The Grad Career & Job Search Readiness Quiz Find out if you have the skills and knowledge to get a job in today s uncertain job market! Over 60 Questions
QUIZ Sponsored by Your College Career Center is a comprehensive online career center that combines high tech with high touch techniques to give students and grads the skills, knowledge, networking skills, and confidence to lead successful careers in the industries they choose. Your College Career Center will give you: 1. Job search knowledge and skills 2. Confidence to ace interviews 3. Advice on killer resumes 4. Knowledge about how to build a professional network 5. Access to best practices, guerilla marketing and personal branding techniques that work While most grads struggle in their first professional job searches, you will have the knowledge, skills and strategies to succeed! Monthly Webinars, enewsletters, advice and research! - Visit - www.yourcollegecareercenter.com TODAY! 2
Do you have what it takes to get your dream job? Take this quiz and you ll find out! The job search process has undergone dramatic changes in the past 4 years. Prior to the 2008 recession, it was relatively easy for grads to get jobs. But then 8,000,000 people were let go and a hiring slowdown has resulted in nearly 80 percent of graduates from the classes of 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 graduating from college without jobs. Many of the laid-off workers and grads are still competing for the roughly 150,000 positions filled each month. So with that much competition, are you prepared for your job search? Take this quiz to see if you are adopting the right skills and knowledge to help you get a job on graduation day. 3
Participate in career boot camps and career planning programs at A survey conducted by Adecco showed that 71 percent of recent college graduates wished they had done something different to prepare for the job market. Career Center The career center is a tremendous resource on campus to begin to explore careers, build a career plan and create job search strategies. Research shows that 61 percent of graduating seniors will either never visit the career center or visit once or twice. Your career planning should start the minute you arrive on campus. From your freshman year on, you should be building your knowledge skills, and network. 1. Are you visiting the career center at least once a month? 2. Have you taken multiple career assessments at the career center and reviewed the results with career staff? 3. What other services have you utilized from the career center? 4. Have you worked with the career center to create a basic resume? 5. How many career events have you participated in? 6. Have you used the career center to get help in identifying career options for you? 7. Have you participated in any on campus interviews at the career center? 8. What resources have you used at the career center to explore industries you might be interested in? 9. How often have you used the career center for practice interviews? 10. What books have you read on networking, job search strategies, and using social media to get jobs? 4
Take assessments and talk to career coaches to learn which careers are right for you at A survey by AfterCollege found that 86 percent of grads were finding the job search process difficult or extremely difficult. Career Exploration Over 55 percent of students will switch majors during college. That ends up costing more money and keeps them out of the workforce longer. If you don t have a good handle on what you want to do, you will end up being one of the 60% of grad ends who end up in jobs totally unrelated to their majors. Knowing what you want to do will make it easier to find your dream job! 1. What assessment tests have you taken? Behavior Personality Skills Interests Other 2. Have you reviewed the results of your assessments with a career professional? Y/N 3. What occupations do your tests indicate you would thrive at? 4. What type of industries do your assessments indicate you will thrive at? 5. What type of companies do your assessments indicate you will be best in? 6. What types of jobs do your assessments indicate you will be best at? 7. What positions have you job shadowed? 8. What positions have you interned at? 9. What do others think you should do? 10. What do you REALLY want to do? 5
Produce killer resumes by taking an online resume courses anytime, via any device, taught by the nation s top career expert at A study by The Ladders found that recruiters spend an average of six seconds before they make the initial fit or no fit decisions regarding candidates. Resume It s not unusual for a hiring manager to get over 250 resumes for a job. How are you going to make sure you even make the short stack? Putting together a resume is part science and part art. You need to personalize each one as well as include keywords that match terms the company is using in its job listings. 1. Are you customizing each resume for the positions you are applying to? 2. Are you loading your resume with relevant key words for the positions you are applying for? 3. Are you using one of the three resume styles; chronological, functional or combination? 4. Is your resume focused on facts, stats and accomplishments, or tasks? 5. Have you had at least two supportive people proof read each resume you send? 6. Is your resume providing proof about how YOU can handle their job description? 7. Are you following the Resume Ingredient Rule? 8. Are you sharing your skills? 9. Are you speaking with action verbs? 10. How many pages is your resume? 6
