Mayumi Oda
CEP121.2270
Professor Wright
October 7, 2008
GUIDED QUESTIONS CHAPTER 9
1. How can you develop your job search skills in college?
Most colleges offer several job search services for students.
First, students can get information of workshops and events that will increase their
readiness for a job search by visiting on-campus career services center. Placement
offices usually have free information about this year’s job market. Students can find a
list of job openings, which are updated constantly. Moreover, colleges may also hold
job fairs and organize job search clubs. There may be an active alumni association or
network that informs students about job opportunity.
Second, college co-op, fieldwork, and internship programs are another valuable
resource for students. Participants in an internship program is beneficial in several
ways: it provides a structure in which to build students’ job search skills during their
college years; they develop resume-writing and interviewing skills; they can explore
various career options that help them refine their job objectives; and they gain access
to employers in their field. An internship or fieldwork builds students’ resume and
makes them more competitive in the job market.
Finally, networking in college is a job search method in which students
deliberately take the time to inform others that they are looking for a job. Students
provide the information with details about their background and skills, and outline
their job objectives. Networking is an important way to advance the career. Getting
students’ foot in the door is just one way that members of their career network can
help them.
2. After you graduate, what are some strategies for uncovering job leads?
There are some strategies for uncovering job leads.
One of the ways is to stay in touch with colleges’ placement office and continue
to network with members of college community.
Another powerful way to uncover job openings is to get in touch directly with
employers students are interested in.
The Internet is emerging as a rich resource for learning about job openings. There
are estimated to be more than 30000 electronic job boards worldwide where students
can learn about job openings and post the resume.
Traditional sources of job leads are classified ads and job fairs advertised in local
newspaper. Classified ads are one of the most effective ways in which people find
jobs.
Another resource is private employment agency. These account for about 5
percent of job leads.
Another way to discover key employers in area is to work for temporary service
firms. An experienced temp worker notes that temps gain work experience, build
skills, earn money, network, and uncover full-time job opportunities.
3. What is a resume?
Resume is a one-page advertisement of skills. The resume provides an overview
of skills and summarizes experience and education. Its goal is to convince the
employer that what people have done in the past makes them a highly qualified
candidate who is worth interviewing.
4. Describe three kinds of resumes you need in today’s job search.
Students must have three versions of resume ready when people begin their job
search: an interview version, a scannable version, and an E-mail or plain-text version.
The interview resume is an attractively formatted version used in interview.
The scannable resume is a plain vanilla version of the interview resume. Specific
word-processing codes and symbols, such as bold type, underlining, and italics, are
eliminated from it so that it can scanned accurately into a resume database. Key
words are added so that it will be retrieved for openings appropriate for skills and
experience.
The plain-text resume is created in a ASCⅡ or plain-text format so that it can be
sent in the body of an E-mail or used in E-forms to apply for openings on company
Web sites. The resume is in a file format that can be read by all company.
5. What are key words in a “scannable resume”?
The key words in a scannable resume are nouns and noun phrases that reflect
education, experience, competencies, and personal qualities. Examples f key words
include degree, job titles, skills, and personality attributes.
6. Who makes a good reference?
A good reference is a person who can speak about your performance. The person
is your current and former employer and your college professor.
7. What are some key points to keep in mind when writing a cover letter?
First, people address letters to a specific individual if it is possible.
Second, people have to state position applied for and where they found the
opening listed.
In addition, they need to specify to sell themselves, to request an interview, to
sign letter, and to enclose their resume.
8. What are some psychological challenges that you face in conducting a job
search?
Most job seekers experience times when they are anxious, scared, uncertain,
discouraged, and lacking confidence. The pressure to succeed and the need to
structure the search by oneself are major sources of the negative emotion.
People need understanding that they are under pressure can help to relieve the
pressure. Also, talking with someone is another way to restore the emotional
equilibrium. Moreover, people should set up a schedule, keep a contact log book, and
develop a system for finding and following up on job leads to overcome the negative
emotion. Organizing a daily routine can reduce the anxiety.
9. What are some coping mechanisms?
It is the way to reset the priorities and let some others activities go. Another
strategy is to ask friends and family members to pitch in to relieve people of some of
the current responsibilities, many students juggle home, work, school responsibilities
when they search the job.
10. What information do you need about your references?
People need all relevant contact information, such as name, title, business
addresses with Zip code, E-mail address, and phone and fax numbers.