Ideal Company Profile
Let's establish some criteria to evaluate potential employers. This will enable you to identify your target agencies, the places you'd really like to work. (This process, as we've pointed out, is not specific to any industry or field; the same steps, with perhaps some research resource variations, are applicable to any job, any company, and any industry.)
Take a sheet of blank paper and divide it into three vertical columns. Title it "Target Company-Ideal Profile." Name the left-hand column "Must," the middle column "Preferences," and the right-hand column "Never."
We've listed a series of questions below. After considering each question, decide whether a particular criterion must be met, whether you would simply prefer it or never would consider it at all. If there are other criteria you consider important, feel free to add them to the list below and mark them accordingly on your Profile. (We have included a sample grid to help you set up your own.)
- What are your geographical preferences? (Possible answers: U.S., Canada, International, Anywhere). If you only want to work in the U.S., then "Work in United States" would be the entry in the "Must" column. "Work in Canada or Foreign Country" might be the first entry in your "Never" column. There would be no applicable entry for this question in the "Preference" column. If, however, you will consider working in two of the three, then your "Must" column entry might read "Work in U.S. or Canada," your "Preference" entry-if you preferred one over the other-could read "Work in U.S.," and the "Never" column, "Work Overseas."
- If you prefer to work in the U.S. or Canada, what area, state (s) or province (s)? If Overseas, what area or countries?
- Do you prefer a large city, small city, town, or somewhere as far away from civilization as possible?
- In regard to question 3, any specific preferences?
- Do you prefer a warm or cold climate?
- Do you prefer a large or small company? Define your terms (by sales, income, employees, offices, etc.).
- Do you mind relocating right now? Do you want to work for a company with a reputation for frequently relocating top people?
- Do you mind travelling frequently? What percent do you consider reasonable? (Make sure this matches the normal requirements of the job specialization you're considering.)
- What salary would you like to receive (put in the "Preference" column)? What's the lowest salary you'll accept (in the "Must" column)?
- Are there any benefits (such as an expense account, medical and/or dental insurance, company car, etc.) you must or would like to have?
- Are you planning to attend graduate school at some point in the future and, if so, is a tuition reimbursement plan important to you?
- Do you feel that a formal training program is necessary?
- If applicable, what kinds of specific accounts would you prefer to work with? What specific products?
Individual Companies
To begin creating your initial list of targeted companies, start with the Job Opportunities Databank in this directory. We've listed major U.S. hotels (including all major chains), airlines, cruise lines, convention and visitor bureaus, chambers of commerce, car rental firms, and more, all of which were contacted by telephone for this edition. These listings provide a plethora of data concerning the companies' overall operations, hiring practices, and other important information on entry-level job opportunities. This latter information includes key contacts (names), the average number of entry-level people they hire each year, along with complete job descriptions and requirements.
One word of advice, you'll notice that some/many of the agencies list "0" under the job average entry-level hiring. This is more a reflection of the current economic times SIARCH than a long-range projection. In past editions of this book, these companies did list a PROCM average number of new hires, and they will again in the future. We have listed these companies for three reasons: 1) to present you with the overall view of prospective employers; 2) because even companies that don't plan to do any hiring will experience unexpected job openings; and 3) things change, so as soon as the economy begins to pick up, expect entry-level hiring to increase again.
We have attempted to include information on those major companies that represent most of the entry-level jobs out there. But there are, of course, many other companies of all sizes and shapes that you may also wish to research. In the Career Resources section, we have listed other reference tools you can use to obtain more information on the companies we've listed, as well as those we haven't.
The Other Side of the Iceberg
You are now better prepared to choose those companies that meet your own list of criteria. But a word of caution about these now obvious requirements they are not the only ones you need to take into consideration. And you probably won't be able to find all or many of the answers to this second set of questions in any reference book they are known, however, by those persons already at work in the industry. Here is the list you will want to follow:
Promotion
If you are aggressive about your career plans, you'll want to know if you have a shot at the top. Look for companies that traditionally promote from within.
Training
Look for companies in which your early tenure will actually be a period of on-the- job training, hopefully ones in which training remains part of the long-term process. As new techniques and technologies enter the workplace, you must make sure you are updated on these skills. Most importantly, look for training that is craft or function-oriented-these are the so-called transferable skills, ones you can easily bring along with you from job-to-job, company-to-company, sometimes and industry-to-industry.
Salary
Benefits
Look for companies in which health insurance, vacation pay, retirement plans, 401K accounts, stock purchase opportunities, and other important employee benefits are extensive-and company paid. If you have to pay for basic benefits like medical coverage yourself, you'll be surprised at how expensive they are. An exceptional benefit package may even lead you to accept a lower-than-usual salary.
Unions
Make sure you know about the union situation in each industry you research. Periodic, union-mandated salary increases are one benefit nonunion workers may find hard to match.
Making Friends and Influencing People
Networking is a term you have probably heard; it is definitely a key aspect of any successful job search and a process you must master.
Informational interviews and job interviews are the two primary outgrowths of successful networking.
Referrals, an aspect of the networking process, entail using someone else's name, credentials and recommendation to set up a receptive environment when seeking a job interview.
All of these terms have one thing in common: Each depends on the actions of other people to put them in motion. Don't let this idea of dependency slow you down, however. A job search must be a very pro-active process you have to initiate the action. When networking, this means contacting as many people as you can. The more you contact, the better the chances of getting one of those people you are depending on to take action and help you out.
So what is networking? How do you build your own network? And why do you need one in the first place? The balance of this chapter answers all of those questions and more.
Get your telephone ready. It's time to make some friends.
Not the World's Oldest Profession, But
As Gordon Gecko, the high-rolling corporate raider played by Michael Douglas, sneers in the movie Wall Street: "Any schmuck can analyze stock charts. What separates the players from the sheep is information. Networking is the process of creating your own group of relatives, friends, and acquaintances who can feed you the information you need to find a job-identifying where the jobs are and giving you the personal introductions and background data necessary to pursue them.
If the job market were so well-organized that details on all employment opportunities were immediately available to all applicants, there would be no need for such a process. Rest assured the job market is not such a smooth-running machine-most applicants are left very much to their own devices. Build and use your own network wisely and you'll be amazed at the amount of useful job intelligence you will turn up.
While the term networking didn't gain prominence until the 1970s, it is by no means a new phenomenon. A selection process that connects people of similar skills, backgrounds, and/or attitudes-in other words, networking-has been in existence in a variety of forms for centuries. Attend any Ivy League school and you're automatically part of its very special centuries-old network.
Major Law firms are known to favor candidates from a preferred list of law schools-the same ones the senior partners attended. Washington, D.C. and Corporate America have their own network-the same corporate bigwigs move back and forth from boardroom to Cabinet Room. The Academia-Washington connection is just as strong notice the number of Harvard professors who call Washington their second home? No matter which party is in power, certain names just keep surfacing as Secretary of This or Undersecretary of That No, networking is not new. It's just left its ivory tower and become a well-publicized process anyone can and should utilize in their lifelong career development
And it works. Remember your own reaction when you were asked to recommend someone for a job, club, or school office? You certainly didn't want to look foolish, so you gave it some thought and tried to recommend the best-qualified person that you thought would fit in with the rest of the group. It's a built-in screening process.
