Job Search Strategies Informational Interviews

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Job Search Strategies Informational
Interviews Experiential Education
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Networking Activity

• Find others that have words in the same language
  (i.e. all German words together in one group)
• Discuss your experiences connections
• Can you get help finding a contact for your info
  interview or job search?
• Can you help others with a contact for their
  needs?

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Objectives

• Midterm Evals
• Job Search Strategies
• Informational Interviews
• Experiential Education
• Resume, Goals Resume Cover Letters due

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What do Employers Want?
Dynamic
Responsible
Resilient
Goals
Sense of Humor
Maturity
Leadership
Interaction
X-Factor
Involvement
Professionalism
Dreams
Responsible
Confidence

• Employers Perspective http//www.youtube.com/watc
  h?vcZYEJGM446o

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Job Search Strategies

• Plan Decide exactly what you want to do
  and what you have to offer
• Search Decide where you want to use
  your skills
• Target Identify organizations that interest
  you the most, whether or not they are known to
  have vacancies

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Fatal Assumptions

• Remain loose or vague to take advantage of
  whatever is available.
• Spend time only on the organizations that have
  vacancies.
• Apply only to large companies.

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Finding Jobs/Internships

• Kuder Career Portfolio
• UF Guide to Majors Careers
• Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Professional Associations
• Gator CareerLink
• Online job postings
• Phone book / Employer directory
• Networking / Referrals / Informational interviews
• Volunteer work / Previous jobs/internships
• Third-party Recruiters

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Sample Job/Internship Search

• What can I do with a History major?
• Kuder (www.ufl.kuder.com)
• UF Guide (www.crc.ufl.edu/ufguide)
• OOH (www.bls.gov/oco)
• Professional Assoc (www.abanet.org)
• Gator CareerLink (www.crc.ufl.edu)
• Employer Directories (www.crc.ufl.edu/showcase)
• Phone book (www.411.com)

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Networking / Referrals

• Information Sessions
• Informational Interviews
• Professional Organizations
• Professors, family members, friends
• Career Fairs

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Volunteer / Internships

• Gain professional knowledge and experience
• Meet key people or gain resources / referrals
• 98 of employers use experiential education
  programs for recruiting
• 52 of interns accept FT positions with
  internship employer
• 86 of college students complete 1 internship
• 69 of college students complete 2 internships
• Starting salaries 1,000 2,000 more

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Third-party Recruiters

• Passive systems where you rely on others to
  promote your credentials
• May charge fees, so beware
• Keep your resume up-to-date
• Maintain accurate records and follow up where
  necessary

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Hidden Job Market

• Only 20 of all jobs are posted
• Small businesses
• represent 99.7 of all employers
• employ 50 of the private work force
• Target your ideal company directly
• Telephone directories / Employer directories
• Chambers of Commerce / Professional Assoc
  websites
• Old job ads
• Create your own job

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Five Worst Methods

• 5. Internet ONLY
• 10 success rate - technical, computers,
  engineering, finance, healthcare
• 1 success rate for all other industries
• 4. Mailing resumes at random
• 7 success rate
• 3. Answering ads in professional or trade
  journals
• 7 success rate
• 2. Answering local newspaper ads
• 5-24 success rate
• 1. Going to third party recruiters
• 5-24 success rate

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Five Best Methods

• 5. Networking (asking for job leads from family
  members, friends, professors, etc.)
• 33 success rate
• 4. Knocking on the door of an employer, whether
  they are known to have vacancies or not
• 47 success rate
• 3. By yourself, using the phone books Yellow
  Pages (identify subjects/fields that interest
  you)
• 69 success rate
• 2. In a group, use the phone books Yellow Pages
• 84 success rate
• 1. The Creative Approach to Job-Searching
• 86 success rate (doing something different)

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Prime Example

• Daily Show clip on finding a job creating a
  resume

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Informational Interviews

• The purpose of an informational interview is NOT
  to get a job, but a number of jobs do come from
  Informational Interviews.
• Its purpose is to gather data on important a
  position you are interested in.

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Benefits

• To explore careers clarify your career goals
• To find out how suitable a career is for you
  given your personality, skills, and values
• Learn about the right path to obtain a job
• To build confidence for job interviews
• To expand your professional network
• To understand the needs of employers learn how
  you might fit into a particular organization.
• To gain access to hidden job market

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Benefits

• What Should I Do with My Life? Pos book is full
  of informational interviews learning about
  different people and the career paths that they
  have taken.
• Have his stories been beneficial to you?

