Six steps to job search success pdf

There were also major problems with graphics distortion, text wrapping, and excessive white space. There are several instances of the figures overlaying each other thereby obscuring the information.

For example, the sample resumes in Figures 4. Finally, the nonworking hyperlinks also limit the interface of this text. This textbook did not address this topic specifically and should be included in an update. Specifically, the legality of interview questions must be fact-checked due to changes in laws. Perhaps, the inclusion of ancillary sources could be used to ensure the accuracy and currency of information available. Gender fluidity and consideration for readers dealing with job search and LGBTQ issues would be of value to some readers.

Specifically, as electronic texts are concerned this book lacks a multimedia component often found, if not expected, in such educational resources. There are many elements of the textbook that are useful and helpful in working with job seekers and appreciated the chapter on networking. In addition, the tables and charts assisted in synthesizing the information.

It was worthless to include the Success Hawk tool tied to many sections since I could not get it to work. Finally, the lack of a hyperlink enabled table of contents and index made navigating very frustrating and time-consuming.

The book also gives a detailed explanation of the interview process and managing The book also gives a detailed explanation of the interview process and managing interviews. I recommend this as a reference book for college students seeking general career advice. It is not longer completely accurate. The successhawk. The section on generations fails to include generation z, students born from - present.

Sometimes goes into too much detail about the obvious for obscure populations. The information is not relevant in the text. Statements are clear, but often they are too repetitive. For example, "It is always a good idea to work with your mentors to help manage workplace conflict. The book could more regularly refer students to visit career centers and online resources for career development. The book has good modularity.

The book needs a table of contents to make it easier to follow. However, each chapter is clearly written and it covers a specific topic. Chapters can stand along and be used as separate assignments to students. Mostly, the book refrains from cultural examples. However, mentors are listed as Guardian angel, Shepherd, and Board of directors.

Guardian angel and shepherd have a Judeo-Christian connotation. Perhaps words without cultural bias would more effectively convey meaning.

This is a very comprehensive book about career development that may be used in internship classes, career development seminars, business classes, and as a general student resource in higher education. The authors approached a large topic and effectively addressed the most salient issues.

For improvement, I would recommend adding a table of contents and graphical images to help visual learners absorb ideas. Also, the writers should add more examples so the books tells stories. In sum, the book covers comprehensive details with clarity through learning objectives, tables, key takeaways, and exercises. This book will effectively help students learn about career opportunities. The text introduces readers to a structure for approaching a job search. The next chapters address each stage, starting Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less.

The next chapters address each stage, starting with a search topic, resume and marketing tools development, research, networking, interviewing and negotiation. The text ends with a separate section on social media and ongoing career success.

I appreciated that the table of contents clearly introduced the sub-topics of the chapter. Within each chapter, sub-sections had their own learning objectives, take-away points and exercises connected with the section. I feel that the text could have benefited from including information about assessing interests, skills and values in relation to determining job search goals as well as information for job search considerations and resources for specific groups e.

LGBT, veterans, differently-abled. These 3 categories felt somewhat limiting. I also think the text could have benefited from a better explanation of when to start a job search e. I found navigation to be fairly straightforward, though being able to link to the sub-section take-away points and exercises would have been nice.

The content appears mostly accurate, though some of the links, including the successhawk site referred to at the end of each chapter, did not work for me. I was also surprised to not see links to some of the more well-regarded and recognized career sites, such as Onet until quite far into the text. Some of the links and examples seemed out of date e. It also seemed a bit awkward to have a chapter on social media presence in the job search process at the very end rather than integrated into the marketing section or as a stand alone chapter earlier in the text.

The text is fairly straightforward and accessible and I didn't notice anything that wouldn't be recognizable to someone interested in conducting a job search. I did find the text to be somewhat dry and it would have benefited from more case studies, profiles and real-life examples earlier in the text. It would have been nice if the authors had differentiated between a jobs and careers as they seem to use the terms interchangeably.

I also wish that the exercises had been presented in a format that would have allowed students to build their own "portfolio" of information to build on - similar to what I suspect the "successhawk" site does the link wouldn't work for me and required a fee for full use. A worksheet format for the exercises might have been helpful and made them a bit more engaging and useful. Each chapter followed the same format. I did notice that not all the learning objectives aligned completely with their associated take-away points and exercises.

Each chapter is broken down into smaller sub-sections, each with their own learning objectives, take-away points and exercises that are a reasonable size. However, there is a fair amount of self-referencing including to future chapters.

This is both awkward to refer to content that has yet to be covered and makes it hard to assign specific sections or chapters in isolation. In addition, the separate chapter on social media presence overlaps with information contained in other chapters yet is located at the end of the text. It might be helpful to move it up into the, "Setting the Stage" section or fully incorporate it into existing chapters. Other than the issue mentioned previously about the social media section relegated to chapter 11, the text was well organized and flowed well.

The interface worked well for me with the exception of links not working successhawk being the primary culprit. I do wish, however, that the text had included more visuals or interesting charts in the first few chapters. While I did not notice anything culturally insensitive or offensive in this text, I do believe that the text could have gone farther to include the needs, challenges, resources and strategies for diverse popluations e.

This text does a nice job presenting a structured approach to conducting a job search. In particular, the sections on networking, resumes, cover letters, pitches and marketing are well done. I suspect that if a career development professional who regularly works with students and other job seekers to help them find meaningful work had been included in the authorship the text might be more comprehensive.

The text is written in a fairly comprehensive manner that covers the topic. Each section is clearly outlined in the table of contents. Each chapter begins with an introduction, and learning objectives and concludes with a chapter review and Each chapter begins with an introduction, and learning objectives and concludes with a chapter review and related exercises. I would have liked to see a little more focus on interests, values and skills as related to job search decisions along side the discussions related to industry, geography, job type and function.

Chapter 2 section 5 on evaluating Resources does not include an investigation of other barriers hindrances to the job search that might impact the search process, for example not driving, or other transportation issues, disabilities, personal, social emotional, physical , family issues, etc.

There is a fairly lengthy section on preparing for the process and discussion of work space and resources. How important is Space in the process? While the idea of time needed to conduct a successful job search was mentioned in regard to other things the job seeker may have to do, it could have been more clearly and directly discussed as a way of helping set expectations.

This text included a lot of information related to the job search process and success on the job. The content is fairly accurate, although there are some areas where the focus audience is not clear. The initial introductory statements focus on students, but then speaks about career changers, MBA's, graduate students, etc.

It would be helpful The information and the intended audience base don't consistently match up throughout the book. While the information is not inaccurate, it is sometimes too general, or speaking too broadly.

Early on the content is aimed at traditional college students. There are some elements of the text that could be updated. While most information is relevant and doesn't change, there are some things that date the information: - Discussion of Resume Objective might be expanded to include Summary or Profile which is more current today - Resume Format information should also include Combination Format most college students or career changers would not use functional format with no dates - Resume examples with dates are already 4 years old and might not feel as current - As of December , LinkedIn had ninety million members Section As technology and trends change, the use of technology will continue to be a factor and issue.

There are also some links and references to resources that are not active, accurate or operational. There are several areas of the text that are unclear, not because of the tone, or use of jargon or technical terminology, but more so due to the confusion on target audience.

For example in the chapters focusing on internships and on campus interview programs, the language is confusing and often mixes the audience.

If the text was more target to a specific group or student population the general language use would be more clear.

Some areas mention Liberal Arts students, others Business students, Graduate students, and even career changers. Much of the process is the same regardless of the group, but the language used must be more clear. Each institution, department, and job seeker status has a specific language and set of guidelines based on their needs. There are also several hyperlinks with definitions that serve as a helpful addition in the web version of the text to clarify meanings of words and vocabulary, but that feature is not available in the PDF version of the text.

It would have also helped with issues of clarity to have more instruction with activities and exercises. Some seemed to leave it to the reader to determine how to best approach the tasks. Some activities or exercises could have benefited from a more visual representation of the desired outcome by using a worksheet page.

Definitions of terms sometimes seemed to be based on the writers opinion versus a standard industry use of terms. Overall, the language was simple and clear and the text was easy to read. Charts and graphs helped readers visualize the information and simplified explanations.

The structure and format of the text is consistent, however the learning objectives and take-a-ways did not always align one to one. It would have been helpful if the objectives for each chapter were summarized at the end of the chapter summary. The lack of specific target audience also impacted consistency. Writing for a specific group or audience would limit the need to try to include a little bit of everything, making some sections more or less complex.

Some sections of the text are easily and readily divisible into smaller reading sections that can be used on their own. There are however some sections that refer to examples or information from previous sections, or refer to later sections. If used in a modular way, the reader may not have access to or understanding of previous sections. Each should be written as a stand alone, and examples should be re-include in their entirety or new examples should be used with no reference to previous examples.

The text was presented in an organized and structured manner. The chapters present the process in an easy to follow structure, represented by chapters and subsections within the chapters. The charts and tables were helpful in summarizing material. The Exercises throughout the sections and at the end of the chapter are helpful, but perhaps would have been more helpful if they were all written in the same way and had clearer or more detailed instructions i. The text is free of significant interface issues, and the hyperlink definitions in the online version are helpful.

Those definitions, however do not translate to the PDF version. There are a few spacing issues and some inconsistency in links. Some are embedded and some are just listed. Some of the samples Resume 4. If users are working from other devices it might not be clear.

As a reviewer I had to try several options to enlarge the samples a note on the page might help. There isn't an easy way to navigate between sections and in the online view you can only go chapters, or subsections, but still have to scroll to find what you are looking for,and can not easily find specific items tables, or charts. The text contains no glaring grammatical errors, but there are a few instances of missing words. There perhaps should also be some citations to support facts and data shared ie.

The text for the most part is not culturally insensitive or offensive, but there are some areas where more diversity could be included in images, and examples used. There are general assumptions made about the users of the text, even though there are references to diverse academic paths and life stage users, most of the information doesn't really take those audiences into consideration.

Chapter 2 sections that discuss confidence, poise and communication do not take into account cultural differences, and it seems that the general assumption is that the common users of the text are from the same cultural and ethnic background.

The language there is a bit judgmental and could be offensive " This represents the American idea of resume vs CV, but internationally the term CV is more common and does refer to a standard resume confusing if the reader is international. There are many elements of the textbook that are useful and helpful in working with job seekers exercises, thought questions, and the 6 easy step process for job search.

I appreciated the mention of Trends in the 21st Century Job Search, and the inclusion of extra curricular activities and the tables and charts to break down wordy sections of text and information. While the text seemed to be intended to apply to a large cross section there were a number of areas that didn't match that representation in the language and examples used i.

I found these inconsistencies frustrating as I wasn't clear about the primary audience and how or for whom the text was intended to be used. This aspect of the job search process wasn't really discussed or included. It was not helpful to have the SuccessHawk tool tied to each section without also providing some type of introduction , or explanation to it's point or value.

The link did not work, and the continued promotion of SuccessHawk and the Five O'Clock Club felt like unnecessary advertisements to resources that were not universally available and did not apply to the variety of audience due to cost and or access. A better solution might have been to include a Resource section with listings of resource options organized by cost and audience listed in an appendix outside of the main chapters of the text. The goal of the text is to share job search techniques with students so that they can take control of their job search using a practical approach that delivers results.

There are many areas that directly relate to students, but there are also aspects of the text that might be more difficult for students to find as helpful depending on their age and stage of development, as well as varied backgrounds.

Reviewed by Angela Gist, Ph. Six Steps to Job Search Success is an extremely comprehensive text that addresses many of the intersecting and complex variables that go into an effective job search.

Each chapter systematically covers content from narrowing your career interests, Each chapter systematically covers content from narrowing your career interests, to cultivating a personal brand, and strategically communicating about one's self as a job candidate. The six step model that accounts for a systematic job search is a clear and concise way to understand the necessary steps to finding work.

In particular, each chapter does an excellent job summarizing key take aways and action steps that can be taken to move forward in one's search. An interactive table of contents would've made the text easier to navigate since it is likely that a reader might want to jump from chapter to chapter or section to section.

There is no index or glossary, which makes navigating the text more difficult. This is important for reads to keep in mind. There are assumptions made about access to technology, computer literacy, and professional dress that convey this bias.

This book could've more clearly addressed cultural influences on job searching in much more detail. With that said, this is a great book for U. This book could also be used as a resource for junior and early mid-career professionals that are seeking a job change or who have had a gap in their employment history.

The challenges addressed in the textbook for these audiences follow current employment trends. This text should be relevant for years to come. There is content about job searching that is timeless including, but not limited to topics such as: developing a personal marketing campaign, mentoring, maintaining professional relationships, negotiating. However, the Chapter 11 information about social media use in the job search, while a necessary chapter in today's day and age, is time sensitive in nature.

New media platforms emerge each year that could heavily influence the effectiveness of this chapter. The text is easy to read and practical. The language is geared towards a business professional audience. Click on image to view. Customize around your course syllabus. Create, deliver, and analyze quizzes and assignments.

Perform outcomes-based assessments. Choose, manage, and change courses. Automate classroom activities, including the syllabus, attendance, and calendar of course events. Grade assignments using SpeedGrader, and post grades online. Communicate through announcements, messages, and conferences. Facilitate audio and video communications for enhanced teacher and student engagement. Analyze course and student data to improve learning outcomes and teaching methods.

Lecture slides with notes to guide instructors. Clear and concise content to allow easy class discussion. Student access to slides so they can preview each lecture.

Discussions that allow interaction between instructors and students. Group activities to foster collaboration among peers. Step 3 is where you learn in detail about prospective employers so you are prepared when you meet. You likely have done some general exploration into industries, companies, or jobs over your lifetime, which gives you a sense of what you want for step 1.

The research in step 3 is about diving deep and gaining specific knowledge and expertise into your short list of targets.

Step 4 gives you the technique for networking meetings and interviews. Step 5 keeps you on track. Step 6 gives you the techniques to negotiate and close an offer—that is, finalizing the deal with an employer who wants to work together. Follow the six-step process to ensure you are doing everything you need to do to get the job you want. Having a process keeps you moving forward to your end goal. The six steps of the job search process are laid out in sequential order so you can follow them one at a time:.

Many job seekers are overwhelmed at the beginning of their job search. Facebook and LinkedIn are two examples of popular social media. It is not surprising that many job seekers are afraid of networking! Focus on where you are for your search, and give yourself time on that step. Before you get too anxious about interviewing step 4 , know that you will have the preparation of knowing yourself step 1 , positioning yourself effectively step 2 , and learning about the people and companies you will meet through in-depth research step 3.

There will be time for the job search to progress. For example, if you are at the stage where you are meeting people step 4 , you are collecting information from these meetings.

You might learn that a particular skill or experience is even more important than you initially thought. These marketing changes will happen while you are still interviewing.

In the thick of your job search, you will be juggling the six steps concurrently. You might be juggling different job search targets, each of which is at a different stage. For example, you are interested in sales positions in both the technology industry and the pharmaceutical industry. You start your search focusing on technology companies and you are now at the interview stage with several of them. You have traction in this target, so you add pharmaceutical companies to the mix.

You want to research these more before approaching them for interviews, so you are at step 3 for pharmaceuticals, but at step 4 for technology. While you want to follow the steps sequentially, recognize that there will be instances in your search that the steps are revisited and therefore taken out of sequence. This is a natural part of the search process as you interact with people and situations evolve.

Be flexible. You want to adapt your job search process to these new pieces of information. The six-step job search process gives you tactics for how to get from where you are to your next job. It is based on the mechanics of how the job market plays out between employers and job candidates. They may know how to do the job—that is, they have the selling and communication skills and experience for the sales job itself—but getting the job, convincing someone to hire you, is different from doing the actual job.

It is the difference between being a good driver and being able to pass the road test. You want to prepare for the road test in this case, the job search process in order to get a chance to drive.

But these tactics of the six-step job search process assume you have some fundamentals in place. Here are some key fundamentals you will need to launch your job search:. With these fundamentals in place, you can use the process to take you through the mechanics of your search. If you are waiting until you get a job as proof that you can get one, this prove it attitude will kill your search.

You will appear negative and unattractive to employers. You will get derailed by the inevitable obstacles and drop out along your search. You may not even get started if you believe that your efforts will be futile. Having confidence in your job search means two things:. You have to know you will be successful, and you have to want that success. If you have just one of these two things, this is not sufficient to project enough confidence in your job search.

A confident job seeker is someone who is energized at the prospect of finding his or her dream job. This is not arrogance. Prospective employers will shy away from arrogant job candidates who appear to be high-maintenance divas and poor team players. Confidence is a healthy, positive attitude. Ideally, you have confidence before you start your job search. If confidence has been a struggle your whole life or if you feel overly depressed or anxious about your job search specifically, you should seek help from a guidance counselor, therapist, or other professional resource.

You want to rule out any medical conditions, such as depression, as the root cause of your anxiety. If you have some nervousness, but not in a crippling way that keeps you from your job search, you can plan to proactively build and maintain your confidence throughout your job search by surrounding yourself with positive influences:. A successful job search is a match between what an employer wants and what a candidate wants.

That match is made based on what is communicated. While an interview is structured a specific way, at its core it is a communication between job seeker and employer. While networking has its standards and rules of etiquette, at its core it is about communicating via listening, speaking, writing, and so forth.

