The Monday Meeting: Focusing your job search
Well, March is upon us (I almost can’t believe it) and for a lot of senior college students the pressure to find a job is building and building.
I saw a line on Ms. Career Girl the other day that was very interesting.
Nicole Crimaldi, the writer and editor of Ms. Career Girl said:
Lack of focus in applications is (in my opinion) the #1 problem with recent grads.
This intrigued me, so I emailed Nicole and asked her a few questions about the importance of focusing your career search. Here’s what she had to say:
1. What do you mean when you say that students should “focus” their job search?
First, let me say that Mrs. Career Girl is hosting a “senior series” during spring semester of senior year. I am mentoring five rock star college seniors who are looking to land their first job. I also have a sister who is a senior in college, and get tons of emails each week from college seniors all asking the same types of questions.
When I re-do resumes I always notice one thing: the students don’t know what they want to do after graduation and it’s so obvious. If I were a recruiter and saw this type of resume, I’d probably throw it away.
2. Why do you say that? In this economy shouldn’t they try to get any job they can?
If you’ve ever been a part of sorority recruitment, or any other extracurricular activity, you know that half of why someone is picked is because they WANT to be there so badly. If someone is optimistic, excited, and putting their effort into that activity you’d rather pick them than someone who was openly trying out for soccer, cheerleading AND chess time at the same time.
The same applies to job searches. Even if you’ve had a variety of internship experiences you need to find one common thread that shows how that experience applies to that particular job.
3. How should they go about focusing their search?
Your job search is more like a sales campaign. You are selling yourself. A good sales person knows their target market and crafts their sales campaign around it. You must find out what your prospect (in this case, the company you are applying to) values and needs, and design your resume and cover letter around it.
Note: I’m not saying you should embellish anything on your resume! Rather, reposition.
For example, if you are applying for a position as a marketing coordinator and you’ve had an internship in newspaper journalism, sports marketing, and a job as a sales associate at a retail store you need to dig a layer deeper and figure out why what you did there helps your prospect. Upon a first glance those 3 internships are completely different and unrelated. This is fine, as long as the experience you gained there matches what they are looking for.
Believe me, employers don’t want to waste a ton of time sifting through resumes. When they find someone who is genuinely interested AND a great fit- they will want to interview you.
This process can be exhausting if you are applying to 5 different types of roles. My recommendation is picking two types of positions (for example, PR and sales) and building your sales materials (resume/cv) around those roles. In this case you’d have two different resume and cv’s. And beyond that, each cv sould be crafted for the specific position and company you are applying to.
4. What if they have no idea what they want to do?
Well, understandably, this is the common problem! That is fine, but the potential employers don’t need to know that. Whatever you are applying for, do so with passion and intention. The truth is, no first job is perfect. Most people in our generation don’t stay at their first job for long. This is all part of the process. Pick a few things that seem interesting and realistic and go from there.
If you need additional help in narrowing your focus, get in touch with me. I’m currently putting together material to help break through this very common problem.
5. If they focus their job search and have no luck after a few months then should they widen their search again?
Sure, it’s no problem to add a 3rd or 4th type of role to your campaign. Again, just make sure you spend the time crafting your materials around that industry, company and role.
My guess is that if you aren’t having any luck getting interviews, you are depending on huge job boards rather than warm leads from networking, or you are applying for positions that are totally unrealistic with your experience level. Or you need to get in touch with a job staging coach like me who can give you the facelift you need to get interviews.
6. What is your #1 tip for a new college graduate searching for a job?
Start early, but don’t apply early. In other words, network with real people way before you start applying to jobs. Here’s what I would do.
- Start with friends or family. Email or call them and let them know you are looking for an entry level job in x or y (don’t say in whatever because they don’t have time for this). If they can’t help you, ask if they have friends/family who can help.
- Grow your Twitter presence and get in front of people who are in your areas of interest. Chat with them, provide value to them online. Once you get to know them, consider emailing them and maybe even asking them to lunch/coffee down the road.
- Email your favorite authors, bloggers, industry leaders in your field and tell them why you love their work. Then relate their work back to starting out as a young professional. Most of these people will be more than happy to help you and tell you their story if you position yourself correctly. You’ll find that most of these successful people got where they are with the help of others, and are willing to return the favor.
- Seek mentors!
Thanks so much, Nicole!
I know a lot of readers have already gone through the process of finding your first job post-graduation, so tell me, what is your NUMBER ONE tip for new college graduates who are job searching?
While I got out of school way too many years ago to count this was still useful information. Thanks for posting.
