By Sarah Dougherty
Whether you’re just getting started or want to know more about the job search process, here are some takeaways that I learned from Mohr Career Services:
1. The Job Search Although it is tempting to apply to as many job postings as possible that interest you, defined as being “reactive,” you should try to spend more than 80% of your time building relationships in the “proactive” phase. This will be well worth your time, as 1/100 general candidates are hired while 1/7 employee referrals are hired. (Jobvite)
2. Get Organized My favorite piece of advice for forming connections is to make a data table. On each column, you can list any important values that you have in mind for your job search, which may include your top 40 companies, company notes and curiosity questions, alumni (Y/N?), motivation (1-5 scale), and postings (#). For international students, you can add a column for H1-B visas (Y/N?). As a visual learner, I found this suggestion super helpful and relieving of that job search stress. (Steve Dalton)
3. Your Network From most valuable to least, your network consists of mentors/BOA (board of advisors), advocates, and contacts. In order to have useful and authentic professional relationships, it is good to turn any contacts you have into advocates, which can be done through informational interviews. I definitely recommend checking out Mohr Career Services to know more about informational interviews. If you’re just starting out and needing to form contacts, the alumni page on LinkedIn is a great place to look. (Lundquist College of Business)
4. Tools and Tips to Utilize
- LinkedIn, including templates for the “customized invitation to connect” feature
- Email, including email templates
- Virtual networking events, such as those on Handshake
- Elevator pitch
- Information interview, especially asking about trends, insights, advice, resources, & assignments
- Maintain relationships, from follow-up messages to thank you cards
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