Job Searching 101

>> When it comes to looking for a job, there are many things to consider. So, how do you make the most effective use of your time and efforts? Here are some tips. [ Music ] Research companies online and through talking to people. Your goal should be to get honest answers as to whether or not this company is a place you want to work, so don't be afraid to ask the tough questions. >> The more you can to gather as much information as possible before you go in, do that. I mean if you have some who you know there, really grill them. Really ask, what is your day to day like? What is the best part of the job? What is the most challenging part of the job? Do you like it? Do you want to be there five years? You know, ask hard questions because you want to get honest answers about the truth of what's happening at any organization and really take advantage of every resource you can. >> Really important to know the team that you're going to be working with and make sure that you fit in really well and you have a good chemistry. I know that, you know, there's the whole skills piece but there's also this - just this chemistry and culture about the organization that you want to ask about during the interview process. So, what is it like to work here? You know, what do people say about it? And there are a lot of places that you can actually go online to find that out. You can go to glassdoor.com, you can go to LinkedIn, you can go to Indeed. There's a lot of places that you can go to do a lot of research to really understand the culture and how people feel about the organization. >> If you're not on LinkedIn, you need to be and if your LinkedIn profile is incomplete, update it. When looking for a job, your profile should be a representation of what you've done and how that relates to the position you're looking for. >> Make sure you've established a really nice LinkedIn profile, that's the way we are looking now. And see who's connected to who and then get feedback. If there's an adult that you trust or someone in the field that you trust, have them look at it. [ Music ] >> Use your connections and make new ones. Oftentimes, leads come from people that you already know and employers hire candidates that were referred to them all the time, so it's critical that you get out there and meet people. >> It's really important to get the one on one connection with folks. So, it's not enough just to ask someone for their business card, but you got to follow up with thank you's. And not only do you follow up with thank you's, you also want to follow up with a coffee, even if you think that that individual may not be able to directly help you with something you feel like you wanted to do. And that's how you can see how one contact - even though it's not your direct contact - it could be two or three contacts away from the job you're trying to get to. >> If you have the opportunity to pay it forward in some way or to volunteer or intern, absolutely because whether - you know, I may not be hiring but I know colleagues that are hiring. And in my role, it's easy for me say to hey, this is a really solid person, I would hire them if I could and I could do that by a text message so that they know to filter through all those resumes and just pull yours right out. >> Knowing what you want can make you a more desirable candidate, which is extremely important, but it's just as important to stay open minded when considering all opportunities that may present themselves. >> Figure out what it is you're really interested in to start but don't be - don't be put down if that's not - you're not going to realistically probably land your dream job the second you finish school. So, be willing to keep an open mind in what you're looking for. And just because a job that you may come across isn't everything on your 10-point checklist, don't overlook it because you can learn something valuable from any job. [ Music ]