Get a job faster by searching smarter. Take an online job search course anytime, via any device, taught by the nation s top career expert at One third of current working graduates are in jobs that do NOT require a college degree. Job Search Our surveys show the average grad is spending 1-5 hours on his or her job search after graduation. To get a job in today s competitive climate you need to consider your job search your full time job. In order to fill a 40 hour week with constructive actions, you need to have multiple job search strategies. 1. Do you have a written job search plan? 2. Have you created a list of 10-20 target companies you want to work for? 3. Are you researching these firms issues, successes and plans? 4. Are you focused on a specific position? 5. How many career fairs have you attended? 6. How many job search sites do you frequent? 7. How much time per week do you spend on job boards? 8. Are you focusing on jobs that your assessments advised you were the best match for you? 9. Do you have an organized daily activity for looking for jobs? 10. How much time per week do you spend on your job search? 11. How many job search tools are you using? 7
Build your professional network easier & FASTER. Take an online networking course anytime, via any device, taught by the nation s top career expert at 75-80 percent of all job seekers end up getting jobs through networking. Networking You have an incredible opportunity to network with alumni starting your freshman year. Never before have graduating classes been able to as easily connect with alumni at companies for which they want to work. Studies show that 80 percent of us get jobs from people we know, so you should be spending a lot of time getting to know people! 1. How many people do you add to your professional network each month? 2. Are you maintaining your network by contacting its members on a regular basis? 3. Do you look for ways you can help your network? 4. Do you have an elevator speech? 5. Have you identified who your target network members are? 6. Are you participating in local, regional and national groups monthly either online or in person? 7. Do you have a plan regarding what you do when you meet new contacts? 8. Do you have a plan regarding what you will do after you meet a contact? 9. Do you focus on the other person s story first? 10. Do you have an event networking strategy? 11. Are you actively introducing your network members to each other? 12. Do you examine your network to explore collaborative projects? 8
Ace that interview. Take an online interview course anytime, via any device, taught by the nation s top career expert at On average, interviewers make up their minds within the first two minutes whether or not you are going to make it to the next interview. Interviewing Imagine sitting at a desk interviewing people just like you every day. As the photo above indicates, after a while each candidate would start looking and sounding the same. Each one is a hard worker, shows initiatives, etc. etc. You need to know how to prepare for and control the interview so you stand out! 1. Do you research the company to understand their products, services and markets? 2. Are you sure you understand the position being filled and review the job description? 3. Have you Googled the firm to find issues, problems and or new accounts/ products? 4. Do you find an inside person within the company to coach you prior to your interview? 5. How far in advance do you like to arrive at an interview? 6. Do you practice interviews? 7. Have you checked your body language style during an interview? 8. What statement do you use to close the deal at the end of the interview? 9. What do you do to follow up on interviews? 10. Do you stay positive about all previous jobs and positions? 9
Stand out in a crowded job market. Take an online personal branding course anytime, via any device, taught by the nation s top career expert at 98 percent of job seekers don t know what their personal brand is. Personal Brand Pepsi is a brand and so are you! When people think of you, they instantly create in their mind a summary of who you are. You need to control and build a professional brand as you prepare to move from campus to the corporate world. It s easy to do, but you need a plan! 1. Have you defined what your personal vision and purpose is? 2. Have you defined your values and passions? 3. Is your message clear, unique and does it stand out from others? 4. Have you defined your goals for the next 3-5 years? 5. Have you created a list of adjectives or assembled them from others that best define/describe you and what you will bring to a future employer? 6. Have you identified your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)? 7. Have you identified who your target audience is? 8. Have you identified who your competition is and compared yourself to those people? 9. What channels have you opened to deliver and promote your brand? (blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, etc.) 1. Are you focusing on me by developing the right message, to your audience, at the right time, as consistently as possible? 2. In what area(s) have you decided to become known as a thought leader? 10. Have you created a professional set of personal business cards? 11. Have you created a video bio of yourself? 10
