“from ‘your Linfield’ to your career: Being proactive on the job search” plus 1 more

from ‘your Linfield’ to your career: Being proactive on the job search

Posted: 18 Feb 2011 05:09 PM PST

Summer is approaching. For those students looking for a summer job or entering the job market in June, a better economy needs to come soon.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the national unemployment rate fell 0.4 percent in January — a small victory with a smooth decrease since its highest peak of 10.6 percent in 2009.
Co-founder of InternMatch Nathan Parcells said that since the economy has not fully recovered yet, the process of networking is more critical for students entering the real world.
"Network really is a key. Go talk with as many people as you can," Career Services Program Coordinator Kristi Mackay agreed.
Lori Howell, senior associate at Prichard Communications, a public relations agency in Portland, also highlighted the importance of networking and informational interviews. She said the most effective start for students with limited experience is to have conversations with professionals and identify at least three types of jobs they are interested in.
After participating in many informational interviews with college students, Howell identified these tips for building a network:
• Prepare at least five questions about occupations you like
• Contact professionals in your interested field, and ask for 20 minutes to talk about job hunting
• Ask them how they got their jobs and what they usually do in their current jobs
• Remember to mail a thank-you card for their time and information after the interview and later when you get a job
During the era of the Internet, search engines might help you to find some opportunities, but not unadvertised jobs, such as those announced in trade meetings or networking events. Statistics show that two thirds of all jobs are found informally.
Mackay said many students have a misunderstanding when they are searching for jobs or internships because they focus their search only online.
Compared with big companies that widely advertise jobs, small businesses and nonprofit organizations are a good start for students who have limited real-world experiences, Parcells said. InternMatch is an online internship-search website that collects such opportunities.
Assistant Professor of Mass Communication Lisa Weidman indicated during a career class that students should not be afraid of applying for their dream jobs.
With a matured network as a good start, a résumé and cover letters should represent a student's experience and skills.
Liberal arts college students' skills are more transferable than those in general universities but they're not always specialized enough, so students need to identify what skills they can bring to the table, Anne Hardin Ballard, director of Career and Community Services, said.
Mackay suggested a typical three-step theory for students contemplating their career:
1. Learn about yourself. Come up with questions about your interests, skills, expected geographic location, long-term and short-term goals, expected work environment and so on.
2. Learn about what's out there. List jobs found on the Internet, in newspapers or heard about during a conversation. Mackay said this addresses how students should not overlook informational interviews.
3. Make a match between No. 1 and No. 2.
Parcells, an expert at internship hunting, said the reality is that paid internships are limited for students, but a common difficulty for students is that they don't know how to highlight professional skills besides listing experience in the office or industry environment.
"The value of doing internships is not just adding more titles into the résumé but also knowing what you really like after a short period of real-world work," he said.
Mackay noted an important point about interviews that has overwhelmed most students.
"A job interview is a conversation. While the recruiter asks you questions, you should do so as well."

Campus sources:

Résumé workshops: Learn how to create a résumé and cover letter. The workshops will go over content and formatting and touch on job and internship search strategies.
March 14, 2 p.m., Walker 302
March 29, 2:30 p.m., Walker 201
April 19, Noon, West Wing of Dillin
May 5, 4 p.m., Walker 201

Career After Hours (all at 4 p.m. in the Fred Meyer Lounge):
Feb. 22, Career Quest: "Getting the Opportunity You Want"
Feb. 28, Social Service Careers
March 1, Internships
Nathan Parcell, co-founder of InternMatch, addresses the question of why you should get an internship and provides the empowering "how" to find, develop and take advantage of an internship experience.
March 1, April 12, LinkedIn
Career Services Program Coordinator Kristi Mackay will discuss how to use LinkedIn as a tool for professional networking and searching for jobs.
April 21, Management
A panel of recruiters will discuss management-training programs that can be a great way to start your career.
April 26, Financial Service
A panel of professionals will discuss different career paths in financial services.

Other events:
Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m., Riley 201, Evergreen Water Park Presentation:
Evergreen representatives will be on campus to provide a sneak peek of the new water park, scheduled to open early June. Learn what jobs may be available and how to apply for them.
March 30, 4 p.m., Walker 302, Peace Corps information session
March 30, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Walker 124, Resumania
April 1, First Avenue Job Fair, University of Portland:
First Avenue Job Fair has recruiters talk to students about internships, summer jobs, full-time positions and graduate schools. Please visit www.olapcfirstavenue.org for more information.

Information provided by Career Services

Online job
search:

1. www.internmatch.com

This is an internship-hunting website and a good start for undergrads who don't have much work experience. Most work opportunities listed are in nonprofit organizations and small businesses in the Northwest. The InternMatch blog (www.internmatch.com/blog) and Twitter feed (@internmatch) are updated regularly with ideas about jobs, internships, interview techniques, career tips and the like.
InternMatch co-founder Nathan Parcells will talk about his own experiences and share unique perspectives on internships at Linfield on March 1: see Campus resources' at the left for more details.

