by Logan Stewart

I got my very first real professional job by accident, while I was checking out at the grocery store. 

Well, that's not entirely true.  I didn't actually get the job until a few months later.  I simply happened to mention to the woman in line in front of me that I really liked her palm-tree print, reusable grocery bags.  (This happened at a time when such items were still somewhat of a rarity; before the recent explosion of eco-friendly, go-green accessories.)   I was senior in college, and at the time caught up in a trendy tidal wave of veganism and environmental sustainability. 

My complimenting her grocery bags led to a longer conversation as we pushed our shopping carts to our cars.  I told her where I was attending school and what I would receive my degree in, and as a matter of fact, I was indeed graduating and searching for a job!  Before we parted, she handed me her business card and told me to give her a call.  She was the executive director of a small regional health agency, and while she wasn't hiring anyone at the moment, she knew someone at a local nonprofit who might be.   Two months later, I joined the development staff of that nonprofit.

Networking is a funny thing.  Sometimes, you set out to meet certain people and get in their good graces, in the hopes that doing so will land you in a better spot professionally.  Other times, you network and don't even realize you're doing it.  From my experience, the latter can be where you oftentimes make your best professional connections.  Sure, there are networking groups out there that cater to any of a number of occupational fields.  No doubt about it; these groups can be beneficial because everyone there has a shared set of goals:  meeting people, collecting cards, and expanding their professional network.  But you may just reap the best rewards from connections you make at the gym, at your neighbor's holiday party, or by talking to that guy next to you on the airplane.

And even if you already have a job, you should always keep networking.  Why, you ask?  Networking has proven time and again to be the most effective way to develop professional relationships, nurture contacts and keep you in the loop with need-to-know information.  You never know who you might need to hit up for a favor in the future.  Keep an address book of everyone you know, either handwritten, such as a Rolodex, or online, and keep notes on each person with their contact information.  If someone you've met through your network does a favor for you, promptly send a thank you through email or via snail mail.  But make sure to always follow up, and make it a habit to just check in every few months with your contacts to see how they are doing.

Bear in mind, you don't want to come off as a phony.  If you aren't sincere and don't show a genuine interest in the people with whom you are networking, most will be able to see through the façade and realize that you see them as little more than another name in your little black book of numbers. 

All of this advice is not meant to suggest that you ought to go out of your way to compliment the grocery bags of anyone you meet, in the hopes that it will land you a job.  Just remember that networking isn't a textbook concept, and can happen anytime, anywhere, or anyplace.  The more rungs you continue to add to your network ladder, the closer you will get to landing that next big career opportunity!

          Conventional wisdom holds that your only options for a job lie along the traditional channels:

1.     Sending your resume in response to job ads

2.     Subscribing to job search engines and applying through openings there

3.     Going to websites of organizations/companies you would like to work for and seeing what they have open, etc.

In the above-mentioned cases, the process of sending out a lot of resumes usually takes excessive time and effort. There are shortcuts around this through networking. One part of this is just to keep your eyes and ears open.      

Most of my jobs, for example, have come in unconventional ways. When I needed to find an internship in transportation for which I went to grad school, I saw a notice for a town meeting where the possibility of an interstate highway extension was being discussed. I went to the meeting and as I would expect, I found representatives of every major planning firm in the area there. I handed my resume to all of them and landed a couple interviews and got some tips through there.

Going to conventions, lectures, or conferences where people in your desired industry with a few copies of your resumes are great ways to shortcut the process and make connections. The benefits are too numerous to list. You will learn about your field and even better, you will come off as someone who's willing to learn. It will get you out and in contact with people, which is healthy for an unemployed job searcher. Timing is important in these situations. If it's a lecture, wait until the reception, to start talking to people. Go up to people and start a conversation about the lecture and show that you are a thoughtful and knowledgeable person before inquiring who the other person is and asking if his company is hiring. If these people don't have job openings, all is not lost. These people can offer valuable advice as to who might be hiring, what you should do if you're looking, what skill sets might be in vogue, and what working in the industry is like and they will often be glad to help once you take the initiative. They're not human resources people, so usually they'll be less weary about hearing of job applicants all day.

One can find helpful people pretty much anywhere they look, however. You might be seated on an airplane, next to an important person in your industry, for example. The key is simply to capitalize on that situation when you do come across that person. Have a business card or resume handy and failing that, be sure to get their contact number.