Become a LinkedIn expert. Take an online LinkedIn course anytime, via any device, taught by the nation s top career expert at According to a survey by Jobvite, 40% of job seekers got a job by using LinkedIn. LinkedIn Are you using LinkedIn yet? LinkedIn will be one of your most important job search tools yet. Not only can you find jobs that match your interests and career goals, but you ll be able to find people within the company who can provide you with tips about what you need to do to get hired. 1. Have you joined 50 groups related to your industry? 2. Are you participating in Answers by posing questions and responding to others? 3. Do you participate in the conversations in your groups? 4. Are you updating your profile page with proof of college and work related accomplishments? 5. Are you connected to a minimum of 100 alumni that have already graduated? 6. Have you accumulated a minimum of 5 recommendations? 7. Are you following at least 20 companies in industries you d like to work for? 8. Do you share relevant news related to the industry you want to work for in your News Feed? 9. Have you signed into LinkedIn s specially designed grad community? 10. Are you connecting to people in your desired industries that have titles and responsibilities you aspire to? 11
Use your Facebook network professionally. Take an online job search course using Facebook anytime, via any device, taught by the nation s top career experts at According to a survey by Jobvite, 78 percent of those surveyed indicated they got a job by using Facebook. Facebook Facebook is going to continue to help people find jobs and lose jobs. To find jobs, all you have to do is add some of the new Facebook apps like Branchout and BeKnown to connect with fellow alumni at companies for whom you want to work. To make sure you don t lose a chance at a job-- make sure you LOCK down your privacy settings and ONLY let friends see photos and comments you want to share. At least until you re hired! 1. Have you audited your privacy settings to make sure prospective employers cannot view your personal photos, communications and likes? 2. Are you signing up for events held by companies you are following? 3. How frequently do you share news and republish information related to your industry? 4. Have you liked the fan pages of the companies you are interested in working at and do you periodically post comments? 5. Are you using add-in applications like BranchOut and BeKnown to find people you know who may be working at companies for which you want to work? 12
Pick up tips, techniques and proven strategies to get a job by participating in our Webinar series featuring the nation s top career experts at Few job seekers differentiate themselves by creating their own websites to stand out. Personal website/blog/google Do you have an online identity? LinkedIn, blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other online identity tools are more important than resumes for some organizations. In order to stay ahead of the rest, you need to have your own personal website and begin sharing your thought leadership on your personal blog, as well as the comments you make in your news feeds on Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook. 1. Have you set up a personal professional website? 2. Have you included documents, spreadsheets and proof of your capabilities? 3. Did you include a photo of you, professionally dressed? 4. Have you created a personal blog that provides insight and ideas related to the in which you want to work? 5. Are you posting an article at least twice per month? 6. Have you created a list of influential blogs within your industry that you follow on a regular basis? 7. Are you offering comments and participating in these blogs on a regular basis? 8. Have you Googled yourself to see if any unflattering information is out there for hiring managers to see? 13
How did you do? If you are currently doing 90 percent of these, you are doing great! If you are doing 80 percent, with very little additional effort, you will put yourself way ahead of the pack! If you are doing 70 percent of these activities or less, then you need to immediately take ownership of your career, and invest time in career exploration, career planning and creating successful job search strategies. Visit www. to learn how you can effortlessly get more interviews, gain control of your job search, feel much more confident in interviews, and negotiate your salary and benefits as you pursue your dream job! 14
Sponsored by Your College Career Center is a comprehensive online career center that combines high tech with high touch techniques to give you the skills, knowledge, network and confidence to lead successful careers in the industries of your choice. Your College Career Center offers 24/7 access through any device to: 1. Online career courses 2. Career coaches 3. Webinars 4. Online community Learn the easy way to build a career strategy. While most grads struggle in their first professional job searches, you will have the knowledge, skills and strategy to succeed! Monthly Webinars, enewsletters, advice and research! - Visit - www.yourcollegecareercenter.com TODAY! 15