Job Hunt Blog

Finding an Entry Level Job

Question:

I'm looking for a job as a structural engineer. I just finished my degree, so I don't have much real experience. How do I find a job?

Answer:

MOST JOBS ARE NOT POSTED ANYWHERE. You find them by approaching the employer directly, if you know someone who works there, and asking for help and information.

So, the BEST thing to do is to identify the companies or organizations where you want to work. You'll need to do research, and it will take time, but it's really a better career building strategy than just "shagging" a job from who ever has one posted when and where you are looking.  Once you've identified the employer, find contacts already working inside the target employers' organizations, and network your way to a job.

Find Potential Employers

You can identify potential employers a number of ways:

• Yellow Pages (on-line and off) for the location where you want to work.  You can do a location and keyword searches using SuperPages - http://www.superpages.com/ - for structural engineers, I look at the engineering and construction companies, even government agencies (both Federal and local)

• ThomasNet - from the Thomas Register directory people - has thousands of businesses organized by category, including a large engineering category.  You can also do keyword searches, but scan the categories first for ideas.  You'll find ThomasNet online at http://www.thomasnet.com

• Local news (on-line and off)  What major construction projects are going on?  What companies and government agencies are involved?  That should be relatively easy to find out.  Online news stories frequently have links to the newsmakers, and the sites are usually searchable.

• Yahoo Finance - http://finance.yahoo.com - don't be the last person hired before the layoffs begin.  If it's a company with publically traded stock, there will be a ton of information about the company's financial performance, the management team, even stock analyst projections.

Make Contact

Once you've identified potential employers, look for contacts in those organizations.  Check with your school's Career Center to see if there are any alumni/ae who work at any of your targen employers.  Often, the school will have pre-approval from people willing to help their school's new graduates.  Sites like LinkedIn.com, Jiggs.com, and JigSaw.com can be very useful for making contacts with people inside a target employer's organization.  Having a friend/advocate "on the inside" is an ENORMOUS advantage for your job search!

Also:

You can also identify employers by checking out job sites, and here are some which should be useful to you:

• CollegeJournal.com - http://www.collegejournal.com From The Wall Street Journal people for new graduates of any major, so you'll need to search for structural engineering jobs. Really a top notch site, as you would expect from WSJ.

• EngineeringJobs - http://www.engineerjobs.com/structural_e... Has a section for structural engineers, but not necessarily new grads. You'll need to look through the listings to find those, typically called "entry level" jobs.

• Indeed.com - http://www.indeed.com Indeed is an "aggregator" site which means they collect job postings from job sites and employers. I did a search on "entry level structural engineer" (WITH the quotes) and found 55 job postings today. There were nearly 4,000 postings using the less restrictive search term "structural engineer" (WITH the quotes).

And, I'd also check quirky sites like Craig's List for opportunities too.

Good luck!

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Finding a Job with a Silicon Valley Startup

Question:

I'm finishing my MBA in Pennsylvania and want to get a job in a Silicon Valley startup. How do I do that?

Answer:

Do you know which Silicon Valley startups you might want to work for? If not, you need to put together a list of "possibilities" and then start trying to get their attention.

Finding Silicon Valley startups:

1. I'd start with a search for Silicon Valley venture capital companies (startups with a VC firm behind them usually - not always - have a better chance of survival). Often, they'll have a list of companies in their "portfolio" of investments and press releases on their Websites about the companies that they are investing in.

• Menlo Ventures is one Silicon Valley VC firm I've heard about (which doesn't really mean anything)

• Yahoo has a list of VC firms, but it is not limited to Silicon Valley

• The National Venture Capital Association has a list of members.

2. Then, Google the "possibilities" to see what you find. If they are a few years old, well-funded, and growing, they probably have Websites with jobs posted on them.

3. Check the online Silicon Valley business press and other local area news sources to see who they are writing about. That should give you the names of more "possibilities" to add to your list and - if you read the "socialite" columns - potentially contact names at those companies.

