The Multifaceted Job Search. Part 3
Professional Associations – can be an excellent source of job opportunities. Meetings in Houston of various associations are sometimes open to students. Join student chapters of professional societies, and get involved! This is where you begin to establish your networks with peers and employers.
Job Choices – A free publication available at UCS. There are four editions corresponding to academic majors. Each edition includes job title and geographical indexes of employers who will be hiring new college graduates.
Trade Journals – are located in the Journals Room of the MDA Library, and are available for almost every field imaginable. Check out the most current issues for your specific field, and look for the job posting section.
Cold Calling – Walk into an organization and drop off your resume. You should have some idea about what the company does, and how they can benefit from your skills and abilities. Ask to speak to someone about current job openings. If none exist, ask to speak with someone about the possibility of future job openings. If nobody is available to speak with you, call later for an interview. Make sure you dress appropriately. You may find yourself in an interview, and remember that an interview is anytime you are in front of someone who has the authority to hire you. The yellow pages are a great source for targeting organizations.
If all else fails, consider:
- 1. Talking to temporary personnel agencies,
- 2. Volunteering to gain experience,
- 3. Taking a related job, even if it is not “degree-level,”
- 4. Continuing your education or getting specialized training,
- 5. Talking to former employers about opportunities,
- 6. Joining networking organizations or a job search support group, or
- 7. Self-employment like writing, consulting, or a small business.
More advice from employers:
- 1. Research, research, research. Know something about the company – it’s culture, historical success, and financial information – before you show up to talk with the employer.
- 2. Start early and hang in there. The job market is competitive. Take time to meet recruiters and develop relationships. Go to on-campus career fairs; attend information sessions; sign up for campus recruitment. When recruiters have jobs, they’ll remember you.
- 3. Use University Career Services. Not only can we help with the logistics of performing a successful job search, but some employers recruit exclusively through UCS. If you aren’t registered, you may miss out on some good opportunities.
- 4. Get experience. Students who have relevant work experience have the employment scales tipped in their favor. Employers value students who have gained real world experience through the use of internships, co-ops, or some other form of work program. It’s not too late – get a volunteer job, explore an externship, or find a short-term internship.
Career planning and job searching are skills. If you don’t know much about how to do them well, you will probably spend more time trying to find a job than you need to. We covered a lot of information, and we hope that it helps, but we suggest that you spend more time learning about this whole thing. There are some good books out there, so spend a few evenings or a weekend at the library.