Deltasig July 09 - Delta Sigma Pi

Jumpstart Your Job Search ina Tough Economyby Brad Karsh,President of JobBoundTo ensure you can landthat summerinternship or dreamjob after graduation,it’s time to jumpstartyour job search now!Especially with such a grim jobmarket, you will have to work harderand be more persistent to get where youwant to be.1. Network, network, network. Eighty percent of jobsaren’t posted. Sixty percent of candidates get a job throughnetworking. The single best way to get a job is to know somebody.Yes,it should be based on merit alone, but unfortunatelythat isn’t how it works. Tap into as many connections as youcan. School or Delta Sigma Pi alumni are great ones. They loveto hear from current students about life on campus. Don’tknow many alums in positions to make a difference for you?Start emailing the graduates highlighted in your school’s alumninewsletter. Congratulate them on whatever got them listedand let the conversation—and relationship—begin.Don’t forget you can network with your parents’ friends,older siblings’ friends, etc. You never know what connectionsUncle Phil has!2. Get your resume in order. Since this one piece of paperdetermines more than anything else your ability to get the jobyou want, it better be good. Focus on accomplishments insteadof job descriptions. Most recruiters will tell you that a majority ofresumes don’t sell a student hard enough because they simplyBrad Karsh is president of JobBound, acareer-consulting company advising studentsand professionals on resume writing, interviewing,and landing that dream job. Author of Howto Say it on Your Resume and Confessions of aRecruiting Director: The Insider’s Guide to LandingYour First Job, Brad has a partnership with Delta Sigma Pi,offering many services to our members—including free careertip videos, accessed on the “Partner/Discounts” page ofwww.dspnet.org (where you can also read more aboutJobBound).list the activitiesthat anyone holdingthat position hasever done.If what is written onyour resume can be writtenby the person who had the jobbefore you, after you, or next to you, then you haven’t doneyourself justice.3. Be professional. As a recruiter, you don’t want to call astudent at school and hear the following message, “Yo dude,the K-man is rockin’ hard at the moment, so leave your digitsand I’ll give you a holla when I can.” Nor do they want to sendemails to puppylover@yahoo.com. or studmuffin@hotmail.com.Now is the time to find other ways to express your individuality.4. Start reading “trade” magazines. Every industry haspublications specifically targeted to professionals in that field.Usually they have online versions as well. In addition to learningmore about the industry itself, you can also typically findjob openings. For instance, if you read that Ajax consulting justwon a huge account, chances are they may be staffing up.There are scores of these magazines, and your career center oryour professors can help you find the right ones.5. Research job openings. Sounds exciting doesn’t it? Factis, you have to do it. Start looking for companies and industriesthat really interest you. Comb over their web sites.Some may be hiring now, but many employ “just in timerecruiting.”That means they don’t hire until they have a need.And since you can’t quit school right now to take the job (eventhough you’d like to), they won’t start looking for college studentsuntil April or so.But knowing how they hire and getting contacts at thecompanies can only help. Also, some may offer internships forcollege grads, which is not a bad way to get your foot in thedoor. Check that out as well…sometimes they take applicationsfor summer internships in the winter.If you tackle these five steps, you’ll be on your way tolanding a great job! Good luck! ▲16 JULY 2009/THE DELTASIG OF DELTA SIGMA PI