You use a variety of job search methods.
Apply directly to employer.
Ask friends or relatives for job leads.
Answer newspaper ads.
Register with private employment agency.
Register with state employment agency.
Check with school placement offices.
Place newspaper ad.
Answer ads in professional or trade journals.
You follow the step-by-step guide for resume preparation.
You get permission from the people you wish to list as references.
You write a customized cover letter for each resume that you mail out.
You use follow-up telephone calls to gain inter-views.
You role-play the interview.
You research the salary range you can legitimately expect.
You research each company before you interview there.
You arrive for interviews punctually.
You dress appropriately for the interview.
You remember the name of the interviewer.
You answer all questions assertively and clearly.
Remember that you are changing from time to time and that the job requirements in the world are changing, too. At the same time that you may be experiencing a growing interest in the environment and in ecology, the world may be developing a growing need for people to work in these areas, also.
From time to time, you will want to assess your skills and the state of the job market. If you have new interests, you will want to develop some new skills to help you move into new areas. Whenever you feel the need to reassess your job potential, or your career goals, you will want to revamp your career plans.
At times of change in your career goals, you will follow the same steps that you have followed in using this workbook, and in working with your career guidance advisor in school or in another service organization. You may want to use the actual forms that appear in this book, and you may want to add to them the personal techniques that you have developed for yourself.
Newspaper Ads
Case study
Tony beats the neighborhood dogs in retrieving his Sunday Chicago Tribune off the drive within seconds of its delivery. Moments later, he is engrossed in the "Mid-America Job Guide," which along with the help-wanted ads in New York and Los Angeles papers, is one of the thickest lists of jobs available. The paper lists thousands of job openings in alphabetical order. Surely Tony ought to land one of them. Tony looks over the paper and finds one which sounds intriguing. The ad asks that resumes be sent to a post office box.
Tony sends his resume to the P.O. box and receives a call, not from an employer, but from a local employment agency. The job Tony was interested in didn't exist at all; the ad was placed to get clients for the agency.
Tony tries again the following Sunday. One ad gives a telephone number. Tony phones the company. A crisp, professional voice fires dozens of questions. Tony feels he is responding fine, but then he is asked, "Do you own your own car?" Tony says no. The employer replies that this job requires a personal automobile and hangs up. Tony has been screened out before even having an interview.
Another ad asks for a resume, which Tony promptly mails out. Tony's letter arrives with a batch of 300 other responses to the ad and is given a 15-second reading. A few weeks later he receives a form letter that his was only one of many fine applications received and that his resume will be kept on file.
Tony has dead-ended on three job leads. He might have fared better if he had been familiar with a strategy for successfully using help-wanted ads.
Timing your response
If an advertisement appears in a large Sunday paper such as the New York Times or Chicago Tribune, send a letter to arrive near the end of the week following the ad. Mail received earlier in the week is more likely to get lost in the shuffle. There may be 300 responses to an ad where the address of the employer is given and the returns will probably come in like this:
People don't usually buy the first pair of shoes they try on, nor do they usually hire the first person they interview. You should not be afraid to answer ads that appeared a week or two earlier. The position might not yet be filled, or the person hired for the job might not have worked out.
Selecting ads to answer
Employers rarely find people who meet all the criteria asked for in the advertisement. If you feel you could handle a job, answer the ad even if you don't have the education or industry experience required.
Answering blind ads
About 75 percent of all help-wanted ads are blind ads. This means that the employer is not identified. Usually the ad asks you to write to a box number. Employers place blind ads to avoid responding to all applicants, to maintain secrecy with other employees or competitors, or to receive more responses than they would if their identity were known. Employment agencies run such ads to gain clients. You may have an advantage if you can identify the employer placing the ad and apply directly without referring to the ad. One way to "crack" the identity of the ad is to apply directly to all companies who fit the company's description. For example, if the ad states that the company is an electronics firm in southern Texas, send a letter and resume to all electronics firms in the area.
Responding to ads
Avoid answering any questions over the telephone. Inter-telephone viewers cannot meet with everyone, so they try to do some preliminary weeding of job candidates over the telephone.
If the ad gives a phone number, use it only to set up an appointment. Say something like "I'm at work and can't talk now. Could I come in for an interview?" Once the employer sees your potential, he or she may overlook a job requirement or consider you for another job opening.Put a check as you actually fulfill steps to gaining full employment.
