One of the most useful techniques for getting a job in a company is by directly contacting them and inquiring about any employment opportunities they may have. This shows that you are a go-getter, someone who is willing to take that extra step to get the job done. Many prospective employers see this as a good thing.
However, one can also be too overzealous in reaching out to companies, which can eliminate your chances at getting a job at that company and potentially damage your reputation elsewhere. How do you know when to draw the line between actively pursuing an opportunity and being an annoying, arrogant self-seeker?
Writers from the database Vault Career Insider recently looked into the dilemma. They wrote an article which highlighted an example of exactly how not to contact a company. The article also discusses what the job seeker should have done to improve his chances at getting his message across. At the end, the author provides some good pointers on the best way to reach out to those companies that you are very interested in. Some of those points included:
- Be humble: Even though you may think that you’re the perfect fit for the position, it doesn’t mean that you should assume that you will be working at that company.
- Be polite: Don’t passive-aggressively ask what is taking so long in the job search process. The more you come off as rude or pushy, the less likely you will be offered a position.
- Be professional: Just as you should dress professionally, you should also contact companies professionally. Keep your emails short and direct without spelling or grammar errors. If you are speaking to someone directly, speak clearly and avoid slang and filler words like “ain’t,” “shoulda,” “like,” or “um.”
For the entire article, click here or create an account in Vault and read through Vault’s blogs.
The Department of Labor Statistics recently published a guide to Careers in Wind Energy. They provide a map of wind farms in the US, give an overview of a wind-farm project, and discuss the occupations within the wind power industry. If you’re interested in going green with your career but aren’t really sure what your options are, check out this great guide to get you up to speed on the possibilities in the wind energy industry.
For all you Film & Video majors out there: this post from nofilmschool.com offers tips and YouTube video examples on how to create a better demo reel.
Sure, a 21st century job search has changed in character from its previous iteration. No longer do job seekers scour the newspaper for job ads; instead, they crawl the web. But there are new job search strategies to add any job seeker’s repertoire: using social media! Facebook and Twitter may be central to your social life, but they can be use be extremely useful to your job search. Mashable explains how in this handy article.
Just read an interesting article in the Washington Post about the Federal Career Internship Program, which has been under fire lately for not being what it appears to be. Instead of recruiting undergraduate and graduate students for an internship experience, it seems that the FCIP program instead serves to hire frontline employees while circumventing the process typically reserved for federal jobs. Really interesting stuff!! Read the article to learn more. Have you had any experience working as an intern or co-op with the federal government? What’s your take on all this?
Are you finding yourself in a position where you have found the perfect company in the perfect industry that you’d like to intern for, only to find out they don’t have in internship or co-op program? Have you created a list of potential employers using one of our company databases but are unsure of how to begin the conversation with them on becoming a co-op? Read these helpful tips on how to create your own internship from the Washington Post’s Campus Overload blog.
This short read from the New York Times was published last week and gives some good tips on writing a resume that catches the eye of an employer:
Writing a Resume That Shouts ‘Hire Me’
One of the most useful techniques for getting a job in a company is by directly contacting them and inquiring about any employment opportunities they may have. This shows that you are a go-getter, someone who is willing to take that extra step to get the job done. Many prospective employers see this as a good thing.
