The views and ideas expressed in this article do not reflect those of Aggie Radio. This article is based solely on personal experience and opinion. Aggie Radio is in no way affiliated with the companies mentioned.
Last year I worked for a company named Your Employment Solutions. While working there I saw the whole recruiting process first hand and what goes on inside the minds of those who are doing the hiring. There are definitely some dos and don’ts of looking for a job, and hopefully this article will help in your job search.
You have to be willing to work. The money will not manifest itself into your bank account, and there is always effort involved in finding work. The rule of thumb is that there should be equal time put into the job search as you would be working on the job. Work is an investment and it doesn’t pay out, if you don’t invest in it.
So where do we start our search? Networking. Look around. The people you interact with in your life are the people that can help you get a job. Four out of the five jobs I’ve had came from personal references. I got the job at Your Employment Solutions from two members of my LDS ward. From that job I was referred by a coworker to another job when I had to leave for college. The boss of that job referred me to another job when that work season ended.
See what I mean? Three jobs in a chain just from asking the people I commonly interact with. Networking is the leading way to find a job these days. The days of hundreds of applications being submitted are far behind us, especially if the unemployment rate is high. Everyone has some sort of qualifications for the job, and often times people have the same qualifications, so there has to be the way to distinguish yourself from the rest. That is networking. Word of mouth. If someone within the company, or someone very trusted by the employer, can vouch for your skills, it puts you far above anyone else that only filled out an application.
What if your network is small? To be honest, your network is a lot bigger than you think, but it is often intimidating to ask for help. If you don’t want to be in debt to someone you love, go to a networking event. Utah State has loads of networking events that they put on in all sorts of departments. I get at least one email a week informing me of some opportunity to network. LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/) is a great place to build a network. Take advantage of what is available.
NONE OF THIS HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T ACT!
Maybe you aren’t in search for a lifelong career, or seem to be in between jobs at the moment, or seem desperate. Thankfully there are places set up that deal only in helping people find jobs. Your Employment Solutions is just one of many staffing agencies whose specific business if finding jobs for people. A little background on how these companies work. Companies need workers, but may only need a set amount of workers for a set time. They may also want to lessen the risk of turnover, and need a place where they can get a seemingly endless supply of workers. Instead of spending all the time and money on the hiring process they outsource it to these staffing agencies.
This may seem like an inefficient way of doing things, but it works very well for the original business, and the job seeker. The staffing agency is a type of insurance for the original business in a way, and it offers job seekers a singular location with lots of options. Some agencies include: Intermountain Staffing, Elwood Staffing, SOS Staffing, and more. They are out there, and they are there to help.
There are many other places that advertise companies that are hiring. Indeed (http://www.indeed.com/), Monster (http://www.monster.com/), Jobs.net (http://www.jobs.net/), Jobs.Utah (http://jobs.utah.gov/), KSL (http://www.ksl.com/jobs), and LDS Jobs (https://www.ldsjobs.org/) are all websites that list companies advertising for open jobs. A lot of these websites make it simple to apply for a job. These don’t offer that personal touch networking or agencies offer, but it shows what is hiring, and can be a good first step.
Update your resume. Employers will flip through resumes without reading them and weed out people who do not have professional looking resumes. Keep it to a single page with the most relevant information for the job you are applying for. This means you should have a slightly different resume for every job you are looking at. Tedious, but effective.
KEEP AT IT! Getting the experience of job hunting is a benefit. The road to success is not a straight shot, it has some failures along the way.
I hope that this guide helps in your search for that dream job you have wanted since you were a child. Remember to keep up the work and use your resources.
The next article will be what to do when you land the job interview.
