Conducting a Winning

Job Campaign
Chapter 10
The Job Search

You can begin the job search long before you are ready to find
employment.
You can start it now by building a network of contacts.
Build network through people you socialize with.
Knowing you professors and making sure they know you can also lead to
employment contacts.
Meeting business professionals can also lead to employment contacts. You
can build this network through various ways.
Obtaining and Internship

Internships are a wonderful way to network with people in your field, gain
professional knowledge and experience, or simply learn whether your
current field is where you want to build a career.
Paid vs. unpaid internship.
The first step towards finding internship.
Identifying Appropriate Job

To find right job, investigate both internal and external factors.

Analyze yourself: look at yourself as you would look at a product on sale. A
job gives equal benefits to both you and your employer. Thus, think about
the personal qualities that enable you to be an accountable and
productive worker that an employer needs.
Education

Perhaps you have already selected your career area. If so, then your task is
simplified. You curriculum has prepared you for your goal.
Think about the electives you have taken and the knowledge they have
provided you.
if you have persuaded something more general, look at your studies closely
to see what they have prepared you to do.
Look at the quality of your record- grades, project honors, special
recognitions. If record is good, you can emphasize on it.
What if they are not?
Personal qualities

Your self-analysis should cover your personal qualities.

Employers of use personality tests such a the Myers-Briggs to screen new
hires.
Qualities that relate to working with people, indicate leadership or
teamwork ability are also important.
You probably know best about your personal qualities but its a good idea
to assess your assessment.
Work Experience

Work experience of major field deserves most emphasis.

Work experience not related to the job you seek also can tell something
important about you.
Work experience tells employer about your attention to detail, initiative,
team skills, communication skills, and the ability to work well under pressure.
Special interest

Yu might include personal interests that may be relevant to types of

positions your are seeking.
Example- athletic experience, hobby of automobile mechanics, interest in
music.
You might also take interest inventory tests.
Analyzing Outside Factors

After you have analyzed yourself, you need to combine this information
with the work needs of business and other external influences.
Finding your Employer

Career centers- suitable for internship or beginning your career.

Network of personal contacts- personal contacts are the leading means of finding
employees. It can also help you later in your career when you decide to change your job.
Classified advertisements- help-wanted ads in newspapers and professional journals,
whether online or in print, provide good sources of employment opportunities.
Online sources- on-line database line bdjobs.com
Employment agencies- companies that specialize in finding jobs for employees can be
useful.
Personal search agents- you can request that job notices be sent to your automatically by
websites.
Webpage profiles- you may consider posting your resume to the Web or suing a social
media site such as LinkedIn.
Prospecting- some job seekers approach prospective employers directly, by either
personal visit, mail or email.
Preparing the Application Document

How you pursue the employment opportunities that your research yields
depends on your circumstances.
You can apply in person, online or by mail, email or fax.
Analyze yourself and then collect as much information as you can about
the company.
Now, you can plan the application.
Decide what you are going to include?
Cover page, resume, reference sheet.
Constructing Your Resume

Analyze your goals, purpose, and audience

Consider your channel of communication
Whether your audience will read your resume as a printed document or an
electronic document.
You will need to be familiar with the special requirements of each type.
Resume Content

Your resume should include all the information that your cover letter reviews
plus supported and incidental details
It should also be tailored to position for which you are applying.
The following process generally represents how most resumes are written:
Logically arrange information education; information on employment,
personal details; and skills or specialized knowledge.
Place your name and contact information at the top of the resume and
create subheadings for the main parts.
Arrange the data for best visual appeal, making the resume look
balanced- without too much white space or too much text.
Selecting the Background Facts

Your first step in preparing the resume is to review the facts you have
assembled about yourself and then select the ones you think will help your
reader evaluate you.
You should include the information included in the cover message.
You should include significant supporting details not covered in the
accompanying cover message.
Arranging the Facts into Groups

After selecting the facts you want to include, you should sort them into
logical groups.
The most conventional is the three-part grouping of Education, Experience,
and Skills or Interests.
Another possibility is a grouping by job functions or skills, such as Selling,
Communicating, and Managing.
Constructing the Headings

