Job Search Tools
OSU's Career Guide
OSU's Career Guide offers information on resumé/cover letter writing
as well as many other helpful job search resources.
Career Counseling
Counselors
Counselors are available to meet with you individually for 50 minute
appointments to help you prepare for the world of work by discussing
with you your needs and wants, assisting you in exploring careers, and
aiding you in developing your job search skills and tools. Call or stop
by to make an appointment.
Drop-in Advising
Drop-in Advising is available if you need just 15 minutes with an
advisor. Fall, Winter & Spring term hours are Monday - Friday from
1:00 - 4:00 and on Wednesday additional hours from 5:00 - 7:00.
Call us to confirm the drop-in times for each week. Thursdays they
are held
in the Valley Library.
Summer drop-in advising is Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 1:00
pm - 4:00 pm in Career Services only.
Mock Interviews
Mock Interviews will help you to prepare for an upcoming interview.
You can schedule a mock interview with an advisor by calling or
stopping by. Mock interviews are treated as a normal interview,
therefore, you will need to bring a copy of your resumé at least 24
hours in advance or it will be cancelled. Mock interviews are
videotaped, reflective of actual interviews, and designed to provide
feedback which can improve interviewing skills.
OSU Alumni Association's Staying Connected
eNetworking and eMentoring with alumni, students, faculty and
friends. http://alumni.oregonstate.edu/networks/index.html
Career Exploration
Becoming familiar with career fields is a critical part of both making
decisions about your goals and being better prepared in your job search.
Below you will find a sample of resources to assist your exploration.
O'NET Online
O'Net Online provides occupational information
including job despcriptions, requirements, labor statistics such as
outlook and salary data, and links to related occupations to assist
you in your research. http://online.onetcenter.org
Majors to Careers (What can I do with a Major in...?)
For each major that interests you, click on the title to find an
outline of common career areas, typical employers, and strategies
designed to maximize career opportunities. Choose "Links" to find a
list of external websites that provide information about listed majors
and related careers.
Keep in mind that the information sheets and websites are
representative of typical career paths associated with each major and
not a comprehensive list. You may want to explore information and
websites from multiple majors to help you learn about a wide range of
career opportunities.
Disclaimer: Please note that the websites listed under "Links" are
not maintained by the Career Center but are provided as a convenience
to students.
Starting Your Job Search
Learn the steps to take in order to conduct a successful job
search.
Effective Interviewing Techniques
Frequently asked questions about interviewing:
What is a job interview?
A job interview is a two-way dialogue in which employers and
perspective employees learn more about each other. A job interview
encompasses all interactions between employers and applicants. It is
important to realize that it encompasses all interactions, not just
spoken words. It is not just an interaction for the employer. The
employee should use the interview to learn more about the company so
they can make a better decision regarding a position.
What does the employer hope to gain from a job interview?
The employer wants to obtain information about potential employees
in order to make a good decision about hiring. The employer wants to
portray their company in a positive light and inform the potential
employee about the company.
What should you (the potential employee be ready to do in an interview?
Be able to articulate your skills, abilities, and knowledge to the
interviewer. Know what is on your resumé. Be prepared to answer
questions about anything that is on your resumé. Be aware of your
personality and character. Think about how you communicate. Consider
your fit with the organization. What would you be doing? Who would
you be working with? What are they like? Do you think you would
fit-in?
What are your goals for the interview?
You want to promote your ability to do the job. You are trying to
sell yourself. Present your skills, values and interests in a manner
that will make them want to know more about you and possibly offer you
a position. You want to be able to select the best possible
opportunity for yourself. You should try to get a sense of the
workplace environment when you are interviewing. Try to decide if it
would be a great place for you to work in the future.
What should you do before the interview?
Research! Research the company, the position, the specific job
market. It might help to talk to someone in the same field before the
interview to try and prepare yourself. Researching the position will
help prepare for possible questions that you may be asked during an
interview. Researching the company will help you prepare for
interacting with the people that are interviewing you. This is very
beneficial at a business lunch or an evening dinner with potential
employers. Try to learn about the organizational environment of the
company. This will help you understand where you would fit-in with the
company.
What are some different ways that companies interview applicants?
- Over the Phone
- Individual one-on-one
- With a Group of Applicants -- This is used to see how
you interact with the other candidates. Your communication style
along with your ability to work with others is very important in
this interview.
- With a Board or Panel of Employers -- This can be
intimidating because several people can be asking you different
question.
- Case Study Interviews -- In this interview you will be
given a problem or situation and it is up to you to come up with a
solution.
- Stress Interview -- This interview is specifically
designed to see how you perform under pressure.
- Behavioral Interviews -- In this interview the
employer will ask you to recall a situation from your past to
determine how you would react in the future.
