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 What You Studied is Not
as Important as What You Learned
Don't despair if you haven't
chosen a 'practical' major course like business computer science. In general,
companies are less interested in what you are studying than in what you have
learned. Someone who has strong communication, academic, problem solving,
analytical, writing, and/or public speaking skills - regardless of major - could
well be a strong contender for a variety of jobs
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Ideally,
you want your job search to take as little time and energy as possible, while
yielding optimal results. Sound impossible? It's not. Especially if you use the
web to its best advantage. This article describes the kinds of career
information you can find online and how to use them.
The
Ideal Job Search
The
most successful job search is a multi-faceted one. Efficient, effective career
planning is a matter of achieving the right balance between research,
preparation, and action, while drawing from a mix of resources. Good career
planning means you have to cover more bases, but in the end you expend less
energy and vastly increase your chances of finding a job that matches your needs
and skills and allows you to grow professionally.
If you take a singular approach to a traditional job-hunt campaign, you may
devote an excessive amount of time and effort that yields little reward. For
example, if your only job-seeking activity is checking the classified listings
and blindly sending out your resume to multiple venues, you’ll probably find
yourself with a handful of interviews at firms that may or may not be right for
you and a lot of time wasted. On the other hand, you greatly increase your
chances of finding the right job and getting hired by also expanding your
professional network, researching companies, and targeting organizations that
are a good fit for your skills, interests and experience. Happily, in today’s
world, much of this work can be done on the web.
What
are the benefits of using the Web in career planning?
The
rapid expansion of the World Wide Web has marked a huge development on the
Internet. Over the last year or two, organizations and individuals rushed to
create their own presence on the web. The good news is, that means there’s
more information for you to access. At the same time, too many choices can be
overwhelming. After all, the last thing you want to do is spend more time
finding the best resources than using them.
Convenience,
Flexibility and Cost Efficiency
You
can access the web at any time of day or night. Having your own computer and
Internet access means you can also conduct a good deal of your job search on
your own schedule and in the comfort of your own home. Also, because web
resources are categorized and searchable by keywords, you can broaden or narrow
your focus as you choose and access large amounts of information easily and
efficiently. Links between and within sites enable you to pick and choose your
direction, providing a non-linear approach to information gathering. That
ability means you can navigate multiple sources of information with ease and go
directly to the source that most appeals to you. In addition, the web provides a
cost-effective means to access information from all over the world about
job-related issues. It’s relatively cheap (even free at many schools) to
access the web, and once you do, most of the information is free. If there’s
ever a time when cost efficiency matters most, it’s when you’re looking for
a job to help cover your expenses!
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