A Job Search Made Easier
Today's tips come from Paul Henneke. His first tip struck a note with me: Volunteering.
The last time I decided to change companies, career expertise, and look for a new job, the first call I made was to offer my services in a volunteer role in the field in which I wanted to work.
"Getting the volunteer job" enabled me to maintain full confidence in my search, as I knew I had a place to go, while at the same time, I would be building my skills (and resume) in the right direction. I wrote more about this experience in one of my first posts, here.
Tips from Paul Henneke on how to prepare yourself by engaging and connecting:
Volunteer - Look to non profits, schools, etc, to put your skill set to use. This will show prospective employers your passion for your area of expertise, and on a personal side, will show prospective employers you are interested in the community. Also, many corporations have volunteer or support organizations, providing a great opportunity to network. I know of several candidates that were hired by the organization, or from a supporting organization, as a result of volunteering.
Join networking groups in your area - Check out clubs, Yahoo groups, and religious organizations. They may have networking groups that meet regularly. They present good opportunities to network, and often recruiters speak at these groups.
LinkedIn - Connect to as many former co-workers, peers, and supervisors as possible. Join LinkedIn groups, as most have job sites that recruiters are using to post positions. Join LinkedIn discussion forums, and get on the radar of others by offering answers to questions in your realm of expertise.
Continuing education - Keep current, take on-line courses, attend seminars, events, etc. Not only will this help your professional development, but you will expand your network. When recruiters call, and ask, "so what have you been doing since you left XYZ company," you can talk with confidence about your new learnings.
Take a drive - You know the top companies in your area, by reputation or by the "big" corporate campus. But what about the companies with smaller sites? Drive around the local business parks, or drop in to a large office building and see what companies have an office there. Then check out their corporate sites, looking for what function that office handles. Is it a sales office? Does it have a full suite of job functions? Do some digging on the web.
Thanks Paul! For those interested in volunteering, it has never been easier. Check out this awesome new on-line resource, Urban Interns, to search for "intern" job opportunities by industry, task, schedule and education required. Positions listed are just in New York today, but this resource will soon be coming to more cities, such as Boston.
------------- Talk Back ----------------
Have you had positive experiences with any of these tips?
Care to share a tip of your own?
Note, you can search EMC's job openings by just about any parameter at this cool new site: http://www.emc-careers.com.
- Polly Pearson
http://www.pollypearson.com
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Paul's Current Openings:
Senior Storage Dev - NDMP - NetWorker Products, Santa Clara, Calif; Req 44248
Consultant Storage Dev - C/Java - Avamar, Southborough, MA; Req 42405
Senior UI Engineer/Designer - NetWorker Products, Santa Clara, Calif; Reg 44249
Consultant SW Engineer, Cloud Dev - NetWorker CTO group, Santa Clara, Cali; Req 42621
Principal SW Engineer, Client Service - Avamar, Irvine, CA; Req 42622
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