What Should I Do To Get A Job?

By Deborah Saunders Stanley
Associate Director

Office of Career Services

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Take responsibility for your own job search. There are many people who are willing to help you by providing advice, support, and even job leads, but unless you use a third party (and pay big bucks), no one can guarantee you a job. Even a guarantee can't promise you a job you'll be satisfied with. The good news is that if you're willing to do the work, you will reap the rewards - a position that meets your current needs and goals.

Know what you want to do. There are many variations in jobs and job titles from employer to employer, and you need to have clear goals so you will recognize opportunities when they present themselves. For example, an internet search for “human resources positions” might yield such job titles as “benefits coordinator,” “training and development specialist,” or “employment manager,” just to name a few. You must know what areas are or might be included under a particular occupational field so you can uncover as many opportunities as possible. In addition, it's essential that you understand yourself well enough to know which of those prospects suit your interests and strengths.

Get prepared. Update or develop your resume, learn how to write an effective cover letter, practice your interviewing techniques, and begin assembling a network of professional contacts, family, and friends to help you identify openings. And remember, your job search is a process, not an event. As your search progresses, you will find yourself refining your resume and cover letter to better reflect what you can offer the employer and perhaps doing more practice interviews to improve your skills in that area. You should constantly work your set of contacts to keep up with what's available and make sure you're not overlooking opportunities.

Use every source of leads you can think of. Don't rely on just one or two, because you'll find yourself missing out on opportunities. You already know that only about 10 percent of available jobs are advertised in newspapers; the rest will be filled by on-line listings, advertisements in professional publications, through word of mouth, or using an agency. Since employers seldom use more than one or two of these resources, you may miss out if you don't take advantage of all of them.

Be flexible. If you find that you're lacking some qualifications for the positions you're applying for, adjust your goal and realize that you may have to work your way up to the position you really want. This doesn't mean settling for something that you are overqualified for, and you certainly shouldn't set your sights too low. It does mean that many employers value what you can only learn through experience, and you may not have that experience yet. Be willing to put in some time to prove yourself. And if you do have the experience but employers aren't recognizing it, you probably need to revise your resume, cover letter, and interview presentation to make sure your qualifications are apparent to the reader.

Always have a “Plan B.” Despite the best planning and preparation, sometimes things just don't work out the way you'd like. If for some reason you couldn't do the work you've prepared for and want to do, what is your fallback position? Job hunters need to be optimistic and believe that they will land their dream job within a very short time, but they also need to be realistic. Having a backup plan means that if the job market dries up or the economy goes south you can recover quickly.

Don't get discouraged if your search doesn't progress as quickly as you would like. Remember that good things take time. When things start happening (finally!) they happen very quickly and you are likely to be invited for several interviews within a short time. You need to stay focused and optimistic throughout your job search so you can respond positively to opportunities.

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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