Preparing Your Job Seeker Tools
As a job seeker, it’s probably depressing to know so many people on welfare, unemployment and public assistance for the first time. This is not what you had envisioned four years ago, at the start of your college career. When you received that college assistance grant, you were said to be “an aspiring young entrepreneur” at the top of your class. When you worked that summer internship, they wished you “the best of luck in your endeavors” and said you can always come back for a job, except you don’t want to live and work in China. Now you’re scratching your head and questioning everything, wondering why the 50 resumes you sent out haven’t received one response (unless of course, you count the three generic auto-responses). Chin up, young job seeker. Read on to see if you’ve got what it takes to swim with the sharks.
First, do you have the education? The conventional wisdom was always that this meant a four-year degree at minimum. While college assistance is invaluable at providing networking contacts and possible internship opportunities, today’s job seeker doesn’t necessarily need to spend all their pennies on the college experience. “Most of the jobs for tomorrow don’t require a baccalaureate degree,” states Michael D. Moye, president of Lanier Technical College, “but they do require training beyond high school. You’d be amazed at the skill sets needed in today’s industries.” Technical schools range from two-month certificates to two-year associate’s degrees and provide more hands-on training than traditional universities. Air traffic controller, glazier, auto installer, refinery operator, customer service representative, sales rep, longshoreman, lineman, pipe fitter and truck driver are just a few jobs that require just a high school education or GED.
Next, you need to ask yourself if you have experience. What matters most to an employer examining a job seeker’s record is that the individual knows what it’s like to work on a team, as well as individually. They want you to have a track record of interacting with clients, accomplishing tasks and working under pressure. It seems like a catch-22, doesn’t it? “How do I get experience if I have no experience,” you may ask? Internship opportunities are an ideal place to start. Many are unpaid and offer only college credit, but if you’re looking in the accounting, consulting, insurance, consumer goods, hospitality, engineering or science fields, then you’ll likely find a paid internship to help you acquire the skills you need. Typically, when you finish your interning, the company will ask you to stay and all your problems will be solved! For a list of the best internships, check out Business Week’s list of “Top 50 Internships.”
If you haven’t heard back from your latest job seeker resume/cover letter blitz, do not despair. Instead, take this time to ramp up your portfolio, refine the wording of your resume and tailor your cover letters. Sometimes there are obvious mistakes you’re missing. It helps to have a second opinion on your work. Ask yourself the following questions. Am I writing my resume with active verbs and specific, quantitative results? Am I using keywords that might be searchable by a computer database for my industry? Did I include all titles, dates and phone numbers? Is my resume a single page? The best way to help job providers know you better is with a detailed, polite cover letter that lets them know who you are and why you’re a good fit for their company. If you’re struggling, most communities have centers where you can get help developing your portfolio to make yourself more marketable.
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