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Mandy from Personal Finance 101 needs advice on job-hunting. She recently moved across the country, and now finds herself looking for work. She could use some tips.
I’ve decided to break down and get a “real job” (my mom’s words) while I’m growing my business out here in Portland and I’m finding the job hunt to be less than thrilling. I’ve never had to really look for a job before, so I think I have a low annoyance level.
So my question is, when you’re looking for a job, where/how do you look? Do you network? newspaper? Craigslist? Monster? All of the above?
It has been years since I looked for a job. Even then, most of my jobs have come easy. I’ve never had to go through the traditional hiring process, though I’ve watched friends and family do so.
What’s the best way to find work in 2007? How did you find your job? Do you have any hints and tips for using various internet tools? Is finding work via Craigslist different than using Monster? Is it all about personal networking?
This article is about Ask the Readers, Career Thursday, 14th June 2007 (by J.D. Roth)
June 14th, 2007 at 9:17 am
I’ve found jobs a couple different ways. When I first moved to this area, I just drove around town looking for places that might be hiring. It only took a couple days to find a job at Starbucks that way. I actually turned down another job as an assistant manager at a clothing store, so I had a couple choices and went with what I thought was best. Then when I was tired of customer service, I went on craigslist and started responding to any and every job listing that I thought I could do. I also set goals for job hunting. Every time I change jobs, I aim to get at least one of the following:
1) More money.
2) Better environment/hours.
3) One step closer to my dream job.
So far, so good. I haven’t found my dream job, but I’m definitely well-suited to my current job, and it will keep getting better!
June 14th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Craigslist can be hit and miss. I know many people who have found great jobs on it, and it can be a legitimate source, but there’s also a TON of spam posts of get-rich-quick/work-at-home schemes. You have to be more cautious on Craigslist than on Monster or CareerBuilder, but it doesn’t hurt to look.
I recommend perusing all of the above, including the local newspaper.
June 14th, 2007 at 9:26 am
I’d recommend reading a recent version of What Color is Your Parachute. There is a lot if information and helpful tips in there for job-hunting, interview tips, etc.
The book stated the best way (most successful odds) of getting a job is through networking. Also, just browsing through your phone-book and calling places as well as just walking into places yields good results, apparently.
The worst way (percentage of success) is online. So, definitely do some online looking, but don’t out all your eggs in that basket because the odds are stacked against you online.
June 14th, 2007 at 9:32 am
All I can say is that my last two jobs have come from careerbuilder. about 3 years ago I was looking for a new job and simply spent some time creating a new resume and posted it on careerbuilder for free. Within about 24 hours I began receiving emails and phone calls with people interested in learning more about me or to set up an interview.
Now, they weren’t flooding me with calls but on a daily basis I’d get one or two contact. I would say of those about 50% were even worth following up with, but it was nice to have people contact me. Eventually one of the interviews I went to panned out and I landed the job.
Then more recently, about a year and a half ago we were required to move and I would be out of commuting distance so again I was looking for a new job in a brand new area. So I did the same thing, hit up careerbuilder with my resume.
The contacts were similar, but this time I also spent time scouring the site for openings as well and applied to the ones that seemed interesting. It was one of the jobs I applied for right through the website that turned into an interview and ultimately the job.
Of course my position is slightly specialized so it may have been easier to use this broad exposure to find something worthwhile, but I still think online is a great place to start. It doesn’t cost anything and is very efficient in terms of searching/applying. But it also doesn’t hurt to hit the pavement and use more traditional means in addition to the internet.
June 14th, 2007 at 9:44 am
It depends completely on what her talents (experience, college major, other training) are and what sort of job she’s looking for while she grows her business.
We need more details!
June 14th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Temp service =(
I tried the Careerbuilder thing. I mostly only get spam emails from that. I did get a few calls but most were from a temp service anyway.
