Last Job Search Guide - Page 132 of 356

· Week Two - Market Your Materials. Begin your targeted correspondence with these individuals - via the postal service or e-mail.

· Week Three - Follow-up. Establish a connection with your contacts over the telephone. Let them know why you're calling, how you got their names, and present your 30 second commercial. Your goal is to find out if the company has any opportunities that would match your needs. If none exist, ask if they can provide referrals for other contacts. If they do exist, request more information about the position, and then ask for an interview.

· The Process Does Not End After Week Three. You should be multi-tasking each week - implementing these steps into one continuous process until you are offered a position. For example: On week two, you would not only be sending letters to your contacts, but you would also be developing a second list of companies you wish to reach. And on week three, you would follow-up with your first list, send letters to your second list, and research a third group of companies.

And, as always, remember to thank anyone who helped you during the process.

Barbara Limmer is Director of Career Management Programs at Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management, where she oversees the student preparation functions of the Career Management Center, including job-search related workshops and programs, individual career advising, and the Graduate Associate Program. Prior to coming to Thunderbird in December 1997, she spent 11 years working in human resources, with positions involving recruiting, training and employee relations for companies including AlliedSignal, Bank of America, MetLife Capital Corp., and Aldus Corp (now Adobe). Ms. Limmer also worked as a “headhunter” in New York City while attending graduate school and as a career advisor at UCSB and UCLA.

Ms. Limmer received her bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology from the University of California at Santa Barbara and her master's in organizational psychology from Columbia University . She also has earned lifetime certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the Society of Human Resource Management Certification Institute .

The above is an excerpt from The Last Job Search Guide You'll Ever Need: How to Find and Get the Job or Internship of Your Dreams, which is available for sale for $19.85 in our bookstore or $27.00 at Amazon.com but for free to those who subscriber to our free career newsletter. This hot new book contains job search secrets of the most experienced, most knowledgeable and most respected career experts. Learn career planning, job hunting tools and tactics, interviewing, cover letter and resume writing (lots of samples!), networking, and how to find an internship. Written by 149 career experts. To receive a free copy, subscribe to our free career newsletter.

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