4. See if Yahoo Finance has information on your "possibilities" - stock analysis, company officer names, press releases and other news, analyst reports, etc.

Finding a Job with a Silicon Valley Startup

Your best bet to get a job at a startup - once you've identified the startups that interest you and have a good chance of survival - is to try to network your way into the company. I'd check Websites like Ziggs.com, JigSaw.com, and even ZoomInfo.com to see if you can find the companies listed there and identify contacts for you.

In case you aren't sure of the geography involved (which you'll need to know to use both Craig's List and Indeed), here's the Wikipedia definition of Silicon Valley.

Last but NOT least, check out "How to Get a Job at a Silicon Valley Startup" from Andreas.com both for leads and for the good and bad aspects of working for a startup. ...

If you have a place to live in Pennsylvania, stay there until you have found a job in Silicon Valley. According to Forbes, the San Francisco area tough job market right now, so don't invest in moving there unless you've got a job. You'll be spending your money - or maybe an employer will spend theirs - on plane tickets and hotel rooms, but you'll still have a relatively safe home base until you move.

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Job Scams

Question:

A company I never heard of emailed me with a part time job offer. I will be able to work from my home using my internet connection and my own computer, and they'll pay me every week. Sounds like just what I want, but now they want me to email them my Social Security Number. I'm not sure I should send it to them.

Answer:

Great instincts! Don't do it, until you know more about them and have proof that the work and the company are for real.  It will take a little time and you may be a little uncomfortable asking these questions, but it's better than being scammed by someone who's trying to take advantage of you.

Ask them where they are located - you want the company name, business address, and business phone number inside the U.S. If it's outside the U.S., walk away NOW!

• Google the phone number, with area code.
  Just type the whole phone number, with dashes in the appropriate spot (e.g. 212-555-1212), to see if you get a listing in the company's name.

• Check their listing in an online Yellow Pages.
  You should be able to do a lookup on the Business Name to find their listing, and it should agree with the information they've already given you or be very close to the same.

• Ask for their Website address.
  They should have their own domain [*whatever.com*], and you should find a complete and professional Website at that address.
  
  If they are legitimate, they should be using email address containting their domain name - like msmith @ [*whatever.com"]>.  If they are using an address @yahoo.com (HotMail.com or MSN.com) be very suspicious.
  
  Look at the About Us and Contact Us pages of their site to see if they provide proof about who and where they are. If it doesn't match up with what they've already told you or if there's no concrete information about who they are, where they are, and what they do, stop dealing with them.
  
  Check their domain name to see who owns it.  You do this through a Whois (literally, who is...) Lookup, like the one at DomainTools.com.  Look for their company name as the "Registrant" for the domain, and hopefully the same address and a similar - or the same - phone number.

• Contact their local Better Business Bureau (BBB).
  Visit the national Better Business Bureau Website to find the local BBB for this company by finding the one closest to their city in that state. Then, check with their local BBB to see if other people have filed complaints agains them for how they operate their business, pay their bills, etc.

• Ask for references.
  You want the names and contact information of other people who work for them as they are expecting you to work for them.  Then, contact those people, and ask them what their experience has been.  How long have they worked for the company?  How they work for the company?  What the work is like and how good is the company about paying bills. 

If they can't or don't want to provide you with any contact information that you can verify, if the contact information does NOT check out (wrong name for the phone number or no listing for the phone number), and/or if your other research indicates any problems, do not send them any more information or have anything else to do with them.

You would probably be doing everyone a favor if you reported them to the FBI's Internet Crime Complain Center (IC3), but you must be honest in your complaint, and it must be a valid complaint.  Making a false complaint, even over the Internet, could get YOU into trouble.

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Leaving a Bad Job Situation

Question:

I seriously dislike my supervisor at work. Can I leave without giving them the 2 weeks notice?

Answer:

Yes, you can, but it's not a good idea!

