It Pays to Get a Jump Start on the Job Search

By Val Matta on Jul 7, 2008 5:04:23 AM

“Brick walls are there for a purpose…the brick walls are there to stop people who don’t want it badly enough.” Prof Randy Pausch, Carnegie Mellon University. What are your student’s brick walls when it comes to the job search? Perhaps it is not having an easy to use web service that c …

Read Story

Resume Keywords

By Val Matta on Dec 30, 2007 7:00:41 AM

The importance of making sure resumes have the right keywords embedded in them plays a key role in getting the employers attention. Many employers require resume submission to be emailed, enabling them to automatically process the large number of received resumes. Their applicant trac …

Read Story

Keyword Tips for MY JOBS

By Val Matta on Nov 6, 2007 7:00:49 AM

An Important part of the job search process is for students to complete self assessment exercises to ‘Know thyself’. Using their marketable skills as search words will help students get the most out of the “MY JOBS” function in CareerShift. Here’s a quick exercise to use as an example …

Read Story

Informational Interviewing

By Val Matta on Nov 6, 2007 7:00:03 AM

Informational interviewing is exactly what it sounds like — interviewing designed to yield the information you need to choose a career path, learn how to break in, and practice the interviewing process. It’s a focused conversation with someone in your career field who can provide you …

Read Story

Networking Tips

By Val Matta on Oct 25, 2007 8:00:14 AM

Remember to look up all of your old employers and co-workers. Job seekers can get so caught up in looking for positions at new employers that they neglect the co-workers and managers who already know and trust them. Make a list of co-workers and managers you have had, going back to hi …

Read Story

Thank You Tips

By Val Matta on Sep 13, 2007 8:00:39 AM

With so many Career Fairs taking place this time of year, I thought I would share some words on the ever important ‘Thank You’ to share with your students. The Career Fair: resumes are prepared and approved, students dress up, make eye contact, and shake with a strong hand….what’s nex …

Read Story

MY CONTACTS Tips

By Val Matta on May 2, 2007 8:00:31 AM

When you are using CareerShift.com to develop networking contacts inside an organization, you may want to use a few of these tips: (1) Say you find a Sales job in My Jobs that you are interested in. Click on the “Find Contacts at This Company” link and you will probably find close to …

Read Story

NETWORKING, NETWORKING, NETWORKING!

By Val Matta on Mar 13, 2007 8:00:34 AM

There’s a saying about successful Retail companies that goes “LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION”. Well, I’m going to propose a saying that pertains to successful job hunting, “NETWORKING, NETWORKING, NETWORKING.” I’m not going to say that it’s all that simple to find a job, but networking …

Read Story

Introduction

By Val Matta on Feb 14, 2007 7:00:19 AM

Hi, My name is Mark and I may be new to the Blog world, but I’m not new to the Employment world. In my Blog, I’m going to try to give you my thoughts and perspectives on what it takes to get a job and manage your career successfully. My entire career has been in Human Resources and I …

Read Story

Posts about:

Students & Recent Grads (8)

It Pays to Get a Jump Start on the Job Search

“Brick walls are there for a purpose…the brick walls are there to stop people who don’t want it badly enough.”

Prof Randy Pausch, Carnegie Mellon University.

What are your student’s brick walls when it comes to the job search? Perhaps it is not having an easy to use web service that combines many resources in one place, such as CareerShift . This enables them to be organized and prepared to be the pro-active job seeker in time for their job search.

Want proof that it pays to get a jump on a job search? According to a report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), students who began their job search early were rewarded for their proactive efforts. At this time last year, NACE’s 2007 Graduating Student Survey—conducted March 1 through April 30, 2007—71 percent of responding students either planned to or already had begun to look for a full-time job after graduation. Among those reporting that they had actively begun searching for a job, 79 percent already had submitted an application. And, of those students who submitted a job application, 51.2 percent had already accepted an offer for the job they would begin after graduation.

Read More