I have the “What Color is Your Parachute?” book. Maybe its time to give it a read…
June 14th, 2007 at 9:45 am
I say craigslist is the way to go. I have found 2 great jobs through craigslist. Though I frequently checked the other job listing sites (monster, etc.) I found that most of their posts were from agents, and not the actual employer. I think dealing with the employer directly is quicker and leads to better results.
Also, if there are any companies in that town that you may like to work for, check the career sections of their website! Many good jobs aren’t really advertised.
June 14th, 2007 at 9:46 am
I’ve found jobs a number of ways:
1. Craigslist (current job)
2. Temp agency (temp to perm job)
3. Industry listings (if you can get on an email list of industry jobs, that’s a great thing - there can be good networking b/c someone usually knows someone, etc.)
4. Classifieds
5. Networking
6. Volunteering
June 14th, 2007 at 9:52 am
Volunteer for something in the area you’d like to work, if that’s possible.
AND, use indeed.com. They pull from all the other job sites.
June 14th, 2007 at 10:06 am
I almost exclusively use Craigslist, especially when I lived in Portland. Monster has high fees for listings that not every company can afford. As someone who likes smaller start-ups, Craigslist works best. And Portland loves its Craigslist.
The right search of course depends on what exactly you’re looking for.
June 14th, 2007 at 10:12 am
For jobs in Nebraska it is all about the website http://careerlink.com/, that is how all the major companies post job listings hear, and I know that is how my roommate got her first real job.
June 14th, 2007 at 10:26 am
I don’t think the problem is “finding a job.” Monster, careerbuilder.com, and local newspapers will tell you about lots of job openings. The problems are:
1) Picking a job that you actually want
2) Convincing the employer to hire you
So, I would tell her to figure out what she wants to do and then narrow it down to a few companies she might like working for. Then target those companies by setting appointments with people in the company to talk to them about working there.
When I used to work as a game designer, I would call entry-level programmers and ask to interview them about working for the company. Then I had them introduce me to project managers, and on up the company.
I asked each person lots of probing questions, trying to uncover problems I could fix or opportunities I could pursue for the company. By the time I was finished, I knew more about the company than any other person interviewing for the job.
All in all, I did it 5-6 times while I was in high school and college. It worked like a charm every time.
Jon
June 14th, 2007 at 10:26 am
I’ve had great experience with craigslist. Like others have said, they are great for startups and small companies (which are about a million times better to work for, in my opinion). My boyfriend and I have both found our current creative and fun jobs on craiglist within the past year (I even get to telecommute!). I’m also in the process of being hired for a side job with a tutoring company that listed on craigslist.
Just be careful about the scams!
June 14th, 2007 at 10:31 am
Craigslist all the way, if networking is not an option in your new area. When I was changing from my previous job (also found through CL) to my new job, I took the following strategy:
Go on CL every morning, review any jobs posted the day before, then put a sincere effort into applying to 1 or 2 of them. Craft a custom cover letter for each job (1 or 2 a day shouldn’t be too much trouble), send it off, and contact the company within 1 week if they haven’t gotten back to you.
The key here is to find a max of 2 jobs each day that you want. This way you’re limiting yourself to applying to only the jobs you really want and are qualified for, and then giving your best effort in getting that job.
The job search is rough, no doubt, but you only need 1 company to say yes! Good luck.
June 14th, 2007 at 10:31 am
It really depends on what industry you’re skilled in. Most of my jobs that I DIDN’T get from personal contacts (so like… two short freelance gigs) came from realitystaff.com and entertainmentcareers.net. But those sites aren’t really gonna do much good if you don’t work in TV/Film Production or Broadcast.
I’d say you should start with what you know. Your friends. Ask around, see who’s working where, what exactly they’re doing, and if they, or anyone they know of, are looking to hire. It’s hard moving across the country and basically starting all over again. I did the same thing two years ago, but I luckily had a lot of friends and acquaintances who joined me.