-Orrin Konheim is the online content manager for uboast.

by Orrin Konheim and Shy Pahvelani

It is important to be able to stand out from your competition. A video resume can go a long way towards having an employer understand more about you than can be expressed on a paper and are particuarly important in jobs where the ability to communicate is an important part of the work. Best case scenario: It could even save the employer the trouble of a job interview.

Just like whenever someone is watching a video of practically anything, it's important to hook the viewer. It is first important to understand what the prospective employer might be looking for. Is it a job that requires creative thought? You might want to get creative with your video or how you present yourself in that case. If it's a job in sales that you're looking for, you want to show them your charisma as a salesman and show them you're pitching skills.

Whatever the nature of the position is, however, some things remain standard. You will always want to:

1) Look and sound good-Maintain eye contact with the camera and speak in a commanding but not too stiff of a voice. Practice a little on your own before committing yourself to the video. This has the added benefits of eliminating "ums" and "likes" in your speech, which are definitely a negative. Dress in business attire.

2) Act relaxed-Although the business attire is important, try to dress in something you're most comfortable in. If you're not comfortable wearing a double-breasted armani suit, it will show. Pick something formal that you're comfortable in. Act relaxed and take a few deep breaths. This is supposed to be conversational. Sounding overly rehearsed might make an employer question who the real you is.

3) Be concise-If you noticed the fact, that lately 2-minute youtube videos are more popular than full-length tv shows, than you're probably aware that we all have short attention spans. You don't want to lose your audiences. Try to keep your video resume to just one minute, and do not deviate from your main points.

4) Plan for what interview questions you might receive-Think of a couple interview questions you think you would be asked if you were getting an interview in this field. Ask a peer or try to work from personal memory. Without repeating the question, try to work your answers into the content of your video

5) Talk about results-Don't talk about you but talk about what you would bring for them. Don't focus heavily on all your accomplishments. These need to be much more brief for a video resume. The focus would be on what you bring to the team and what kinds of results you would bring to them if you were hired. You can support this with examples but don't overdo it (i.e. I would fit in well with a publishing company because I have over 6 years of experience writing in local newspapers and I interned at a publishing house). Unlike a written resume, this is conversational. Act as though you happened to bump into one of the leaders in your field at a baseball game and he wanted to know briefly what accomplishments you have in your field. You wouldn't list your whole resume to him, right? You give a short summary of what kinds of experience you have without going into the details. If they want more details they can look at your resume or contact you further.

6) Briefly, thank the employer for listening to you at the end of the interview.

QUANTIFY YOUR SKILL SETS ON YOUR RESUME

by Sheeba Riyas

Before you send out a resume, take a good look at it and ask two questions:

1)      Does it reflect who you are or is it a distorted version?

2)      Does it have the ability to impress potential employers?

Although if your skill sets fails to match the job profile, you would not qualify for an interview, this doesn't mean that you should provide false information in order to qualify for a position. Instead, focus on displaying the appropriate skills sets in a strategic fashion on your resume so that it would get the employer's attention.

If you have participated in certain competitions or extra curricular activities which require skills that match the job profile, during your academic years; including them in your resume would be highly recommended. Similarly, do not mention skills which are not related to the job profile. It is unlikely that a software company would be interested in the pizza eating competition you won in college! In regards to your working experience, ensure that you specify the responsibilities you had when you were with the previous company, along with accomplishments and appraisals must also be mentioned.

Your resume must contain concise and specific information. It should not take more than a minute for someone to go through the entire resume for most employers would not have the time to read pages of curriculum vitae and would prefer to gather sufficient details about the applicant at just a glance.

If you must mention your personal interests or hobbies, believing that they would add value to your personality and potentials; do so in a very brief manner.

At times, an employer would be looking for additional skills in a candidate but may not mention it in the advertisement. A graphics designer who can also handle some basic programming has a better chance of fitting into the job profile than someone who has no additional skills. So, if you have acquired some additional skills that relate to the job profile, it is wise to mention them in your resume, as it would be an added advantage.

Before you begin to create or update your resume, analyze your potentials and skills and create a list. Match the skill sets with the job profile and then include them in your resume appropriately. A resume should reflect you. The resulting image should have clarity, compatibility and facts, as that reaches your interviewer's desk first.

