SIU Carbondale College of Business Career Guide

TOOLS FOR YOUR CAREER SEARCH

Planning a career direction and finding the position you want is a full-time job in itself and requires a personal commitment of time and energy. The sheer number of options and amount of information available to you can be quite overwhelming. However, your job will be much easier if you map out a plan of action and carefully track your efforts. Your first step is to realize that you are going to be selling a product-you! You must figure out how best to market your product, and that involves a careful and thorough assessment of yourself and what you can bring to a future employer

Networking Skills Networking is gathering information from and making contact through the people you already know. Learn how networking can help you with your career search. Researching Employers Your task in the career search is to find the most suitable position for yourself. This section will show you how to use your research and investigative skills to discover job openings and prepare for an interview. Your Resume A resume is a critical tool in your job search. It is a summary of your qualifications and experience used to elicit further interest from a prospective employer. This section contains guidelines on constructing a resume that will get you noticed. Video Resumes Properly preparing a video resume can be a helpful job search tool. This section highlights tips to prepare and promote your video resume. Cover Letters Letter-writing skills are essential to your job search. Excellent cover and thank you letters often make a difference in whether or not you are considered for a position. See this section for tips on writing winning letters.

Conducting an Online Job Search Using the Internet is an excellent tool for finding a job, but it can seem overwhelming and you may wonder, “Where do I begin?” This section includes tips to help you get started and help you get the most from your online job search. Interview Preparation For most fields, without an interview you will not get a job. It is in this stage of your job search that you convince an employer to hire you. This section shows you how to make the best possible impression during an interview. Career Fairs Attending career fairs can be extremely beneficial to your career search. This section gives you tips on preparing for a career fair, what to expect during the career fair, and how to follow up with employers afterwards. Evaluating Job Offers This section outlines the factors you will want to consider when determining whether or not you will accept a position. From College to Career This section gives tips that can help you to excel in the workplace.

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