Career Services Job Search for Alumni

Know Yourself | Develop a Timeline | Prepare your Job Search Materials | Conduct a Comprehensive Job Search | Attend Career Fairs

1. Know Yourself

Interests: What stimulates you? (Engages your mind, makes you look forward to going to work. Consider taking the Strong Interest Inventory for further assistance.)
Values: What is important to you? (Causes, issues or qualities that engage your spirit and heart)
Skills: What are you good at? (Talents and abilities)
Personality: What type of person are you? (Consider taking the MBTI for more assistance in determining personality type)
Preferences: What can't you live without in a position? (Location, driving distance, culture, travel, advancement, etc.)

2. Develop a Timeline

View the job search as a job itself. Keep in mind that minimal effort will most likely achieve minimal results.
Create a list of tasks and set target dates for each. You are the best expert on your energy and work ethic, therefore be sure to keep your plan realistic.
Set reasonable expectations in order to accomplish your goals.
Commit your plan to paper, as you may be more likely to tackle the job search if your plan is clearly organized and written down.
Enlist the help of a "coach": an individual who knows you well, can provide objective feedback and will help you stay committed to your plan.

3. Prepare your Job Search Materials

Resume/Cover Letter: Create or update your resume and cover letter. Be sure to remove old information and update with more recent accomplishments. Contact Career Services to have the resume and cover letter critiqued.
Interviewing: Preparing for interviews can give you the confidence you need to highlight your skills and accomplishments during the interviewing process. See the Interviewing Guide for helpful advice and frequently asked questions. Contact Career Services to schedule a mock interview.
60 Second Commercial: Develop this career-related advertisement of yourself to introduce yourself at networking events or to answer the "Tell me about yourself" question.

4. Conduct a Comprehensive Job Search

Respond to Advertised Openings
- Register for Career Connections, the St. Norbert College online job posting system. All employers seeking to connect with St. Norbert College students and alumni are directed to utilize this online system.
- Monitor select web sites weekly. Check out the job search links on the Career Services web site.
- Monitor professional association web sites. Go to your favorite search engine, type <your field> associations and see what results you get. Example: Marketing Associations.
- Monitor Sunday newspapers.
Develop a Targeted List of Employers
- Use CareerSearch (Client Referral Code: norbert) to unlock the hidden job market and to search for potential employers to get contact information and web addresses. CareerSearch is a database of employers not jobs. Once you find an employer you are interested in, you will need to write, call, check their website or e-mail that employer to inquire about potential openings and how you would be a good fit for their organization.
- Utilize WetFeet to conduct in-depth research on companies, career fields and industries.
- Research the companies on your list. Helpful web sites for research: company web site, Hoovers, or Google.
- Bookmark and regularly check the web sites of your targeted list of employers.
Network
- 7 our of 10 job hunters find jobs through networking. Networking is a process by which you obtain information about the job market from professionals in the field and increase your number of contacts. Networking will help you discover leads to unadvertised jobs in the "hidden job market". Learn more about networking.

5. Attend Career Fairs
Career Fairs are an opportunity to meet with recruiters face-to-face to share your skills and to sell your experience. Be sure to check out Making the Most of Career Fairs to help you prepare for attending these events. Check out the links below for regional career fair information. To find a career fair in your geographical region, go to your favorite search engine, type <your location> career fairs or <your location> job fairs.

Virtual Career Fairs
NACE International Student Virtual Career Fair

United States
National Career Fairs (Job Fair Listings by State)