With your information organized, a logical next step is to construct the

heading for the resume.
Name could be your main heading.
It should be presented in type that is larger and bolder than that in the rest
of the document so that your name stands out.
The next level headings might be Objective, Education, Experience, and
Skills.
Including Contact Information

Your address, telephone number, and email address are the most likely
means of contacting you.
Display them prominently.
You may also display your website address, or addresses for social
networking sites.
The most common location for displaying contact information is at the top,
under your name.
Including a Statement of Objectives

A statement of your objective is appropriate in the resume.

Comes under headings such as career Objective, Job Objective, or just
Objective.
Argument for- helps the recruiter see quickly where the applicant might fit
into the company.
Example: To obtain a marketing research internship in the arts and
entertainment industry.
Tailor it to the organization you are applying.
Presenting the Information

Work Experience
The description of your work experience should contain our job title, company name,
location, and dates of employment.
You should also include job duties.
Example:
Marketing and Public relations Intern
Alliant Health Plans, Incorporated, Boston, MA
Jan. 2013-May, 2013
Created a webpage, brochure, and press release for a community wellness program.
Interviewed and wrote about physicians, customers, and community leaders for newsletter
articles.
Worked with a team of interns in other departments to analyze and update the
companys website
Education

As education is your strongest selling point for your first job after college,
you will probably cover it in details.
Your coverage of education should include at minimum, institutions, dates,
degrees, and areas of study.
If you are applying for an internship, you may want to list your course work
as a n indication of your current level of academic preparation as it relates
to the requirements of the position.
If your GPA is good, you may want to include it.
Personal Information

What personal information to add, depends on your judgment.

The trend appears to be eliminating such information.
If you do want to include, you should omit race, religion, gender, age, and
marital status (in some countries law prohibits hiring based on these).
However, you can still include them as the law doesnt prohibit inclusion of
such information.
Personal information that is generally appropriate includes all items that tell
about your personal assets such as organizational memberships, civic
involvement, and social activities.
Reference

Even though employers check your social media sites, they also likely to
check specific references that you provide.
Some prefer not including references on or with resume unless the job
posting asks you to.
Primary reasons for not including references are-
References added to a resume take up space that your could use to sell
your skills
References included on a separate sheet, while not harmful, are not likely
necessary if the employer has not asked for them.
How many and what kinds of references to include will depend on your
background.
Organizing for Strength

After you have identified the information your want to include on your resume,
you will want to organize or group items to present yourself in the best possible
light.
Three strategies for organize or group items are the Reverse chronological
approach, the Functional or skills approach, and the
Accomplishment/Achievements or Highlights approach.
Reverse chronological organizational layout.
Functional skill layout- organizes the resumes contents round three to five areas
particularly important to the job you want. This layout groups related skills.
An accomplishment layout- foregrounds the most impressive factors about you.
It features a Highlights or Summary section that includes key points from the
three conventional information groups.
Experienced, highly trained, self-motivated
Writing Impersonally and Consistently

Because the resume is a listing of information, you should write without

personal pronouns
You should also write all equal-level headings and the parts under each
heading in the same parallel grammatical form.
For example- if one major heading in the resume is a noun phrase, all the
other major headings should be noun phrases.
Topics for Self-read

Printed (Hardcopy) Resumes

Electronic Resumes
Creating an unformatted resume
Sending you resume via email
Submitting a database or online job application
Using a webpage or social networking site
Scannable Resume
Include keywords
Choose words carefully
Present the information.
Writing the Cover Message

Cover letters coming two types: solicited and unsolicited

Generally a cover letter is organized according to the following plan:
An introduction that gets the readers attention and provides just a brief
summary of why are interested or qualified or previews the information in
the body. If you are writing a solicited letter, you will also mention where
you learned of the position.
A body that matches your qualifications to the readers needs. Yu should
also use good sales strategy, especially the you-viewpoint and positive
language.
A conclusion that requests action such as an interview and provides
contact information that makes a response easy.
Gaining Attention in the Opening

