Job Hunting Guide for College Grads

Job Hunting Guide for College GradsJob Hunting Guide for College GradsThere are many resources available to help college graduates (and college students) with their job searches. From your colleges career schreibstube to alumni who have volunteered to help to job sites specifically for students and graduates, youll find a variety of resources available to help with a college job search. Learn what resources are available and how best to use them to find a summer or part-time job, an internship, or your first job out of college. Job Search Resources for College Grads College Career OfficesThe first and most important college-student job-search tip, for both underclass students and graduating seniors, is to visit your college or university career office (sometimes called a career services office). Most career offices provide college students with personal career counseling, job and internship listings, and other forms of job search assistance. Career offices also often run job shad owing programs, job ritterlichs, recruiting programs, and other networking opportunities for students and graduates. They might also run workshops and seminars on various job search topics. A college career office can help with nearly every step of your job search process. For example, the staff can even help you create a resume and draft a cover letter. Many career offices will conduct practice interviews with you as well. College Job FairsManycolleges host job fairs, both on and off campus. Some fairs are focused on a particular industry, such as a job fair in education or marketing. Taking the time to attend is well worth the effort. Youll have the opportunity to meet companies that are hiring, learn more about opportunities at those companies, and, and at some events, youll even be able to interview for jobs. Also, check out any job fairs in your colleges town or city. This is a great way to find a local job, which is especially useful if you want a job or internship while you are still in school. College Recruiting ProgramsParticipatingin college recruiting programsis a great way to tap opportunities. Many large employers have formal college recruitment programs they use to recruit college students and alumni for jobs, internships, summer jobs, andco-op opportunitiesat the company. Smaller companies also recruit on a less formal basis, posting new job openings as they become available. Recruiting programs might be in-person for example, employers might come to your school to recruit candidates. However, recruiting programs increasingly are going virtual. There are many online recruiting programs. Check with your career services office to learn about programs at your school. College Career Networking OpportunitiesThere are numerous opportunities for college students and grads tonetworkand to investigate career options. For example, build relationships with your professors, and keep them posted on your job search. They might have contacts in your industry or know of opportunities available to you. Also, attend any relevant career workshops at your school. Many workshops will be hosted by your career services office. These are great opportunities to meet hiring managers in your industry. You might also explore networking opportunities in your surrounding community. Your college town or city might have people in various industries willing to meet with students interested in their fields. Finally, make use of your colleges alumni network. Check with your career office or alumni office to see if there is a database of alumni willing to talk with current students. You might be able to conduct an informational interview or even job shadow someone in a career of interest. Online Job Searching For college students about to enter the workforce and students looking for a summer or part-time job, there are a variety of jobs sites dedicated toentry-level jobs. There are also other kinds of niche job sites, including sites focused on interns hips and sites devoted to particular industries. Many of these job sites not only includejob listings, but they also provide career and job search advice, including tips specifically for college students. Someof these entry-level sites are only accessible through a college career office. In this case, you will need a password from your career office to access the resources. Others are available for all job seekers interested in entry-level positions. Job Search Tips for College Grads Consider an internship. Not ready for a real job yet? A lot of college students arent. Keep in mind that your first job doesnt need to be a full-time or professional position. There are a variety of options available for college students includinginternships, short-term work experiences, or volunteering.For recent college graduates, as well as college students, an internship is a way to try a new job without making a permanent commitment. It is also a great opportunity for a student who is looking f or a job for the school year or is looking for a summer job. Be flexible. If you are having trouble finding a job, broaden the number of fields you are considering. Since you are looking for an entry-level job, it is a good idea to broaden your horizons. You never know where your first job might take you. Network extensively. One of the best ways to find a job is through someone you know. Take the time to speak with professors about your job hunt, conduct informational interviews with alumni, and attend any job events on campus. Once you meet someone and get to know him or her, stay in touch by sending the person an email every now and then, updating him or her on your job search. You never know what connection is going to lead to a job. Collect references. Before graduating, find some job references. Your references might include professors, athletic coaches, internship supervisors, and others who can speak to your skills and abilities. Ask them to serve as references, and then cre ate a list of references to have on hand for when you begin applying for jobs. You might also ask a few to write you letters of reference, so you have those on hand in case an employer wants them. Dont panic. Even if you have waited until the last minute to departure a job search, dont panic. The college hiring season is not as compressed as it was in the past. There will be plenty of opportunities to apply for. Set up an appointment with a counselor in your career office, and get started. If you do have time to plan ahead, semester break is a perfect time to work on job searching. Say thank you. Once you do get a job, be sure to send a thank you note to everyone who helped you with your search, including people who wrote you letters of recommendation, people with whom you conducted informational interviews, and people you job shadowed. Saying thank you is not only polite, but it is also a useful way to stay in touch with people. You never know when you might need help finding anoth er job in the future.

