Career planner hands out job-seeking tips
By KfcL/ US BORN
Of the Emerald
Discouragement and rejection
are built into any job search, says
Neil Murray, director of University
Career Planning and Placement,
but careful planning can make the
process more profitable.
Murray outlined hints for the
job-seeker Tuesday in a brown
bag lunch sponsored by Univer
sity Lifelong Learning Services,
an advising and counseling prog
ram for “older-than-average”
students.
The first step in finding a job,
Murray told the small group, is to
focus on the career options avail
able. “Try to get at least some
boundaries around what kinds of
careers might interest you,” he
said.
Information is needed to get
that focus — read everything you
can, he suggested. Career Plan
ning and Placement, in its Career
Information Center, has many
pamphlets, job encyclopedias and
other publications, Murray added.
Job-seekers can gain informa
tion through talking with people
and even spending time on the job
to get an idea of what it’s really
like, Murray said.
“Talk to people,” he advised.
“You’d be surprised how much
people will want to talk with you —
they'll be flattered.”
Once a student has job informa
tion, academic plans and career
objectives must be coordinated,
Murray said.
More than the degree in a par
ticular major is needed, he said. A
double major or a concentration in
other areas will supplement the
primary area of study and solid
academic planning is good prep
aration for entering the job market.
Students also can work to get
practical experience, Murray said.
“Most of us have more experience
than we know we have.”
Most individuals probably think
experience is something that
comes with jobs. “We work and
somebody pays us,” Murray said.
But people also gain useful ex
perience through volunteer work.
Volunteer experience helps to
develop good job skills and also
allows students to establish off
campus contacts.
Employers use the word “lead
ership” or its euphemisms, Mur
ray warned. “They want to feel
that they are hiring people who are
stimulating, who will carry the
ball.”
Students can gain leadership
skills through various kinds of
work, he added. “Establish, coor
dinate, manage, innovate... all
are words that connote leader
ship."
Who gets hired — notwho gets
interviewed — is often based on
communications skills, Murray
said. Another key to the job search
is improving skill in com
mununicating, particularly ver
bally.
"Practice by doing it as often as
you can,” he suggested, adding
that his office has aids to improv
ing such skills. In addition to offer
ing an interview skills workshop,
Career Planning and Placement
has a videotape which students
can use to record themselves “in
action.”
“It isn’t easy,” Murray stressed,
noting that finding “the” job re
quires certain skills which stu
dents should begin thinking about
now.
Landing a job requires effective
resumes, personal interviews
By LORRAINE NELSON
Of the Emerald
Because employers usually
hire workers on the basis of re
sumes, personal interviews and
references, it’s important to use
them wisely when trying to land a
job.
A resume is an inventory of
both experience and education,
says June Wyant, a resume
writing instructor at Career Plan
ning and Placement for the past
seven years.
She urges students to make a
list of past experience, including
involvement in campus programs,
and to emphasize skills in com
munication, coordination, respon
sibility and leadership.
Resumes should be kept to one
page and should begin with the
most important and unique
characteristic about anyone: a
name. An address and phone
number to make yourself accessi
ble to a potential employer are
also musts.
Next should come employee
goals and objectives.
Wyant recommends listing ex
perience in reverse chronology
and writing in the active voice to
add interest.
Personal information, if in
cluded, should be given low prior
ity at the bottom of the page.
Because references merely
show that all the information can
be verified, they can be “furnished
upon request.”
Resumes that are hand-carried
to a potential employer do not
need an introduction, but those
sent through the mail need a cover
letter, Wyant says.
Additionally, job hunters should
research the organization and find
who might actually do the hiring.
The first paragraph of a cover
letter should flatter by explaining
why that organization was cho
sen. The second should list either
an objective or the reasons why
they qualify as a potential emp
loyer.
The third paragraph should ask
for action and be an aggressive
statement as to how you can get
together.
Then, if after the time spent re
searching a company, fretting
over a resume and letter, and wait
ing for a reply finally results in an
interview, still left is the task of
making that employer want a new
employee.
"People really need to sen
themselves,” says Kathy Buss
man, an employment interviewer
in the personnel department at
Pacific Northwest Bell. “It’s dif
ficult for the interviewer to be the
motivator and therefore, it’s impor
tant to project yourself.”
Bussman taught an interview
workshop at the Career Planning
and Placement Center while work
ing on her master's degree in
counseling two years ago. Al
though she thought at the time the
methods taught were very useful
and effective, she has now formed
her own opinions about a suc
cessful interview.
“Be confident, go looking for a
job with a reason, and stick to that
reason,” she says.
“I want to hear about what
you've done, what you liked about
your last job, and how your super
visor would rate you,” she says.
Being visible in continuing to
contact a potential employer is
important, she says, but a letter is
less intrusive than a phone call.
Researching the job adds to a
persons credibility and shows
they are interested enough in the
job to find out about it.
Once a person knows what the
job is, dressing for the job is a
statement that says a person is
ready to stop being a student and
go to work, as well as showing
serious interest.
“A little bit of nervousness
helps to keep you humble,” she
says. And you have to remember,
"The recru iters are people too.
Not too long ago they were in this
position too. They have kids and a
house and they go jogging and
they are honestly interested in
you.”
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Career placement director Neil Murray says “talking to people” is
important when hunting a job.
30
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