June 14th, 2007 at 10:34 am
I’ve used CareerBuilder and Monster. You do get spam (deposit checks and make $$ part time!), but you can also get plenty of legit calls and search for jobs similar to what you’re looking for.
I did notice something interesting though, when I was looking for work, I set my desired pay to the minimum I would accept, because I needed work. Now that I’m employed, I left my resume up, but increased my desired salary to 150% of what I earn, just to see what would happen. I get more calls now than I did while I was looking for work! I wonder if this means that asking for less makes employers think you actually are less valuable?
June 14th, 2007 at 10:42 am
I’m a 41-yr-old career techie who got back into the job market after 4 years off, so I’m probably at a different place than the person who asked the original question. But I thought this might be useful for someone.
Getting leads:
* I got my current job through a recruiter who saw my resume on Monster. I also got 2 temp offers through Monster.
* I got my previous job by sending resumes and cover letters to every job I was qualified for in the Times/PI. Most ads start on Sunday, so I’d do this on Sunday or Monday. It usually took an hour or too (I had a cover letter boilerplate).
* Last job search I did the same with craiglist.
* Talk to friends & former coworkers: a PM I’d worked with heard from a coworker that my boss said I was looking; the PM called & offered me the job. I also got my college jobs this way - the person who ran the day camp at my church knew a day care director who was looking for someone, profs asked me to grade for them or suggested I work in the lab.
* I’ve applied at companies I wanted to work for; this is how I landed my first job at Microsoft. Company websites make this easier now. Last search, I was querying yahoo for software companies within my city. This got me a nibble.
Example cover letter:
Dear Sir or Madam -
I am excited to apply for the position of Software QA Manager at Company. I bring 6 years of software testing experience, including 4 years as a lead or manager. I also have a BS in computer science and experience in web design, technical writing, and programming. I’m interested in using my test skills in a small company where I can make a difference for customers.
I look forward to hearing from you. My resume is attached.
Sincerely,
-My name
[in text: my contact info]
[in text: job advertisement]
[attachments: resume.txt, resume.doc]
Resumes:
* Yes that is plural. I have different resumes for each type of job I apply for: test/test mgmt, writing, and teaching. Each highlights different skills & experiences.
* I initially create my resume in Word 97 format (most word processors understand it). Then…
* I save it as text with linebreaks, open it in Notepad, and edit it so that it looks good in text alone.
* When sending a cover letter email I attach both.
* The text version also comes in handy when applying on websites that want you to fill out their forms
* I take printouts with me to interviews to give to anyone who didn’t have one.
References
* I line these up when I start looking, and ask them which contact info they’d like me to give out.
* I try to have someone who’s been my boss, someone who’s been a coworker, and an extra. If I’m applying for a job with supervisory responsibilities, I try for a former employee too.
My last job hunt was juggled with my last job…and no, I hadn’t told coworkers or my managment that I was looking. Some ways I dealt with this:
Contact info. I put some thought into which contact information to give out. Not my work information. Not anything I couldn’t access from work or from home. For me it was my cell and my hotmail e-mail.
Phones. I’d schedule phone interviews at a time I could be away from my desk.
Scheduling interviews. In my last job, leaving early or arriving late was the best way to do something during the day.
Communicating with coworkers. Or not.
* When talking to boss and coworkers, I said I’d need to leave early / arrive late for “an appointment”. No one asked what it was.
* I was already in the habit of leaving for lunch, if only for a walk, and taking walks in the afternoon. This made scheduling phone interviews easier.
Interview outfits. I had interview outfits that were easy to switch with my “normal” work clothes:
* Blue blazer, white shell, purple pendant, black slacks, socks, & oxfords. Leave the blazer hanging in the car (or lying in the trunk in a garmet bag) and I looked ‘normal’.
* Ok, I’d often leave the shell in the car too I couldn’t spill coffee, lunch, or whatever one it.
* For more casual offices, I would wear a nice sweater instead of the blazer. No changing required - tho I had an extra sweater in the car just in case.