Joining uboast (which hopefully you already have done) or a similar website where you might post a profile that might attract employers iIs a good idea, because it could save you the trouble of having to individually seek out each individual employer. Let's admit the often-overlooked fact that the part of the job search that involves seeking out all those employers and applying to each of them can be incredibly time-consuming.

At the same time, let's cautiously admit that the odds of someone seeking us out before we seek them out is often unlikely. Do not make the mistake of thinking that employers will contact you if you put up a profile up that you're not excused from actively seeking out jobs if you want a job.

Still, here are some strategies for making a profile most visible to employees:

1. Remember that this is a totally different ballgame than sending a resume to a single employer. You're not going to modify your resume to tailor to a single employer. You're trying to attract anyone and everyone who might give you a job. Therefore, it's definitely ok, if this thing runs longer than a page......

2. Emphasize as many skill sets as you can on your resume and if the jobsite (like uboast) has a place where you list your skill sets, list as many as you can there. If you get contacted with a job opportunity you do not like, you could always reject it, but you definitely want them to contact you first. It's important to be in the driver's seat. At the same time....

3. Don't come off as too obvious that you're trying to stretch yourself. Job search websites are aware that candidates always want to try to come off as broad as possible so they can attract the most clients and it's not in the interst of employers using the site to have to wade through every person's resume who has a grasp of microsoft office when they're looking for a hard-care computer expert. For this reason, job search websites, might limit you to 3 or 5 skill sets. If you try to pass yourself off as someone skilled to work in the field of IT simply because you've used excel, it won't look good. 

4. Ideally you want to show that you've followed a career trajectory and have honed your talent over time through a variety of different experiences. If you want to be a teacher, mention that you've worked in summer camps too as a teenager, even if you might not put that on some resumes. This way people can see you've had a number of years or experince in the field. If you want to work in the energy sector and you didn't have a degree in it (not many colleges offer a degree in it), but you took a class or two on it in college, mention that in as well.

5. Drop specifics. If you worked for someone that might be well-known around the industry mention that as well. I once had a job in Americorps, for example. In Americorps, I was contracted out to the Fairfax County Department of Community and Recreation Services and the Northern Viriginia Technology Council singed my paychecks, so I had 3 bosses. It's always difficult to include all of the organizations I was affiliated with in one line of a resume, but it's beneficial to drop all three organizations in case each of those intrigues someone.

-Orrin Konheim (who now has a loose profile on uboast if someone should wish to contact him)

Interviews: A two way street

by Matt Muller

Good morning sunshine! Today's a big day. Today's the day that all of that Monster.com and newspaper searches come to fruition because today's the day that you have finally landed that "real" interview for that "real" job. Now this isn't a shot at Mini-golf customer relations rep. or Micky D's drop cook technician, this is an interview for not just a job, but a potential career. This is a chance for salary, benefits, and (perhaps most importantly and if you're lucky) to use what you have studied for the last 4(+) years. So you need to add an extra level of preparation in order to distinguish yourself from the dozen other applicants interviewing for YOUR spot.

Research:

Hopefully by now you have done some research on your potential position and new employer. There are two big reasons for this:

1)      For starters the interviewer is looking to gauge interest level of the interviewee as well as overall competence. Don't be surprised to hear questions that don't pertain exactly to the position for which you're interviewing. "What are your thoughts on our company's efforts to become more "green"?" or "How would you handle the rising fuel prices on our distribution mechanisms?" The interviewer is not looking for a right answer here, just that you took the time to educate yourself on some of the company's happenings and goings on.

2)      Also you should have questions for your interviewer. Is there room for advancement? How many people will I be working with? Who would be my direct supervisor? Etc. This is another opportunity to show that you will go above and beyond the call of duty.

Before the Interview:

You should go through the following items before you head off to your interview:

1)      Know the name(s) of the person or people conducting the interview and use it throughout the process. Remember people love hearing their own name and it could make a difference.

2)      Make sure you have the proper attire. At this point you should know what is and what isn't appropriate for the position you are trying to get. Also be sure to bring along copies of your resume, a pen and a pad of paper (legal size is usually the best).

3)      Know how to get where you're going for this interview, scout it out early if needed and if nothing else on this day BE ON TIME! The only thing worse than a bad first impression at an interview is a late one.

At the Interview:

1)      You only know what you know. It is ok to answer questions with "I don't know" (although you can mention something like "I'm willing to learn, however")  Don't BS anyone in that room. Nothing good can come from it. It can also portray honesty which can score big.