You use a variety of job search methods.
Apply directly to employer.
Ask friends or relatives for job leads.
Answer newspaper ads.
Register with private employment agency.
Register with state employment agency.
Check with school placement offices.
Place newspaper ad.
Answer ads in professional or trade journals.
You follow the step-by-step guide for resume preparation.
You get permission from the people you wish to list as references.
You write a customized cover letter for each re-sume that you mail out.
You use follow-up telephone calls to gain inter-views.
You role-play the interview.
You research the salary range you can legitimately expect.
You research each company before you interview there.
You arrive for interviews punctually.
You dress appropriately for the interview.
You remember the name of the interviewer.
You answer all questions assertively and clearly.
Remember that you are changing from time to time and that the job requirements in the world are changing, too. At the same time that you may be experiencing a growing interest in the environment and in ecology, the world may be developing a growing need for people to work in these areas, also.
From time to time, you will want to assess your skills and the state of the job market. If you have new interests, you will want to develop some new skills to help you move into new areas. Whenever you feel the need to reassess your job potential, or your career goals, you will want to revamp your career plans.
At times of change in your career goals, you will follow the same steps that you have followed in using this workbook, and in working with your career guidance advisor in school or in another service organization. You may want to use the actual forms that appear in this book, and you may want to add to them the personal techniques that you have developed for yourself.
Newspaper Ads
Case study
Tony beats the neighborhood dogs in retrieving his Sunday Chicago Tribune off the drive within seconds of its delivery. Moments later, he is engrossed in the "Mid-America Job Guide," which along with the help-wanted ads in New York and Los Angeles papers, is one of the thickest lists of jobs available. The paper lists thousands of job openings in alphabetical order. Surely Tony ought to land one of them. Tony looks over the paper and finds one which sounds intriguing. The ad asks that resumes be sent to a post office box.
Tony sends his resume to the P.O. box and receives a call, not from an employer, but from a local employment agency. The job Tony was interested in didn't exist at all; the ad was placed to get clients for the agency.
Tony tries again the following Sunday. One ad gives a telephone number. Tony phones the company. A crisp, professional voice fires dozens of questions. Tony feels he is responding fine, but then he is asked, "Do you own your own car?" Tony says no. The employer replies that this job requires a personal automobile and hangs up. Tony has been screened out before even having an interview.
Another ad asks for a resume, which Tony promptly mails out. Tony's letter arrives with a batch of 300 other responses to the ad and is given a 15-second reading. A few weeks later he receives a form letter that his was only one of many fine applications received and that his resume will be kept on file.
Tony has dead-ended on three job leads. He might have fared better if he had been familiar with a strategy for successfully using help-wanted ads.
Timing your response
If an advertisement appears in a large Sunday paper such as the New York Times or Chicago Tribune, send a letter to arrive near the end of the week following the ad. Mail received earlier in the week is more likely to get lost in the shuffle. There may be 300 responses to an ad where the address of the employer is given and the returns will probably come in like this:
People don't usually buy the first pair of shoes they try on, nor do they usually hire the first person they interview. You should not be afraid to answer ads that appeared a week or two earlier. The position might not yet be filled, or the person hired for the job might not have worked out.
Selecting ads to answer
Employers rarely find people who meet all the criteria asked for in the advertisement. If you feel you could handle a job, answer the ad even if you don't have the education or industry experience required.
Answering blind ads
About 75 percent of all help-wanted ads are blind ads. This means that the employer is not identified. Usually the ad asks you to write to a box number. Employers place blind ads to avoid responding to all applicants, to maintain secrecy with other employees or competitors, or to receive more responses than they would if their identity were known. Employment agencies run such ads to gain clients. You may have an advantage if you can identify the employer placing the ad and apply directly without referring to the ad. One way to "crack" the identity of the ad is to apply directly to all companies who fit the company's description. For example, if the ad states that the company is an electronics firm in southern Texas, send a letter and resume to all electronics firms in the area.
Responding to ads
Avoid answering any questions over the telephone. Inter-telephone viewers cannot meet with everyone, so they try to do some preliminary weeding of job candidates over the telephone.
If the ad gives a phone number, use it only to set up an appointment. Say something like "I'm at work and can't talk now. Could I come in for an interview?" Once the employer sees your potential, he or she may overlook a job requirement or consider you for another job opening.