3 really important DON'TS:

1.  Don't leave without giving the customary notice, which is usually 2 weeks (check to be sure).  You'll pay a long-term price for ignoring this obligation. 

2.  Don't job search from work, even during "personal time" like lunch, or from home using your employer's assets.  You cannot assume that you have privacy, and if your employer discovers that you are job hunting, you may lose your job (and income) immediately.

3.  If you can manage, don't leave until you have landed another job.  Employers are much more interested in you if you are still employed by someone else.  If you don't have a job, you are a less appealing applicant.

Give Notice
Leaving without giving notice will not impress a new employer (even 4 jobs from now).  Who wants an employee who walks away from their commitment to another employer?  So, even though you are so angry with your current boss that you don't care if the company is inconvenienced by your departure, another employer may see your actions as immature or disrespectful.

Pack Unobtrusively
Before you give your notice, take home most of the family photos and your other personal items.  One or two a day or a week, so that the change in your work space is not abrupt.

Work Samples
If possible and appropriate, take home samples of your work before you give your notice - that report or presentation you spent so much time on (as long as it's NOT company confidential information).

Attitude Check
Keep your attitude good those last 2 weeks - or however long you stay after giving your notice - you may need a recommendation from that employer some day, and those co-workers are part of your "network" for the future. You may be "escorted out" the day you give your notice, but in case you aren't, be on good behavior and try to leave things in good shape for your boss and who ever follows you in that job.  You really don't want them to be happy that you left - that's not in your best long-term interest.

Recommendations
Tell potential employers that your job search is confidential at this point so you can't offer them a "current" recommendation. Most will understand your position, and if they don't, you probably wouldn't like working for them. If possible, offer written recommendations from previous employers, college professors, or teachers.  NOTE:  On your resume, you may want to disguise the name of your current employer to keep someone from contacting them about your job search before you are ready.  So, for example, IBM morphs into "multinational info technology company" - or whatever is appropriate - on your resume.

Bottom Line
Leaving a bad situation is very stressful and uncomfortable, but it's not permanent.  You'll move on to a better situation (hopefully!).  From painful personal experience, I learned that it's important to focus on finding a great new job vs. finding any job just so you can get away from a bad situation.  If you're not careful (as I was not), you'll find yourself in the old out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire situation, and then you'll be job hunting again much too soon.

Good luck with your job search!

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Tips to Ace that Interview

Question:

I have a job interview scheduled with a large aircraft manufacturer. How do I make a great impression?

Answer:

Let them know you aren't a "passive" lazy candidate - that you are REALLY interested in them and that you know how to use the Internet to research anything important to you.  It could be the critical differentiator that gets you the job offer vs. someone else who may be equally qualified (who didn't do any research).

Then, RESEARCH this company extensively before your interview and you'll have hundreds of questions to ask them (very important!) without any additional effort.  And, be sure to share with them the fact that you did research on them, and, hopefully, on their competitors as well.

Doing research is SO important in making an great impression, as well as in deciding whether or not the employer is really a good employer for you.

Company Website
I've had recruiters (and other company interviewers) tell me that they automatically eliminated anyone who didn't visit the company Website. So be sure to visit it, and look around it for:

• How they are organized?  Locations?  Plants?  Sales offices?  Headquarters?

• What they do and where they do it?

• Names of products, services, and executives?

• News (press releases, other announcements, and maybe links to stories about the company in publications or other parts of the media)

• Financial performance - look for the latest annual report and also back issues to see how they've been doing (you don't want to be the last person hired before they begin a laying everyone off).

Yahoo Finance -  is a fabulous research resource for finding out all kinds of useful things about publicly-held companies (those with shares of ownership - stock - sold on a stock exchange, like the NYSE) and look for MORE information:

• Find the "ticker" symbol (abbreviation of the company name associated with the stock market - like you see in the WSJ, and other, daily stock sales reports).

• Look at the stock's performance - going up or down? Trend?

