Where should you look for jobs?
Everywhere. What good is a product if no one knows about it? You may have crafted the perfect résumé, but if it’s only saved on your computer, how will you be successful in your job search? You have to get your résumé in front of as many “right” employers as you can. Some employers may not have a job for you at the moment, and those who do may already have a ton of résumés to review by now. Who should you be sending your résumé to? What are the some of the best ways to send it? You will learn in this section.
Finding the Right Job Opportunities
There are two ways to find the right job opportunities to apply for. One, you should work with recruiters directly who work on entry-level positions. Two, you should apply for entry-level positions on websites such as LinkedIn, Monster, Indeed, and Dice. A lot of times, the positions you apply for online are posted by recruiters anyway. One of the best ways to be informed of jobs on LinkedIn is by following those companies you are interested in working for. Most companies have their own LinkedIn page where you can view all of their job openings. Each job opening also lets you see who posted the job, along with a link to their profile so you can contact them (the employer/recruiter) directly. I’ll be discussing LinkedIn and its features a little later.
As I’ve said before, it’s also important that you tailor your résumé to the job you’re applying for, because you will come across interesting positions for which your originally-crafted résumé may not sell yourself enough or in the right way. For example, if you’re a marketing major and the position you’re applying for is in advertising, and the objective on your résumé says “To obtain an entry-level position in the marketing industry,” you may as well have thrown your résumé out the window. A lot of students tend to rush, thinking that success will come with a greater volume of résumé submissions, which is partially true, but you’ll have a greater “hit ratio” just by spending a couple of minutes beforehand tailoring your résumé to the actual job description.
Working with recruiters directly is another smart way to land your first job. A lot of times, recruiters have the “in” you need to get your résumé noticed by the hiring managers because they already have established relationships with them. You can easily find them and establish relationships yourself. An online search for “[location] [industry] recruiters” will show you hundreds of recruiting agency websites, with each usually having an online résumé submission form.
Another way to establish relationships is by cold calling the recruiters directly (after finding the phone number on their website). I get a handful of these calls every week. It’s easy. When you actually get them on the phone, all you have to say is that you’re an entry-level candidate and you’re interested in any entry-level job opportunities they may have. They’ll give you their email address so you can send them your résumé, but they may not have any job opportunities for you at the moment. That is why you should work with a handful of recruiters, because different recruiting agencies have different clients. You should work with a few, say around four or five. You can work with more recruiters, but keep track of everyone you speak with, as well as the positions you’re being submitted for.
To find the right jobs, you have to search online using the right keywords. If you’re looking for jobs in customer service, search for “customer service jobs.” Indeed has an “Advanced Search” feature you can use to target the positions you’re looking to apply for. This will allow you to search for positions that have specific keywords, as well as remove those positions from search results that have specific keywords as well. This feature comes in handy when you’re trying to pull up entry-level positions in certain areas, as well as remove those positions that are for more senior professionals or in areas that are not of interest to you.
So, if you’re searching for “customer service” on Indeed, you’re going to pull up both junior and senior positions alike in many different areas. Just by doing a search right now for “customer service” job openings in “New York, NY,” you’ll see there are thousands of open positions. Now, click on “Advanced Job Search,” and where it says “With the exact phrase,” type in “customer service AND entry-level.” Then click “Find Jobs.” By doing this, you’ve now saved yourself a lot of time and narrowed your search down to only customer service positions that are entry-level. However, performing just one search like this isn’t going to cut it. You have to always come up with new ways to narrow your searches down to only those jobs you’d be interested in.
Open to Relocating
Relocating could be one of the best ways for you to land a job you’ll love. Let’s face it, where you’re living now may not be the best place for you to find an entry-level job in one of the career fields on your "hit list." Besides getting the position you want, the cost of living in some places may be a lot lower as well. For example, the price of a condo in Manhattan could buy you a nice size house in other states like Texas.
Relocating will also put you ahead of a lot of your competitors. A lot of people aren't willing to relocate, either because they like where they are living now or for personal reasons. If you’re willing to go the distance, your chances of getting the job will increase. You also should know that just because you relocate doesn’t mean you’ll be stuck there for the rest of your life. It could just be temporary.
A college friend of mine was accepted into a management program for one of the country’s leading retailers. Knowing it is much harder to get into the management program in New York City, he decided to apply for the program in Boston, Massachusetts, instead. His performance ranking there is so high that he is being transferred to the corporate offices in New York City, where the top 5 percent of employees work. In essence, he took whatever position he could get, proved himself, and now is moving back to New York City to join the top 5 percent. If he hadn’t taken the risk and relocated to begin with, he may never have accomplished what he has so far, so fast.
A lot of companies would also be willing to pay for your relocation expenses, so take that into consideration as well.
