 You have finished the personal assessment and world of work portions of your

career fitness program.

 You have reviewed and analyzed your skills, your interests, your personality, and
your values, and you have tentatively selected some career options.
 The next step is to begin to design your job search strategy, which represents
the third part of the career-planning process.
 A job search strategy involves the long-term process of acquiring the training,
background, and experience needed to be competitive in the job market
associated with your anticipated career goal.
 Simultaneously, you need to begin to identify potential employers for your skills
and to develop a resume that reflects your background and your particular career
goal.
 Finally, you need to learn how to present yourself in the best light in job
interviews.
 Dress for the job you really want!
o shows the world that you are prepared to take on responsibility, and you
are serious about being successful, and it shows your true potential.
o In a competitive world, you must come to a job (old or new) with your “A”
game and be ready to take on the world.
 Identify your ideal job situation.
o qualities of your ideal job in broad strokes: fair pay, good people,
company stability, etc.
o your qualifications and relevant skills to illustrate why you're a good
fit for the job.
o You should take the time to determine what your ideal working
environment is because it will allow you to predict the companies and
positions in which you will be most productive and satisfied.
o The better you understand what really drives you and how you act and
interact, the better you can spot a job that not only fits you – but also
satisfies you.
 Begin with an entry level job related to your ideal
o You can’t always start right out in your ideal job, but guided by a job
search strategy, you can start out in jobs and activities that will lead to
your goals.
 Where to find jobs
o Classified ads
o Mai and e-mail
o Job portals
o Professional associations
o Volunteering
o Internships
o Using social media, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter
 One way to have job is to start business
o College students faced with limited job prospects have been starting
businesses in record numbers—in essence, creating or inventing their
careers.
 Home business
o Homebased work
 Using career services
o Job trade
o College placement event
 Pursuing Graduate School
o Be prepared to be flexible when considering job offers. College graduates
often find it difficult to land their ideal first job, and they often need to lower
their expectations regarding starting salary
 Networking
o Networking is the number-one most effective strategy in landing a job.
o Contacts, if cultivated and used wisely, can lead to or become potential
employers.
 o Because hiring someone new is always risky and costly, when considering
two equally qualified candidates, most employers will choose someone
who has been recommended. Often, jobs need to be filled quickly, before
there is time to recruit, advertise, and review countless resumes.
o Secret of successful networking is reciprocity
o Attend conferences.
 Information Interviewing
o identifying people who are doing what you want to be doing and asking
them questions related to their current job.
o This type of interview serves several purposes.
o It helps you further refine your knowledge and understanding of the field
you are exploring.
o It enables you to develop social skills related to feeling comfortable and
knowledgeable while you are being interviewed.
o Also, information interviewing creates the setting to develop contacts.
 Job Search While Unemployed