• Click on "Headlines" under the "News & Info" in the left column - what's happening in that industry according to the press? Is the industry doing well over all or poorly or ??? Where does this company fit into that picture?

• Click on "Company Events" under "News & Info" in the left column - see what's scheduled and what's been happening in the company.

• Click on "Profile" under "Company" in the left column - get a summary of the company's history, position, strengths and weaknesses, industry, number of employees, names of the executives, plus links to other information

• Click on "Competitors" under "Company" in the left column to get an overview of the industry and competition. Then click on the competitors' ticker symbol to see the Yahoo Finance data on the competitors. VERY IMPORTANT!

• Click on "Analyst Opinion" under "Analyst Coverage" in the left column to see what the STOCK analysts are saying about the company and how strong they think it is.

• Click on the "Analyst Estimates" under "analyst Coverage" to see how well the stock analysts think the company is going to do, particulaly based on EPS (Earnings Per Share). Up forecast or down?

If you have the time and the energy (and hopefully you do), do the same kind of research on their major competitors (according to Yahoo Finance and any other material you might have seen).  Know how this potential employer ranks in their industry, and what their advantages may be over their competition.  You should also know their weaknesses if you can figure that out, but be careful about sharing anything negative during the interview.

So, going in knowing a great deal about them and their company will impress them with your interest in working there - be sure to make reference to things you learned in your research.  Also mention your visit to the company Website.

This interview is a 2-way street - you are interviewing them to see if you want to work for that company, with those people, in that environment. They may not meet YOUR requirements.

AFTER the Interview - The Thank You Notes
BE SURE to pick up a business card from each person you met (or note their name carefully), and then write a unique thank you note to each person immediately after the interview.  With a company this size, it's probably best to ask the HR person the best way to contact them (e-mail or hand-written and snail-mailed).  DON'T FORGET TO SEND THE THANK YOU'S IMMEDIATELY!   IT IS A *MAJOR* DIFFERENTIATOR FOR YOU (if received)!

Thank them for taking the time to speak with you.  Remind them, gently, of some aspect of your experience or skill set that seemed most important to them.  AND, if there is something you didn't handle particularly well, try to reframe the topic and recover.  [More on Thank You Notes in a job search.]

Good luck!

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High School Student Needs a Job FAST

Question:

I'm a high school senior, and I desperately need to make money to pay off some debts and to save for college. Where can I find a job quickly

Answer:

There are many good sites for finding jobs and going directly to an employer with a "Hiring" sign in the window is a great place to start if you are in a hurry.

Right now, you are probably "unskilled labor" although if you have really good computer skills you may have more options for a better job.

Look around your town (or in your online Yellow Pages) for these local employers. Here are some good places to start:

• Hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical facilities need plenty of unskilled labor. Most of the jobs you'll qualify for aren't fun, but you will get some valuable insight and experience in a major industry - healthcare. Long-term, that's a great industry for anyone, particularly as you make your way up the skills ladder into the really high-paying jobs.  Really understanding the industry from the "bottom up" is a great advantage, even if it's hard work as unskilled labor.

• Retail stores (Walmart, Target, Home Depot, etc.) and places like McDonald's also need people of your age and education. Retail is also good experience to have "under your belt." Again, understanding this industry from the bottom up is a great advantage and good expereince - even if it only motivates you to get better educated so you can get better-paying jobs. 

It will probably be difficult to quickly find things other than retail or medical very quickly, but it's possible. So, also check out -

• Craigslist - http://www.craigslist.org/
  Craigslist is a giant online classifieds (mostly free) organized by location (state or city and state) so you'll find many jobs posted by small companies and individuals. You'll also find some junk (scams, etc.) so be careful. But it can be very useful. Here's an article for using Craig's List to get a job - http://jobhunt.typepad.com/jobsearching/2006/07/using_craigs_li.html...

• Job-Hunt.org - http://www.job-hunt.org/jobs/states.shtml
  Has over 5,000 employers and career resources collected specifically for Illinois, with hospitals, medical centers and banks included.

