How to Find a Job

How to Find a Job

Prepared by ASPIRE at SHS

January 2018

Job Search

There are lots of ways to search for employment:

· The career office on your college campus

· Job fairs on campus

· Recruiter visits to campus

· Talk with your professors; they may have contacts

· Talk with your friends; learn how they are looking for work

· Websites with job listings (check our SHS ASPIRE web page for college students for links to some job listing sites: www.sites.google.com/site/siuslawafterhs/college-life.

· Send your resume and cover letter to companies you’d like to work for (not usually effective, but it can’t hurt).

· Visit the state employment office near you

Resume

Your resume is very important; it is the only way a prospective employer will know you until you talk by telephone or meet in person

· Make sure it is clear, clean, concise, and informative

· DO NOT make spelling or grammatical errors on your resume

· Use a resume template to make it look good; see the SHS ASPIRE web page for links: www.sites.google.com/site/siuslawafterhs/college-life.

· If you still remember your CIS username and password (from your work with ASPIRE) you may use the resume you created in CIS

· Print it on good, attractive paper

· Keep your resumes wrinkle-free and smear-free

Cover Letter

· Your cover letter is as critical as your resume, and maybe more so. It is your first introduction to a prospective employer.

· It should be short, just long enough to entice an employer to look at your resume.

· It should be written in proper business format and well-placed on the page

· Print it on paper that matches your resume

· Make absolutely sure there are no grammatical errors, misspelled words, smudges on the page, etc.

References

· Most employers will want information from references. These can be professors, present or former employers, and others who know you well. They should be relatively recent. Employers are not interested in hearing from your relatives.

· You will probably need three references for most job applications

· During your time in college, cultivate relationships that can lead to good references later

· Do not hesitate to ask someone for a letter of reference, or to be listed as a reference on your resume.

· If someone gives you a general letter of reference (addressed “To Whom It May Concern”), make a copy for yourself and keep it in a safe place. You may be able to use it with many job applications, at the present time or in the future.

· Ask someone to be a reference only if you are certain that the reference will be positive. If you are unsure how someone feels about you, don’t ask that person to be a reference.