What are some of the different types of interviews?
- Screening interviews -- These are used to screen
potential candidates and choose candidates for more
interviews.
- In-Depth interviews -- These are to gain more
information about the candidate.
- Site interviews, informational interviews, or conversations
-- These are a good way to make contacts and learn about
companies and organization.
What are the different stages of an interview?
- Greeting -- An appropriate greeting and handshake is a
great start to any interview.
- Introduction and Ice Breaking -- This stage usually
deals with getting to know one another and comes before the largest
part of the interview.
- Body/Employer's Questions -- This is the most
important part of the interview. How you answer these questions
more than anything else will have the greatest impact on your
overall performance at the interview. Be thorough and try to get
your point across, but do not go on too long and lose their
attention.
- Body/Applicant's Questions -- It is a good idea to
have at least three questions prepared to ask the employer at the
interview. Some good topics are advancement, benefits, and the
future of the company.
- Closing/Wrap-up -- In this stage, you always want to
find out what is going to happen next. When are they hiring
someone? When will they contact you?
How can I prepare for my interview?
- Know yourself -- Know your skills and be prepared to
to talk about them at length. Be able to talk about your past
experience and know how it relates to the position you are seeking.
Have a knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses and know how you
can contribute to a company or organization. Think about you short
and long term goals and about the future.
- Practice -- Go over sample questions and think about
how you would answer them. Go to Career Services and do a mock
interview. Practice your interview skills with friends and
family.
- Develop a knowledge of the employer
- Research the position, the industry, the economy, and the
general business environment -- Know about the competition,
the history of the company, and the direction in which they are
going. If you do not do enough research, it will show!
How can I use my resumé to help me in the interview?
Read the qualifications for the position that you are applying and
then look at your resumé. Think of ways that you can transfer skills
and experience form your resumé into the interview that will help you
answer questions during the interview. It is a good idea to focus
your answers during the interview on the education, experience, skill,
and interests that you have provided them on your resumé.
How do I promote myself in the interview?
It starts with how you dress. Men should wear a navy or dark suit
with black shoes and a black belt preferably. Women should wear a nice
dress or skirt, or a nice business suit. Stay away from loud colors.
Dark is good. You should appear neat and well-groomed. Employers pay
close attention to non-verbals so be aware of what you are doing. Look
like you are enjoying your self and that you want to be there. This is
the one chance you get to brag about yourself. Take advantage of it.
The employers want to hear about you and all of the great things that
you have done.
What types of questions will employers ask me?
What is Behavioral Interviewing?
Behavioral interviewing is a form of interviewing in which the
employer will ask about past experience to predict future performance.
It is based on the idea that your past behavior is the best predictor
of your future behavior.
How to practice for behavioral interviewing:
It is a good idea to use the S.T.A.R. method when answering a
behavioral based question. S.T.A.R. stands for the following:
- S-situation -- Explain the situation that you are
going to talk about . Mention what position you held, what time of
year it was, anything that will be relevant to the meaning of the
experience.
- T-task -- Explain the problem that you or your
employer were facing at the time and mention all of the pertinent
details.
- A-action -- What did you do to remedy the situation?
What action did you take to solve them problem?
- R-result -- What happened as a result of your action?
What did you learn from this and what skills did you develop or
improve?
It is a good idea to practice Behavioral Interviewing. You can do
this by thinking of situations at work and school where you have
demonstrated certain skills. Examples would be leadership, teamwork,
communication, collaboration, and conflict resolution to name a
few.
What is informational Interviewing?
Informational interviewing can be very beneficial when looking for a
job. The goal of informational interviewing is to get information not a
job. This is your chance to go out and contact employers that you are
interested in and gain information about there company. This is a great
way to "network". The contacts that you make can be very valuable to
you in the future. You should contact individuals that work in
organizations that you are interested in and that hold a position that
you are curious about.
Can employers ask me anything?
NO! There are questions that are inappropriate for employers to ask.
They should never ask questions that are not related to your ability to
do a job (for example: age, marital status, national origin, affiliations,
etc.)
What can I do?
You do have a few options if someone asks you questions that are
inappropriate. You could:
- Answer the question as asked.
- Ask what relevance the question has to the interview.
- Turn the question around on the employer.
- Refuse to answer the question.
Resume and Cover Letter Writing Tips
Frequenlty asked questions about writing resumés and cover letters:
What is the purpose of a resumé?
This serves as your introduction to an employer. It is a personal
advertisement promoting yourself for a position. The resumé can also
help create a favorable first impression. It can show the employer your
qualifications and bridge the gap between your qualifications and the
needs for the position. The ultimate goal of the resumé is to create
such an impression that an employer will want to set up an
interview.