• Indeed.com - http://www.indeed.com
  Indeed is an "aggregator" site which collects job postings from job sites as well as employer Websites, so do a search on your city and state to see what you find.

• Local newspaper classifieds are also very useful, and some of them also post the help wanted classifieds on their Websites. You'll find a bunch on the various Job-Hunt.org state pages.

Good luck!

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Finding a Job in Michigan

Question:

Our division has shut down, and we've all been laid off.  I've worked in plastics manufacturing for more than 20 years, and that's what I want to do here in Michigan.  What are my options?

Answer:

I'm sorry to say this - and I know you don't want to hear it - but it may be that what you want to do won't be done in Michigan any more. So, you've got 2 options - transfer those skills and experience to another job or re-locate (but be careful about moving until you have a written job offer from an employer in the new location).

Transfering skills:

• America's Career InfoNet (from the U.S. Dept. of Labor) has a good section for figuring out what your skills are. Go to the Skills Profiler, and try the "Menu Search" the first time through.

• Your local Michigan state employment office. They ARE there to help you, and you've been paying taxes for their services for many years. If you are a veteran, you may qualify for additional training, and so do some employers.

• "What Color Is Your Parachute" - a classic book, updated every year (2006 is current; 2007 is coming soon), with a wealth of knowledge and exercises to help you figure out what it is you would be happiest doing. The Website which supports the book (you really need BOTH) is JobHuntersBible.com. If you don't want to buy the book, check your local library. If they only have one career book, this one is it. Regardless of year, it will be very helpful.

Finding jobs - whether you stay in Michigan or look somewhere else:

• Indeed.com
  Indeed is an "aggregator" site which collects job postings from job sites as well as employer Websites, so searching on the location you want (city and state or zip code) and a job title will give you more options than most other sites.

• Craigslist.org
  Craigslist is a giant online classifieds (mostly free), broken up into smaller sites by location. There are 9 for Michigan. You'll find many jobs posted by small companies and individuals, and you'll also find some junk (scams, etc.) so be careful. But it can be very useful. Read Using Craig's List to Find a Job for some good tips.

• Job-Hunt.org
  An employment "portal," Job-Hunt.org has thousands of career resources and links to employer Websites (by state) including all of the sites listed above. The state listings offer you a number of options in every state.  Job-Hunt also has a great listing of job search networking and support groups (also by state) to help you with your networking.

Be sure to know what job you want and to let everyone know that you are job hunting. Over 75% of the time, people get a job because they know someone already working for that employer. It's called networking, and it's a key to success (but not a short cut). Good luck!

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Finding a Job with the U.S. Federal Government

Question:

How do I find U.S. Federal Government job openings?

Answer:

There are many Websites with U.S. Federal job opportunities posted:

• USAjobs.opm.gov - the job bank for many (but not all!) government agencies.

• FedWorld.gov - job listings plus information and other resources, from the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.

• StudentJobs.gov - internships in the U.S. Federal Government

In addition, many agencies and departments post jobs on their own Websites, too. And, there are also commercial sites with U.S. Federal Government jobs posted, as well.

Find over 50 U.S. Federal Government job sites at Job-Hunt.org, in the Government Jobs category.

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"FREE Resume Posting!"

Wow!  They'll let you post your resume on their Website for FREE!  What a deal?

Don't be impressed!  In the vast majority of cases, YOU are doing THEM a BIG favor by posting your resume on their Website.

It helps to understand the job site "business model" - a.k.a. how they make their money.  Almost all of them charge employers a fee for posting jobs, logically, and most of them also charge employers a fee to see resumes.  The next time you visit a job site, take a look at how they make the money to pay their bills.

