by Carol Fishman Cohen
Through our company, iRelaunch.com, my co-author and business partner Vivian Steir Rabin and I have presented our career reentry strategies to over 4,000 people at almost 75 events since 2006. We keep a running list of our top job search strategies, as we are always updating and adding to it. For the first time in print, we present to you five of iRelaunch’s "best of the best" job search ideas.
1. TO IDENTIFY EMPLOYERS WHO ARE HIRING: Look at sites of PAST and FUTURE job fairs. For example, pick a major university near you and Google “[name of university] job fair”. I did this for Northeastern University which is near me in the Boston area and here’s what I found: http://www.experience.com//stu/cf_registered_employers?fhnd=3587Northeastern is having a job fair in the spring and there are 211 companies coming. Don’t wait for it – go now to those company sites – they are live linked here on the Northeastern site. Chances are if these companies are recruiting at the undergraduate level, they are looking for experienced hires too.
Or look at job fairs that already occurred within the last six months and see which employers were there. For example: Googling “Chicago job fair” gets you: http://www.citycareerfair.com/cities/chi030409.php. On the lower right hand side you will see the list of participating companies. Then go on line and see what job opps are posted at these companies.
2. LOOK AT OPENINGS AT ALL COMPANIES IN YOUR AREA, NO MATTER HOW UNLIKELY IT IS A PARTICULAR COMPANY IS LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WITH YOUR SKILL SET. Unexpected jobs are found in unexpected places. Kaiser Permanente, the big HMO, had a recent opening for a Theater Director for their educational theater. Who would have thought? A Florida university is looking for a rabbi. Remember that most companies have positions in accounting, human resources, IT, marketing and other departments besides line positions creating their core products or services.
3. ONE OF OUR FAVORITE WEBSITES: THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION-CAREERS http://chronicle.com/jobs/. Those outside of academia don’t know about this site where colleges and universities list their job postings for librarians, technology directors, museum directors, and development professionals, in addition to faculty. If you “browse by location” you will see there are nearly 2,000 job openings listed within the U.S. http://chronicle.com/jobs/browse/location/
4. IF YOU HAVE BEEN OUT OF WORK FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS, SEEK OUT THOSE WHO WERE JUNIOR TO YOU AS WELL AS PEERS AND BOSSES – Junior people who reported to you, whom you mentored, or whom you just knew have been moving up while you have been out of work. Not only are they often in a position to open a door for you, they are usually happy to do so because of the junior/senior status of your prior business relationship.
5.
USE TWITTER FOR COMPANY
RESEARCH. GOOGLE “TWITTER COMPANY
NAME”. Let’s take “Twitter
Accenture” as an example.
Sign up on Twitter and “follow” Accenture. See who Accenture
“follows”, including their own employees. Follow those employees
and ask them about what they do. If you get an interview at
Accenture, comment on their Twitter site. This
will tell them two things: 1) that you are technologically up to
speed enough to use this new social networking vehicle and 2) that
you did deep enough research to see what they are discussing on
Twitter.
Best of luck with your job search. Check back at www.iRelaunch.com and this blog for additional tips, news and advice.
Carol Fishman Cohen Vivian Steir Rabin
Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin are the co-founders of iRelaunch “The Career Reentry Experts ®,” which produces career reentry programming, events and content for employers, universities and individuals, and the co-authors of the acclaimed career reentry strategy book Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work.
iRelaunch’s signature products include the Career Relaunch ® Forum, a multi-employer sponsored, one day return to work conference held at educational institutions around the country, Relaunch Circles™, a four session, small group coach led program, with a curriculum based on Back on the Career Track, and the Back on the Career Track ® Webinar series. iRelaunch also designs customized career reentry programs and presentations for employers, universities and organizations.
Carol and Vivian can be reached at info@iRelaunch.com.
Follow iRelaunch on Twitter! www.twitter.com/iRelaunch
Photo credit: www.sfccnm.edu
