Two Best Ways to Find a Job

To reduce the time it takes you to find a job, and help you to find a better job than you might have otherwise, use these two methods:

• Getting job leads from people you know.

• Making direct contacts with employers.

A market is where the buyer and seller get their needs met, and a job market is no different, and like any good shopper, you want to get good value for your efforts. One tip is to remember that 71% of the population work for small companies with less than 250 employees, so the big companies do not have the most jobs!

Did you know that only about 15 out of 100 jobs are advertised? The other 85 are filled through the “Hidden’ job market. Employers want to save time and money, so hiring a person that’s recommended by someone they know saves them the cost of the ad and the time it takes to interview a lot of strangers.

Challenge: Talk to at least 10 people and ask them how they found their present or past jobs.

Before you start your search, make a Job Possibilities Worksheet. List the work that you would like to do on one side, and work you would not like to do on the other. Look at the list, what job do you need to find out more about? An Occupational Outlook Handbook at the library or online can help. Albers Placement Center has a good career library that can help you with this research.

Define your skills. What makes you a good worker? What job skills do you have? What equipment can you use?

Challenge: Write a statement describing your best skills, make the statement brief and practice it until you sound like someone you would want to hire.

Warm Contacts:
The Most Effective Job Search Method

How do people find their jobs? About 40% find their jobs through someone they know.

A network starts when you talk to people you know, your friends, family, former co-workers, fellow volunteers, etc and tell them you are looking for a job. You explain your skills and ask people to give you names of people they know who might be looking for an employee, or who supervises work that interests you. When you have a name, you contact that person. This is a warm contact. This method works because employers can get a reference, even if unofficial, from someone they already know and trust.

A cold contact is contacting an employer directly. Next to warm contacts, this is the most effective job search method. Almost 30 percent of all people get their jobs this way. If you have some idea of what types of companies you would like to work for, the yellow pages may be your best bet, though before you make contact you may want to research their web site, and decide which companies are more interesting to you. Your goal is to talk to the person who supervises the job you want to do.

Challenge: Start a job prospects notebook, and keep track of who you contact and when.

From Two Best Ways to Find a Job
by J. Michael Farr & Susan Christophersen

Networking Tips for Students:

Get involved. 

Look for ways to explore your interests, skills and values by joining organizations that do something you care about.

Start talking to people in your career field, know who the major players are.

Become an officer of a club. This is a make or break item when college recruiters come to interview.

That paper that’s due—who can you call to get a real world opinion and practice your networking skills? Go on fact-finding missions and talk to people in the fields that interest you, if you have to, use a paper due as an excuse.

Can’t promote that one enough. It will make all the difference.

Join or start a job search club. 

Bring in speakers, recruiters are usually very willing to come and talk.