This is the pricing today (and link to the current pricing page) for the 2 biggest sites -

• Monster.com charges the following rates, according to their Website right now:
  - Within a 100 Mile Radius -
  2 weeks - 400 "views" - $575
  1 month - 3,000 "views" - $1,000
  3 month - 15,000 "views" - $2,700
  6 month - 30,000 "views" - $4,200
  - National -
  2 weeks - 500 "views" - $900
  1 month - 3,000 "views" - $1,700
  3 month - 15,000 "views" - $4,200
  6 month - 30,000 "views" - $6,900
  "Views" are described as the number of resumes allowed to access within the chosen timeframe.

• CareerBuilder.com brags about 19 million resumes available, and they charge the following rates for access to resumes -
  2 weeks of "National Access" - $900
  1 month of "National Access" - $1,650
  2 months of "National Access" - $3,300
  3 months of "National Access" - $3,960

Smaller sites usually charge less, but you can see that your resume definitely has value to a job site.  And, they are entitled to make money - otherwise they wouldn't stay in business.  Just don't believe that any site is doing you a big favor by allowing you to post your resume "for free!"

And, DEFINITELY, be careful where you post your resume!  The sites referenced above are legitimate job sites, but even they cannot guarantee you that only legitimate employers will see your resume.  And there are thousands of smaller job sites - some of which appear to be completely bogus.

So, to protect yourself and your identity. Read Job-Hunt.org's Protecting Your Privacy, Choosing a Job Site, and Cyber-Safe Resume articles to understand how to spot a bogus job site or risky situation and how to protect yourself.

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Job Hunting Process that Works

Question:

I have sent out hundreds of resumes, but no job yet.  I must be doing something wrong.

Answer:

"Blasting" out hundreds of resumes is a waste of your time and effort. Recruiters and employers receive literally thousands of unsolicited resumes and mostly it annoys them.

Resume assistance:  Professional help with your resume is probably a good idea.  Free or low cost help is available from professionals through your state's employment services office. They have counselors, training and training resources, and jobs posted. Job-Hunt.org links to every state's employment office.

Networking: Face-to-face, person-to-person networking is critical to the success of your job search!

• Look for a local job search support group, too, either through the state employment office or through Job-Hunt.org's list of job networking and support groups by state.

• Get back in touch with old classmates through your schools' career centers, the phone book, or the Internet.

• Contact former bosses and co-workers through company alumni organizations, the phone book, or the Internet.  See Job-Hunt.org's list of employer "alumni" associations.

Job Search Fundamentals:

• Know the job that you want.  People can't help you unless you tell them what you want, and your job search will be too unfocused if you don't know what you are looking for.

• Pick employers who employ people doing the job you want (e.g. if you want to sell cars, you'd pick car dealers).

• Research those employers on the Web, visiting the employer's Website -
  • What jobs, if any, do they have posted on their Website?
  • How well are they doing financially (so you don't end up job hunting again too soon)?
  • What products or services do they sell? How good are the products/services?
  • If they are a non-profit, what do they do and how well do they do it?
  • How are they organized (which department/division would be best for you)? Names of people you might be able to contact in those departments - like the dept. manager?
  • Who is in charge?
  • Who is the competition and how tough are they to compete with?
  • Anything else you can find out...

• Customize your resume and cover letter. Use your research to customize your resume for specific employers (or classes of employers, if your list is really long and they are a very homogeneous group).  However, cover letters MUST be customized for EACH employer in order to stand out!

• Finding the jobs -
  • Search a job aggregator site like Indeed.com for jobs with your target employers.
  • Also check the Craig's List(s) appropriate for your target geography.
  • Look for the people you know who know people who work at the employers so you can get an internal contact to help you get your resume to the "right" people. The state employment office and job search support group mentioned at the top are useful for this too.

See Job-Hunt.org's Finding Jobs Online and Tapping the Hidden Job Market articles for additional help in identifying organizations and Websites that can help you with your job search.

I've had recruiters tell me that they are buried under with resumes from unqualified people and that job seekers are lazy because it's too easy to apply for any job. Be different - using the process above. And BE SURE to do the research. I've also had recruiters tell me that they automatically disqualify anyone who hadn't bothered to visit the company Website.

Good luck!

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