Personalize The Job Search Take a look at a typical job search scenario in a competitive job market: You’ve recently sent your resume to an organization that advertised an opening. You’re excited about this opportunity because it seems perfect for you. You have relevant skills and ex perience and have spent days presenting these on your resume and cover let ter. You know you could be successful in this position. So you wait anxiously with much optimism. Meanwhile, the recruiter Mix and mingle with recruiters in advance of the fair to connect with employers interested in diversity hiring! £ f Meet many of the employers who will be at Fall Career Days Exchange business cards* with employers Network to get an inside look at diversity in the workplace Enjoy hot & cold hors d'oeuvres *Pre-registered students will be given business cards to distribute to employers studentaffairs.psu.edu/career 6 is sitting in her office with over 100 pieces of cotton bond paper (resumes), each having only subtle differ ences in color, style, and typed content. With this large number of resumes, she executes a quick, 20- second scan of each re sume to dwindle down the stack. The months and years of acquiring relevant knowledge and practical experience through courses, full-time and part-time jobs, extracurricular activities and internships, along with the hours spent producing your resume, results in a 20- second scan of your piece of cotton-bond paper. Was this a thorough ex amination of your potential? Did the recruiter get a chance to explore your skills and experience and learn about your ambition and excitement for this job? Did they really get to know the person behind that piece of paper? The job search process is impersonal by nature. Think about it. The re cruiter’s first impression or assessment of you is usu ally based on the words on a fancy piece of paper. Your resume and cover let ter are being analyzed - not your enthusiasm, communi cation skills, positive atti tude, self-confidence, inter personal skills, or sense of humor. You must create situations where you, the whole person, are assessed and evaluated. Networking is the key to putting a face to your re sume, providing you the ultimate way to present yourself as the ideal candi date. Social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twit ter, are networks that you For more information on how to use social media professionally, go to: studentaffairs.psu.edu/career/cic/online.shtml already have established with personal contacts. When you are looking for a job, post about it. You never know who may see your status update or tweet and know someone, who knows someone, who is hiring. Another avenue to ex plore is professional net working. Like social net works, . professional net works allow you to connect with others and help you gather needed information on majors, career options, or a particular company Lion Link, one of Penn State’s professional net working programs, is avail able to help you jump start your network and connect you with Penn State alumni. Whether you are exploring majors or preparing to enter the job-market for the first time, Lion Link can help you: • Network with successful Penn State alumni who are willing to share career information and advice • Gain valuable insight about job opportunities in your career field, compa nies you are interested in working for, specific job responsibilities, and job search techniques; • Increase the number of people you know in your career field. Currently, there are more than 2,000 career coaches in more than 200 industries. All Lion Link career coaches are Penn State alumni and have volunteered to partici pate in Lion Link. They are eager to talk to students just like you and share their ca reer information and advice. To get started, log on at: www.psualumcareer.com/ career/ Linkedln is another pro fessional networking tool, allowing you to connect with others who share your inter ests or career goals. But Linkedln isn’t just “the pro fessional Facebook.” Con nections here are meaning ful and engage in providing referrals and establishing relationships. Check out the job boards for opportunities of interest to you. Join groups that relate to your interests and career aspira tions. Participate in discus sions that will enhance your understanding and establish you as an expert in your field. To fully tap into the ca pacity of Linkedln, visit the Learning Center at learn.linkedin.com/students.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers