Non-Profit Times (01/09/2009) on Job Fairs

Job Fairs – No Substitute for Face-to-Face Contact

Though job-search sites and email have given job seekers the ability to speed the process of communicating with prospective employers, nothing beats face-to-face contact for making an impression. Job fairs provide a great opportunity for job seekers to meet prospective companyies in person. These events allow you a chance to really make a lasting impression.

You will have a chance to get a better feel for the companies that you might want to work for than you might by just looking at web sites or employment ads. By meeting a few people from a company at a job fair, you can gain at least a little insight into the culture of an organization, and you can ask questions. You'll be able to investigate positions, occupations, and career paths you may not have considered before, all from a singular location.

Preparing for a job fair

To be effective at a job fair, try some of the following tips:

• Have a Plan – if you know the companies and organizations in attendance at the job fair, you can plan your time more effectively so take time to learn about those companies. If you don’t know which companies will be in attendance, make a few phone calls and ask. Most job fairs list their sponsors in their promotional material. Do a little bit of research about each company by checking out their web sites to see what positions they have available. You probably won't have time to speak with every company in attendance, so make sure that the companies that you find most interesting get your attention first. Don't bother spending time with companies that do not interest you.
• Prepare a one-minute “commercial” – This is your chance to sell yourself. You should know in advance what you're going to say as you introduce yourself to the recruiters. Make sure that your are prepared to answer common interview questions (i.e. How would you describe yourself?; what interests you about our company?; etc.)
• Bring plenty of printed copies of your resume. Always take paper resumes to a job fair, even if you've submitted your resume electronically in advance. If you're open to employment in more than one field you may want to have several different versions of your resume that are tailored to highlight specific experience as it would relate to each position. Your experience is unique and you don’t have to craft a resume for every single company, however, you don't ever want to give someone a resume that has nothing to do with the position they want to fill.
• Know the dress code. Some job fairs are business casual, while others expect applicants to be in business suits. When in doubt, err on the side of caution and dress up rather than down.
• Don't just drop your resume on the recruiter's table and walk away - person-to-person contact provides a rich opportunity to make a great impression and network, so watch your manners (stand up straight, make good eye contact, have a good handshake, don't fidget, speak clearly, etc.). Be courteous and do not monopolize a recruiter's time. Ask for business cards to follow up.

After the job fair is over
Don’t forget to follow up on the leads you developed at the job fair with a thank you phone call or e-mail, or both. Consider sending a second resume with a cover letter reminding the recruiter about your meeting at the job fair. You can also call to suggest scheduling a follow up conversation. Above all, don't let your new contacts go to waste! It is through networking that most people find that ideal job.

25 Web Resources To Help You Get Your LinkedIn Game On

A collection of articles on using LinkedIn most effectively from the Cincy Recruiter's World blog.

Life after a six-figure salary

With fewer jobs available, unemployed workers are taking any position they can find - even if it comes with a salary cut.

5 Must-Use Social Media Tools For HR & Recruiting Professionals In 2009...

Here's the entire article

1. Go where the peeps like you hang out on the web.

2. Learn how to use (really use) LinkedIn.

3. Read more Blogs by becoming an RSS Rockstar or Ninja.

4. It's time to try Twitter.

5. Figure out how to use Facebook for recruiting

Hiring Window Is Open at the Foreign Service

By EILENE ZIMMERMAN

Published: December 20, 2008

A RARE bright spot has appeared in a job landscape dominated by layoffs: the Foreign Service.

For the last several years, hiring in the United States Foreign Service was minimal because of a lack of Congressional funding. In addition, war has created an urgent need for diplomatic personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan, and as officers have moved to these countries their previous jobs have remained unfilled.

So, in the last several months — with a new president on the horizon and new funding from Congress — both the State Department and the United States Agency for International Development, or Usaid, are ramping back up.

Read the article

More Companies Are Cutting Labor Costs Without Layoffs

New York Times
By MATT RICHTEL

Published: December 21, 2008

Even as layoffs are reaching historic levels, some employers have found an alternative to slashing their work force. They’re nipping and tucking it instead.

Read the article

Joy! In "Where the Hell is Matt?"

It's Time Magazine's #viral video, and when you watch it, you can't help but feel joy. Sponsored by Stride Gum, its genesis has an interesting story . . .

Matt Harding is a 32-year-old videogame designer who quit his job in 2003 to travel around Asia. Along the way, he recorded and posted a short video of himself doing an elbow-intensive jig in Hanoi. That clip got passed from one person to the next and eventually got the attention of Stride Gum, which decided to sponsor two more of his trips. In his latest video, Harding visits 42 countries over 14 months and invites the locals to join in the fun. That includes everyone from some Huli Wigmen in Papua New Guinea to a group of school kids in the Solomon Islands. The sheer silliness and joy of Harding's adventures will keep you smiling long after you've watched them — and give you a serious case of wanderlust.

It has just about as much to do with jobs and internships as "Hamster on a Piano," but sometimes, you just need to smile. Thank you, Matt. Thank you, Stride Gum.

Using MBTI to match college roommates

(Take a look at the comments section of this posting on insidehighered.com--the academic psychology community is *not* a fan of Myers-Briggs.)

If college freshmen knew more about their roommate’s personality type, would they be more likely to get along with one another? Some small liberal arts colleges think so and have invested in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) — a well-known personality assessment — to either match roommates or resolve conflicts between them.

Social Media to Replace Recruiters? Right, Just Like Robots Are Doing All the Work Today....

From the Fistful of Talent blog:
I love it when lame studies project the elimination of an entire industries. Ever see the movie 2001? Weren't we all supposed to be chilling at this point, allowing the computers and robots to do all the work, while we moved toward the plane called self-actualization?

Right.. I know... We're still doing the work. That sucks, but hey, it's job security.

Here's another bold prediction. Some experts see the downfall of recruiting agencies, which you and I know as "headhunters". It seems this set of experts sees the rise of social networks, combines it with how the younger generations like to connect, and concludes that soon we won't need headhunters. The social networks of the younger generations will do the work, and the employee referral will rise as the preferred alternative to headhunters.

SIS students step into virtual classroom

BY ADRIENNE FRANK

“Good morning,” chorused the three AU undergrads, as they settled into their chairs before the webcam in Hurst Hall’s Social Science Research Lab.

“Good evening,” responded their colleagues, situated in a similar classroom, half a world away.

Clearly, this wasn’t going to be your average student presentation.

For six weeks, student volunteers Kaia Range, Christal Louison, and Sara Passaro have worked with two students from the Modern College of Business and Science in Muscat, Oman, on a joint paper about the religious and cultural differences between the United States and the Middle Eastern nation. Once a week, with help from graduate student Katherine Davies and Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) staff, the students chatted via video conferencing about everything from clothing and food to education and entertainment.

The project is part of SIS professor Bram Groen’s cross-cultural communications class and during the Dec. 3 video conference, each group presented their findings.

“Now that technology has become so sophisticated, I want students to seize the opportunity to meet and share life experiences with people from all over the world,” said Groen.

“When they get out into the working world, the first thing they’re going to be asked to do is work on a virtual team,” he continued. “We’re preparing students for that.”

Thoughts on NASPAA Career Professionals Conference in Berkeley

Travis Sheffler and myself were fortunate to attend the NASPAA Career Professionals Workshop in Berkeley this week. This conference served as a great opportunity to not only share best practices with our colleagues, but to also learn about employment trends that will have an impact on our students.

We heard from a panel on corporate social responsibility(CSR). This is a very hot relatively new career area. Raj Sapru of Business for Social Responsibility said that although there are some expectations that some corporations may cut back in this area due to the economy, he feels that they will generally continue sustainability efforts due tho their long-term investment in it. He also sees CSR as a good opportunity for public policy students because of their expertise in regulations.

Dr. Frank Benest, the former city manager of Palo Alto, California and now with ICMA, spoke about what he deemed an "historic opportunity" for millennials to find opportunities in local government due to a large exodus of baby boomers who are now retiring. He predicted that today's economy may constrain hiring somewhat for the next two years, but that a strong hiring trend for millennials will persist.

Nick Ellis the managing partner of Bright Green Talent, a green recruiting firm said that DC is a hotbed for environmental jobs, especially with the incoming Obama Administration. He also stated that transferable skills are very important because the green industry is such a nascent one. It is also one of the few where salaries are rising.

Hearing from these practitioners provided me with a small ray of hope in such trying economic times.

Taking One (Percent) for the Team

From insidehighered.com

At Brandeis University, faculty are considering whether to voluntarily forgo 1 percent of their salaries next year to prevent possible layoffs of support staff.

