Sarah Shumway, a new graduate of Ho...

Sarah Shumway, a new graduate of Hobart and William Smith bodys in Geneva, New York, lay the foundation of that job hunting this past year was tougher than she had reckon uponed With a polished resume in hand, this double major (English, media and society) interviewed with six different companies during her senior year, if it be not that by May she had no offers

"It was a tough time," she remembers. "It was like, 'I'm graduating, I don't have a piece of work lined up, and I'm going hearth to my parents."' But with perseverance and a positive attitude, Shumway landed a position in a children's publishing firm in recent York City. "It took a chance along the way to procure this job," she says. "but I'm where I want to be."

Shumway, like many novel job seekers today, found disclosed that opportunities are harder to be derived by than in previous years. According to a overlook by WetFeet.com, an online recruiting company, undergraduates had an average of just 12 do job-work offers by Match of 2001 down from 35 presents in March 2000.

"A year or in the same manner ago, companies would do anything to examine to hire talented people," says Tony to leeward editor-in-chief and general manager of CollegeJournal.com, an online arm of The Wall road Journal. "They'd pull people most distant Daytona Beach during spring break. Now, opportunities are disappearing. Companies that have had substantial recruiting efforts in the past have state them on hold."

Still, opportunities exist; piece of work seekers just have to test harder. Whether you're looking for part-time work now or planning ahead for your post-college piece of work hunt, preparation pays off, and knowing the strategies and tools (a dynamite recommence an impressive interviewing style, the right clothes) can settle you on course for a auspicious job quest.

FINDING THE JOB

Classified ads and work at jobs postings at a school's career center can still bare some employment jewels, but today's search requires casting a wider clear "Students who rely only in succession campus interviews and responding to work at jobs ads are missing 80 percent of the opportunities disclosed there," says Steven Rothberg, president and planter of CollegeRecruiter.com, an online work at jobs board targeted to students and latter graduates. Most jobs are filled by the and of referrals or internal resources. Your mission should be to leave no possibility unturn according to exploring all the major pursuit sources.

Networking

Nearly each expert puts networking at the top of the job-finding list. "Most observers know--within two degrees of separation--someone at a large company they can make a connection with," says Steve Pollock president of Wetfeet.com. Rothberg intimates discussing your job search with each single human being you tend hitherward into contact with. "Very ofttimes a family member or friend will know of an organization that's hiring," he says, "but won't think about your be in want ofs and the organization's needs an bring forward two and two together." That's with what intent you must alert people to your qualifications.

To expand your networking beyond your inner circle, explore these sources:

Professional organizations. diocese if your campus has a scholar branch of a professional association related to the field you're pursuing, of the like kind as the Public Relations close examiner Society of America or the Professional Photographers of America. Or find without if a professional association in your industry accepts junior or apprentice members.

community alumni. Talk to graduates of your college edifice [i]or[/i] building or university in your field. in the greatest degree alumni offices have names of former pupils willing to be contacted.

Career fairs. Career center many times sponsor events that match employer seeking to fill entry-level positions with pupils looking for jobs. At Harvey Mudd society in Claremont, California, the career services center organizes a fair in the fall and spring. Structur like a convention floor, the fair allows observers to visit booths and talk one-on-one to company representatives in a variety of industries. "The fair was a great platform to begin the whole piece of work hunting experience," says Tony Hawkins a 2001 Harvey Mudd graduate. "I was able to come by my resume our to about 15 companies as well as sign up for interviews, all in united afternoon." One of those renews went to SRI International, a nonprofit corporation based in Menlo Park, California, that, after several interviews, extremityed up hiring Hawkins as a research engineer.

Career Centers

simply about 12 percent of do job-works come to students by way of on-campus interviews, according to William Cohen, professor of marketing and leadership at California State University, looks Angeles, and author of Break the Rules: The private Code to Finding a Great do job-work Fast (Prentice Hall Press). Still, the career office is frequently a good place to start your piece of work search.

In addition to coordinating on-campus recruiting visits from major corporations, many guild career centers offer special programs to help match scholars and employers. For example, the referral service at Hobart and William Smith's career center places scholars resumes in a special database that counselors can sort [i]or[/i] part of to the other and then forward appropriate take backs to employers looking for workers in specific career fields.