A Foosball Table isnt the Hallmark of a Good Company Culture

A Foosball Table isnt the Hallmark of a Good Company CultureA Foosball Table isnt the Hallmark of a Good Company CultureThere are no shortcuts to achieving an engaged and productive workforce.When the business environment is strong, when the competition isnt a major threat, and when productivity levels are acceptable, performance management problems are easy to address (or ignore). However, when stressors increase and the organization faces challenges, a sense of urgency develops because engagement issues like reduced productivity, decreased job satisfaction and increased absenteeism begin to appear. At this point the call to improve employee engagement is made by the management team, and they demand fast results. Thus begins the scramble for quick solutions and simple fixes.The problem is that quick and simple are leid cheap. Through her organizational effectiveness research at the University of Pennsylvania, Pam Teagarden, founder of Authentum, estimates that companies loose more t han $300 billion a year in productivity due to misguided attempts to improve employee engagement.Quick and simple doesnt work, so avoid unterstellung common employee engagement traps1.Applying simple tools to complex problemsToo many smart people propose overly simplistic solutions to engagement issues. Saying thank you and smiling more often will make managers more polite, but good congeniality wont spur long-term commitments from employees. Neither will free food, social opportunities, a relaxed dress code or a d% foosball table.2.Believing happy is the same as engagedIf you need proof that happiness and engagement are not the same, look no further than a workplace that pays high salaries, expects very little of employees and offers no oversight. For anyone who thinks that sounds like the perfect job, a friend who had worked in the Middle East under these circumstances warns youve obviously never experienced the frustration of working hard while others dont, and no one cares eithe r way.3.Trying to fix management issues with engagement solutionsIt might be shocking, but engagement isnt a supervisory responsibility. Thats because the managers role is secondary to factors that are likely out of her hands the organizational structure and the corporate culture. Too often, management issues are confused with engagement issues. Its impossible to engage employees when there are fundamental flaws to the organizations design. Sean Williams, the immediate past chair of the employee communications section of Public Relations Society of America, suggests that companies should get away from the concept of engagement being something separate when its part of good management.4.Expecting employees to tell you what they wantThe readily available employee engagement tools only assess whether people are engaged. No matter how real-time or frequent the employee engagement surveys are, they all have the same problem organizations and their workforce dont speak the same language. Just like the patient describes his pain to the doctor and the physician determines what is wrong and how to remedy it, employee surveys are only a diagnosis that something is amiss. Your employees cant write their own prescriptions. 5.Surveying too muchSurveys themselves can create new problems or exacerbate existing issues. This is because the act of surveying employees conveys a promise from management that they recognize a problem and resolve to rectify it. Employees reasonably expect that the survey is a first step in the process of finding and fixing what isnt working. If the information is gathered and no action is taken, management sends the message that it is either incompetent or didnt care in the first place.6.Compartmentalizing engagementWhen engagement is a problem, often the human resources or communications departments are turned to for solutions. While the expertise might live there, the solution must involve everyone. It cant be a case of leadership saying, You fix our engagement problems and well continue to do everything else the same.7.Creating an engagement model that only works under ideal circumstancesEngagement during the good times is relatively easy to achieve but hard to sustain. Thats because change is inevitable. Putting in place an engagement plan that does not account for personal and professional stress on the workforce is doomed to fail. Engagement is often measured as a mood or emotion, said Teagarden, who points out that moods change, but engagement does not necessarily need to fluctuate as well.8.Using salary and rewards as an engagement replacementWhen the economy was weak, engagement activities were viewed as an inexpensive replacement for salaries and rewards, according to communications strategist Williams. Now the opposite seems to be occurring employers are re-evaluating pay scales and benefits and expecting the salary bumps to translate into an engagement boost. Its refreshing that weve come back to the idea that comp ensation is important, he said, but he cautions that pay scales and benefits are merely a foundation for trust, commitment and engagement, not a substitute.9.Covering up survey resultsNo matter how much HR reworks the survey results before presenting them to the board, the concerns of employees will remain. Whitewashing doesnt work, nor does punishing managers who oversee problem areas. If you go to the effort of conducting a survey, then hiding them wont fix anything.10. Expecting to engage overworked employeesThe goal of engagement isnt to squeeze more work out of people who already have a full plate of responsibilities. Therefore, if workloads are an issue, your employees will never be engaged.Attempting to take the easy route to employee engagement will only waste money, effort and your employees goodwill. Communications strategist Williams suggests that employers take a comprehensive view of employee engagement by examining compensation, employees ability to self-determine aspe cts of their job and the alignment of corporate values with leadership behaviors, then pick the right metrics that drive outcomes. This will look different for every organization.Knowing exactly which combination of activities to embark on is the challenge. Employee engagement expert Teagarden advocates accounting for shifts in the business environment, employee moods and other stressors. Maximum productivity and maximum engagement is possible, but companies need a roadmap. Understanding employees reaction to stress is the missing link, she said.Her research resulted in a tool that arms organizations with such a roadmap. Otherwise, she says, companies are throwing money at a problem without a plan for properly targeting the true problem areas.No one is suggesting that the foosball table needs to disappear, but everyone agrees that engagement is a complex problem that requires a complete solution.If you want to learn more about achieving authentic and lasting engagement, start by bui lding your leadership credibility. Download the free eBook Character Trumps Credentials 171 Questions that Help Leaders Tell Great Stories that Influence, Engage and Inspire.