“It’s not painless for us, but it’s not a huge hit to take,” said William Flesch, the Faculty Senate chair and a professor of English literature.

Lawyers are still vetting the details of the proposal but, in short, interested faculty would contribute to the cause either by forgoing 1 percent of their paychecks, or via a charitable contribution to a reserved Brandeis fund. Faculty would volunteer individually and anonymously (“only the payroll office would know,” Flesch said), without any cuts to their listed base pay. And, to avert concerns about freeloading, contributions would kick in only if there is a critical mass of willing faculty — if those who volunteer collectively earn at least 30 percent of the total faculty salary pool within the College of Arts and Sciences.

Virtual Meditation Rooms for Peaceful Sounds

Need to destress at work today? Gaiam Life has virtual meditation rooms with peaceful images and sounds that could help you on stressful days . . . or hours . . . or minutes. Try the forest room for birds softly singing or the water room for sounds of surf. There's even a link on how to meditate for beginners.

Gaiam Life was created by the eco-friendly product company, Gaiam, and describes itself as a, "first attempt at using the Internet as a gathering place to communicate our values and to provide people with a gathering place to share thoughts, ideas and feelings about the world we live in and our relationship with it. We hope that our microcosm of the world community is a nurturing, supportive, positive destination for people seeking health, wellness and sustainable living." They are based in Boulder, Colorado, and currently have one position open on their careers page for an applications specialist.

FACEBOOK: Just because you end up in the National Archives doesn’t mean that it will become public information.

So you're thinking of applying for a position with the new Obama administration. You've answered the incredibly personal questionnaire and promised that there's nothing embarrassing in your online presence, or maybe you admitted there was, but promised that you could explain it.

Um . . . where will all this end up? Afraid that your life will be an open book? Eamon Javers soothes your worries in this Politico piece about who keeps all these records from 15,000 applicants. The upshot is that while, yes, they may be in the National Archives, they probably won't be public.

Photo by Takomabibelot.

Job Search Tips from Indeed.com

Our fearless leader, Katherine Stahl, forwarded these online job search tips from powerful job search engine, Indeed.com. Friendly reminders include . . .

• cleaning up one's act - from online profile to cover letter typos
• choosing job sites carefully
• keeping it focused by NOT applying for everything
• avoiding scams

We give our students similar advice, but this is nicely updated to include the online world.

Students Face Financial Challenges as Family Budgets Shrink

Here's a story from The Daily Californian (UC Berkely's student publication) that's not such new news. Students are working more hours, on top of their full time loads, to help pay for college. High school seniors are looking more at application fees in deciding where to apply, not just the bottom line. But the one bright spot is that FAFSAs, based on the previous year's tax returns, can enable families not previously eligible for aid to have help for the next academic year.

Photo by Matt Glaman

Lenders Worry That Colleges Don't Yet See All the Dangers

The nation’s student-loan companies remain deeply worried about their financial health. They may now be worrying just as much, however, about the willingness of colleges to recognize their own financial peril...

“I think they’re in trouble,” said Daniel M. Meyers, president and chief executive of the First Marblehead Corporation, a leader in the marketplace for private student loans, of the institutions he visited during a recent tour of college campuses.

“I wish to say that I saw schools' being way more proactive and way more concerned about their current revenue picture,” Mr. Meyers said. “But I haven’t seen too much of it.”

"Lowball" job offers -- from WSJ

Responding to lowball offers
Job seekers are finding salary offers are getting smaller as the economic crisis continues, and many are being offered less than they currently are earning. "We are on the cusp of a trend," says Mark Royal, a senior consultant at Hay Group. If you still want the job, experts suggest carefully crafting a counteroffer asking for a faster pay review or inexpensive perks instead. The Wall Street Journal (free content) (12/2)

from US Chamber of Commerce

Poll results: Does your organization use social-networking sites to vet job candidates?
From last week's poll:

• 10% said yes -- we look everyone up on the major sites, as a matter of policy.
• 48% said yes -- it's something many hiring managers do, although it's not official policy.
• 38% said no -- we're just not interested in what people put on those sites.
• 4% said no -- company policy bans workers from accessing such sites while on the job -- including hiring managers.

Private Sector cuts 250,000 Jobs

Reuters reports that jobless claims are at a 16 year high, and the economy isn't expected to start recovering until later next year.

Watch an AP Video summarize the situation. Read Paul Krugman's assessment of the "depression economy."

Photo by cliff1066.