profile of
companies and open positions. Well, open as of 16 June. But,
interestingly, this directory is not easily found.
Speciality Job
Fairs is doing it differently. They're actually trying to build a
virtual fair. For $50 a year, a corporation can build an internet
booth--a page that briefly explains the company and what it's looking
for. Of course, right now, there are no recruiters. Perhaps they're
all too busy posting on the sites that are listed in the major job
hunting resources on the net.
So what's with this virtual stuff?
Part of the problem may be that jobs are not virtual, they are real.
So, too, are the people who hire and the people who fill positions.
Even the people who post the vacancies or participate in the 106 news
groups on job searching are real.
There is a site with a difference though. Through the auspices of the
Department of Labor, The Virtual
Job Center for transitioning aerospace workers, impacted by
downsizing, acts as a resource center attempting to prepare people for
21st century occupations. It has a learning center, a help desk,
typical job hunt skills articles, and links to employment sources.
There are even regular online meetings.
This is virtual job hunting. Virtual job fairs aren't really
necessary. Each major city has its plethora of job and career fairs
advertised in each Sunday's paper. Finding real job openings isn't hard
either. Plenty of places recruit online. What
might be helpful is to find more sites like the one created by the
Department of Labor, where hunters learn new skills and communicate with
one another.
Jobs and Liberal Arts Majors
August 20, 1997
You followed everyone's advice and majored in liberal arts. Now, how
do you find a job?
Rice
University lists job fields to look at, provides salary information,
and suggests several steps necessary for a successful liberal arts job
search.
First, identify your job goal. What are you interested in? What kind
of work do you want to do? If you're undecided, try an internship. Or,
take a career inventory tests like the Strong
Interest Inventory or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
Most colleges have career planning centers that offer the tests at no or
minimal cost to registered students. Career counselors can also help
you find appropriate tests to help define your interests.
Once you know what you'd like to do, figure out where you want to do
it. Look for companies in that area which might be likely prospects.
Ask friends and families for leads. Go to the library and look at
different organizational directories. Find several companies that
appeal to you.
Next, do some research. Find out about the organization. Look at
Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies or Dun's
Directory of Service Companies. Read local papers.
Create a functional
resume that highlights your skills, aptitudes, and accomplishments.
Focus on what you can do for your prospective employers.
Contact your targeted organizations. Arrange for an informational
interview.
Most companies look for basic skills,
higher-order thinking skills, and affective skills and traits. Make
sure you know what yours are. Then, make sure you let your prospects
know, too.
Career Marketing
August 19, 1997
Career
Marketing-Résumé Services is "a comprehensive,
professional résumé preparation service."
Despite the site appearing to have as its main raison d'être
the promotion of the afore-mentioned services, it does, in fact contain a
wealth of information about résumé writing and general job
search tips.
The Newsletter section, in particular, contains a number of useful
articles, ranging from "How to work with personnel search firms", "Six
steps to getting a new job. A guide to planning and conducting a job search
campaign", and "How to know when things just aren't right at work" to "When
should you provide employers with salary information?" and "Why
résumés are so important today".
Of particular interest is the special article "How to write a
résumé", which contains "complete instructions on writing,
editing and refining a résumé."
It's all pretty sensible and straightforward stuff written in a no-nonsense
style.
And should you decide to forego the pleasures of developing your own
resume, Career Marketing charges between $69 and $189 to do the job
for you.
Go Nike Yourself
August 18, 1997
We are surrounded by brands these days, from the Nikes on your feet
to the Stetson on your head.
Branding works. Large companies know it, and do everything to convince you
that their brand will enhance your life in some intangible way much better
than the other guy's.
Tom Peters is the world's leading brand when it comes to writing,
speaking, or thinking about the new economy.
In the current issue of Fast
Company, Peters discusses the notion
of developing your own brand consciousness about yourself when venturing
into the world of work.
It's a simple concept. Brands function by stressing their superior
difference over their competition to their target market.
Which is precisely the concept you need to adopt when marketing and selling
yourself to potential employers.
The article is in six parts:
- It's a new brand world.
- What makes You different?
- What's the Pitch for You?
- What's the real power of You?
- What's loyalty to You?
- What's the future of You?
Each part walks you through the steps a Corporate Branding Executive takes
when establishing and promoting a brand.
Except, in this case, the brand is YOU.
Check this article out. It may well make you see yourself and your job
search differently.
Job Newsletter Auto Delivery
August 04, 1997
We're trying an experiment. If you use Netscape 4.0 and have a copy of Netcaster, you can receive the Newsletter daily by clicking the following button. Try it and let us know how it works. We'll be watching. If you already have Netscape 4.0, you can download Netcaster here
