Conducting a successful job search requires your active participation. Before you begin your job search, you will need to determine where you are in the process. Have you clarified your goals? (What is it that you want to do?) Have you identified and researched prospective employers? Have you prepared a resume? Are you confident about your interviewing skills? Can you identify multiple resources to increase your chances of finding employment? Should you answer "no" to any of these questions, schedule an appointment with a career counselor to discuss your concerns. Remember you have many resources to choose from when conducting a job search. A successful job search will require your active participation and the use of multiple resources.
Finding an answer to the question, "What do I really want in a career?" is one of the hardest parts of making a successful transition from college to career. Most college seniors are uninformed about career possibilities and because the topic is usually a complex, anxiety-provoking one, it is left unaddressed.
As you interview with employers, all your communication -- both written and verbal -- needs to focus first on understanding and then clearly articulating how your qualities can benefit the employer. As you get more involved in your job search, your goals will become refined because "career knowledge" increases. Even if you've always known your general career path, you will now need to get "employer and job specific" to make the maximum impact during your job search. One stumbling block is trying to draw too close a connection between your major and future jobs. Computer science majors may work as systems designers, but so may math, chemistry and liberal arts majors. There are a number of factors beyond the college major that determine your first job.
One of the more confusing aspects of a job search is understanding relationship between job title, job function, work environment, and industry. People often mistakenly use these terms interchangeably. Job title refers to the actual position name used by the employing organization to label a specific job (i.e., systems engineer, tax accountant, manufacturing trainee). Job function describes the activities or tasks the person in the job does on a day-to-day basis. For example, a tax accountant prepares financial records, balances company ledgers, and examines cost accounting procedures at client companies. Work environment refers to the type of organization where the work takes place. In the example being used, a tax accountant may perform the previous functions in a large public accounting firm; a small, privately-owned agency; a large or small company; a multi-department organization; or a small, growing firm. Industry is a term that describes series of related products or services that make up a portion of the overall economy. Industries include electronics, financial services, petroleum, and manufacturing. It is important to understand that a person can often perform the same work, have the same job title, and have the same work environment in different industries.
