College student or not, come back to campus with
us as we recharge our jobhunting batteries for
fall. This issue, while focusing on college students
and their career-service counselors, has something for everyone.
WELCOME NEW SUBSCRIBERS: The last two weeks have seen an
unprecedented jump in QuintZine subscribers. We welcome
all of you and look forward to your comments and suggestions
for QuintZine.
Feature Article: What Color is Bolles's Parachute?
Richard Nelson Bolles is known the world over as the author of the
best-selling job-hunting book in history, What Color is Your
Parachute. Now in its 30th annual edition and 25th year
on bestseller lists, with 6 million-plus copies sold,
Parachute is always mentioned as a must-have for
job-seekers, many of whom later say the book changed their
lives. What's the secret to the amazing
success of this classic? You might be very surprised at
Bolles's answer! Tune in as he holds forth on such topics
as Internet job-hunting, trends in career development, today's
jobseekers, and his No. 1 nugget of advice for those looking
for a new job.
We've had a soft spot in our hearts for JobDirect
ever since its big student-friendly bus visited our
campus (Stetson University) back in the early days
of Internet jobhunting. Lots of our students have
received excellent job leads through JobDirect.
JobDirect.com describes itself as "the leading Internet
job resource for students and employers.
Its state-of-the-art database technology connects
entry-level job-seekers with the opportunities they
want and employers with the qualified applicants they
need. The JobDirect service is highly interactive and
streamlines the job search process for students
as well as the recruiting process for prospective employers."
JobDirect.com is a great choice for college students
because it focuses exclusively on the entry-level market.
The company was created by college students who understand
this market. No fees are charged to students or career service
offices for participation, and students can search for
internships, part-time jobs, or full-time jobs. JobDirect
also has made a major effort to develop relationships
with career services counselors, who can sign up for
a free Resume Exchange account with JobDirect to help their students.
Our only beef with JobDirect is that jobseekers
have to enter their resumes before they can partake of
any services. Sometimes it would be nice just to quickly
check job listings on the fly without worrying about
entering a resume. Entering a resume, however, undoubtedly
improves the site's ability to match entry-level jobseekers
with appropriate jobs, and once your resume is in the
system, you don't have to deal with it again.
Whether you're going back to campus this fall or you're
a student in the School of Hard Knocks, you
can benefit from these 10 pieces of advice from
John Petrik, dean of
career services at the DeVry
Institute of Technology campus in Addison, IL.
CampusProgram.com --
designed to help students choose a major or program of study, and then find a U.S. or Canadian
college or university. Offers access to more than 50,000 university and college undergraduate and
graduate college
program department sites, covering more than 300 fields of study. Also includes test prep and career
links. Free.
Collegiate Funding Group --
a guide for students and your families through the various aspects of the financial aid process,
including help with the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), looking into alternative
funding options, pre-qualifying for a PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students), and more. Free.
DegreeSearch -- where
prospective students can find colleges that offer specific certificate, associate, transfer,
bachelor, and graduate and professional programs. With searchable profiles from more than
8,000 U.S. college campuses. Students can search by location, program type, institution type, and
program keywords. Free.
FreeScholarships.com --
provides a new source of funding for school through our daily online drawings and auctions, including
a $5,000 daily scholarship and $10,000 weekly scholarship. Free.
Find even more additions to Quintessential Careers by visiting our
Latest
Additions section.
Another recent grad, Sherrie sent out 40 resumes, receiving
only one response back. She wonders if she's doing something
wrong, or if the lack of response is because she lacks professional
experience, having held only student employment jobs for the last
four years:
Get the Career Dr's
take on the situation.
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
Want to succeed at your first job once you've landed it?
Better sharpen your so-called "soft skills" according to
a survey of employers reported by the BBC. These soft skills,
which employers say are often lacking in entry-level hires,
include:
- taking initiative
- communicating effectively
- making decisions
- solving problems
- building relationships
Nearly 80 percent of employers said employees with these
"soft skills" would find it easier to move up the corporate ladder.
They say real-world experience, say a year between high school and
college or an internship during college can help build those skills.
Read the full article.
Echoing a sentiment that we certainly agree with, resume
writer JoAnn Nix recently gave the following advice
in an interview on the Guru.com Web site: "A resume
should be accomplishment-oriented, not responsibility-driven.
The biggest mistake that I see in the resumes people send me
is that they list responsibilities. That doesn't grab anybody's
attention. People aren't interested in your responsibilities.
They already know the general responsibilities of a position
so they don't want to know what you do from day to day.
They want to know that you're a mover and a shaker:
How you contribute to the organization, how you show
initiative, that you can be a key player. That's what
they want to see.
"For example, if you're a sales and marketing manager,
you could say: Joined organization to spearhead sales
and marketing initiative for newly developed territory.
Lead the aggressive turnaround of a poorly performing
district and propelled sales from one to six million
in 14 months. That's the type of accomplishment they want to see."
Read the full interview with Nix.
One of the best sources of networking contacts for college
students is the guest speakers that come to talk to your
classes. These professionals are a vast untapped resource.
One of our students who was interested in a career in
pharmaceutical sales went up to a guest speaker from that
industry after the presentation and introduced herself.
She asked the pharmaceutical rep if she could send him her
resume. He agreed, and she kept in touch with him throughout
the next semester before she graduated. By the time she
claimed her diploma, she had lined up a $40,000 a year
job with the drug firm.
QuintZine: Topics in Upcoming Issues
WATCH FOR feature articles on these topics in upcoming
issues of QuintZine:
* Pantsuits vs. skirtsuits for interviews
* Case-based and behavior-based interviews
* Online Assessments
* How a SWOT Analysis can help you market yourself
* Interviewing: It's more fun than you think
* Graduate school for working professionals
* How to choose a college
* How to land an internship
* Temping
* How to make the most of an internship
* Job-Hunting for disabled candidates
* Build your career through volunteering
* Q&As with well-known career experts
. . . and much, much more!
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RESUMES * JOB SEARCH CORRESPONDENCE FROM TRUSTED EXPERTS * COVER LETTERS
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QuintZine
A publication of
Quintessential Careers
Publisher: Dr. Randall S. Hansen
Editor: Katharine Hansen
ISSN: 1528-9443