Opening of the cover message has two requirements:

I must gain attention.
It must set up the information that follows.
Gaining attention in the beginning is specially important for prospecting messages.
As the cover message is a creative effort, you should use your imagination in writing the
opening, but the work you seek and your audience should guide your imagination.
In choosing the opening for your case, you should consider whether you are writing a
prospecting or an invited message.
You gain attention in the opening of an unsolicited letter in many ways.
For example, understanding of the readers operation or job to be done, knowledge
about the organization, focus on the need of the reader, company employee
Selecting Content

Following the opening, you should present the information about your
qualifications for the work. Begin this task by reviewing the job
requirements. Then select facts about you that qualify you for the job.
You are likely to present facts from three background areas: education,
experience, and skills and/or personal details.
How much you include from each area depends on the job and on your
background.
For example, new college graduate will have strong educational
requirement.
Message should contain the major points around which your build your
case.
Resume should include these points plus supporting details.
Organizing Persuasion

In general, the plan you select is likely to follow one of the three general orders.
The most common order is logical grouping of the information, such as
education, experience, and skills and or personal details.
A second possibility is time order. Prepare to show year by year preparation for
the work.
A third possibility is an order based on the job requirements. For example, selling,
communicating, and managing might be the requirements listed in an
advertising job.
Merely presenting the facts does note ensure conviction. You also will need to
present the facts in words that make the most of your assets.
Think of this as the difference between showing and telling.
For example, supervised a sales force of 14 vs. held a position as sales manager.
Be careful about the use of the pronoun I
Driving for Action in the Close

The presentation of your qualifications should lead logically to the action

that the close proposes.
You should drive for whatever action is appropriate in your case.
It could be a request for an interview or an invitation to engage in further
communication.
Your action words should be clear and direct.
Handling the Interview

Investigating the company

Making a good approach
Anticipating questions and preparing answers
Putting yourself at ease
Helping to control the dialogue
Following Up and Ending the
Application
The interview is only an early step in the application process.
A variety of other steps can follow.
Sending a brief Thank-you message email is an essential follow-up step.
A Follow-up to an Application
Planning the job acceptance
Writing a message refusing a job
Writing a resignation
50 Most Common Interview Questions

What are your strengths? Give a time when you went above and beyond the requirements for a project.

What are your weaknesses? Who are our competitors?

Why are you interested in working for [insert company name here]? What was your biggest failure?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? What motivates you?

Why do you want to leave your current company? Whats your availability?

Why was there a gap in your employment between [insert date] and [insert date]? Whos your mentor?

What can you offer us that someone else can not? Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss.

What are three things your former manager would like you to improve on? How do you handle pressure?

Are you willing to relocate? What is the name of our CEO?

Are you willing to travel? What are your career goals?

Tell me about an accomplishment you are most proud of. What gets you up in the morning?

Tell me about a time you made a mistake. What would your direct reports say about you?

What is your dream job? What were your bosses strengths/weaknesses?

How did you hear about this position? If I called your boss right now and asked him what is an area that you could improve
on, what would he say?
What would you look to accomplish in the first 30 days/60 days/90 days on the job?
Are you a leader or a follower?

What was the last book youve read for fun?

List of Questions
Discuss your resume.
Discuss your educational background.
Describe yourself.
Tell me how you handled a difficult
situation.
Why should we hire you?
Why are you looking for a new job?
Would you work holidays/weekends?
How would you deal with an angry or
irate customer?
What are your salary requirements?
What are your co-worker pet peeves?
What are your hobbies?
What is your favorite website?
What makes you uncomfortable?
What are some of your leadership
experiences?
How would you fire someone?
What do you like the most and least
about working in this industry?
Would you work 40+ hours a week?
What questions havent I asked you?
What questions do you have for me?
Cover Letter
Job Acceptance Letter
Cover Letter
Thank You Letter
Video on Job Interview

How to prepare for job interview