How to Look for a Job

Career Center
Your Network
Internet
Direct Approach
Employment Agencies

The Career Center wants to help you find the right job, whether it is a full-time career position or a part-time job to help with expenses. Our Career Counselors are experts in the job search process and can help you find the right resources, so take advantage and make the Career Center your base of operations.

Signing up for the Career Center's online resources will allow you to receive email and text information about events and job opportunities. Included is access to SCOTLink and its hundreds of job and internship postings. You can also submit your resume through SCOTLink and it will be forwarded to employers and will remain on file for future use. For detailed instructions on how to find a job on SCOTLink watch this video.

Also do not forget to attend the Basic Job Search Workshop, or watch the workshop online right now!

The Career Center Resource Room has a complete computer lab, access to online resume, interview, and cover letter assistnant as well as other printed resources and manuals.

The On-Campus Interview Program brings employers to campus each year to recruit students for career positions and internships.

Career Fairs: Throughout the year, career fairs and other major career events are held for UCR students. These include Career Night, Engineering and Technical Career Fair, Meet the Firms, Teacher Job Fair, and the Last Chance Summer Job Fair. These events provide excellent oppotunities to broaden your network as you seek employment. Follow up as advised by the representatives. Many people land jobs each year as a result of initial contacts made at these events. Look for information on other career fairs in Southern California advertised in area newspapers and at the Career Center.

Use your Network (Yes You Have One)

Many people think, "I don’t have a network." Not so. You are connected with many more people than you realize. Once you begin to use your network, you will see how far it reaches. For starters, it’s not about finding someone to hire you. Sometimes it is about talking to people who give you leads, or can point you to someone who runs a company that needs interns, or a company they heard is hiring people in your area. Sometimes it is a professor telling you about a conference for your research paper where you meet an employer.

A good contact can get your resume read by people who count, arrange for you to meet key executives, set up interviews and say the right things to the right people. So where do you find those contacts?

Who Are My Contacts?

Start with the obvious: Friends, relatives, former employers, youth sports coaches, friend's parents, the family doctor, lawyer, minister, rabbi, priest, realtor, tax specialist, banker, librarian -- the list goes on and on. Each is a potential source of contacts to your career area of interest or to your target organizations. Let everyone know about your job search, your interests, ambitions and dreams.

Ask all of your contacts for the names of people who might provide you with additional insight into your chosen career area, or more directly, names of those to whom you might send your resume. Take advantage of the techniques used in Interviewing for Information

Other sources of contacts:

➢ Professors
➢ Other students
➢ Newspaper articles about people who have achieved in the field you'd like to enter
➢ Community groups of business leaders
➢ Anyone you meet socially who takes an interest in your career goals
➢ Local suppliers or clients of your target organizations

Professional Associations

Virtually all career fields have their own professional associations, from gravy and sauce makers to the Venetian blind launderers. Most associations have local or regional groups, which may meet quarterly or even monthly. Often, non-members can attend a meeting or two before joining. The meetings feature speakers and offer a tremendous opportunity to make contact with people who are in a position to be of fairly direct help. Sometimes the associations will have job postings in the association newsletter or on the Internet. Often recruitment occurs at the national meetings. Many organizations offer student membership fees at greatly reduced prices. Join. Get involved! Volunteer for committee work! This can be job search activity at its most productive.

The Career Center staff can help you find the associations and match your career interests. Professional association resources on the Internet include:
➢ Association Central
➢ Gateway to Associations On-line
➢ IPL Associations on the Net
➢ Yahoo's list of Professional Associations

The Internal Approach

This strategy requires that you take a volunteer position, internship, cooperative education placement or a lower level position in an organization of interest to you. You use the position to establish personal contacts with as many people as possible and to gain valuable experience. Many cooperative education positions with the federal government can be used to enter otherwise closed systems.

The Internet has a number of resources to help entry-level and experienced job hunters locate job listings, post resumes online, obtain general job search and career development advice, and keep abreast of current issues or trends in their respective fields. It offers 24-hour access and includes information from a broad geographic area. Practically anything you can imagine (and some things that you can't) can be found on the Internet. It is a powerful job search tool that offers immense possibilities, however, it does have some limitations:

➢ Because of the Internet's worldwide exposure, competition for posted job listings is fierce.
➢ Because it is unregulated, the reliability and truthfulness of information is subject to question.

Remember the Internet is a passive job search strategy that should always be used in conjunction with other more traditional approaches like networking, using the telephone, etc.

Walk-Ins

This "pounding the pavement" approach can sometimes be quite productive. It is particularly effective if you have an interview scheduled in an area where there are a few other employers of interest. Visit their personnel offices. Inquire about open positions. Pick up an application to take home to type. Wait to see a recruiter if possible. Some organizations have specific days for drop-ins at the personnel office.

Applying to Specific Jobs

While local newspapers, business journals, and newsletters or journals of professional associations often publish job listings, most larger companies are using the Internet for online applications, so visit company Web sites regularly.

If you have friends in organizations you're interested in, ask them if there are internal job-opening bulletins. Often, organizations recruit for internal applications a week or two before they release them to the general public. While you may not be able to apply early, at least you'll know what's coming up.

If there are local employers that are of interest, develop a routine to check on openings each week.

When you find a job notice, whether online or hard copy, prepare the application thoughtfully and neatly. Submit a resume and cover letter tailored for the position. Remember many applicants are screened out because of paperwork that is sloppy or too general.

Follow up applications with a polite phone call or email. "What is the status of my application?" "Is there anything further I should submit?" "When will decisions be made?" Following up may be the most critical part of any application.

Employment agencies for the state and federal government can be important sources of leads on opportunities in the public sector and in the case of the federal government. USAJobs is the ONLY way to find and apply for positions. Completing all areas of the application is very important as each application is given a score before any screening takes place.

Private employment agencies and executive recruiters may be used if you have extensive work experience or experience in a specialized area such as engineering, accounting or nursing. Check any contracts you sign for fee agreements and payment schedules. Under ordinary circumstances the employer should pay any fees. Stay away from agencies which would place you in a job for which you are overqualified.