Before dashing off in search of a job, take some time to pinpoint the locations of companies that offer the type of job you want. If you are not familiar with your city or the areas you want to cover, maps can save you a lot of time and money. Your local Chamber of Commerce may also offer information about industries and companies worth investigating.

Do your homework first

There is a logical order to follow when gathering information as much as you can from printed materials first and then talk to people who can fill in the gaps. When interviewing, meet first with those who work at a job in which you are interested. After two or three of these discussions, meet the people who do the hiring. They will have a somewhat different perspective, which you will appreciate better because of your first interviews. In addition to these two groups, look for outsiders who can give you other views of the industry which interests you and the major firms and people in it. Anyone who deals with the industry regularly can give you useful insights. An outsider's perspective can be especially helpful in understanding the problems and opportunities an industry faces. Save appointments with your most knowledgeable and highly placed informants until you are well into the interviewing process. That way you can ask them what they alone can tell you, instead of using their valuable time discussing what you can easily learn from others.

Networking and personal contacts

Word of mouth is still one of the best ways to find a job. Let your family members and friends know that you are looking for a specific job and ask for their suggestions. They may know someone who has a job opening. Networking is a term applied to interconnected or cooperating individuals and often, someone knows someone else who has contacts and will recommend you. Many jobs are never advertised because they are filled by personal referrals. One method is to make a list of twenty persons--relatives, family, friends, past employers, professors, authorities in the field--to whom you could send a personal letter with a few copies of your perfect resume with the conviction that they could probably forward it to others within your field of interest.

Library search

To learn more about jobs in a specific career area, take some time to visit you school or local library. First, consult the Occupational Outlook Handbook. This is a handbook published every two years by the U.S. Department of Labor. It describes hundreds of occupations and gives information on each regarding working conditions, pay rates, the nature of the work, and where the best opportunities may be found. In addition, you can learn what training and qualifications are required for specific jobs if the Occupational Handbook does not list job openings. Also look for business and product directories. To find out the best directories for you, consult the librarian or the Guide to American Directories. Also at the library, look for technical reports and annual reports of publicly traded corporations for corporate information. Additional books to look for include The American Almanac of Jobs and Salaries, the Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources, Where to Find Business Information, The National Directory of Addresses and Phone Numbers, the U.S. Industrial Outlook, Standard and Poor's Industry Surveys, National Trade and Professional Associations, the Encyclopedia of Associations, Standard and Poor's Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives, the Directory of Corporate Affiliations, Polk's City Directories, the U.S. Government Manual, CPC Annual, and Peterson's Job Opportunities for Business and Liberal Arts Graduates.

Private employment agencies

Employment agencies are used by some employers to screen applicants for job openings. Usually, they are looking for people with specific skills and experience. The agency tries to match the applicant to the job and receives a fee for applicants who are placed. Some agencies require applicants to sign a contract, so read any form carefully before signing. If you are looking for a specific type of job, an agency may save you time and money. There is a difference between agencies which work for companies on retainer and those which are paid on a contingency basis. A firm working on retainer has been hired to locate a highly qualified applicant for a particular opening. The agency will be paid whether or not someone is hired and ordinarily the opening will be listed with no other agency. If you have the qualifications for the job in question, they will be happy to see you. If you do not, they will have no interest at all in talking to you. A contingency firm, on the other hand, may or may not know of any specific openings of a particular kind. They are trying to find openings, meet skilled people, and arrange matches. They will be paid only if a company hires someone they send for an interview. This is not an easy task, so reputable firms tend to specialize. Be wary of contingency firms that do not specialize. They may have no more knowledge about your job market than you do. They may send your resume to every firm in town, hoping to interest someone. If on your own, you make a personal contact at one of these corporations and obtain a job offer, the agency may claim a fee is owed them on the basis of that mailed resume. Since these fees are quite substantial, some employers will withdraw a job offer rather than pay it. There are also agencies which charge you, rather than the employer, a fee for trying to find you a job. Be very cautious about dealing with these agencies and do so only after investigating them and their contracts carefully.

Human resources departments

Check with your school and local libraries for trade papers, journals, and magazines that are directly related to your career interests. Check classified sections and make a list of jobs that interest you. Classified ads are an especially good source for people who wish to relocate.

Get the names and addresses of at least twenty potential employers for each of your job targets and send them a special cover letter with your resume. If you have some other connection to this person, mention this.