June 14th, 2007 at 10:49 am
I’ve mentioned this here before, but I’ve found almost all of my “real jobs” via temp and recruiting agencies. I work in office administration, but there are plenty of contract-to-hire employment agencies out there for more prestigious lines of work, if that’s what she’s looking for. I like this route primarily because it lets you and potential employers test drive each other before making a commitment (plus the fact that you’re actually working and earning income while you’re searching — and most agencies offer health coverage and other benefits, too). This has resulted in me landing jobs throughout my career that have been excellent fits for what I needed at the time, and in which I’ve been pretty happy (and my bosses have been pretty happy with me).
June 14th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Forgot to add - although I found my current job through a temp agency, I found the agency through the local classifieds. FWIW.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:00 am
My wife just experienced the same thing - so many jobs, but not one for her! Most times, she either didn’t meet their qualifications (wrong degree, not enough experience) or was up against 50 other similarly-qualified people for the position.
She found 2 things that helped:
1) Carpet-bombing. She sent cover letters, resumes, and emails to companies that weren’t even hiring. She actually got a few interviews that way from companies that were getting ready to hire, and thought, “Oh, what an opportunity!”
2) She removed “recent graduate” from her cover letter. After one of her interviews, the interviewer pointed out that they almost didn’t call her back because they considered a “recent graduate” to be unstable and likely to not stay around long. During the interview, she always managed to mention how I had a long-term stable job and that we own a house in town and don’t plan on leaving. By removing that one little word, her call-backs went up 300%.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:13 am
I think the best job hunting strategy is a blended one that makes good use of all the resources available. So, yeah, haunt craigslist, Monster, Careerbuilder, etc. (preferrably with your BS-spam detector at full power) but also become a familiar face at networking events, professional get-togethers, and don’t forget to let your friends, family, and acquaintances know you’re looking. People you know know people themselves, so while they may not be able to directly give you leads, they might hook you up with someone who can.
While you’re putting yourself out there, get a resume book and put some careful thought into 1) the kind of job you want *right now*, 2) your dream job, and 3) the kind of employer you’d prefer to work for. You say you’re looking for a job, but what you’re really doing is looking to form a healthy working relationship. Like any other relationship, you have to know what you can offer (skills/abilities/experience), the craziness you can tolerate (long hours? endless office gossip? end-of-month chaos?), the rewards you expect (outside of money), and what you expect from the other party (flexible hours, congenial work environment, paid training).
Truly, finding a job isn’t difficult — here in South Florida even the homeless have jobs selling newspapers on the streets. What’s difficult is finding where your needs and desires match those of an employer. Do your homework, take advantage of every resource, and don’t shy away from asking for what you know you want (like the amount of money). You’d be surprised: When good companies decide they want to hire someone, they’ll do what it takes to make it happen, even if they have to pay that person a bit more money to do it. A company who balks at hiring someone simply because of money might be fine if you must have a job paying *something* for a year or so, but not long-term.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:15 am
I think it depends on your field of work. I got have jobs in my field in one of two ways:
1) Checking the commonly used job posting websites for my field. This does not mean craigslist or monster — it means things like the websites of professional associations, etc.
2) Through a contact. Having met lots of people in my field through things like conferences or whatever, some of these people when they knew I was looking for a job, let me know when there was an opening where they were or that they heard of somewhere else.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:30 am
I’ve had various success at starting out with temp agency jobs and getting hired through them for temp work and performing well and eventually signing on as a full fledge regular employee.
Monster.com has had varying success. The first replies are usually no good, but a given a few days can turn out great leads. Also, facebook and myspace has been a great way to network and hear about openings too.
June 14th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Another new site is Emurse.com. Emurse allows you to host your resume and track how many views it has received. They also display local job listings based on your resume.
June 14th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
I live in Portland and I have given up on finding a (better) job. Where I work we have four college graduates, all earning the state minimum wage.