Network, Network, Network
When I was in college, the most common piece of advice I was given was “to network." Practically everyone I spoke to said something along the lines of “it’s all about networking.” At first, it doesn't sound too helpful, right? It’s really just common sense, because people are only going to help who they know. Very few will help someone they don’t know over someone they do know. The problem most students have is either they’re too lazy to network or they just don’t know how to. It could take years to make a valuable connection. However, it all starts with a single phone call , email, or handshake.
A good example is billionaire Warren Buffett and how he started. Buffett’s idol had always been Benjamin Graham since he first read his book, The Intelligent Investor. As a result, Buffett studied at Columbia University after learning Graham was a professor there. Repeatedly asking him for a job and willing to work for free, Buffett was persistent in his approach. Even after graduating from college when he was working in Omaha, Nebraska, selling investment securities from 1951 and 1954, Buffett mailed Graham investment ideas every month. Finally, one day, Graham wrote back, “Next time you’re in New York, come and see me.” Buffett went to New York and the rest is history. If he wasn’t persistent, Buffett may never have become the business magnate he is today.
One of the most common mistakes students make when networking is they essentially throw away a connection if they don’t initially have a job for them. A lot of students just send mass emails with their sales pitches asking for jobs and then wait for people to respond to them. They only see the short-term gain and disregard the long-term potential they could have if they put the effort into creating a strong connection. Although you should hope to find people who will help you find a job in the short-term, keep an open mind and stay in touch with as many people as you can. Just because some employers don’t have a job for you now doesn’t mean that will always be the case for the future.
Think about it this way. Let’s say you’re a successful corporate executive and one day you get a call from your alma mater asking if you could serve as a mentor to undergraduate students. They set you up with a nice online profile, which allows students to send you messages. Then, let’s say you receive close to fifty emails a week from students seeking career advice, as well as asking you for a job. Do you honestly think you could help all fifty students every week? Sure, you may be able to help out a few, but if you had to pick one student to help, how would you decide? The answer is the student you relate to the most. The student who spent the extra five minutes making small talk with you, or that student who showed you he was driven to succeed.
The truth is that all relationships take time to grow. If you’re persistent enough and determined to make it grow, it will grow. You’ll no longer be the college student or graduate looking for a job to these professionals. You’ll become a friend to them.
Connecting with the Right People
You know you have to network and you have to nurture these relationships from the start, but who should you be talking to? There’s no one better to talk to than the person you want to become ten to twenty years from now. Unless you have a mutual acquaintance, the best way is a direct approach. LinkedIn is a great tool that will let you search and target these professionals directly.
For example, let’s say you went to medical school, and for as long you can remember, it’s always been your dream to work for a particular hospital. Who should you be talking to? For starters, try reaching the medical professionals who work in that particular hospital (perform an “Advanced Search” on LinkedIn to find these people). Sure, some people may not want to talk to you, but some will appreciate the hustle and be willing to offer you free advice. Also, you shouldn’t be discouraged if they don’t respond to you promptly. Put yourself in their shoes-would you be constantly checking LinkedIn all day? I would hope not. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be doing your job.
It is your job to create a strong connection, and it all begins with a single phone call , email, or handshake. They may only have a few minutes for you, but if you sound articulate and really demonstrate to them you have the determination to be in their field, you’re on the right track. Always end the conversation thanking them for their time and asking to meet in person for a cup of coffee or lunch sometime in the near future. Although we do live in the modern age where the world revolves around email and texting, nothing ever beats doing business in person. Connections are made in person, not through computers.
Using LinkedIn to Your Advantage
LinkedIn can be a very useful tool in your job search. Most college graduates I know don’t use LinkedIn nearly as much as they should. It is a great way to manage all of your connections, as well as meet new people. It also has become one of the premier tools recruiters use to find candidates. So, LinkedIn will bring you one step closer to landing your first job.
Understanding How LinkedIn Works
LinkedIn is a professional social network. Unlike Facebook, which people use mostly to keep in touch with friends and family, LinkedIn is geared toward professional life and managing one's connections. Essentially, you create your own profile, which is like having an online résumé, complete with a profile picture, work experience, and “Skills & Expertise.” You are then able to join groups, search and connect with people, and apply for job postings listed on company pages.
There are three levels of connection on LinkedIn-1st, 2nd, and 3rd. 1st connections are those people you are connected with directly, allowing you to message them, obtain their personal email address (if they list it), and view all of their connections and their profile (unless they have certain privacy settings in place). A 2nd connection is someone that is a 1st connection of one of your 1st connections, or a connection of one of your connections. You can connect with these people directly or you could “get introduced” to them, by having your 1st connection who’s connected with them make an introduction, which is essentially a message they send connecting the two of you together. Finally, as you could probably guess, a 3rd connection is a connection of one of your connection’s connections.