Newspaper advertisements

The most obvious and commonly used list of job openings is the want ads. The classified section of newspapers will have help-wanted ads. You will need to be persistent in checking the ads every day for leads. The Sunday want ads have a particularly high proportion of jobs located in other cities. They also contain a higher proportion of professional, clerical, and sales openings. Most ads do not give a lot of information. Some give the name of the company or person to contact, others only give a post office box or telephone number. When you respond to a newspaper ad, you will probably have a lot of competition, so make your contact as soon as possible. Be cautious of advertised positions which have no salary amount listed because the income is probably based solely on commission. Although some of these apparent opportunities may be legitimate, they can also be traps for the unwary. On the average, professionals who obtain jobs through the want ads have been found to be disproportionately underemployed.

Consider the size and type of company before you apply for a job. In large corporations, many jobs are more specialized and often employ more sophisticated automation. Smaller companies may offer a wider variety of activities. Companies often differ in their degree of formality or informality, in the way they conduct business, and in business manners and dress. Before applying for a job, research a company so you will be more knowledgeable at the interview.

You can learn a lot about a company by observing their advertising of products or services on television, radio, and in magazines and newspapers. They may also advertise in the telephone directory or by way of brochures, newsletters, and trade papers. The library or Chamber of Commerce may have information on the company. When possible, talk with the company employees to learn all you can about the company's policies, products, and marketing procedures.

It is to your advantage to know what you can expect to be paid for the job you are seeking. Small businesses may pay slightly less than large ones; however, this is not always the case. Benefits may also be better from one company to another. The classified ads will often give clues to what is being offered for certain types of jobs.

Before the interview, find out all you can about how the company functions, what types of jobs might be available, where you might fit in, and if you want to work for that company. While seeking information about a company, the following questions may be helpful: 

* How old is the company?

* How many people are employed?

* What is the company's main income-generating product or service?

* Do people in the community speak well of the company?

* Does the company have a good record of growth and expansion?

* Do employees have an opportunity for advancement from within?

Telephoning for an Interview

The telephone is a basic tool in American business. Businesses place over one billion phone calls every working day. A great bulk of those calls are telephone sales calls. The telephone is an excellent sales tool. It is a tool you should use. The telephone is an invaluable tool for the job seeker in that it gives access to the entire job market. The telephone can bring you into immediate contact with potential employers, so it is essential to learn to use if effectively. It is helpful to keep a record of your telephone contacts.

Using the telephone for responding to ads

Read the ad carefully to be sure you understand it. Have a pen and not paper ready, it will give you a feeling of confidence to have information written down. Use your application planning sheet for reference in case the person you call asks questions about dates of past employment, training, and the like. If you do not get an appointment for an interview, remember what you have learned from the conversation and apply it to your next telephone This practice will help you feel more confident of your telephone skills. When telephoning, keep the following rules in mind:

(1) When you have reached the person with whom you wish to speak, address him or her by name and state your name and reason for calling,

(2) Allow the person you have called to take the lead in asking questions and listen carefully and speak clearly,

(3) If the job is still open, you may be asked to come in for an interview, and

(4) Whether or not the job has been filled, thank the person with whom you have been speaking. If you have been asked to come in for an interview, repeat the time and date.

Telephone Courtesy

You have been using the telephone to place and receive calls since you were a small child. You know that the telephone is an invaluable aid to communication personally, socially, and in business. You may do business with different people without ever meeting them in person. Consequently, it is important to remember that people form an impression of you by the tone of your voice, your courtesy (or lack of it), and by your use of grammar and speech habits. We tend to be more casual when exchanging social calls than when we use the telephone for business purposes.  However, courtesy should always be observed when communicating by telephone.  There is no excuse for rudeness and bad manners.  You should also remember that the first few words you speak over the telephone when talking with a potential employer or a person who will interview you for a job should create a positive impression.

A Word on Secretaries

Secretaries can be a great help to you as you seek job interviews.  They can also cause you endless frustration.  Experience suggests a few general rules which should help to avoid problems.  The most important rule is simply to pay attention to secretaries and to be nice to them.  Be sure to get their names and to address them by name.  Do not depend on memory.  Jot down each name along with that of the employer.  Similarly, be sure to give the secretary your name.  Do not be afraid to take a few minutes to chat with them.  They like to be treated as the important parts of the organization which they are.  In effect, they frequently decide whether you get an interview.  And, if you do, their opinion is often asked about whether you should be hired.

