanga.com YouTube.com

Example Sites Continued

BakeSpace.com Amiglia.com Singshot.com Netfriendships.com Minglenow.com True.com Hobnobster.com Hi5.com

Toolstolife.com Speecho.com BizFriends.com Friendshere.com Catchannel.com Yelp.com Thisnext.com Vox.com

Privacy/Security Concerns

TMI – too much information (e.g., personal details)

Potential for harm (e.g., stalking, identity theft) Conflicting identities in different media Discrimination (on basis of photo, age, gender,

race, religion, politics, sexual orientation, etc.)

Be Cautious

“You have no control over what other people write about you and what people choose to say.”

Larry Rose – Me, MySpace, and I: Parenting the Next Generation

“… and what people do with your content.” – Vic Massaglia, Careers 2008

An ounce of prevention . . .

Be aware of your online persona and what you share with others– Google yourself – what comes up?– Google alerts– Search blogs for yourself

Technorati Ice Rocket Google Blog Search Zuula

… is worth 2 pounds of cure!

Think about your purpose before participating (Remember: nothing is private!)

Privacy controls/policies You’re chosen by the company you keep Think before you post

(Employer/Grandparent/Headline tests)– Professional– Private– Public

What will everyone see?

Dealing with Digital Dirt

Go directly to the source and negotiate Digital Millennium Copyright Act/rights General Persona

(ReputationDefender.com) Identity Theft (TrustedId.com;

MyPublicInfo.com; StolenIdsearch.com; IdentitySweep.com)

Credit Check (Annualcreditreport.com)

Seed Google with Good Stuff

Social Networks & Creative Uses

Twitter/Message Dance -- resume Facebook job applications – Jobster, etc. LibraryThing Facebook Applications

(http://apps.facebook.com/tccriasec/)

Social Media: The Tools

General interest job boards Company websites Professional organizations Google/yahoo groups Company podcasts Company blogs Organizational listservs Online journals Personal digital portfolio Personal blog Social networking

sites=Facebook, Friendster, MySpace, Beebo, Plaxo

Professional networking sites = LinkedIn, Orkut, Hi5, Ryze

RSS readers Wikis “Narcisurfing” =

www.preople.com, www.ziggs.com, www.zoominfo.com

www.google.com/remove. html

“Digital dirt/tattoo” = www.technorati.com

ReputationDefender.com Identity Theft = TrustedId.com,

MyPublicInfo.com, StolenIdSearch.com

What Are You Saying?

Electronic Resumes/Cover Letters Digital Portfolios Professional Blogs Emails Telephone Interviews

Resumes & Cover Letters Through a website – plain text resume, cover letter if

possible; always follow directions Email – attachment of cover letter and resume with

professional filenames (lastnamefirstname.doc), compatible software, short email with contact info

Scannable resume – remove all formatting, can exceed 1 page, use keywords and nouns

Remember: Get your resume reviewed before submitting – even a friend’s objective eyes will be better than missing a typo!

Online samples/templates: http://resumizer.com/ (very simple)http://www.collegegrad.com/resumes/quickstart.shtml

Digital Portfolios

Professional but basic – not flashy Links to previous employers, work samples Don’t reveal too much info – age, gender, marital

status, religion, political beliefs, anything controversial or personal (also a consideration for social networking sites)

Skip the personal photo (invites discrimination)

Professional Blogs

Be creative and professional Write on an area of knowledge/expertise, incl.

hobbies/interests (if done in professional manner) Demonstrate interests and skills, showcase

abilities in area seeking job Network with other bloggers

Emails

Professional email address – not [email protected]

Be polite, concise When sending attachments, ask permission first;

give description, use subject line, run antivirus Always include your contact information in body

of email – give employer means to contact you Email gets lost in cyberspace – don’t always

count on it Email can get spoofed; beware

Telephone Contacts

When You Make the Call

• Ask if it’s convenient• Use landline, if possible• Speak clearly• Minimize background noise,

distractions• Keep a “smile” in your voice• Keep conversation brief and

focused, don’t ramble• Leave succinct messages with

contact info• Be polite, say thank you at

end

When They Call You

Try to schedule time Be prepared with paper, pen,

water Get names, contact info Be in quiet space, no

interruptions Use landline, if possible Remain standing to stay

focused, energetic Have questions ready Be polite, say thank you at

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