2)      So relax. There is no real reason to be nervous. But if you do, just slow down, take a second to regroup and maintain eye contact with the interviewer.

3)      When answering questions that you do know, try to relate to the company's needs in your answers (again this comes back to good research beforehand).

4)      When finished be sure to thank everyone in the room; a follow-up email or phone call is always a good idea.

So there you go. You are ready for your job interview. Think of it like a first date, all you really need to do is be yourself, if you are there is a great chance at a second. Now go get 'em tiger.

We recently asked readers to send in what you learned from being fired. Here was one response by Victor Rogachevsky in Minnesota who got fired well over a year ago and is doing just fine today.

Remember, the point of our blog is not necessarily to teach you how to get that job tomorrow, but also how to be persistent, have a positive attitude, and learn from your mistakes.

He wrote this on his facebook page in the notes section approximately two hours after being fired. Bravo for having a good perspective:

If you're a new graduate with no idea of what type of job you want, don't worry. You're not alone. For some new grads, making a decision about the job you want can be as hard as actually getting the job.

Here are some tips to getting ideas about where to start your career:

-Conduct a quick job search using your degree as a keyword in your search. For example, search for the keyword journalism in job postings. From this search, you'll be able to get an idea of the job types and titles that are out there. Remember to consider all aspects of a job: the hours, the location, the experience required, the pay, and the company or organization. There are probably many jobs you might not have known about that relate to your field as well. An alumni board for your collegiate academic department is a great place to consult.

-When conducting a job search, I also recommend checking out companies that are close to where you live. Sometimes, walking or driving through neighboring towns can help you identify what companies are around you. Visiting the careers sections of these companies' websites can reveal jobs that might not be listed on job websites. The easiest jobs to land are the ones that aren't heavily advertised so you have less competition. These are hidden gems.

-Remember to be realistic in what jobs you would consider. Don't list jobs that require five to 10 years of experience. Instead, focus on jobs that you can actually land in the meantime. Do not expend too many resources aiming too high.

-Think long and hard about what interests you. Conventional wisdom, obviously, is that you had a major and that's what interests you, but get more specific. Which classes within the major did you like the best? Which classes outside the major did you like the best. Take out your old textbooks and read through some of them to get a feel if these are topics that you'd like spending your days being reimmersed in. Out of whatever experience you had in a classroom, job, or extracurricular activity, what did you like the best about it. Did you like writing papers? Interacting with people? Doing research about topics that interested you?

-Think who you might want to work with? The term "networking" is thrown around a lot, and by that, we mean that personal contacts do help land jobs far easier than if you're just dealing directly with human resources, but networking is also about finding who you like working with. To some degree, just as we chose certain groups of people in college, high school, and summer camp to associate with, that tends to happen in work places. I know people who get into journalism because they like the adrenaline of the newsroom, for example. In a newsroom, operations center, or think tank people are working in synergy with each other. At the same time, there is are high-pressure environments that some people like to thrive on, such as sales departments, where people are in competition with each other. In addition, just as a prospective college student must decide between  whether they like the atmosphere of a more personal small school or a large school that might have more resources to offer, the same choice is made with what kind of office environment you might want.

OK, got all that? Now here's what comes next: Matching what you want to do with what you have the skills to do.

This will come in the next post.

As college graduation approached, many of you might have made the mistake in assuming that just because you had a college degree you would be able to snap your fingers and command a job just like that. After all, you reasoned, you can now check the box "bachelor's degree" on job applications. Now, a couple of months later, you might find yourself coping with the fact that life hasn't picked up as fast as you thought. To make things worse, several of your friends might already have gotten those first jobs in their fields, causing feelings of inferiority, jealousy and resentment. You might have submitted some resumes and are just praying for this madness to end as soon as possible with your first hire.

Well, that moment that will finally grant you some status and an initial footing in this scary post-college world, might come tomorrow and it might come several months from now and for some of you, it might only come after more schooling.

The serenity prayer, that has been adopted by the group Alcoholics Anonymous since 1942 to close out meetings, asks for the Lord to grant serenity to accept the things that can't be changed, the courage to change the things that can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Regardless of whether you're an alcoholic (although if you just graduated college, that is becoming increasingly more likely) or rely on divine intervention to get you through your job hunt, the lessons from the serenity prayer are very applicable here.

