Posts Tagged ‘Entry Level Jobs’

There’s no doubt about it, 2009 was a tough year for job hunters. This was especially true for new grads looking for entry level jobs.

However, there are some glimmers of hope on the horizon. The economy is rebounding, the unemployment rate seems to be stabilizing (a precursor to a decrease), and consumer sentiment is on the uptick.

So how can you use this to your advantage? Here’s how to find an Entry Level Job in 2010:

• Network, Network, Network: When looking for an Entry Level Job, it’s often about who you know. Take the time to network and meet people. Not everyone will be in a perfect position to help you, but you will eventually connect with someone who will.
• Get On LinkedIn: This is the second best way to keep in touch with your contacts (besides phone/email). Make sure you keep connected with your network and invite those who are not currently users to join the system.
• Stand Out From The Crowd: Look for opportunities to set yourself apart from the competition. Volunteer, take internships, enroll in extra-curricular programs, find a new hobby, etc. Discover things that make you unique and use them as selling points!
• Look At Industries First: As the economy continues to recover, start your job search by looking at industries that are showing strength. Then, target companies within those industries which may be a good fit for you.
• Read: Always be reading. Take the time to read blogs or other sites (like Gradversity!) which will help you keep up-to-date on the most current job hunting techniques.
• Visit Your Career Center: Your career center and staff are very well connected and may have inside information on “hidden” jobs or other posted positions. They are also a great resource for anyone wanting to have resumes or cover letters proofread.

Finding an Entry Level Job is never easy, but persistance will eventually pay off.

Have a tip or technique for landing an Entry Level Job? Let us know!

Wow. The career bloggers seem to have found their lightening rod in a post written by Toby Dayton on his blog Diggings. The post talks about how, according to the US Department of Labor, the average unemployed American spends 18 minutes per day looking for a job.

After reading the responses from G.L. Hoffman and Louise Fletcher, I thought it would be worthwhile dropping my two cents into the fray.

Just to play devil’s advocate, here are the legitimate circumstances where 18 minutes of daily job hunting is appropriate:

1. If you are independently wealthy and only looking for a job because you are bored.
2. Your parents have great connections and you are waiting for one to come through.
3. You are ignorant of what it takes to find a job (I’m agreeing with G.L. whole-heartedly on this one).

Time a short anecdote. When I graduated from school a few years back, I was averaging 8-hours per day on the job hunt. This was 2-3 hours of looking for open jobs, and 5-6 hours of writing customized resumes and cover letters for the positions I thought were a good fit. I was applying to 10+ jobs per day. At this rate, it still took 3 weeks before I started getting callbacks for interviews. (Note: The economy was much better back then).

If I looked for only 18 minutes each day, I would have been searching for months before I landed that job. This is far too little time to be spending on the job search.

While part of me hopes this statistic isn’t accurate, the other part hopes that it is, just because it means that there will be less competition for those who are truly worthy of work in this environment.

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment below!

In my recent post How To Handle A Layoff In Style, I wrote about Don Dodge. Don was a long time Microsoft employee who was recently given a layoff notice.

And what did Don do after being let go? Far from lashing out at Microsoft, Don had only glowing things to say on his blog about his former employer and colleagues. In my eyes, it was the perfect way to handle the sudden loss of your job. No angry outbursts, no burned bridges, just a simple farewell.

So when I recently read Google scoops up ex-Microsoftie Don Dodge, I was thrilled. It just goes to show that you can quickly land on your feet after a layoff, so long as you don’t burn your bridges (especially in public).

Now Don can look forward to a new career at Google.

Congrats Don! Well done!

The story of Roy Ma appeared on CNN Money today. It is a look at how Ma, a new grad from the University of Maryland, was successful in finding an Entry Level Job.

While the article starts off with how dire the job market is for New Grads this year (down 22% according to this piece), it quickly hones in on what he did right when it came to securing the job.

As I have been saying all along, it all comes down to the amount of effort that you are willing to put in. Ma spent a great deal of time and effort tailoring each application package that he sent out:

…Ma rewrote a new cover letter and resume and crafted it to match the job requirements and preferences according to the posting and his own research on the company.

Not only that, but he took steps to separate himself from all of the other candidates by focusing on his strengths relative to the other people applying for the job:

He also leveraged what he felt made him unique, which was a multicultural background and network, and focused his search on companies for which that would have value.

This is a great story and an excellent source of inspiration and information for all new graduates who are looking for Entry Level Jobs. Follow this link to read Ma’s story for yourself.