Career Planning andJob SeekingJanne Loikkanen
Planning Officer
Content of the presentation
What is career planning?Skills needed in working life
How to look for work?Application documents and interviews
CAREER PLANNING
Who am I?What do I want to do?
Why?
JOB HUNTING
MAKING DECISIONS ANDPLANNING ACTIONS
(Sampson et al., 2004)
SELF KNOWLEDGE OCCUPATIONALKNOWLEDGE
Documents, interviewskills, finding jobs,contacting employers
Setting and specifying goals,building a concrete plan
Options, requirements,trends, employment
Skills, values, interests,goals, wishes
Sampson’s Career Triangle
Have clear goals andknow your strengths
GOALSo What do you want from a job? What have you been particularly
interested in at earlier jobs?o How convincing are your education, work experience, personal
skills etc. in relation to what you are seeking? Your first job(s) willnot necessarily match your ambitions, before being considered formore demanding jobs.
o How do your plans for the near term differ from your long termambitions?
STRENGTHSo Recognizing your own skills correctly helps you find the jobs that
suit you best, and increases the probability of getting hired.o It is important to remember to consider all aspects of your life,
competences and experiences.
SKILLS, TRAITSAND VALUES
“Hard skills”“Soft”, transferable skillsPersonal traits and values
Classification
HARDo Subject–specific and teachable abilities that can
be defined and measuredo Specific hard skills are essential for getting a specific
job done (e.g. accounting for accountants)SOFTo Contrary to hard skills, soft skills are usually less
tangible and harder to quantifyo Can be developed in any kind of a job, during
studies and by extracurricular activitieso Customer service skills for example
”Hard” and ”Soft” Skills
Hard and soft skills are often referred to whenapplying for a job.
For most jobs, while the hard skills are essentialto getting the interview, it's the soft skills that willeventually play a big part on who will be chosen.
o Working with others/team workingo Communication/presentation skills, both written and oralo Project and time management skillso Problem solvingo Research management -- research leadershipo Creativity and ability for abstract thoughto Knowledge of research methods and technologieso Teaching skillso Research ethicso Enterprise skills (entrepreneurship, commercialisation,
innovation, patenting and knowledge transfer)o Use of science in policy-making
Examples of Transferable Skills
Personal Traits and Values
Personality, attitude and motivationo What kind of jobs suit…
omy personality?omy lifestyle?omy believes and values?
o What do I want to do right now? Why would I want todo that?
o What are the things that drive me in a job?
Personality: Four DifferentStereotypes of Behavior
Subject-centered
Human-centered
Pro-active Re-activeDominance StabilityComplianceInfluence
Dr. Marston, William Moulton, 1928 / SLG THOMAS
PROPERTY& MONEY
WORK
PRESTIGE
PLEASURE
FREE-TIMEGOALS INLIFE
ETHICS &RELIGION
FAMILY &FRIENDS
ME,MYSELFAND I
HEALTH
The Effect of Principles and Values
SOMETHING ELSE?
Life management Communicationalskills
Leading people andtasks
Innovation skills
Learning skills Interaction skills Coordinating skills Creative skills
Scheduling skills Skill to listen Decision making skills Ability to face changes
Personal strengths Oral communicationskills
Management skills Ability to face risks
Analytical- andproblem solving skills
Written communicationskills
Skills to controlconflicts
Envision skills
Planning andorganizational skills
General Working Life Skills
JOB SEARCHING
About ways to look for a job
Possible, but usuallyineffective:o Mailing out CV:s randomlyo Answering to published job
adso Surfing around without any
ideao Relying on private
employment agencies
Efficient job seeking:o Networkingo Getting contacts through a
good internship placeo Finding ”hidden jobs”o Targeting the right
employers and convincingthemo What are the skills you most
enjoy using?o Where do you want to use
those skills?o Why should they consider you?
Why don’t people and jobs alwaysfind each other?
