Successful Job Hunting

The short answer is yes. However, all positions are not created equally: each will be looking for something slightly different, whether a certain set of skills or a specific background in a certain work environment. While you may absolutely qualify for both, do not use the same resume and cover letter to apply for both positions. The industry is small, and people talk. If you do not go the extra mile, you risk looking unfocused and the interview might go to someone who put in the effort. Instead, use each job description as your guide. Highlight qualities that the position is seeking that you definitely have. Those are the skills that you should emphasize in the bulleted statements of your resume and in the body of your cover letter. 

Well, let’s start with some statistics. By law, employers are required to publicly post, at minimum, 10% of the jobs that they have available. This means that potentially 90% of jobs that actually exist are never even posted by the employer! If those jobs aren’t posted, how do you figure they’re probably getting filled? Answer: connections, referrals, former temps, or interns. Because of this, networking should comprise about 80% of your job search. Yes, we prefer the convenience of passively cruising online postings and applying at our leisure, and while that can still comprise a small part of your job search, employers prefer to hire based on who they know as opposed to sifting through hundreds of applicants (strangers!) who applied through an online portal.

Quality? Definitely. But quantity? Important, too! Keep in mind that the more people who know who you are and what you want to do, the more likely you are to be “top of mind” when the right opportunity arises. But remember: following up is key. Don’t just reach out to a contact one time and then be done after you’ve gotten the information that you need. Keep the conversation going by following up every four to six weeks at the start. Keep a spreadsheet of every contact that you’ve reached out to and when you plan to follow up.

Before answering this question, do your research. How much are professionals making who are doing roughly the same job and living in a comparable area? There are plenty of online resources that you can use to find this information, such as glassdoor.com and salary.com. Keep in mind that the numbers you see might be for someone who has already been working in the field for a year or two. Adjust your expectations from there and try to identify a salary range of about $5,000. 

This is also a great networking question! Ask one of your contacts in that area of the industry what they think an appropriate range might be for this type of role. E.g. “I have done some research and it seems like $40,000-$45,000 is the ballpark for [name of role] in [city or metro area]. Does this seem accurate to you?” Note that you’re not asking about the individual’s salary history, just their input.

Your goal, after researching, is to have: a salary that you’d like to have, a salary that you’d be willing to take, and a salary that you’d need, based on your living expenses. When the job offers start rolling in, you’ll be relieved to have this guideline, and you’ll be able to identify when an employer is offering you a salary that’s well below what you can live on. Be ready with numbers in mind for your interview in case you are asked of your expectations. 

In terms of answering this question on a job application or in a cover letter, the best case scenario is to state “flexible.” This will show employers that you’re willing to negotiate. However, sometimes an application won’t allow this option. In that case, this is where your networking and research will pay off again and you can provide a salary range.

We go into more detail in our podcast listed in the Multimedia Resources section. Give it a listen.

The Newhouse Career Development Center makes it easy for you to find industry leads through your alma mater:

• A running list of active job leads is available on our JobOps page. You can sign up to get updates about new postings on the site here. Be sure to note the “how and why” section at the top of the page. The vast majority of these leads have been submitted by Newhouse alumni, with a handful coming from employers who want to specifically hire Newhouse graduates.
• The Syracuse University alumni network thrives on the University’s #HireOrange page. Check here for leads submitted by the greater Syracuse University network.

Before you can land a specific kind of job, you need to do some inventorying. First, inventory the skills needed for the role you want to have. You probably have a lot of these floating around your head, but get out a scrap sheet of paper or open a new doc on your computer and start making a list. Look at job descriptions for the kind of work that you want to be doing and make note of the skills, programs, equipment, or any other recurring themes from description to description.

Next, review those recurring themes: is this what you thought the work would entail? Do you need to make any adjustments to your search? If the answer to either of those questions is “yes,” make needed modifications to your research, re-inventory, and amend the list of recurring themes as needed.

Once you have a handle on common tasks and skills needed for the role, think about your own experience. Do you possess what is needed? If not, how can you build those skills in your current role, by volunteering, through side projects, etc.? In general, if you want to do X (write for TV, direct movies, write copy, design logos), you should find a way to be doing X on your own, regardless of your current job. Companies want to hire someone who already has experience using the skills needed for the job, so making sure you don’t have any large skills gaps between what you want to do and what you already have done/can do is really important. If the role requires a specific skill that you have experience with but it wasn’t in the exact same capacity, this is ok. What is important is that you have that skill.

From here, you will want to make sure that you properly “repackage” yourself and devote yourself to networking.

If, after inventorying and working on repackaging yourself, you would like to speak with someone in more detail about your job search, you may request to meet with an alumni career counselor by emailing alumnicareers@syr.edu. You can also connect with career coaches who have been vetted by Syracuse University – click here for more details.

A committed, strategic approach when job hunting is required to give yourself the best chances of finding the job you want in the least amount of time. When a job hunter feels frustrated, the first thing to do is to assess whether time and energy are being spent on fruitful, proactive approaches. If you are searching for a job and feeling frustrated by the lack of return on your efforts, run through this list and keep track of when you can say yes, you are doing what is described or no, you are not doing what is described:

• I spend no more than 20% of my job-searching time scouring job boards.
  I have developed a list of target companies that may offer me the opportunity to (or as a stepping stone to be able to) use the skills I want to use and perform the tasks I want to perform, regardless of whether that company is currently publicly hiring.
• I am actively developing a large network of contacts that I am in touch with on a regular basis.
• I perform networking tasks (researching new contacts, following up with established contacts, going to networking events, reading about companies of interest, etc.) every day.
• My approach to networking considers who each contact is and what questions would be relevant to them, rather than sending a generic template email.
• My questions and conversations with contacts are sincere, tailored to the individual, and appreciative, and I treat each interaction as an opportunity to show that I have been listening.
• My goal in networking is to get as many people as possible to know who I am and what I want to do, so that I have the best chance of having a contact somewhere I want to work letting me know about a job lead I wouldn’t otherwise know about.
• I am balancing the quality of these networking relationships with my efforts to grow my contact base because both the sincerity of each relationship and having a lot of contacts are important.
• I understand that the preferred method of hiring is through referral because hiring managers don’t want to review thousands of applications and having a candidate be recommended makes their job a lot easier.
• I also understand that this means that I have to have lots of options by creating a large target list, establishing relationships at each organization, and reminding contacts that I exist, all of which will increase my odds of hearing about job leads.

If the answer to each of the checklist items above wasn’t “yes,” you have identified something you need to work on that will improve your chances of a successful job search. The hardest part of a job search is having patience. It is guaranteed that your search will take time and effort, but you are the only one who can ensure you are investing your time and effort into a proactive job hunt. Take some time to change your approach to the items you identified, then see how you are feeling.

If you did answer “yes” to each item above, good work! Your main challenges are likely those outside of your control: timing and other people’s free will. Perhaps knowing that you are going about your search in the most effective way is validation and motivation enough to keep going! We hope that it at least helps a little bit. If you would like to speak with someone in more detail about your job search, you may request to meet with an alumni career counselor by emailing alumnicareers@syr.edu. You can also connect with career coaches who have been vetted by Syracuse University – click here for more details.