What are the different formats of a resumé?
- Chronological -- This resumé starts with the most current
information and works its way towards the past. Therefore, your
most recent job would be the first one listed in a section titled
"Work Experience".
- Functional -- This resumé groups skills together by functional
area. Examples would be section titles such as: Communication,
Counseling, Supervision, Event Planning, and more.
- Combination -- This type of resumé would combine different parts
of a chronological resumé with different parts of a functional
resumé.
What are the different things that make up a resumé?
- Contact Information/Heading -- The first thing that
should be on every resumé is some kind of contact information. Your
name followed by an address, phone number, and email address are
commonly used. Do not abbreviate Street, Road, Boulevard, etc. It
is also a good idea to have a professional sounding message on your
answering machine.
- Objective -- (optional) An objective states what type
of position or internship you are seeking. Objectives should be
very general and broad so the focus is not too narrow. Example:
"Seeking a management position in the hotel industry utilizing
communication, management and problem solving skills".
- Education -- Always put your highest level of
education. If you are currently in college, state where you go to
school and when you expect to graduate and your major also. If you
have already graduated, state when you graduated and what degree
you obtained. Optional information to list includes a concentration
or emphasis of study, Dean's List(2 or more times), Grade Point
Average (if it is relatively high), study abroad, dissertation or
thesis, honors, awards, and scholarships (however, honors, awards
and scholarships can have a separate section ).
- Course Highlights -- (optional) If you are applying
for a position in a very technical field (computers, engineering,
science) you can highlight some of the courses that you have taken.
This can be very helpful if you do not have a lot of work
experience in a certain field.
- Experience -- In this section elaborate on jobs,
internships, and other relevant experience. May use a title called
"Related Experience" for this section. List Chronologically
backwards. Need to include the name of the employer, city, state,
and dates of employment, job titles, and a job description. For the
job description section, highlight skills that you obtained, duties
that you held, and different achievements that you attained while
holding the position. Use action verbs in the description and be
consistent with past/present tense. Break up large blocks of text
with bullets.
- Special Skills -- (optional) This is a place to
highlight special skills that you possess. They could range from
computer skills to foreign language proficiencies.
- Activities, Honors, and Awards -- (optional) This is a
place to highlight awards that you have won or different
organizations that you have been affiliated with.
- Volunteering, Community Service -- (optional) If you
have a lot of experience with community service, it looks great on
a resumé. So does volunteer work.
- Interests -- (optional)
What are some tips about scannable resumés?
- Some employers scan resumé for key words that pertain to the
position.
- The resumé should be minimally formatted.
- The resumé should be on plain white paper.
- Focus on nouns instead of action verbs on a scannable
resumé.
- Sometimes italicized words do not scan very well.
What should not be included on a resumé?
- Salary requirements or previous salaries.
- The name or contact information of previous supervisors.
- Personal information (e.g. birth date, marital status, health
status, etc.)
- References. Place them on a separate sheet
What should a reference page look like?
- You should have at least three references.
- Ask people before you use them as a reference.
- Provide references with a resumé and keep them informed of your
progress.
- Put a heading on the reference page similar to the one on the
resumé including your contact information.
- List the names, company or organization, address, and phone
number of your references.
- Email addresses can also be included.
What is a cover letter?
A cover letter is a formal way to announce that you are applying to
a position. It should be targeted to employers and specific jobs. It
should promote your abilities and make the employer want to look at
your resumé. You can highlight things in your cover letter that are on
your resumé, but do not go over your entire resumé in the cover letter.
Cover letters should be error-free and be organized and visually
pleasing. They should be clear and concise and adequately articulate
your skills.
What to include in a cover letter?
- Contact information -- Your address and phone
number
- Date
- Employers' contact information
- Salutation -- Try to address it to a specific
person
- Introductory paragraph -- State what position you are
applying for. Indicate how you learned of the position.
- Body of letter -- One or more paragraphs connecting
your skills to employer needs. Highlight your skills and how you
will fill the position in the company.
- Conclusion -- Be polite and enthusiastic. Indicate
what you will be doing next (if you will call to make sure they
received your resumé).
- Closing -- Do not forget your signature!
Tips to remember
- Use the vocabulary of your field or industry
- Use concise phrases
- Use numbers to quantify achievements
- Avoid long paragraphs
- Omit personal pronouns
- Margins should be 1/2 inch to 1 inch
- One page length is standard, one side only but you can have two
pages
- Use bolding, italics, and underlining to highlight
- Laser print on quality paper
- Proofread, proofread, proofread
Links to Job Resource Tools
[Updated: Tuesday, November 6, 2007 08:52:18]
