Job Campaigning, Interviewing & Networking

Some of the most critical steps you take in a job search are those immediately prior to contacting prospective employers. Employers will decide to hire you or not based upon your resume, cover letter, interviewing skills, and post-interview activities. Get prepared for an excellent job campaign.

Networking and Informational Interviewing

An effective way of finding a job is through informational interviewing and networking. Networking contacts can help too with selection of your career preferences. To be successful, you need to meet and get to know more people. The following resources will help you meet people in your fields of interest and help you successfully network with them. More networking and interviewing tips!! As you network, you may need more advice on questions to ask, how to dress, etc.

Network with MSU Alumni

Make contacts with MSU alumni in Michigan, nationwide and overseas locations. Names, addresses, and emails are provided for local clubs leaders. Most club leaders are very helpful with referrals to MSU alumni in local businesses, industrial organizations, government agencies, and educational institutions.

Spartan Business Directory

Get to know other Spartans, where they work and what they do. Search the Spartan Business Directory by keyword (i.e. individual name, company name, position, etc.), location (city and state), and business type. Contact MSU alumni for networking purposes. Use Spartan businesses (i.e. carpeting, painting, building construction, etc.) and help Spartan businesses grow. Buying new products? Building a new home? Need a real estate agent? Get a financial planner? Want an insurance agent? Search the Spartan Business Directory for MSU alumni in your area and for network contacts!

Never Eat Alone … and Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time: The Ultimate Networker Reveals How to Build a Lifelong Community of Colleagues, Contacts, Friends, and Mentors. Keith Ferrazzi.

Resume Preparation/ Samples

Your resume is the primary tool for conducting your job campaign. It should contain a summary of your work history. Links are provided to sample resumes, templates of various resume types, and articles on designing resumes. Experts discuss things you should always do or never do on a resume. Advice is included on creating and posting resumes on electronic web sites.

More Samples

Get the edge with the magic Buzzwords in your resume!

Be prepared to present your resume and cover letter in an ASCII scannable format.

A Vita Versus Resume

For alumni applying to higher education positions, this web site contains a very good overview of vita writing, which compares resumes and vitae and tackles questions about the differences. What should go on a vita?

Action Phrases and Power Verbs

When preparing your resume, the task of relating your work experiences to prospective employers is not easy one. To help you, a list of action phrases and power verbs has been created. Use these to show that you are results-oriented. Begin each job description with a power verb or phrase.

Get A Resume Critique

Send your resume to Alumni Career Services for a critique. Attach your resume as a Word document to an email. Notate “Resume Critique” in the subject box. Requires Alumni Association membership.Not a member? Join Online!

25 Words that Hurt Your Resume

Sell yourself to potential employers, list specific accomplishments, avoid empty claims and use brief, specific examples to demonstrate your skills. Show but do not tell.

Employer and Career Tracking Spreadsheet

To help with tracking of your career alternatives and to manage your employer contacts for job campaigning, a spreadsheet might help. Keep track of all employers that interest you including their names, titles, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, email addresses, etc. Business cards from your collection might be a good place to start when preparing this list. See MSU sample.

Writing a Winning Cover Letter / Samples

One of the most dreaded tasks faced by many job hunters is writing an excellent cover letter or email message for transmittal with a resume. See MSU sample. The goal of the winning cover letter is to differentiate yourself from other job applicants and explain why you are the best candidate for the employer's job. If you are successful, you should get an interview. More samples.

Get A Cover Letter Critique

Send your cover letter draft to Alumni Career Services for a critique. Attach your cover letter as a Word document to an e-mail. Notate “Cover Letter Critique” in the subject box. Requires Alumni Association membership. Not a member? Join Online!

References/ Letters of Recommendation/ List of References

Job applicants often ignore references when conducting a job campaign, but when a list a references (see sample list of references) is used early in the job hunt, it can be very helpful with your employment applications. Send a list of references with your initial cover letter or email message and a resume if a prospective employer will accept them. One (1) letter of recommendation on letterhead stationary should be sent as a .gif or .jpeg file. References can speed the job search process along much quicker if they are used properly. Other resources: Choosing and Using the Best Job References and Sample Reference Letters.

Email Addresses

Be careful when selecting an email address. Names like 2hot4u or psiloveu or Blackjack21 or ghettodetroitgirl have appeared in employer resume databases. Job applicants want to make a good first impression, but these e-mail names will probably not make a positive impact. Do not squander an opportunity because of your email address.

