Resume, Cover Letters, and Interviews

To implement an effective job search campaign you will need to be prepared. Getting a job is a process that although time-consuming it can be rewarding.  You will need to evaluate your personal needs, skills, interests, and achievements and determine not only what you want to do, but also what you can offer to an employer; second, you will need to research occupational fields and specific job openings that will best suit your personal needs and that of your future employer;  third, you will need to learn how to present yourself in writing through a thoughtful resume, cover letter, and thank you notes; and finally you will need to learn how to present yourself  through a positive interview. The following web sites are designed to help you in that process. 

• General Job Search Advice
• Resume Writing and Cover Letters
• Interviewing Skills
• Networking Resources
• Salary Range Information
• Web Sites for Relocation
• Company Research

General Job Search Advice
NCAA Career Coach	As a NCAA student-athlete, this web site may be a helpful career resource center. It provides information from tips on how to plan your future career to the power to search for jobs and instantly submit your resume online.
Quintessential Career and Job-Hunting Resources Guide	Award winning web site that features extensive information on writing cover letters and resumes and interviewing guidelines.
The Riley Guide	Provides advice on how to use the internet in a job search, including helpful tips for researching employers and completing job applications online.
Careers.wsj.com  Produced by the Wall Street Journal. Features timely job search and career management advice.
Wetfeet Some general tips as to how to approach future networks.
Resume Writing and Cover Letters
A resume is an opportunity to express yourself in a documented format. It should include a summary of your personal, educational, and experiential qualifications. Together with a cover letter, the main purposes are to introduce yourself to a prospective employer and be offered an interview.
Eresumes	Good site for electronic resume tips.
Quintcareers	Award winning web site that features extensive information on writing cover letters, resumes, and interviewing guidelines.
Resume writing	A step by step approach to your resume writing.
Resumes and Cover Letters	Learn how to get started and develop your resume. It includes samples.
Career.Perfect.com	Professional resume and cover letter examples are available in a variety of fields. Each example is shown in several versions.
Interviewing Skills
The purpose of an interview is to get the job that you want. Before the interview it is suggested that you research your prospective employer (e.g. products, services, job description, history etc),  prepare yourself (e.g. dress appropriately, review your resume, accomplishments, problems areas, gather pertinent materials such as extra copies of your resume, work samples, list of references, prepare questions to ask etc). During the interview, introduce yourself with confidence in your abilities and convey the message that you can do the job. You may want to shake hands firmly, maintain direct eye contact and good verbal and non-verbal expressions. After the interview it is recommended to follow up with a thank- you letter and reassure your interest in the position. The following web sites can help you in your preparation for an interview.
Interviewing and Negotiation Success	Go the main menu and click on Interviews. Geared towards college students, but includes a wide assortment of tips that are useful for job seekers of any age.
Interviewing Guidelines	Features interviewing guidelines.
Informational Interviewing
Informational Interviews constitute a way of finding out more about a particular company or an occupational field of your interest.  The benefit of an informational interview is that you gain more information about different occupations and how they best suit your interest, abilities, and values. Its purpose is not to get a job. It is very important that you know what questions to ask and be prepared. The following web sites are useful guides about how to conduct these types of interviews and thank your interviewer for their time.
The Senior Bank at OSU is made up of seniors who would like to share with you their insights about their undergraduate majors.
Informational Interview	Describes the purpose of an informational interview and the differences with a job interview.
Networking Resources
The internet provides a new way to tap into the "hidden" job market. "net knocking" is the practice of using the internet to advertise your skills and experiences to your target audiences (i.e. knocking on employer's door via the internet). Some popular online net knocking is participating in virtual job fairs and contributing to newsgroup and listservs discussions on a particular topic. For those uncomfortable with the concept of "net knocking", the traditional practice of establishing network contacts through professional associations is still recommended and the internet has made it easier to identify associations matching one's needs.
The Art of Networking Directory of Associations	Courtesy of Quintessential, it offers a comprehensive networking related links to assist you during your job search The Internet Public Library features a directory of associations. You can find those most relevant to your interest.
Scholarly Societies	Excellent collection of professional organizations indexed by academic disciplines.
MONSTERTRAK's Career Contact Network	Designed to be used by OSU students and alumni. Comprised of alumni, parents, employers, and students representing a range of career fields who have offered to share their career experiences. Requires a password to access if using a computer not connected to OSU's network.
The Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette	Guidelines of good internet behavior.
Contacts Networking	Guidelines about how to gather career-related information, develop contacts within a community or an industry, and uncover the "hidden job market."  Courtesy of Cornell Career Services.
Monster.com	Monster Networking can put you in touch with the people you want and need to know to get ahead. Join this online community of professionals and connect with people who want to help each other advance in their careers.
Campus Access   Associations Directory	Features an article about The Secret of Successful Networking by Joanne Reid. This directory service takes you directly to many of the associations currently operating on the World Wide Web. The search results provide a list of associations that meet your selection criteria.
Columbus-Ohio Networking	Big Fish Networking is Central Ohio's premier monthly networking/tradeshow event. It is a great opportunity for anyone looking to make business contacts, find sales opportunities, look for future employment, or just to have a good time. It's the "out-of-the-office" venue which really promotes a friendly networking atmosphere.
Salary Range Information
Provides you with information about the cost of living in different states as well as the general salary figures for a variety of occupations. It also provides tips at to how to negotiate your salary and benefits.
Salary Information	Maintained by the Job Smart site, includes general salary figure for more than 30 occupational fields as well as data specific to California Wages and salaries.
Career One Stop	Select the Wages and Trends category heading for information from national and state salary surveys. Covers a wide variety of occupations.
Career City Salary Links and Surveys	Mega-site of salary survey links.
Pencom Career Center	Salary figures for computer related job titles; indexed by U.S. regions.
The Salary Calculator	Compares the cost of living in hundreds of US cities.
Negotiating your Salary and Benefits	Different articles with excellent information to prepare you for your salary negotiation.
How to Negotiate?	Excellent articles to learn more about how to evaluate a job offer including your salary and benefit package.
Salary.com	Provides free salary information by occupations. It generates a basic report regarding salary and benefits.
HR-guide.com	Excellent web site that offers information about anything a new employee want to know when accepting a job offer, from benefits to job evaluations and incentive plans.
Economic Research Institute	ERI provides over 10,000 organizations with salary survey analyses, geographic differentials, wage surveys, executive compensation information, cost of living comparisons, prevailing wage studies, employee benefit data, and compensation and benefits training.
Web Sites for Relocation
US Newspaper List	Links to the major US newspapers by states.
Digital City	Useful information about hundreds of cities.
Virtual Relocation	A mega-site of relocation resources, some of the categories are: Career and Education, Real Estate, Moving and Storage, and Government Agencies.
Company Research
Hoover's On Line On-line Databases	Offers an exhaustive amount of information on individual companies. Through Fisher Business Library many detailed company research databases are available. Lexis/Nexis is highly recommended. Note: If you are connecting off-campus, you will need to complete the off-campus sign in at the top of the page
Company Research	Sponsored by Ohiolink it offers a comprehensive list of On-line Directories for Public, Subsidiaries/divisions, International and Private companies.
Career One Stop	In the center of the page, closer to the bottom, there is a box labeled "career tools". Click "employer locator" and learn about potential employers including contact information.

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