The six-step process will give you the tactics that are particular to interviewing, networking, and other job search—specific communications, but the successful job seeker needs to have solid overall communication skills in place in the following areas:. Communication occurs at every stage of the job search. Table 2. You need communications skills for more than understanding and developing rapport Camaraderie, ease, familiarity.

You have developed rapport with someone when they feel comfortable around you. You will also need communication skills on the job, so the way you communicate in your search is a sign of the way you might communicate on the job. Many employers also look at communication skills in general as a proxy for attention to detail.

If you are sloppy with your job search communication—leaving rambling voice mails, sending e-mails with typos or grammatical mistakes—then you likely do this on the job.

Why should employers assume you will be more careful after you get the job? Finally, your communication skills underscore your logic and reasoning. Look at your history to see your current communication strengths and weaknesses, so you know where you need to focus as you prepare for a job search. If you know that you are better at written over verbal communication, you might choose e-mail over phone calls in situations that call for either approach e.

For someone with more verbal than written strengths, they will structure their search differently—practicing different areas and budgeting more time in weak areas that may take longer to strengthen. If you have already selected job targets, incorporate the communication requirements for your target as you plan your job search process. Some fields, such as education, law, sales, consulting, and public relations, heavily emphasize communication, so each and every correspondence has extra weight.

Your job search communication becomes a proxy for your potential communication on the job. The communication requirements may influence the structure of the process. For communication-focused fields, a presentation as part of the interview process may be required.

For other fields that are not communication heavy, such as accounting or IT, you likely will not do a presentation you may for senior roles, but not generally. Start brushing up on presentation skills now if your job search may specifically require this. Now you know the general ways communication skills enter the job search equation, as well as specific ways that different fields may use communication skills to evaluate potential job candidates.

With the importance of communication skills in mind, you can deliberately focus and practice to improve your communication skills:. The way you dress, carry yourself, and physically behave also communicate your job potential. Your nonverbal communication either supports the things you say and how you say them, or it undermines you.

If you are an articulate, well-spoken person but dress in a sloppy manner, slouch, and fidget, then your actions belie your verbal communication. Therefore, poise goes hand in hand with communication as a fundamental prerequisite for your search. What you wear to different job search functions signals neatness, professionalism, and understanding of general business protocol.

A business suit in a dark neutral color is the standard. Black, blue, brown, and gray are neutral colors. For example, in media and fashion, your dress is a signal of how much you know and can fit into that field. A dark suit would be too bland and look out of place at a fashion-forward company. For general functions, such as career fairs or professional mixers, stick to proper business attire. In addition, most job seekers look more professional and put together with a business suit.

You probably will carry yourself more professionally, have better posture, and be more alert in a business suit than in casual attire. If you are attending an event or an interview where business casual is stipulated, this is still neater and more formal than casual attire.

Khakis rather than jeans, dress slacks and a sport coat for men, and a sweater set for women are some examples of business casual. Here is a checklist of things to remember about dressing professionally:. If you have a great suit but you slouch, that is an incomplete package. Good posture, steady eye contact, and a firm handshake are additional fundamentals to the job search process.

If you are not used to dressing professionally and interacting with people in a formal business context, then you may have a weak handshake or poor eye contact and not realize it. Before you get busy with interviews, see if you can attend a business event just as a practice run. Here is a checklist of things to remember about carrying yourself professionally:.

You might look great, carry yourself well, and speak eloquently, but you also communicate with physical gestures and other nonverbal cues. Engage with your current network and talk to others outside your network working in roles aligned with your target. Net Impact's Career Community can help you engage with working professionals through informational interviews. Also don't forget to attend relevant conferences and events ; learn five tips to help navigate your next networking event with ease.

Surface relevant contacts through Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media channels. These people will be critical for revealing opportunities that may not be posted online. This is known by some as massive structured networking , but we think of it as simply building relationships. These relationships can help you with your search — and will remain part of your network for years to come.

Even if you find an interesting posting, see if you can also speak with someone in the company. Most positions are filled through warm contacts as opposed to cold calls , so your chances are much better off if you have a connection within the hiring company.

After all your self-reflection and research, you should be well-positioned for your interviews, but there is still work to do to prepare. Before you dive into the preparation, make sure to congratulate yourself for being asked to interview. Acknowledging the small wins along the way is important to staying motivated during what can be a long process.

The best way to guarantee future job search success is to excel in your current job, but there are also some other good practices to keep in mind. Six Steps to Job Search Success. Step 1: Reflect Ask yourself: What causes are you passionate about?