A lot of job advice columns are going to tell you how to maximize your chances of getting that job, but perhaps, college graduates also need some awareness of the things you cannot control. I know this might be difficult to accept: Conventional wisdom, based on how quickly your friends have gotten jobs, is that it should be within your power to get jobs but we all have different circumstances and, to some degree, some of us have luckier breaks than others.

So let's review what you cannot control:

1) You can't control who decides to hire you or not. You might have the qualifications but there are always going to be other people you're running against and someone more qualified than you, could have applied to that same job

2) You can't control when the desired employer can get back to you. Too often, it is not acknowledged how much this can hurt you, if you're not employed in the meantime, as your bank account might be drained while waiting for that next job to get back to you

3) You also can't control if your dream job is hiring. On a larger scale, you can't control the job market

4) You might not necessarily be able to control the external pressures on you to produce money quickly. This might depend on your parents or other people to whom you are economically dependent.

Here's the good news. What you can control?

1)      You can maximize your opportunities by sending out more resumes, sending targeted resumes, and relying on your networking. Since this solution is generally what's covered in most job articles, let's discuss the other solutions....

2)      You can almost certainly get a lower level job while waiting for that job to come in. There are plenty of lower level jobs that you can get with a college degree, whether it's waiting tables, driving a taxi cab, clerking in an office, or whatever. They might not be satisfying or where you want to be, but your goal is to put money in the bank, even if you don't think you need it now. Every day, there are opportunities to make money quicker than through the methods you want to make it. They might not happen within a day, but they are surer bets than that entry level job you might be hoping for.

3)      Furthermore, you can keep enhancing your resume. In some cases, you might find that depending on your major and the field of study you're going into, if you keep getting rejected for jobs, you might look it into it and find they're generally looking for people with masters degrees, graduate coursework, or experience in the field. Even though the perception is that non-paid internships are just for people in college for credit, a lot of my peers have non-paid internships or paid internships and that usually leads them much closer to a job in the industry. Many college graduates are usually just one internship away from a good job.

4)      You can keep being productive. Find a new hobby, volunteer, or travel. You have a priority to advance your career, but you also have a priority to keep yourself healthy and happy, and if one area in your life is floundering (career), you can enhance others. My bachelor's degree is not in writing or journalism but because I had experience working for school newspapers and other local publications, I chose to pursue writing on the side and if things aren't going well in the 9-to-5 job world, I always have a second option I can pursue and while one might pay significantly more money than the other, I personally care about both.

5)      You can also keep learning. When I was thinking of applying to a couple jobs in an industry I used to be interested, I went to my local library and read about it.  Look into taking a class in the interim. It is also really helpful to attend lectures and conferences. Those are your best opportunities. Learning can also come from multiple sources. Uboast gives you an opportunity to learn from each other as you create a professional network. 

6)      Lastly, you can control your attitude. You can react to rejection or delays in the process in a way that doesn't take away your resolve to keep going or doesn't take away your opinion of yourself.

Personally, I have had a very bumpy road over the last couple years since graduating college. During an unexpected break in employment, I found myself working for a very low rate at a very demanding job as a movie theater concessionist and usher, for a few months. I was ashamed that I was a year out of college and was working alongside 16 and 17 year-olds and I was filled with a desperation because I had the sense of going nowhere. I had previously worked at the movie theater the summer before my senior year of college and I thoroughly enjoyed it because I loved movie theaters and I figured that it would be my last summer to do one of those minimum wage jobs. To get through the days, I tried to remember what it was I loved about the job in the first place although it didn't help much. When I finally did land that big job, I was filled with joy and relief, but I was also filled with a sense of regret that I let myself get down in the interim and I wish that I could have gone to that movie theater job with a smile.

Job-hunting has never proved to be a pleasurable occasion. In fact, most of us dread the thought of having to go out there and find the perfect job. Regardless of whether you are a fresh graduate or have been working for quite a while, a myriad of emotions are involved in job hunting which many would be able to relate to. Therefore, the realization that millions of people embark on a vague job-hunting expedition every day, throughout the planet, should provide you with reasonable consolation.

Besides being 'at the right place at the right time', it is important that you 'make the first impression the best impression'. To begin with, do not set any limitations to the sources, which you would rely on to finding job opportunities. Being patient and consistent in your efforts would surely bring about satisfactory results. No one wants to be led 'from the frying pan to the fire'!