Job Search Weekly Article – Response Posted on February 15th, 2013 by

2/15/13, By Cynthia Favre

Katie Volney in her “The Job Search Quandry” article is correct…..your career cannot stand only on your education from a “good” school. Your good education is one leg supporting your career. The other legs are: engagement (you need to care more about your career than anyone else), exposure (manage your online presence and get to know people well enough for them to refer opportunities to you) and experience. The great thing is experience is not only paid employment. It includes: service learning and consulting projects you do as part of academic courses, research, leadership roles in clubs and organizations, campus employment, study away, community service, membership in professional associations (groups like Society of Human Resource Managers and Midwest Global Trade Association) as well as part-time and summer employment, career explorations and internships. There is an increasing number of Mankato employers seeking interns. Having the privilege of reading over 700 Gustavus candidate resumes every year, I have seen an increase in the Gustavus opportunities that qualify as “experience” for employers. I encourage students to not think of their experiences as only full-time, paid experience. Combine 4 summers (3months x 4 years = 12 months), part-time (40 hrs/month x 9 months x 4 years = 1440 hours) and you are at 21 months of experience PLUS your academic work!

The good news is that the job market is really opening up! There are 208 employers at MN Private Colleges Job and Internship Fair – as many as the Fair has ever had! (You can see these employers interested in MN Private Colleges candidates at www.mnpcfair.org.) There are lots of opportunities – BUT employers are wary of “cold” applications. Meaning the “apply, apply, apply” advice may not work as well as it once did. A better plan is to “network, network, network”. Because chances of being selected for interviews (and then jobs) goes up if you have some connection to the employer. How to do this:

1. Follow employers of interest on their social media; ask questions, comment on their posts.

2. Go to www.simplyhired.com (a job posting website), log into your Facebook from there and it will search the employers of your Facebook friends for job openings. You can then contact your friends about the positions with their employers.

3. Go to www.linkedin.com and create a profile. Join the Gustavus Alumni Group. Search the members of that group for employers you are interested in and ask for advice and suggestions on applying for positions with their employer.

4. Attend as many Gustavus networking events as you can! And attend in professional dress with your resume in hand and a prepared summary of what you are looking for. Alums really do want to help you! May 2 there will be a networking event for students and alumni in Minneapolis (transportation from campus provided) to network!

5. Get help! Job search is NOT an activity to do on your own! Tell everyone you know that you are looking and give them an idea of what you are looking for (“Anything” is not a job title!). You don’t have to know job titles. You can say “I don’t know all the job titles, but the things I believe I do well are: manage projects, build positive relationships with customers and create solutions. I am particularly interested in finance, organization operations, and customer relations.” You never know who knows who!

In the discouraging moments of job search (it can be an emotional roller coaster!) remember that the world needs you! If you have a Gustavus education, the world needs you to use your gifts and talents and knowledge and skills to make a positive difference in the world! And, remember that Gustavus Career Development has lots of information, opportunity and support to help you find clarity, confidence and connections for careers and callings.

 

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