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Improve Your Chances

• Probability for a job offer will increase as you
  do more informational interviews.
• 3 interviews 25 chance of a job
• 8 interviews 95 chance of a job

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Obtaining the Interview

• Determine your goals
• Do your research
• Quintessential Careers has a helpful guide at
  www.quintcareers.com/researching_companies.html
• Company websites, annual reports, company
  literature, library reference material, CRC and
  people in the industry or company.
• Develop a question list of unanswered questions
• Determine who you want to interview
• Contact them and state purpose and amount of time
  expected

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Obtaining an Interview

• Dont be afraid to ask most people enjoy giving
  an interview. Those who dont wont!
• Find out the best days / times to call or visit
• Be respectful to everyone, especially the
  gatekeeper
• Ask for help from your network
• Family, friends, family of friends
• Service providers (your family doctor, dentist,
  accountant,etc)
• Faculty, CRC Recruiters
• Phone Book, Internet

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Julia MeriwetherThe Chemical Engineer Who Lacked
a Chemical

• When Po asked Julia why he was privy to her
  story, why she hadnt told her oldest friends,
  she said Because youre the only one who really
  asked. Se was surprised that no one who loved
  her asked why she abandoned engineering.
• Are there things that you would share about your
  experiences if only someone asked?
• Imagine what others will tell you if you ask!

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Preparing for the Interview

• Call the day before to confirm your appt and
  location (get directions if needed)
• Carry a small professional notebook and pen to
  take notes write questions if they are talking
• Bring your prepared list of questions resume
• Dress professionally
• Arrive 10 minutes early
• When meeting the person, stand up, shake hands
  and introduce yourself

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Gaining Information

• What information can you get from an
  informational interview?
• Career field
• Organization
• Professional training and education
• Salary benefits
• Personal insights

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Career Field Questions

• Can you describe a typical workday or week?
• What are the main responsibilities associated
  with work in your field?
• What do you like most (least) about your work?
• What type of education and experience do you need
  to remain successful in this field?
• What are the future career opportunities in this
  field?
• Are you satisfied with your field? How could it
  be improved upon?
• What advice would you give to someone trying to
  break into this field?

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Organization Questions

• Please tell me more about your organization and
  its purpose.
• Is there a good chance for advancement or lateral
  movement in this firm?
• How does your organization compete or cooperate
  with other organizations within this field?
• How is the job security within this organization?
• What are the challenges you face?
• Why do people enter/leave this field or company?

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Training Education Questions

• Are there other types of credentials or licenses
  required/ helpful for this job?
• What types of training/education is offered to
  employees?
• Are there particular professional associations
  that are beneficial to be a part of in this
  career field?

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Salary Benefits

• What is the average salary of people in your
  position?
• What is the typical entry level salary?
• Is your salary competitive in this area?
• What benefits does this company offer?
• Are training education costs covered?

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Personal Insights

• Are social obligations or other expectations
  outside of work hours?
• Do you find a work-family balance easy to manage
  in this career field?
• What special advice would you have for a student
  entering this field? How can I be more
  competitive?
• With whom would you recommend I speak? When I
  call, may I use your name?

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Important Things to Note

• Be a good listener
• Build a network keep in contact with those you
  interview.
• Ask for referrals ask for other contacts that
  might be helpful to you.
• Share professional information about yourself,
  but dont dominate the interview.

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Marcela WidrigThe Practical Way to Pursue the
Impractical

• Marcela (international modem sales to bodywork)
  hated the question What do you do? She felt
  compartmentalized and judged according to how she
  answered.
• How comfortable are you with sharing your
  education and experiences with others? Are you
  able to own them confidently to share them with a
  potential employer?

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Concluding the Interview

• Shake hands firmly

• Get business card key names
• Thank them for their time (and references)
• Send a thank you letter within 24 hours
• Remember the interview may continue informally if
  they walk you out the door

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Experiential Education
Going beyond the informational interview

• Co-op - Internship Externship

http//www.crc.ufl.edu/Experiential/CoopIntern/exp
erience.php
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Phil CaplanKeep in Mind Even What You Cant
Define

• Phil I read about this thing former Florida
  Governor Bob Graham pioneered. He called it
  work days. He would regularly go out and work
  an entire day doing different jobs It wasnt a
  photo-op. He wanted to understand them. I was
  profoundly influenced by this. I still think
  about it
• What are some of the jobs that you want to better
  understand?

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Activity mini info interviews

• Find a partner you havent really talked with
  during in-class activities
• Learn more about the kind of career theyre
  interested in.
• Ask questions
• Determine similarities
• Make a connection and/or referral

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Informational Interview Assignment

• Conduct interviews with two people (with three or
  more years of experience in their field) who have
  a job(s) of interest to you.
• in the same career field, but in different
  settings, or
• In different career fields.
• No family members, peers, or faculty members
• Attach a business card of the contact or provide
  complete contact information, including job
  title, address, and phone number.
• A handout is available on the website to guide
  you through the steps.
• Write a 2-3 page summary of the interviews
  including
• How these interviews affected your knowledge
  about the career(s) and your own exploration
• What new information, ideas, and insights you
  gained
• Whether the interview increased or decreased your
  interest in the field

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For next class

• The Art of Interviewing
• Read Bronson Ch 27
• Russell offers lessons to a satisfying life
• Employer Panel QA
• Have a GREAT Spring Break!