Having targeted resumes is key – in my classes I see a lot of people who just list everything they’ve ever done, and use the same resume to apply for 5 different types of jobs. It takes a bit more work, but having TARGETED resumes is vital for getting the employer’s interest
I’m so nervous about leaving school and trying to find a job. I don’t network anywhere near what I should and it’s scary to think of trying to find a job in the U.S.’s economy! It’s not easy, especially for a newbie graduate.
I hate the whole preparing a resume/cv and applying process. Many of my previous jobs (I tend to jump around a lot ::slap wrist::) don’t offer up related experience to what I want to pursue, so I have to make my cv shine.
This was a helpful reminder. I’m glad she stated clearly that you can have more than one type of resume/cv, because that’s kind of what I’ve been working on, but I wasn’t sure if it was ok or not. Nice to know I’m okish. Networking is my big weakness.
Yup, definitely OK to have more than one resume/cv! I used to have three; one for serving jobs, one for lifeguarding and one for internships.
I also know some people create a “master resume” and then pick and choose things from that when applying for a new job.
I also have two resumes. One for part-time customer service positions, and one for my real career. That said, they are constantly updated and I cater each of them to the jobs I’m applying to, every single time.
As someone who has vetted through a few resumes, I would say that catering to your audience is almost as crucial as making sure everything is accurate. I’ve received resumes for editing jobs with spelling errors and typos! Are you kidding me?! “Next!”
Employers may not notice what you do right, but they instantly notice what you do wrong.
Definitely having multiple CVs targeted to different things, and a master resume as well you can refer back to. It’s definitely tough, but I would start with any contacts you’ve already made – through internships, work experience, whatever. Companies like to hire people they are already familiar with.
Great post Amber- this is definitely on a lot of minds right now. Let’s just say I don’t envy you guys who still have to find jobs in the next couple of years. I missed the downward spiral of the economy by about 1 year, though it was never that much of a piece of cake to get a job in my area I’ll say that. It’s funny- I didn’t even think I was that great of a networker- but I was really serious about student teaching. I asked the principal at my school to come observe me and write me a a recommendation. He so kindly did (not all will do this) and he ended up being a former co worker of my current principal. She saw my recommendation from him and I got an interview. Yipee. I was pretty happy I had taken the initiative to ask him!
Truthfully, my advice would be to take your job search seriously. Most of the people I know who have not been able to get a job (for several months) are sort of sending out a resume here and there, but not really doing EVERYTHING they can. Call/e-mail everyone you know. Don’t be afraid to call a company/school etc to inquire about job opportunities. Check in with your career center at your college (even if you are years out of school- they can still provide free services to you). If anyone has any specific get a teaching job questions they want to ask me, just drop me an e-mail- I’m always happy to help future teachers! (or anyone I can haha)
I like thos topic (as a resume writing instructor), and how it highlights how more people have an eclectic job past on their resume (as do many students who mainly have summer jobs/internships threaded together) and it’s not about puffing them up, but showing the transferable skills that thread them together to show a solid background. I have three resumes; one generic one (with bartending/waitressing etc) a freelancing one, and a professional one and all highlight areas that are specific to that career genre.
Most HR companies spend less than 30 seconds reviewing a resume so it’s about getting the most pointed information across in a way that in accessible, informative and yet shows a bit of who you are. Easier said than done (I can see why people avoid resume writing!)
Email or call the RIGHT people. After years of trying to get a permanent position in my school district, it only took a couple emails to a superintendent and then I had something. I had been scared to email before this year – but I am so glad I did!!
what a neat topic! i see lots of grads strugguling with jobs right now!
I know it’s a tough job market, but my advice would be to not take something if it doesn’t feel right. When I graduated from college, i took a job that I knew wasn’t going to be a good fit but I felt this intense pressure to accept a job so I could say I had one when I went through commencement. I only lasted about 4 weeks (people came to work in their pajamas, the company was barely making payroll, it was a bad situation). Luckily I was able to find somethign right away, so it all worked out but i learned that I will never accept a job that I know isn’t a fit…
I think I definitely failed a little at applying to jobs when I graduated. I was actually going through some old e-mails lately and stumbled on some of the e-mails I sent in with a resume. The e-mails sound so form-like its ridiculously. Although I’m not sure I know how to succeed in applying for a job. I wound up getting my job somewhat nontraditionally. I started as a temp while I was looking for a job doing a job that was probably below what I should have been doing post-masters, but after a few weeks was hired full-time in a different department that made more sense with my educational background.
Test
TEST
Houston, do you hear me?
test x 2
test test test
reply reply reply
I heart Nicole. She has been an amazing person for me to talk to and guest blog for. Her blog is great!
RurbCn vcessxuydtkv