Chapter 29: Job Search
Graciela Martinez and Elizabeth Shaker
Learning Outcomes
- Review the steps involved in creating a productive job search and the importance of networking while building your campaign.
- Create a strong resume and cover letter to make you stand apart from the crowd.
- Illustrate a professional presence through social media to support your campaign.
- Appraise your interviewing skills to help get you in shape for your next job or internship.
As you prepare for your selected career path it is important to make yourself stand out from the crowd. You will do this by designing your own personalized marketing campaign. It is important to understand the steps involved in creating a productive job search and the importance of networking as a framework to building your campaign.
The Job Search Process
Searching for a job requires patience and perseverance. The process may seem overwhelming at first, however if you treat it like a job and commit the necessary time and effort towards each step, the process will seem more manageable. There are five essential steps to creating a successful job search.
- Step 1: Focus on what you want.
- Step 2: Determine where you want to do it.
- Step 3: Develop your self-marketing campaign.
- Step 4: Build your network.
- Step 5: Take action and commit 100%.
Step 1: Focus on what you want
This step entails evaluating the information you have learned about yourself through self-exploration in unit 2. Taking into consideration your needs, values, interests, personality, strengths, skills and abilities and how you wish to apply them in terms of a career.
You want a job for specific reasons. These reasons might be the following:
- Starting on your dream career path.
- Supporting yourself in a comfortable way.
- Fulfilling a specific mission or personal legacy.
- Working with people you like and respect.
When you know what you want in your next job, you can search for these specific criteria. If your priority is to start on a specific career path, then you look for growth, advancement, learning, and mentorship in your next job. If you have specific financial obligations that you need to meet (e.g., student loans to repay, family to support, a relocation), then compensation is a main criterion. If you have a mission or legacy you wish to impart (e.g., to help a specific underserved community), then you will be looking at the mission of your next employer to see if it aligns with yours. If you value your relationships and day-to-day interactions with people, then you will be looking closely at who your boss and colleagues will be in your next job. These are just some examples, and people often have multiple considerations. You will want to look closely at your interests and values to determine overall what you want and how you might prioritize jobs that meet some but not all criteria.
Step 2: Determine where you want to do it
This step involves knowing what industry, what function and what geographic locatio