June 14th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
I made a switch in careers - from the military to the civilian world. Changing careers can be a difficult endeavor. I recommend reading about the interview process, how to make a good resume, and anything else you can get your hands on.
I posted my resume on CareerBuilder, Monster, and a few other sites. I ended up finding my job through an on-line source. The company contacted me after I submitted my resume to them.
The big thing to remember when using one of these sites is to be proactive with them. If you only post your resume and do not search on your own, you limit your options.
Your full-time job should become your job search.
It is also a good idea to have several versions of your resume, and target your resume for a specific position when applying.
June 14th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
I never use classifieds or posting boards like Craig’s list. I go through family, friends and coworkers. Your network is your best resource. Even if you just moved to a new city, you can still leverage it.
Are there alumni from your high school or college in this city? Contact them and ask for help.
Contact your friends and family. Do any of them work for companies with offices near you? Do they know anyone who lives near you?
Join community organizations and get to know people. They’ll refer you to jobs.
Just keep plugging away through the network of people you know. Somewhere out there is a friend or friend of a friend with a job that’s perfect for you.
Gal
June 14th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
I just got my recently divorced part-time secretary a job. She was smart and asked me who I knew that was hiring. I made one phone call and she had the interview. She was hired the next day!
The bonus for me is that I get to keep her as a part-time secretary and she gets a great full-time job.
June 14th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
Hi Everyone,
I’m new to this, but thought I should respond to this post since I’m truly interested in recruiting, resumes, and job searches. I pride myself in being a job finder in a short amount of time.
One of the most important things when looking for a job is having a killer resume. You want to send your resume to as many people as possible to proof read and get ideas. You want ideas from people in all sorts of industries because they will come up with words that you didn’t think of. Buzz words come in handy here as does Google…there are so many resumes on there that you can find anything.
Craigslist, Monster, and CareerBuilder all work well. But that is not the only thing you should use. Networking is so important. You have to let go of your ego and be willing to make all types of friends and ask them for help. I also used my college alumni associate to look up companies I’m interested and what alumns work there. College alumni are usually very helpful and are willing to look at your resume, provide feedback, and send it off.
Just remember - finding a job is a job within itself. It’s not something you can just do one day for an hour and then try again a week later - it’s a daily check in and depending on how picky you are - it’s hours a day!
June 14th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Rss feed based on Indeed.com search is a great tool.
June 14th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
I’ll plug a friend’s new website, Indeed.com. I haven’t used it myself, but it’s a new venture that looks promising. I did a few searches on it to check it out, but I’m not actually in the market right now.
I find Craigslist is not that helpful *anymore*. It depends on where you are living and what kind of job you are looking for. It did help me get a job in a record 10 DAYS when I returned from a backpacking trip in 1998 in San Francisco. But in DC, it doesn’t have the same effect for me.
Dice.com is ok for tech jobs, but they are mostly contract positions and you will deal with non-native English speaking recruiters. That can create a problem while listening to phone messages.
Professional and social networking. It’s by far the best place. Your friend will vet you for openings to help clarify what you want and you also get the inside track on positions and who/how to impress. This has worked best for me and I’ve been lucky to recruit the members of my team (including my boss!).
The last tip: LOOK EVERYWHERE. There is no reason not to. It’s nice to be focused and all, but really, you should sell yourself at every opportunity till the right thing comes along. Even very casual conversations I’ve had with friends can turn very serious within seconds of putting myself out there. You never know who is married to whom, knows what leads, etc.
June 14th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
I’ve held 6 professional jobs, here’s how I got each one:
1 - Networking
2 - Monster.com
3 - Dice.com
4 - Craigslist.org
5 - Monster.com
6 - Monster.com
Interestingly enough without #1, I would have never found my career. This is a little skewed because my job is technical. If you’re looking for a technical job, don’t bother with a newspaper. If their posting in a newspaper, you wouldn’t want to work there anyway.
