GETTING A JOB IN TODAY'S ECONOMY 2

The following is an excerpt from my Impact Interviewing book:

There exist two stages in the research portion of an interview. Stage one deals with locating an opportunity. Stage two is concerned with gathering information on a firm once the interview is scheduled.

STAGE ONE

Prior to doing anything in the way of interviewing it is, of course, necessary to locate an opportunity for which to interview. There exist a number of ways in which someone can locate an opportunity. Here are a few of the most popular:

College Placement Office
College Placement Bulletins
Networking
Websites
Newspaper Help Wanted Ads
Professional Search Firms
Professional Publications
Chamber of Commerce

We will spend a moment briefly exploring each one.

COLLEGE PLACEMENT OFFICES AND BULLETINS

If you are currently a college student, then utilizing the services of your college placement office is the most obvious option. As many of you know, college placement offices arrange for employers to visit during certain times of the year in order to facilitate the first stages of the formal interview process. As well, placement offices provide a number of tools and programs in assisting students and alumni with career development. One of these tools would be a college placement bulletin which lists various current job opportunities.

For college students and alumni alike, a college placement office is a valuable resource and should be utilized early in the job search process. Do not wait until you are a senior to become familiar with the location of, and services extended by, the placement office. At least by your sophomore year you should introduce yourself to this important student services operation.

NETWORKING

Networking may be the most valuable and most effective means of locating job opportunities. Networking is simply the process of tapping into friends, family, acquaintances, acquaintances of friends and family, and even those individuals who you may not currently know but who you should get to know. The key here is in making contact with individuals who may be in a position that could be helpful to you. Keep in mind that many employing organizations maintain an active networking system to assist with friends of the organization, as well as for those in the community who take the time and effort to make contact.

Some people refuse to network because they perceive it as doing something outside the normal system. Many feel uncomfortable with the idea that they may be leveraging off of someone else. Please do not see networking as something that is less than proper and appropriate. You are not taking advantage of others by networking through them, you are only taking advantage of those things that others are able and willing to offer you.

Networking is a tremendous way in which to find outstanding opportunities. It is a "feel good" thing for all involved.

NEWSPAPER HELP WANTED ADS

Help wanted ads are probably the most universally recognized form of looking for a job. All major newspapers incorporate a section in their dailies which highlight various job opportunities available in a respective community. Several major newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Chicago Tribune run advertisements of a national scope. These ads are more job opportunity-related as opposed to geographic-specific.

If someone is attending college in Florida but wishes to relocate to Milwaukee upon graduation, it would be to their advantage to subscribe to a Milwaukee newspaper (normally the Sunday edition of any major newspaper is the best for covering job openings) early in their job search process. As well, a number of newspapers are carried in college libraries and public libraries, and in college placement offices.

PROFESSIONAL SEARCH FIRMS

Professional search firms can be a valuable source for locating an interview opportunity. You may view this advice with some skepticism depending upon what you have heard about search firms. A certain amount of negative thought exists about these operations, but as with everything there are a number of very professional ones and some very questionable ones. Our suggestion is that prior to using a professional search firm/agency, ask for references and then call the references to see how they were treated. Also, you can tell a lot about the organization from the initial face-to-face meeting you have with their representative(s).

You may hear agents from search firms referred to as "head hunters" or "flesh peddlers." Don't let this disturb you. For the most part, these are friendly references to the vocation. Remember this, regardless of how you refer to them, never enter into the following with a search firm:

an exclusive agreement where you are only allowed to use that search firm to locate
an opportunity

an agreement where you pay them money for their services

Truly reputable firms understand that you are on an open market and that other forms of job hunting will be used by a candidate. They will work harder to locate an opportunity for you if they know other search firms are serving you as well. In the same light, reputable operations are paid a fee by the employer to find candidates. You should never as a candidate pay a fee to a search agency.

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS

Just as there are help wanted ads in newspapers, job openings can be located in a number of professional publications. Professional publications are those periodicals that are related directly to an industry or profession. If you are interested in a career, or at least an entry-level job in marketing, finance, accounting, engineering, production, sales, human resources (and the list goes on) you can generally find a publication related directly to that field. Again, the college placement office and college and public libraries can help you target the appropriate publication(s).

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Your local chamber of commerce is a storehouse of information which can be invaluable in your search for interview opportunities. Most C of C's offer published data on the major businesses in their respective area. Usually there is a small cost for this information. Although the advertisement of job openings is not the thrust of a chamber of commerce, the material you purchase from them will allow you to begin focusing on what industries are available to you, the size of the operations, contacts within, growth, etc. This is a solid springboard into your networking process.



STAGE TWO

Once you have located the opportunities that exist out there and you have pinned down an interview or two, the next step is to gather information on the organization(s) with which you are going to interview.

Again your college placement office is a valuable resource in locating background information on a number of organizations hiring entry-level personnel. College-based and public libraries also offer literature which can prove helpful in gaining some insight into an organization and their operations. As well, the respective local chamber of commerce has a number of directories that can assist in familiarizing you with an interviewing firm.

If you have access to a Dun & Bradstreet data base, this can also be useful. Professional publications, as mentioned earlier in locating opportunities, many times provide reference information on various organizations related to a specific industry. But in the final analysis, the most obvious, most valuable, and yet the most overlooked source for gathering background information on a firm is the targeted organization itself.

It just makes sense that if you are going to interview with a specific organization, you should call someone internally and ask for material related to their operation. Most people fail to do this because they are afraid that by calling directly for information indicates that they do not know about the organization and this will reflect negatively on them. This is not true. Quite the contrary is true. Direct research demonstrates interest and initiative. Furthermore, if the truth were known, the person you interview with probably will never know you directly requested information on their respective organization. They will just assume that it is your responsibility to do so, and if you don't — that is when the negative begins to show through.

Several sources can be tapped in an organization to gather relevant material for interview purposes:

Human Resources Department
Marketing Department
Public Relations Department
Receptionist

Various pieces of information are normally available for this purpose:

Recruiting Brochures
Internal Newsletters
Annual Report

Regardless of how you gather the information, the key is that you check the sources and make certain it contains accurate information; then go about reviewing it carefully and forcing essential elements to memory. This information is invaluable to you in preparing for the interview session itself.

Contact me at bill@bagleyconsulting.com with any questions.

Best Regards,

Bill

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· NAVIGATING TOWARD ACADEMIC AND CAREER SUCCESS (Preparing for and selecting a college just right for you)
· WHY ACCOUNTING? (Why ‘Accounting’ is an excellent academic major)
· IMPACT INTERVIEWING (Interview skills that win you that scholarship / internship / job offer)