Pay particular attention to secretaries and receptionists in human resouces offices.  They may be the ones who will do your reference checks and it can help if they see you in a positive way.  The secretarial stopper when you are trying to get through to the boss is, "And what is this in reference to?"   If you say you are seeking employment, the secretary will typically refer you to the personnel department, which is just what you are trying to avoid.  Hence, you need an answer which is true, but which will also get you through to the person you are trying to reach. 

One approach is to say you want to talk over something of mutual interest.  Or you can say it is about a personal matter.  If you have written ahead of time, you can try answering that you have been corresponding with the boss and that he or she is expecting your call. A particularly effective approach is to ask a complex or technical question the secretary can not answer or a delicate question that would be unwise for her to answer. The natural reaction is then to put you through to the boss, who can handle the matter.

If you still can not get through, call another office and find out the hours of work. Then try calling 15 minutes before work begins in the morning or after it ends in the late afternoon or during the lunch hour.  The odds are good that these are times when the secretary has not yet arrived, or has left, although the boss is there.  With the secretary gone, he or she will usually pick up the phone personally and you have gotten through. 

Job Hunting Myths

(the following information is from John D. Erdlen, president of The Erdlen Bograd Group Inc., an out-placement and human resources consulting firm with offices in Wellesley and Boston)

Always provide salary information if it is requested in help-wanted ads. FALSE.

A large number of applicants must be screened out and by including salary data, you assist them in doing so. Recruiters will contact you to secure salary information if your resume looks interesting.

The best answer to "What are your salary requirements?" is "Negotiable." FALSE.

The word "negotiable" can be interpreted negatively to your disadvantage. The best response is "Open." That is, your decision will be based upon job responsibilities, ability to make a contribution, opportunities for training and future promotions, company reputation, commuting distance, geographic location, benefits and perquisites. Add that you will not accept any offer based solely on the amount of compensation.

If a company requests your salary information before or at the onset of an interview, it is best to deflect the question. Indicate that this topic can be discussed once mutual interest is determined. FALSE.

This reply is sure to dampen the interest of an employer. Your salary requirements can be deflected but the employer needs to know if your current compensation is in line with the amount it has designated for the position before spending time in an interview.

All employment offers are negotiable, so do not take the first figure that is mentioned to your. FALSE.

Most companies try to make fair offers while being concerned about salary ranges and levels of other employees. However, some factors may not have ben considered and each situation is different. If you decide to negotiate, make it clear you are not rejecting the offer. There may be a back-up candidate with similar qualifications who is willing to accept the offered figure. Should you feel the offer is unfair, think twice before accepting.

If you are unemployed during a recessionary period, do not expect to receive an offer higher than before. FALSE.

There is no reason for not receiving a salary increase if you can sell the company on your credentials. Demonstrate your past accomplishments and explain the competition for your services.

Your employment offer will be lower if you are working through a placement agency or search firm than if you approach a company directly. FALSE.

Staffing budgets usually are not related to personnel budgets. In rare situations where candidates are judged to be equally qualified, the individual who does not carry a fee will have an edge. This circumstance does not apply to a retained search firm, as its fee is guaranteed. There are times when companies will give a bonus to candidates who are direct hires, but this is not common.

It is not necessary to obtain a written employment offer before resigning from your present position, as a verbal contract is binding. FALSE.

Request a written offer so there is no misunderstanding about the compensation and specific details of the position. Under most circumstances, there is no good reason why a company cannot provide one.

If you accept a position and then receive a higher offer from another firm, try to get the first company to match it. FALSE.

It does not hurt to mention the other situation, but do not try to renegotiate the salary figure unless you intend to cancel your acceptance. The employer may question your integrity and decide to withdraw the offer.

Using An Answering Machine For Receiving Messages

Be certain that whatever daytime telephone number you leave in a letter, on a resume, with a secretary, or with a contact, there will be an answer in your absence. When you are out, you will need to have a way of knowing who called so that you can respond quickly to contacts and potential job leads.  Consider investing in a reliable, inexpensive telephone answering machine before making contacts in the marketplace--unless you have an alternative, equally dependable way of receiving messages. For example, a member of your family may be home all day.

Just as important as having the phone answered is the message you leave for callers. If someone in your home is taking messages for you, be sure they handle calls for you in the professional manner that suits your job search campaign. If you use an answering machine, the same advice applies. Your callers' first impressions of you are formed by their first contact with your representatives. In your absence, your representative might say that you have stepped away for a few minutes (if that's true) or that you are unavailable (e.g., for the morning or afternoon) and should ask for the best time to return the call. It is appropriate to request name, company, telephone, and message from each caller.

On-line Job Searches

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