June 14th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
I would say that for Nebraska careerlink has the most real opprotunities.
Also, sending resumes to companies to companies you think you might want to work for even if the position isn’t ideal. I have gotten one job by the company calling me back later when they thought I would be a good fit for a position that came available and I have an interview for another company through the same process.
I also got a great job to break into my field by calling to volunteer for an organization that I believed in. Double bonus!
June 14th, 2007 at 8:17 pm
I used to work for a student work finding service that was based in a university.. and the graduates from that program usually found their positions from contacts made through their undergraduate jobs…. but where everyone may not have had the possibility to do work experience while going through university, my tips would be:
- networking: sign up for a group or association that is in the field you’d like to find a job in. most often they have student rates for memberships, and if you work it right, you should be able to meet some folks.
- ask people around you who is hiring. simple as that… you’ll soon find out who are those people that are real ‘helpers’… keep them in mind and ask them often, they are often the people who are at hubs of social contacts as well
- do your research in your career path. will your career path need *more* training? if so, maybe look into that. do some informational interviewing if you really have no clue what is going on
- also, research your jobs online. look at what is a possibility for new grads, and also look for your ‘ultimate’ job - what experience is there? what is the starting wage? this will also give you an idea of what to look out for
- try to read business magazines - even if you aren’t in ‘business’, often trade mags or business mags will talk about upcoming initiatives for companies that you may be interested in working for
- look for jobs then: craigslist, idealist.org, the company’s own website, do a google search for “job banks”, go through your old university (they may have a special job finding bank for new grads too), parents/friends/relatives’ work places, interests.
- also, it may be the case that you are a new grad, have education in a certain field but no relevant experience. get a mcjob for a while and volunteer at a place that will help you get some of those lucrative skills that will help land you your next job. also it will help you in making more connections.
When I first moved to the city that I live in now, I had a difficult time finding a job… they were very reserved about hiring “newcomers”. So, I packed in my ego, and went to work for a temp agency. In two days I was working, which was a great boost for the ego, and I found this great little job doing up powerpoint presentations for a market research company. It was great - not great pay, but a great introduction. Then, I was still applying for positions, and I got an interview, based on a position I saw online, at a college I was interested in working at. Great! So, turns out that someone who previously worked at the place I worked as a temp, worked at this new college and so I think that helped me get the position. Since then I’ve had one promotion (name) and about four pay increases. And its been a year.
SO, yes, you have to put in the same amount of work that you would a regular job. Either in sending out applications or in actually pounding the pavement.
A few more words to the wise:
- if you can, drop the application off in-person, or fax. Email as a last resort - some employers only do email, which is fine, but I have gotten jobs because I was the only person who would go to the effort of dropping an app off in-person
- if you aren’t getting phone calls, get feedback on your resume. It may not get across your experience. Also, get feedback on your coverletter - if it has an error or a typo and you want to go into journalism or communications, you would probably get shut out.
- If you are getting interviews and aren’t getting the job, have a friend give you a mock interview and give you feedback. Sometimes your nervousness may be giving off a bad vibe in the interview. Are you well-dressed? Clean? On-time? Did you research the company properly before going into the interview? All these little things help.
And overall, keep applying. Apply until you get a job. It sucks being rejected, but it sucks even more being poor.
June 14th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
- Job Fairs (usually held on a monthly basis, meet a whole bunch of HR people all at once).
- Professional association meetings, join & attend.
- Temp or Consulting firms
- Get out & socialize. Join groups you are interested in. I have received more job offers & network opportunities from the fun stuff I do than anywhere else. Your new. People will want to know about you. ‘Hey, I know someone who is looking for…’
June 14th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
I actually just had to go through the whole job hunting thing. I basically searched on-line, and went to recruitment agents. The whole process went rather quickly. I don’t know what websites you would use for the US, but I found that on-line searching is much easier and way more convenient.
