K C I QU W VIE
JOB SEARCH GUIDE
JOB SEARCH GUIDE
JOB SEARCH STRATEGY Let’s acknowledge this reality right awayyour job search will be very different from an accountant, a financial planner, or an engineer. Creative industries are a small world with different values and practices, so your job search will need to be informed and focused.
PREPARE YOURSELF
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Resume Cover Letter Portfolio/Website Business Card
KNOW: s s s s
It shouldn’t be a surprise that the first choice for professionals is to find talent through people they know. People trust others who have a reputation for doing good work, which makes networking an appealing way to recruit. With that in mind, your job search will look like this:
The process begins with preparation. Your goal is to take the skill or talent you have and find ways to broadcast to the people who can hire you. Every job creative industry job seeker needs to:
HAVE:
HOW JOB SEARCHING REALLY LOOKS
DO YOUR RESEARCH Start by learning as much as you can about your industry. What does it look like in Chicago? In other cities? What are some of the current trends and changes? What jobs exist? And finally, generate a list of companies/organizations/ individuals you are interested in. Focus your energy on gaining contacts in these companies, while still remaining open to other good opportunities.
What you want Why you are worth hiring Your industry People
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GET CONNECTED
WATCH FOR COLUMBIA EVENTS
TRACK YOUR EFFORTS
If you don’t have a strong network, it’s time to build one. The best way to work in an industry is to be a part of the industry. Talk to instructors in your department about local events and organizations where you can start to meet people. Use LinkedIn to search for alumni and other professionals doing work you want to do and contact them for an informational meeting.
By senior year you are probably extremely busy and more than a little burned out. Still, watch the college calendar, Career Initiatives, and your department for events related to your industry. Portfolio Center Show Offs bring in professionals to meet with you, and other more informational meetings give you a chance to both learn about a career path and meet the professional presenter afterward.
As you build your network and start to apply, it’s easy to lose track of your efforts. Stay organized by creating a tracking sheet like this
If you have portfolio content (which most of you should), you have a great excuse to reach out to professionals. Use your work as a foot in the door by asking for portfolio reviews. These are standard in many industries and will not only get you good feedback, but could also get you work.
MAKE YOURSELF EASY TO FIND You never want to count on people coming to you with offers for work, but you do want to be as easy as possible to track down. This means creating an online portfolio or resume site and keeping it updated with fresh content. It also means registering with networking or portfolio sites popular in your industry- Talent Pool is a great place to start. Bottom line: someone SHOULD BE ABLE TO 'OOGLE YOU AND GET MORE than your Facebook or YouTube page.
FIND RELEVANT JOB BOARDS If you’re searching for more traditional jobs or internships, there are likely some job boards that have positions you are interested in. ColumbiaWorks is one example of a more targeted job board, but many others also exist. Do some digging to find industry specific job boards- our Career Research site has a few recommendations.
Tracking Sheet for Job Applications (PDF)
EVALUATE YOUR STRATEGY Finding good work takes time, focus, and positivity. If you are not finding success after a month or more of job searching, hit pause and do some troubleshooting. Are you applying but not getting a response? Interviewing but not getting offers? The step in the process where you are getting stuck is often revealing. All in all, your time should be split somewhat like this: Checking job boards (10%) Watching company websites (15%) Updating resumes and submitting applications (20%) Reaching out to people (25%) Attending events (20%) Practicing your craft (10%)
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INTERVIEW GUIDE
INTERVIEWING
REMEMBER YOUR WORK
Throw aside notions of an intense interrogation. What an interviewer really wants is to know if you can do the job, and if you will be a good fit with their team. A successful interview feels more like a (professional) conversation, so relax.
If you are in a visual, portfolio-based field, your interview will largely focused on your work. The Portfolio Center is your best friend and ally in preparing for this process. But if you are in an industry that is portfolio-optional, don’t be afraid to offer up a few samples of your work. Bring them in if it feels natural, otherwise leave your business card and invite them to check out work on your website.
KNOW YOUR STUFF In this context, YOU are the hot topic. What are your key assets? If you don’t have an answer yet, take some time to think about it, and do some digging to learn about the company, your industry, and even your potential interviewer.
TELL STORIES Don’t just answer questions- give examples, as specific (yet concise) as possible. People love stories. They make it easier to get meaningful information about you, and they also help your interviewer get a sense of your personality. Pretty much everyone claims to be organized, so instead tell them about the time you helped create a filing system from scratch at your internship.
PRACTICE Few of us are naturally gifted in the art of talking about ourselves. Like most things, interviewing skill gets better the more you do it. You will lose the nerves and your answers will be more polished. See below for a list of common questions to practice with a friend, schedule a Show Off, or a mock interview. Or all of the above!
ATTIRE You probably don’t need a suit, but you don’t want to roll in wearing sweatpants either. Match your dress with the professionals you are interviewing with. Ask around – approach instructors, coworkers, and staff to get an idea of what is typical in the setting you are interested in.
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FOLLOW UP
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INTERVIEWING LINKS
Send a thank you note within 24-48 hours of your interview. This can either be done via email or maildecide based on how you have communicated with them so far and how quickly the hiring process will happen.
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Interview Attire
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SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Below are some popular interview questions that you might expect in your interview.
General: t t t t t t t t t t t t t t
Tell me about yourself. What is your greatest strength? What is your greatest weakness? Why should we hire you? What do you know about our company/ organization? Why are you interested in this job? What did you learn from your internship? Describe your ideal work environment. What was your least favorite part of your last job? Where do you see yourself in five years? What would need from us to succeed in the first few months on the job? Why did you choose Columbia College? What classes or professors were most influential to you? What accomplishments are you most proud of?
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had to juggle multiple priorities disagreed with a supervisor worked as part of a team to achieve a goal had to complete a project with somewhat ambiguous directions had to deal with a difficult client or customer set a goal, and what you did to achieve it put in extra effort to get a project completed tried something new and failed implemented an innovative or creative change you initiated
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Popular interview questions and answers http://www.jobweb.com/resumesample. aspx?id=282
Sample Interview Questions http://jobsearch.about.com/od/ interviewquestionsanswers/a/interviewquest. htm
Doing intensive company research
Questions to Ask Them:
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http://www.39thandbroadway.com/wtf-wearfashion-interview/
position? How would you describe the company culture? What are some of your goals for the position? What are some of the challenges facing this position? What training and professional development is available?
http://www.jobweb.com/studentarticles. aspx?id=1869
Presenting your portfolio http://www.aiga.org/content.cfm/portfoliopresenting
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