Job seekers should use many tools
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — Recent college graduate Maureen Nelson is looking for her first job in a new career, but she's not worried. Nelson is sure her nearly 300 contacts, online skills and determination will see her through.
Nelson is one of many people who made finding a new job their New Year's resolution. The chances of succeeding aren't bad, experts say, especially if you take advantage of available resources and use the right approach.
That's significant because the jobless rate hit 5 percent, a two-year high, in December, according to a report by the Labor Department released this month. Talk of a recession is spreading thanks to the slowing housing market and the subprime mortgage meltdown.
"I think we have over-catastrophized. Most of the evidence suggests the subprime and credit crunch are not extending throughout the entire economy. And while the unemployment rate is up three-tenths of a percent, 5 percent is still a historic low," said career consultant Marty Nemko, who was named the Bay Area's best career coach by the Bay Guardian and is a contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report.
Nelson agrees with Nemko, whose strategies she is following in her job hunt.
The December JFK University graduate, who got a master of arts degree in career development, is active on business networking site LinkedIn, a free site that helps members build networks. She belongs to San Francisco Women on the Web, an Internet-based professional organization with its own Web site and an active e-mail list.
Though SF WOW, as members refer to it, is mostly oriented toward Internet or high-tech jobs, members share career tips and contacts.
This group is a good example of what experts like Nemko call the "hidden job market." It's important to get the word out that you're looking, and what you're looking for (in Nelson's case, a job as a career counselor). That way, if your contacts hear about something, they'll let you know.
Attending real-life events is important as well, she said.
"I got an internship at the Concord One Stop Career Center because I joined the Association of Career Professionals International," Nelson said. "I sat next to the director at a meeting, and told her I wanted an internship."
And, of course, Nelson uses Craigslist, the online job board founded by Craig Newmark in San Francisco that has become nearly ubiquitous for job hunters and others across the country.
While her online skills are formidable, Nelson said every job she found in her previous career in publishing came from a newspaper ad. So it doesn't hurt to use that resource as well.
"When I answer an ad, I target my resume and cover letter to the job," Nelson said. "I research the company and try to tie in my resume with the direction the company is going." After the interview, Nelson sends both an e-mail thank-you note and one via snail-mail.
Nemko suggested that job hunters consider government jobs.
"Working for the government is a good idea. The government offers pension plans, good medical coverage, and they're not going to offshore those jobs," Nemko said.
Nemko suggested starting with the blue-tipped government pages in the phone book.
"Identify areas where you have a background," Nemko said. "... Find the name of an agency, Google the agency, go to their Web site, where it tells you who their leaders are. Then write those people asking for an informational interview," Nemko said. An informational interview is done to gather information and doesn't focus on a specific job.
In the informational interview, "they might tell you about a job that is posted or jobs that are coming up," Nemko said.
After you've gone all out with your efforts, be patient.
After you've gone all out, be patient. It will take time, but if you're doing all the right things, you can succeed.
"I don't get every job I try for, but I get a lot of them," said Nelson. "Persistence is what it's all about."
