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Jobs 101: Starting the Job Search

Getting a job: Where to begin
Before searching for a job, you need to know what you want to do, what you might be interested in and what position fits your personality. You may be unsure of what job fits you best. Fortunately, there are many resources on the Internet and at your local library that can help with this part of the process.

Picking a Field
The first steps to help narrow down career possibilities is to take a career personality test. This is a list of questions that when answered will help reveal your personality traits, strengths and weaknesses and the careers that best suit those traits. The following websites and books can help you discover your career personality.

• www.careerkey.org— Career Key offers a career aptitude test that ranks your job abilities in six different career areas and provides helpful links and information.
  
  
• www.humanmetrics.com— This free test identifies your core personality traits and suggests careers that coordinate with them.
  
  
• Do What You Are, Paul D. Tieger & Barbara Barron Tieger – offers worksheets and quizzes to help you determine your personality type and then provides more detailed advice about possible careers that could enhance your life.
  
  
• Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham – helps you discover your strengths and find ways to use them in a job.

It is important to remember these are just guidelines. If there is something you really want to do, but it falls outside of the scope of what is recommended by a personality test, that is okay.

Finding a Job
After choosing the fields you are most interested in, it is time to find a job to apply for. Start looking for jobs in your areas of interest. You can find job listings in the newspaper and online. Below are some web sites you can use to start your job search. Usually free, they may require you to register and let you search by job type, city, salary and many other features.

• www.womenwork.org - The Women Work! Job Finder allows you to post your résumé and provides access to the best employers. It’s simple, easy-to-use and FREE to all job seekers.
  
  
• www.allstarjobs.com– provides job and employment agency listings searchable by job type and city and state.
  
  
• hotjobs.yahoo.com – lets you save different versions of your résumé online and different types of job searches so you can find new listings when they appear.
  
  
• www.monster.com– has an enormous job database, allows you to submit your résumé online for some jobs and offers extensive job search advice.
  
  
• www.idealist.org– has a large listing of jobs, with descriptions on each company and listings for career fairs.
  
  
• www.craigslist.com– allows you to select the city you are looking in and search for full- or part-time work in different fields.
  
  
• Your local newspaper may post job listings on its website. Check out www.newspaperlinks.com to find your local paper’s web page.
  
  
• Family and friends are also a good resource for possible job leads, as are community centers and religious organizations.

Remember to remain open minded and optimistic while searching for a job listing. Sometimes a job that does not seem appealing at first may be perfect for you, and sometimes it takes many searches to find something of interest.

Applying for a Job
Congratulations! You have found several job opportunities that you want to apply for. The next step is putting together your résumé and cover letter. Your résumé is a list of all your previous work and non-work knowledge that displays why you are qualified for the job for which you are applying. A cover letter is a letter that accompanies the résumé and gives you the opportunity to talk more in-depth about some of your skills and experiences. Please see the cover letter and résumé tip sheets for more guidance.

Once your résumé and cover letter have been crafted and personalized for the specific job you are applying for, you must submit them to the company. It is important to pay attention to the employer’s instructions. Many companies now prefer to have résumé and cover letters sent to them as an e-mail attachment. Some companies may prefer to receive paper copies in the mail and others may ask you to fill out an online application.

When mailing your résumé and cover letter through regular mail, it is best to put it in a legal size envelope instead of folding your documents to fit in a smaller envelope. Many companies will scan résumé information and folding makes it harder to read. You should also send letters by certified mail so you know they have arrived.

When sending your information, take the extra few minutes to make sure you have addressed the cover letter and email to the correct person. It is better to find out the specific name of the person you should be sending the information to rather than sending it to “Dear Sir” or “To Whom it May Concern.”

The next step is to follow up in a few days to make sure the company received your information, then wait to hear from the company regarding an interview. The interview process often makes people nervous, but please see our Interview tip sheet for pointers on how to ace your interview.

Addtional Jobs 101 Tip Sheets:

• Writing your Resume
• Writing your Cover Letter
• The Job Interview
• Salary Negotiation
  

Downlaod them all for FREE at www.womenwork.org.

Tip sheet last updated 11/05