The great thing about LinkedIn is that it’s a growing network many successful people are on. With just one search, you could pull up the profiles of even some of the world’s most powerful and influential people, including Fortune 500 CEOs, and with just one click of the mouse, you can contact them directly. People use LinkedIn to find work, connect with future employers, and check up on people from their past and see where they’re working now.
Setting up Your Profile
First, sign up and fill out your profile completely. Think of your LinkedIn profile as your online résumé, complete with the responsibilities and accomplishments of every internship and job you’ve ever had, as well as your education. Next, add a professional picture of yourself; not a picture of you at the bar with your friends or of you in the sixth grade. Then, add everyone you know to your network. Click here to add me as a connection (I’ll accept!). LinkedIn has a great tool that will search through your email account and pull up the profiles of all those people you’ve communicated with in the past. Then, join groups and networks that apply to you. Whether it’s an alumni network for your college or university, or even a networking group for young professionals, these are great ways to help get yourself noticed online. Join as many as you can.
Adding a Professional Summary
A professional summary is the tagline people see under your name on your LinkedIn profile. Some like to keep it simple and list their current occupation, while others are more creative and describe their goals or even promote their own business. If you’re unsure of what to write, either use your current job title and company or something along the lines of “Aspiring [Industry] Professional.”
Adding Strategic Keywords
Apart from setting up your profile and adding your work experience, you have to be strategic with how to bring your LinkedIn profile to the top of recruiters’ searches. When a recruiter is working on filling an open position, they’re taking keywords from the job description and searching for it on LinkedIn. For example, if I’m working on a java developer position, you can be sure that “java” is a keyword I’m searching for. On the other hand, if a recruiter is looking for someone entry-level who has experience working with a particular kind of computer software, those who stress it more in their profiles will come out on top. That is why the keywords or the “Skills & Expertise” section of your LinkedIn profile is just as important, so be sure to include the different kinds of technologies you’re familiar with, as well as the skills you have, so you will come out on top of more search results.
Establishing a Way to Contact You
You have to make it easy for recruiters and employers to contact you. Unless they know you or have met you before, LinkedIn does not allow them to “connect” with you (although a lot of people tend not to follow this rule). However, there are ways where you can make it easier for them to reach you. The first would be to add your email address at the end of your profile. Usually, people say something like, “If you’re interested in reaching me regarding career opportunities, please feel free to email me at firstname.lastname@email.com.”
Another option is enabling OpenLink on your profile. OpenLink allows anyone to essentially message you for free. Usually, recruiters have premium LinkedIn accounts, which allow them to perform more advanced searches and InMail (basically a LinkedIn message) a certain number of people every month. Believe me, these InMails run out fast, and a lot of times recruiters run out of InMails and have no way of contacting people they want to speak with. With OpenLink, anyone can message you for free. You can enable the OpenLink feature under the “Settings” page of your LinkedIn profile.
Going Premium
If you’re willing to go the extra mile and maximize your LinkedIn capabilities, I suggest you upgrade to a premium account for a month or two. You usually can get the first month for free. This way, you can take full advantage of LinkedIn’s InMail feature and reach out directly to people you want to network with. You may even get lucky and find a few employers with the OpenLink feature activated as well. However, use your InMails sparingly, as you only get a certain amount each month (unless you purchase more).
Connecting with LIONs
LION stands for “LinkedIn Open Networker.” This is someone who typically accepts all invitations to connect on LinkedIn. A good way to find LIONs is by simply typing “LION” in the LinkedIn search box. They publicly advertise this in their profiles, as it’s a good way for people to find them. I suggest you connect with LIONs who work in the career fields on your “hit list” or connect with LIONs who are connected with the people you want to be connected with.
How to Write Cold Emails (or InMails)
Cold emailing, or emailing someone you’ve never met before, can be a very effective method for establishing professional relationships. If done right, you could even get responses from Fortune 500 CEOs and other prominent figures, let alone recruiters. The key is to write emails that are short and sweet. The people you're writing to receive hundreds of emails every day. Being respective of their time and writing short, personalized messages with little reply-back required will be much more effective than long, detailed emails. There are four questions you need to answer when composing cold emails:
Subject: Résumé for Business Analyst Opportunity [Name],
My name is Jason Navallo and I'm a recent graduate from Baruch College. I would like to apply for the Business Analyst opportunity you posted on LinkedIn. I reviewed the qualifications and strongly believe I would be a good fit, given [explain why here].
I'm attaching my résumé for your review. Would you be free for a quick call on Wednesday at 11am to discuss?
Sincerely,
Jason
Do you see how I constructed the email so the recruiter/employer can simply reply-back yes or no? All they have to do is look at their calendar. You're more likely to get a response from someone if they have to only write one word, instead of a sentence or paragraph.