Telephone Answering Machine Message

College students are noted for creative answering machine messages, but listen to your own message to determine if it is in good taste and would positively impress a prospective employer that listened to it. After all, you are trying to get a job!

Plan Your Interviewing Strategies

Get prepared for your interview. Emphasize your strengths, minimize your weaknesses, and prepare for the tough interview questions.

Interviewing Questions

Favorite questions asked most frequently by employers. The best questions heard from job applicants when interviewing with employers. Excellent preparation for campus interview, second interviews, or company visits.

Legal Interviewing Questions

Business Cards

Create your own business cards for distribution during your job campaigning. Include a logo or graphic if you want and your name, address, telephone number, fax, and email. Provide your top 5-6 career alternatives. Give them to network contacts and anyone else that might help with your job hunting.

Conversation Skills

Do you know how to make good conversation? When talking to business associates, friends, family members, or professionals, you need to know how to make an excellent first impression in person, on the phone, or at a party. Learn the secrets of small talk and how to go beyond into deeper conversations. Discover the crucial elements of establishing rapport with anyone and how to work a party like a politician. You should never feel like an outsider again after learning the topics to include and the questions to ask.

Your Elevator Speech

You are riding in an elevator and you meet a prospective employer that you have tried to reach for a year. You have 15 seconds to make an impression. What do you say... ?? How far do you think your statements will take you? Does the employer continue the conversation? Do you get an appointment? If not, what could you say that would make a difference?

Portfolio/Brag Book

An old tool for job-hunting is making a comeback with a vengeance. For years, graphic artists, journalists, teachers, and other creative types used career portfolios while job-hunting, but only recently has the idea become a fad with all types of job seekers. Things to Include in a Portfolio! These are the basic categories of materials to showcase. A Career Portfolio Study and Samples. Prepare for the world of work through planning, reflection, skill development, and portfolio documentation.

Getting Yourself Hired

If you want an employer to hire you, then SOLVE HIS OR HER PROBLEMS. Your first objective is to turn the prospective employer into a consumer. Once accomplished, give them such wonderful service that they would not think of hiring someone else, and with the passage of time, you develop a relationship. But don't be offended. The employer doesn't care about you or your employment status. They only care about themselves and their company.

Employer Research

Job applicants that do their homework prior to the interview are more likely to impress a prospective employer. Before the interview, use all available resources to learn as much as possible about the organizations and industries that interest you. Get prepared by finding, researching, and contacting employers earlier than other applicants.

Dress for Success

Try to observe the appropriate dress for the career fields you have chosen. The more conservative the industry, the more conservative the color and cut of your suit should be. Get some advice on appropriate dress prior to your interviews and business dinners.

Dining Etiquette

As a component of the interviewing process, employers typically invite the job applicant for a second interview, and quite frequently, you are invited to lunch or dinner with employees of the organization. For some, this can be a most daunting task. How will you handle yourself and how will you dress? What questions will you ask and which achievements will you emphasize? Fortunately, it is never too late to learn good table manners.

Others excellent sites on Etiquette:

Emily Post's Etiquette

Business Etiquette During the Job Search

Basic Table Etiquette and Dining Manners

Good Etiquette and Manners in the Job Search

Job-Hunting Etiquette Quiz

Buddy System of Job Search Works

If you wish that you had someone to talk to when job hunting, then pick someone. Stay away from negative people! Match yourself with a buddy or a small group of buddies. Your buddy can be in another field, which could keep you focused on your job hunting processes. You can encourage each other. Your buddy can keep you positive and active toward your goal: a new job that matches your career interests. Make those phone calls, send those cover letters and resumes, focus on activities that will get you to your target; not wasting countless hours posting resumes on web sites.

Thank You Letters

After the interview, don't think your final "goodbye" was the end of the road for your job campaigning. Far from it. Five Tips for Writing Thank You Notes. There are several steps you can take to make a lasting impression after your interview and greatly increase your odds of receiving a job offer. More discussion on "Thank You" letters.

Business Notes: Writing Personal Notes that Build Professional Relationships

In many business situations, a well-timed and well-written note can be a personal touch that wins an account, seals the deal, or makes a favorable impression – just when it counts. But when facing a blank sheet of paper or an empty computer screen, even the most capable professional is often stumped.

Placement Credentials

If you are interested in establishing or utilizing a placement credential file, including letters of recommendation, student teaching reports, etc. contact the Career Services and Placement office at Michigan State University. They have responsibility for this service, which includes letters of recommendation maintained for graduate school applications.