June 15th, 2007 at 4:36 am
Having worked in a number of jobs, and having been a hiring manager who’s interviewed over hundreds of people in my career, I have some tips. Certainly monster.com and dice.com are great for tech fields, and I’m guessing others.
Sometimes I’d get hundreds of resumes for one position. I was very busy, and needed a way to weed them out. I immediately tossed resumes with typos or that didn’t have the skills listed that I needed. What put a resume to the top of the list was a referral by anyone in my company (whether I knew them or not) or by people I knew. A simple “this guy is great, please check out his resume” would warrant a thorough reading of the resume.
Many large corporations have company alumni websites which are great for networking. My previous company’s alumni website gets multiple job postings every day. I got my previous job through one of those postings.
Also, networking sites, like Linkedin are great. Link to as many people as you can. Great way to keep in touch with former employees, and network to find jobs. Job postings there, too.
I guess my common thread here is networking, and let all the people you know (especially in your field) that you are looking for job.
June 15th, 2007 at 7:49 am
The job i found that kickstarted my career was on craigslist. I believe this is a fluke though, as the position is web design at an advertising agency , most of the employees at these types of businesses are word of mouth - friends - family - friends of friends - employees stolen from other agencies and offered more money.
My suggestion is going out to bars , making friends, and mentioning your need for job in such and such a field, chances are someone will know someone, and even if not you’ve started building your network so that if they meet someone the next day that is hiring they may mention it for you.
June 15th, 2007 at 1:58 pm
I used craigslist to find my job, as it allowed me to send out multiple resumes fairly quickly. I created a website with my resume information on it (since I was applying as a web designer, having my resume in portfolio format was crucial).
I also sent out feelers to people I knew in the area, whether it was through church, an organization, whatever.
Monster and CareerBuilder have not once helped me in any way.
June 16th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
My friend scoured Craigslist and got a job. A month later a position that was suited to me opened up and he referred me. I got the job and have been happy ever since. In conclusion, Craigslist and Networking seem to work the best for me.
June 18th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
I got my first job by going to the Career Resource Center on my college campus. My second job I got off Monster.com. You may also check out LinkedIn.com and do some professional networking through that site.
June 19th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
There are some terrific tips here, thank you all.
Although it’s now a cliche, networking really is the best way to find work but there’s a twist - not through friends, but through *acquaintances*.
Friends know what your situation is and are less likely to surprise you with a lead. Acquaintances, on the other hand, are less likely to know what you’re up to and a job search is a good time to reach out.
I should take a survey, but I’m sure that a surprisingly high number of job seekers have found work by bumping into people by accident e.g. old colleagues, people you went to school with, etc.
June 19th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
Fresh out of university I decided what industry I wanted to work in (pharmaceutical research), used google to find all the companies in that field within a reasonable distance from where I live, and hounded them all for a job. Repeatedly sent resumes, followed-up with phone calls to their HR and research departments, sent follow-up letters. It was a matter of having my resume on their desk when the job opened up. In two months after graduating I had a job I really liked. There’s a lot of rejection, but absolutely worth it.
June 20th, 2007 at 9:51 am
I’d say a combination of various ways. Being an immigrant in a different country (Canada) it is even more difficult because English is not your first language. Also, the model of resumes used here are different from your country. So, I’d say that in the beginning you have to work free just to get experience and then, when you have it you can look for another opportunity.
In my case I found the job using the company’s website. It is a good idea of always check the company that you’d like to work for (at the same time try to find contacts there). When you find the job, send your Resume online and at the same time send the resume to your friend there.
June 20th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Formas de se encontrar emprego em outro pais…
Para quem imigra, a procura de emprego é sempre exaustiva e extressante. Procurar trabalho é um trabalho - literalmente…….
March 30th, 2009 at 7:48 am
Don’t put down the temp agency - they work with a lot of companies that use the temp to hire program which leads to permanent employemnt.
Sometimes even a temp assignment can lead to permanent employment.