An Ithaca College Career Director Advises Pursuing a Multidimensional Job Search

Ithaca College is a private residential college in upstate New York that is internationally known and respected. It has a student body with roughly 6,000 undergraduate and 400 graduate students from nearly every state and more than 60 countries. Despite a broad curriculum, Ithaca has a tradition of close, personal instruction (12:1 student-faculty ratio).

Jill Randolph: How has the job market changed over the past year? Have you seen any signs of improvement and if so, in which areas?

John Bradac: Clearly the job market is a very difficult place right now. However, there are some signs of improvement that have occurred recently. Job postings are up about two percent, which indicates that the economy is moving again. The National Association of Colleges and Employers published a survey showing that for 2010 college graduates the job market was up more than five percent over the same time the previous year. The rises occurred in IT, healthcare, and engineering. There are some signs that our baselines are moving forward.

Jill Randolph: How has searching for a job has changed from the past and how has it stayed the same?

John Bradac: This is my thirtieth year working in career development, and I find the concept that continues to hold true is that "the more it changes, the more it stays the same". The job search today needs to be multidimensional. The web is a tremendous resource, but it is not the only resource that should be used.

The rule of 30-30-30 is a good approach; 30 percent of the job search should come from very traditional means, such as listings from a webpage, newspaper, association, or similar resource. The second 30 percent should be focused on developing an active network of professionals who are doing what the seeker wants to do. This can be developed from many different resources.

Most colleges have an active alumni association that works with the career services office to make connections. If students are interested in a certain type of organization, they should join an affiliated association. The last 30 percent is what I term the unconventional approach or informational interviews. Students should be using tools like LinkedIn and other social media outlets to make connections with people in professions of interest.

Jill Randolph: What do you think are the most common mistakes that students make in their job search?

John Bradac: One of the biggest mistakes is conducting a passive job search. Many find a website, submit a resume and wait. Some students simply send out resumes or look at newspapers and professional journals only. Students today cannot sit in a room in their pajamas and complete a job search. A successful search today is about being actively involved in a network and making contacts, pounding the pavement, and seeking out informational interviews. All of these facets need to be incorporated into a search.

Another oversight students often make is stating they are qualified for the position, but not mentioning that they work effectively in a team and have the ability and passion to learn and grow within the profession. Employers hire as much on attitude as they do on qualification. Saying they are willing to learn and be a good team member is important and often missed.

Some students are also hesitant to use the contacts they already have or contacts that are in front of them. Having contacts is one thing, following up with them and developing a relationship is another, and it is the second part that matters. It is important for students to reach out to people, let them know they are interested in what the contacts do, and ask how they got started. In addition, students should ask who else the contact could refer them to that might give them additional perspectives or more information on the profession.

Jill Randolph: Do you think the adage that looking for a job is a full-time job still holds true? Given the online facet that wasn't available fifteen years ago, do you think it is more than a full-time job or is it just different?

John Bradac: People need to spend quality time looking for a job, with a multifaceted approach. Twenty years ago, students could look for ads, do a bit of networking, make some connections, apply somewhere, and go with that opportunity.

They spent much more time looking for information in the past than they have to today; information is in front of us now on the Internet. However, with the competition and other issues associated with the job market, it is important to spend a significant amount of time performing research.

Jill Randolph: What advice do you give to students regarding traditional networking versus social networking?

John Bradac: Both are very important. Traditional networking - whether that means professional meetings, joining associations, informational interviewing, or making contacts through friends and family - is the way to go. Today, resources such as LinkedIn put those opportunities at students' fingertips. They can go to a site, identify people who are involved in their area of interest, and make contacts.

I view LinkedIn as a networking tool, and refer to sites such as Facebook as social media. Both sites can be wonderful if the right groups are utilized for making connections.

Jill Randolph: What kind of specific networking advice do you give to students so they have a presence as opposed to having a profile passively listed on LinkedIn?

John Bradac: I encourage students and graduates to keep their page and profile updated to share information about whom they have spoken to and what they have done lately. Letting their information stagnate is not effective. Students have to be responsible for reaching out to others and making connections. I challenge them to make five connections a week, or a connection a day, or simply establish a goal.

Going out, finding people, and making introductions are very important concepts. Over the years, the job market has changed and some students believe they are going to upload their resume and get 10,000 job offers. It is not going to happen that way. They must actively find the groups that will benefit their job search.

Jill Randolph: Do you think that people are willing to share their expertise or do they sometimes view these inquiries as a threat?

John Bradac: People are typically very willing to share how they got started in an industry. Most are proud of what they do and how they got to a certain place, and they are willing to share advice with others who are genuinely interested. I rarely see someone who is threatened by a student who is interested in his or her career path.

People typically understand why others are networking. A useful approach for students to remember is that they are establishing long-term relationships with fellow professionals, and they should think of themselves as emerging professionals rather than students. They have certain skill sets, abilities, and accomplishments, and are seeking to continue to improve upon them by learning from the expertise of others.

Jill Randolph: Do you think students should join groups and make comments on LinkedIn and other similar sites, and is there anything specific that they should do to help make their mark online?

John Bradac: Absolutely. Listservs and blogs can be very important. It is critical to take an active but professional role. I have seen people become too aggressive on sites or in their blogs or listservs. It is not wise to call attention for the wrong reasons.

That same energy should be leveraged for a positive outcome. When someone poses a great question, I encourage people to respond as a jobseeker and allow the experts to elaborate.

The main goal of a job search is to get noticed and it is important to be noticed for the right reasons. In the old days, the wrong method was to put a resume on red paper or send it with a teddy bear. Today those mistakes are made by acting overbearing, overly opinionated, or aggressive online. Developing a strong online identity as an emerging professional is very important.

Jill Randolph: If someone has sent a resume and indicated in their cover letter that they will follow up, what is an appropriate amount of time to wait?

John Bradac: If the applicant says they are going to follow up, it is important that they do. If they say they are going to call in ten days, they need to stay true to their word. There are companies that ask that applicants don't follow up, and in that case, they should not.

How to follow up is even more important than when. Applicants have to be patient with the employer and the people who are making decisions. Just because a candidate sent his or her resume yesterday doesn't mean that he or she will be hired today. Employers often have to get a group of people together, have a meeting, confer with their firm's hiring managers, discuss qualified candidates and so on.

Jill Randolph: So, do you think once a week, once every two weeks, or it depends on the situation?

John Bradac: I recommend that the first follow up should be within a week to ten days. Following that, it depends on the scenario, but typically the follow up period should get progressively longer. For example, the first follow up in a week to ten days, the second follow up in another two weeks, and then maybe one in another week or two, but that is it.

Jill Randolph: How can students outshine the competition when there are a lot of overqualified people applying for the same jobs?

John Bradac: It is crucial for them to make sure they have flawless application materials. For the resume and cover letter, I advocate using career centers and utilizing feedback from other people. It is a common mistake to have inadequate materials, and it can eliminate applicants quickly.

They need to make sure their resume and materials include keywords and specific skill sets they offer. They should share the skill sets that are significant to a specific organization. Stating these clearly in action statements is extremely important.

Finally, personalizing their information to the individual corporation, including their cover letter, is key. Generic cover letters don't work. I can always tell when I am reading a standardized cover letter when they mention another institution or organization they have applied to and have forgotten to replace the name. It is essential to make sure that the materials are proof read for the targeted organization.

People do not research enough about the organizations to which they are applying. Doing the research and making sure the materials reflect the organizational culture will help set them apart. They can compete with applicants who have more experience by having the right energy and attitude. In their cover letter they can stress that despite a lack of experience, they will be focused, dedicated, and willing to work hard for the company if hired.

Jill Randolph: Various employers and recruiters are suggesting the objective statement is outdated, with some exceptions if the candidate is right out of school. Do you advise using a summary of qualifications rather than an objective statement, and if so, how many bullet points should the students use?

John Bradac: For the traditional student just entering the job market from college, I don't typically recommend a qualification summary or an objective statement. For these students, the qualification summary should be elaborated in statements that are included in a cover letter. The resume for an entry level professional should speak for itself, and the student's soft skills should be reflected in the cover letter.

I traditionally advocate for a summary of qualifications when they have accumulated professional experience, usually after about a year or two in their field. It should be no more than three or four bullets and can be thought of as how they would describe themselves in a couple of seconds.

Jill Randolph: With students who have less experience, should they use a functional resume with bullets first followed by their experience and education, or should they rely more heavily on the reverse chronological format?

John Bradac: I personally do not like functional resumes. They are often used for people who are moving from one field to another. The functional resume presents an issue of hide-and-seek. If a candidate makes the statement that they effectively managed thirty-five employees in their day-to-day operations, it leaves the question open as to where that occurred. The employer has to look at the list of the companies and try to figure out where the candidate gained that experience, which can be frustrating.

It is more straightforward to highlight the candidate's accomplishments. For someone changing careers, trying to relate appropriate and related skills is important. That is more difficult to accomplish with a functional resume, unless it is done really well. I encourage anyone who uses a functional resume to have a qualification summary in his or her resume as well.

Jill Randolph: Should soft skills be highlighted with bullets, or should they be incorporated into action statements?

John Bradac: Soft skills can be incorporated into bulleted statements on the resume or included in the cover letter. To help clarify subjective skills, these statements should be as specific as possible. For example, rather than just saying that the candidate has customer service skills, he or she should instead say that he or she provided excellent customer service in a fast-paced sales environment.

Jill Randolph: Do you have any career-related books or websites that you recommend to your students?

John Bradac: There are some outstanding websites available. One website specifically geared to the not-for-profit environment is Idealist.org, which helps to identify organizations, internship opportunities, and areas of interest in this sector.

Indeed.com is another fascinating site that helps job searchers focus on what they are looking for, where they are looking, and quickly locate positions with those parameters. It is a web crawling site that compiles information from a number of places and helps job seekers get started.

If possible, I encourage people to go to the lowest common denominator and seek out the source of the job. For example, if the job seeker sees an interesting listing that is located at a hospital, it is best if he or she visits that hospital's direct site.

The Chamber of Commerce's websites are also great resources especially for those relocating, because they usually list the chamber members and links to their websites.

I also still believe in some of the paper books and resources. One that is particularly useful for any student or jobseeker is the Encyclopedia of Associations, which has a list of associations for anything imaginable. Whether job seekers are interested in selling farm implements, promoting fly fishing, or selling sports equipment, there are resources available and the Encyclopedia of Associations often gives the related organizations that are associated with that industry.

Jill Randolph: What advice do you give students who still are not sure what they want to do with their lives after graduation?

John Bradac: It is important to actively pursue their interests rather than waiting for lightning to strike. If they don't know what they want to do, it is really important to take stock in their values, interests, skills, and abilities.

They should question what they are interested in, what they want to do, and learn how to get there. They can also start talking to people; find out what they do, how they got started, and how they figured out what they wanted to do.

Gathering information should be done actively rather than passively. Really getting out there and learning is the most effective way to reach their goals. Career counselors are also useful resources and students should refer to them with their issues and concerns.

Jill Randolph: If a student lands a job that is not ideal, or if he or she knows that layoffs are coming, how does that person dedicate time to looking for other opportunities if he or she doesn't have forty hours a week to spend on a fully-effective job search?

John Bradac: This is when students need to actively network and spend quality time on evenings and weekends conducting a concentrated search. That first job may not be the right fit, but I recommend that they don't quit. Sometimes it is simply a matter of adjusting to a new work culture and environment; this is why I encourage people to give the new job a year. However, if they feel a new search is necessary, they should use time outside of work. Internet, alumni connections, networking, and professional associations are all key venues to make that happen.

In the end, the most important aspect is to give 100 percent to a job search. Conducting a traditional search means making contacts and interacting with professional associations.