Online Recruiting Tactics and Tips

Online Recruiting Tactics and TipsOnline Recruiting Tactics and TipsOnline recruiting can use a variety of tactics. The basics include posting open positions on job boards - or listing them with professional associations that maintain a resume bank of job seekers in a specific industry or area of expertise. But theres mora you can do to increase your chances of attracting top talent to your company.Enhance the company websiteFor effective online recruiting, businesses should keep their own websites up to date, and the sites should be inviting to job seekers. In addition to product and service information, the site needs to make clear why the firm is a great place to work. For example, use the About Us and News sections to emphasize the benefits of the companys work environment.Use social media for internet recruitingIn recent years, small businesses have been finding that professional networking sites such as LinkedIn - and, increasingly, social networking sites such as Facebook - provide great opportunities for online recruiting. In many cases, the best candidates are already employed, so these networking sites offer ways to get in touch with passive job seekers who are not actively scanning job postings.Robert Half has been helping companies with their hiring since 1948. Let us help you.REQUEST TALENTAvoid the pitfalls of online recruitingBusinesses need to be aware of certain limitations and pitfalls when participating in online recruiting. For instance, the major job boards are typically tapped out by other employers looking for candidates. And hiring managers should be cautious when reaching out to individuals they encounter online. Thats because the digital equivalent of a cold call - such as sending an unsolicited email to promising candidates - can be counterproductive. Individuals voluntarily post professional information to these sites, but many prefer to be contacted through mutual acquaintances or by people who are already in their networks.Mai ntaining the personal touchKeep in mind that internet recruiting efforts should augment, not replace, traditional one-on-one personal interactions. ansicht crucial contacts should still include outreach to potential candidates through networking events and campus job fairs, as well as relationships built with reputable recruiters. Direct contact helps employers and candidates better understand each others needs and build a rapport. And working with a dedicated recruiter makes it much easier to reach individuals with the specific skills a small business needs.Theres no question that Internet recruiting has helped small businesses seek out new talent. But the deeper nature of personal relationships is simply not available online. Therefore, the most successful hiring strategies combine both the high-tech and high-touch approaches.Learn about 10 job search websites that set the standard for online recruiting.