Getting A job Flashcards
Careers at UofC
Over 200 employers participate in Career Services’ events per year (career fairs, panels, information sessions)
Job postings: 67 -200 per month (peek recruitment times are January, September and March)
Book appointments with career specialists who can help with Job Search/ Networking; Resume and Cover Letter Review; LinkedIn Career Planning and Exploration (Formal Assessments); and Interview Preparation
Some statistics
Most people will have 7-8 jobs within their career
-After they graduate
80% of jobs are not advertised… otherwise known as the hidden job market
Almost 1/3 of university graduates found their first job through friends and family
Most jobs are not advertised
Human capital and credentials
Human capital refers to the aptitudes, skills, abilities and personal qualities that individuals bring to the job.
Getting a job and a good wage is strongly affected by the amount of human capital an individual obtains.
Educational attainment is a key source of human capital that affects getting a job and wages
Human capital
Human capital is something that is important in terms of getting a job and determining your wages
When you do resumes?
Where they’re from and where you got them
Educational background – key markers, job posting.
What does education really mean
Certain personal characteristics
Family background (SES), class and cultural capital
Credentials
Sometimes it doesn’t matter what degree you have, as long as you have a degree.
personal characteristics
Signals that you have personal characteristics or skills that’s aren’t related to your specific degree
-being attentive –Don’t think of these as skills but after 4-5 years have become good at paying attention, and
following instructions
Deferred gratification
Learning how to invests in things – where you have to wait a long time for the payoff
Invest in things for the long term
Desirable traits in employees – but have little to do with the type of degree you have
Family background SES
Supported you in terms of encouragement, and finances
Living at home as you go to school
Transmitting their SES to you
Transferring your values and your beliefs to your education, doing that by supporting you
Cultural capital
not very obvious
Not likely conscious about acquiring
Talk about things that are more class based but less observable
How you present yourself, your values and tastes
Cultural capital can be reflected in your speech patterns and how you talk to people
Obtaining cultural capital by going to university, what is appropriate when it comes to values and speech
Subtle but important
Ex: how you text your friends, short cuts, different names you use, do not talk this way with other people
Lawyers, doctors , network through golfing, dinners etc.
Credentials
Used more of a screening device
Many jobs it doesn’t matter what that degree is in
Lawyer, engineer, doctor – you absolutely need that degree
Science or arts – are more interchangeable
Employers looks straight to see if you have a bachelor degree
Reinforce inequality – people
who can afford a education are the ones who will have better jobs
Serves to maintain social inequality
Networks and networking
Networks Matter: “It’s not what you know, but who you know”
Network connections can make screening easier
Weak ties are more
advantageous for finding a job that strong, closer ties
Networks really matter
Found a lot of support that who you know can be very important when getting a job
One of the most successful when job hunting
Looking for jobs - formal means
looking for postings and sending an application
44% of people who were successful at getting jobs only use formal strategies
The rest of the people who were successful at getting jobs,
direct personal contacts that were once removed – referring not to your best friend, but a friend of your best friend, or a friend of your partner (acquaintance)
Why are weak ties so important?
Screening
Employers post jobs, and get 1000 applications. Weed through them
See someone who had an application, and say you are a friend of so and so, bumps you at the top of the list. Adding another piece of info that is reflecting your cultural capital
What you are like as an individual and as an employer
Homophily – friends and family are often similar to us
Weak tie is more trustworthy, unbiased reference
If they are once removed they can give a more balanced reference in terms of what that person I capable of
Weak ties can be beneficial to you – is that if you think of your close ties, they’re likely to have the same info as you have
Where as if you got to a weak tie – they might have another pool of job openings that they are aware of – expand your potential pool of job opportunities
Expand you information base in terms of jobs and opportunities
People you work with now, are also good ties for finding a job elsewhere
If you work with someone between 2-5 years = optimal amount, in terms of them being able to give you some information that you are fit for the job, but haven’t worked with them that long that you are good friends
Networking
Get yourself a Business Card Conduct Information Interviews Attend Career Fairs Employer Information Sessions Social Media LinkedIn– social networking, hey, it might work for job search too! Attend Conferences, club events, Join Professional Associations Talk to your Professors
Arts co-op program
Explore careers
Develop workplace skills
Gain industry contacts
Earn $ to finance education
Alternate work terms with academic Work and get paid summer, winter or fall Schedule is flexible Jobs in the city, across the country Full time student status
