Successful Job-Search Strategies

Black Collegian, Oct 2004 by Bruce, Calvin

An obvious and very beneficial job search strategy is to respond to employment ads targeting recent college grads. Magazines such as THE BLACK COLLEGIAN include employment notices posted by some of the country's leading corporate and government employers. These are organizations that value workplace diversity and offer career-track positions for well-prepared, ambitious graduates.

It's wise to include as part of this strategy careful review of specialty publications produced by professional associations, large metropolitan newspapers, magazines targeting ethnic and religious audiences, and any other quality periodicals offering employment leads and job-hunting tips. To broaden your prospects, review past as well as current issues of these publications. Although corporate advertisers might focus on certain academic disciplines in current ads, they may also have hiring needs in other areas, as described in previously published employment notices.

Bear in mind, hundreds or thousands of interested readers respond to enticing employment ads in newspapers and magazines. When you do so, make sure that your resume and cover letter are as impressive as you can make them-and that they reach the proper decision-makers.

As a practical tip, rather than send your credentials to "Human Resources," find out the name of the head of HR and direct your resume to that person. Taking the effort to personalize a cover letter in this way will score you some points as a prospective candidate.

A key ingredient in job hunting is to be appropriately aggressive. Simply sending your resume to employers who've placed want ads is not enough. Within a week, follow up by phone and try to schedule an interview. If you haven't heard from them within several additional weeks, make another courteous phone call to simply say that you're still interested in the position. The intent is not to be "pushy," but persistent in pursuing your job search.

Network with anyone who can provide job leads.

As you will learn throughout your career, the best jobs are not always advertised. Tapping "the hidden job market" is an extremely valuable strategy for landing an ideal job. Simply put, when companies seek to make quality hires, they oft times post job openings internally and welcome referrals from current employees. This hiring approach makes sense on several levels. Most people are very selective in who they refer, realizing that their credibility is on the line if that person is hired. When top-notch employees give a strong endorsement of someone as a prospective candidate, most employers are all the more comfortable and confident in hiring the individual referred.

The key to effective networking is to "throw out your net" in communicating with anyone who can point you in a helpful direction related to your job search. Stop and think of all the persons who might possibly know of a job opening in your field, or at least can put you in touch with someone who has such knowledge. Your list of contact people will probably be quite extensive: