How do you make the most of the technological tools available in an online job search? CEO Peter Weddle guides with structured suggestions here. We offer excerpts below.
Be aware of the world around you.
“Expand your perspective by thinking through how events could influence your industry. Work to gain an understanding of the pressures and expectations that political and other developments might impose on potential employers.”
Keep your knowledge up-to-date.
“Visit sites that specialize in your career field and industry. Wherever possible, contribute to the dialogue, both in any articles you write for online publication and in the comments you post on blogs.”
Proactively participate in social media.
“As in the real world, networking online is based on a simple principle: you have to give as good as you get.” That is, even in college or early in your career, look for experience and influence you can share to help others.
— Peter Weddle
Sample organizational culture.
Research not just your next step, he challenges, but your eventual dream job. Give yourself details to dwell on, an expanded vision to aspire to, something big enough to drive perseverance and excellence in your current options.
Or, as Weddle phrases here with biblical potency, “Feed your imagination.” He encourages ruling your current network to find out who has been there and done that, and been changed by it.
“Treat every interaction as a first impression.”
The accessibility the web provides can undermine your job search in at least one way. It can reinforce a casual attitude, and the higher the volume of job-related time and correspondence we are around, the more this can happen. With Weddle’s counsel, envision each email or application is a chance to meet with people in the organization whose attention you are seeking. Think how your phrases sound, and refine refine your pitch that this is the opportunity to serve you have been working for.
Career Services can help. We can be that initial audience which stirs up productive tension and prompts questions. We can also, by God’s grace, provide the guidance He can use to keep the process from being too overwhelming to begin or persevere in. Reach out at eshlemanb@carolinau.edu