2. www.prichardcommunications.com/macs-list

Prichard Communications' Mac's List is a job resource for people studying communications. Most posts are for high-level jobs in the Portland area, but some are internships, events and volunteer opportunities. It also gives students an idea of what communications jobs look like. Senior Associate Lori Howell participated in countless informational interviews with job hunters and said she likes to help students with networking.

Jaffy Xiao/Features editor
Jaffy Xiao can be reached at linfieldreviewfeatures@gmail.com.

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JOB HUNT CHAT has Reached Its One Year Anniversary! Jessica Miller Merrell Helps Find Jobs on Twitter

Posted: 19 Feb 2011 01:00 AM PST

Job Hunt Chat as one of twitter track tools for job search, has reached its one year anniversary. Invented by Jessica Miller Merrell, as the first twitter chat of its kind it helps to find jobs on Twitter http://blogging4jobs.com/

Okhlahoma City, Oklahoma (Vocus/PRWEB) February 18, 2011

JobHuntChat has reached its one year anniversary. Monday, February 21st, JobHuntChat celebrates its first birthday. What started as an experiment to help seekers to find jobs on Twitter has turned into a phenomenon. With over 250,000 chats later, it has become a well known chat that occurs every Monday night at 10PM.

Over the course of one hour, Jessica Miller Merrell and her co-host Rich DeMatteo tweet 6 questions submitted by job seekers and call on the Twitter community to help answer their questions. With 1500 or more tweets in the course of an hour, JobHuntChat is a popular asset to the job seekers on twitter.

Twitter Chats are an organized networking event facilitated on the well known social networking platform, Twitter. There are hundreds of Twitter chats occurring on any topic at various times. A Twitter chat is a great way to connect with other industry influencers, bloggers or business professionals to exchange information, network, articles, and learn about new trends.

With Job Hunt Chat, known under the hash tag as #jobhuntchat job seekers can meet other job seekers, potential employers, and human resource recruiters to help them network and answer pertinent questions they may have with regards to their job search. Job Hunt Chat is a remarkable tool that facilitates that connection of hundreds of individuals who otherwise would not have connected with one another.

As Jessica Miller Merrell, the founder of Job Hunt Chat states, "What started as an experiment to help job seekers on Twitter has become a phenomenon".

Job Hunt Chat offers so many benefits to the twitter participant:

Connects them with human resource recruiters
Answers pertinent job related questions
Provides them with real time answers, questions, and ideas.
Opens up job possibilities that otherwise would not have been found.

Twitter attendees gain key knowledge and insights from human resource recruiters, potential employees and other job seekers with several years of collective experience and results in their industry.

With the celebration of their upcoming one year anniversary on Monday, February 21, 2011, Merrill and DeMateo have a surprise for JobHuntChat. Merrill states that "they have been planning and strategizing about how we can continue to help job seekers and take the concept to the next level beyond Twitter, and on Monday, February 21st, we'll let you in on our little secret".

Savvy job hunt seekers and human resource professionals will be sure to attend the Job Hunt Chat on Monday, February 21, 2011, to hear their exciting news using hashtag #jobhuntchat!
For business tips and advice, go to the Jessica Miller–Merrell website and claim a free report http://blogging4jobs.com/

Human Resource recruiters can purchasing "Tweet This: Twitter for Business!" at http://tweetingmybusiness.com/.

For the Media: Jessica Miller-Merrell is available for expert quotes, speaking and consulting. Contact Jessica via email at jessica(at)xceptionalhr(dot)com or by phone at 405.912.4885.
Publicist: Tatyana Gann 615.354-7625

About Jessica Miller-Merrell
Jessica is a leading voice in the HR social media community and has over 10 years of experience in human resources and recruiting. She hosts the first and only Internet web-show for job seekers on Mingle Media TV called Job Search Secrets. Her book, Tweet This! Twitter for Business was released in February 2010. Jessica has been quoted in publications as an expert including Glamour Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, and SHRM's HR Magazine. She is a hostess of Job Search Secrets with Jessica Miller Merrell podcast.

Jessica is a sought after speaker about human resource's role in social media and has spoken at SHRM's Leadership Conference, HR Southwest Conference, and HR Florida Conference. She will be leading a 4 hour "Social Media Bootcamp" at the 2011 SHRM National Conference in Las Vegas, NV.

Complete bio can be downloaded on Blogging4jobs.com

# # #

Tatyana Gann
Smokin' Hot PR, Publicist
615.354.7625
Email Information

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Saturday, February 19, 2011

“from ‘your Linfield’ to your career: Being proactive on the job search” plus 1 more

“from ‘your Linfield’ to your career: Being proactive on the job search” plus 1 more

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