Kuva: iwantmycareer.com
Kuva: fabrizioguarnieri.wordpress.com
• An employer needs someone, but doesnot publish the need
• No special need at the moment, but aninteresting person is always worthnoticing
Hidden jobs
Kuva: linkedin.com
Where can you look for hidden jobs?• Recruiting needs and job changes
• Taloussanomat• Kasvu open.fi• Kauppalehti• Company sites and blogs
• Networks• Friends and acquintances + friends’
friends• Summer jobs• Internship employers• Study companions• Fairs and events
• Advertisements, discussionsand contacts in social media• Linkedin: jobs, companies, groups• Twitter: #rekry #työpaikat #jobs
It’s a job to get a jobRecruiting is not based on science; writingapplications is not science!o commonsensical work, but you have to know what you are doingo you often don’t know what kind of a person will be reading your
application documents OR what exactly are they looking for OR whoelse is applying – there can be no strict rules– concentrate on what you CAN do
Job hunting is competitiono if you are not able to express your strengths for the job, there’s no
other person who will do it for you– don’t think that the recruiter can read ”between the lines”
EXERCISECV, Cover Letter, Interview
- what is important?
CV
Application documents: CV
A good CV:o is accurate and up-to-date, max 2 pageso is short but informative; easy to browse through
o contains essential information relative to the applied jobo gives reasons to what skills and information a person has
and why would they be valuable for the applied jobo is targeted for one exact job in one organisation
Do your research!
Application documents: CV
A Finnish CV normally includeso personal information (picture?)o education – reverse chronologyo work experience – describe your tasks in a
suitable mannero positions of trust or voluntary work (if
applicable)o language & IT skillso activities, hobbies, interestso references
VISUALISATIONInternet is full of examples. Good
and very bad.Whatever you do, do it well.
Picture: Pinterest
COVER LETTER
Application documents: cover letterGood cover letter (= motivation letter):• gives an answer to questions: ”Why should we take you?” and ”Why do
you want to work for us?” = motivation!• expands the relevant experience mentioned in CV• has concrete examples supporting statements• is short (one page) and precise• possibly visual, at least clear• has a personal touch• is spelled correctly
address
headline title
strengths, with examples
the WHY?
you as an employeesignature
Use stories and examples!
Application documents: cover letter
Picture: Eric Carver, University of Helsinki
Concentrate on your skills, knowledge and motivation
INTERVIEW
The InterviewIn an interview:o be prepared! (know about the company/organisation, read the job ad
one more time, think of the usual questions beforehand…)o remember: if you get to an interview you have at least somewhat
raised interest – the employer is looking for someone to fill a jobo you should be nervous – doesn’t matter, be yourselfo you have to show your interest = motivation again!o be honest, although you can tell about things in different ways
The topics (in general):o task-related things – the core; skills and competenceso official knowledge – education and work experience (examples!)o person-related things – motivation, suitability to work community
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Interview is negotiation: you can get back to an issue
General, commonsensical rules:o prepare for the usual questionso be on timeo dress according to the positiono nervousness is ok – it shows that you are seriouso do not interrupt or judge anything or anybodyo be honest, don’t pretend to understand the questiono no lecturing – give precise but informative answerso be active and if possible, ask questionso positive ”self-talk”; be nice and honest to yourselfo to conclude: express your motivationo remember to thank the interviewer
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The Interview
What do employers want?o 78% of employers will consider any major. Only 19% of employers
look for specific majors and do not consider candidates withoutthem
o Work experience (particularly internships and other work duringschool) is more important to employers than academic credentials,including GPA, and majoring
o An internship is the single most important credential for recentgraduates to have on their resume
o Most interviewers value extracurricular activities, like professionalclubs, athletics and service, more than GPA
o Employers want students to improve their knowledge of theorganization and industry to which they are applying, and shoulddo better in interviews
Study: “The Role of Higher Education in Career Development: Employer Perceptions”
“Prediction is very difficult, especiallyabout the future.”
Niels Bohr
Future Job titles according to”The Futurist” (January/February 2011)
o Amnesia surgeono Astro-farmero Avatar relationship managero Brain signal decodero Clone ranchero Digital archeologisto Digital identity plannero Energy harvestero Future-guideo Green career coach
o Online Community Organizero Personal brand managero Post-normal jobs counseloro Smart road
designer/engineero Space junk recyclero Unmanned cargo vehicle
operatoro Wiki writer
Career Services
Publish job and internship advertisementso intranet.utu.fi/index/vacancies/Pages/default.aspx
Give counselling and guidanceo CV-clinicso Interview practiceo Personal career planning talkso Coming up: Working in Finland seminar 13.2.
utu.fi/rekry
Tune your application documents
CV Clinics, twice a monthDates, times and places:utu.fi/rekry