Researching Jobs Module Twenty Six Copyright © 2014 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Researching Researching JobsJobs

Module Module Twenty SixTwenty Six

Copyright © 2014 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Learning Objectives

LO 26-1 Know yourself for successful job hunts.

LO 26-2 Know companies for successful job hunts.

LO 26-3 Recognize signs for staying with or leaving a job.

26-2

Learning Objectives

LO 26-4 Apply strategies for informationinterviews.

LO 26-5 Apply strategies for tapping into the hidden job market.

LO 26-6 Assess weaknesses for stronger job application appeals.

26-3

What do I need to know about myself to job hunt?

What achievements have given you the most satisfaction?

Would you rather have firm deadlines or a flexible schedule?

Are you willing to take work home? To travel? How important is money to you?

26-4

What do I need to know about myself to job hunt?

Where do you want to live? Is it important to you that your work

achieve certain purposes or values, or do you see work as “just a way to make a living”?

Are the organization’s culture and ethical standards important to you?

26-5

What do I need to know about companies that might hire me?

What the job itself involves. The name and address of the person who

should receive the letter. What the organization does

and at least four or five facts about it.

26-6

Print Sources for Addresses and Facts about Companies

26-7

Examples of Trade Journals

26-8

Comprehensive Web Job Sites Covering the Entire Job Search Process

26-9

Choosing Whether to Stay or Go

Are the following statements true or false for you?

1.Your boss likes you and advocates for you in the organization.

2.Your boss is doing well.3.You’ve been promoted in the last two years.4.The company is doing well and can grow further.

26-10

Choosing Whether to Stay or Go

Do you love the work? Do you have a great mentor? Do you have opportunities to learn a lot

fast? Does the job encourage rapid change? Is the company an employer of choice or a

fun place to work?

26-11

Choosing Whether to Stay or Go

Telltale signs it’s time to leaveYou have a lot on your mind, just not work.Things change, not to your advantage.Your boss takes you for granted.You pigeonhole yourself.Your mood ranges from angry to angrier.You feel awful.

26-12

Should I do information interviews?

Information interview you talk to someone

who works in the area you hope to enter to find out what the day-to-day work involves

how you can best prepare to enter that field.

26-13

Should I do information interviews?

Let you know whether or not you’d like the job.

Give you specific information. Create a good image of you.

26-14

Should I do information interviews?

Ask the following questions What are you working on right now? How do you spend your typical day? Have your duties changed a lot since you

started working here? What do you like best about your job? Least?

26-15

What is the “hidden job market”? How do I tap into it?

Over 60% of all new jobs come not from responding to an ad but from networking with personal contacts – the hidden job market

Referral interviews, an organized method of networking, offer the most systematic way to tap into these jobs.

26-16

What is the “hidden job market”? How do I tap into it?

Start by scheduling interviews with people you know who may know something about that field—professors, co-workers, neighbors, friends.

Even when you talk to the person who could create a job for you, you do not ask for a job.

26-17

What do I do if I’ve got a major weakness?

“All of my experience is in my family’s business.”

“I’ve been out of the job market for a while.” “I want to change job fields.” “I was fired.” “I don’t have any experience.” “I’m a lot older than they want.”

26-18

“I’ve Been Out of the Job Market for a While”

Understand how work in your field may have changed.

Be active in professional organizations. Learn the computer programs that professionals in

your field use. Show how your at-home experience relates to the

workplace. Create a portfolio of your work

26-19

“I Don’t Have Any Experience”

Take a fast-food job—and keep it.

Join a volunteer organization that interests you.

Freelance Write

26-20

“I’m a Lot Older than They Want”

Keep up-to-date Learn the computer programs your field

uses Work with younger people Use positive emphasis Show energy and enthusiasm

26-21