JOB SEARCH

Okay, okay, we know that even thinking about your job search can be overwhelming at best. Don't despair! We're here to help. We suggest you begin by reading through our Job Search Guide and the other info on this page. Many employers begin hiring May grads in the fall term so start EARLY - the first month of your senior year, and then break up the process into smaller, more manageable steps. Make an appointment to see one of our counselors -getting support is important! In our Job Search Guide you'll find: tips for how to find job openings, how to sell your liberal arts degree, research employers, prepare your references; use the Internet effectively, evaluate job offers and salaries, a timeline and tracking form to keep you on task, a list of on-line job search sites and off-line resources in our library.

FACS Job Search Guide
Job & Internship Search Web Sites
Selling Your Liberal Arts Degree
FACS Networking Guide - THE essential job search strategy
FACS Guide How to Work a Career Fair
Career Fairs
Finding Company Information in LexisNexis

On-Line Subscriptions
	ArtSEARCH
	MonsterTRAK
	My TurtleSearch
	NACElink
	QuietAgent

Connecting with Alumni - the Beloit Career Network
Job Outlook for the Class of 2008
Salary Surveys and Tools for Relocating
Top 4 Reasons New Grads Don't Get Hired
FACS Calendar of Events

JOB & INTERNSHIP SEARCH WEB SITES
We've taken the monster list of job and internship sites from our Job Search Guide and loaded them as a stand-alone PDF file. In it, you'll find good general, state, regional, national, and international sites to use in your search. For sites specific to your discipline, don't forget to look at the Resources By Major section of our site and click on the major(s) related to your field of interest.

CAREER FAIRS
Attending a career fair is a great way for you to find out about job openings (both entry-level and internship), practice your networking skills, and get accustomed to "selling" yourself to a recruiter. FACS coordinates 3-4 career fairs each year and we have listed these below as well as on-line resources to help you find out about other fairs both locally and nationally.

Workforce Career Fair
http://wipccc.org
The 20 private colleges in Wisconsin put this fair together and it is by far the largest fair we help to coordinate with anywhere from 75 to 100+ employers attending. Most are hiring seniors for entry-level jobs, but some are also looking for interns. It is held early each spring at Marquette University in Milwaukee. FACS sponsors transportation for students who sign up in advance at our office. Bring plenty of resumes and research the employers on-line before you go.

FACS Alumni Career Information & Networking Fair
This is really more of a "networking" fair and provides a chance for students to talk with alumni from a variety of fields for the purpose of career research. It is particularly good for first, second, and third year students. Some alumni have internship and entry-level positions in their organizations, but recruiting is not their primary purpose. Rather, it is to help you explore what you might do with your major and specifics about their field/industry. It is held in conjunction with the Office of Alumni Affairs every other year.

FACS Internship and Volunteer Expo
This is specifically an internship career fair that brings 30-50 area (Beloit, Janesville, Rockford) employers to campus to hire interns or recruit volunteers. It is a fun way to find out about our local community while also finding a job for fall or spring term. It is held at the beginning of each fall term.

FACS International & Service Career Fair
This career fair is for seniors interested in alternative, service-oriented careers with organizations like the Peace Corps, Teach for America, JET, and others. It is held each year in November.

Wisconsin-Association of Colleges and Employers, Inc.
www.wi-ace.org/members/career_fairs.htm
These career fairs are hosted by Wisconsin's private, public, and technical colleges and universities. You may view and sort these career fairs by date, school name, or school type.

Career Conferences of America
www.careerconferences.com
These are some of the largest career fairs in the country and are held in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, and Washington D.C. each year. However, you must be invited (and pre-register) in order to attend. To get invited, go to their website. Note too that while the fairs are in the spring, the deadline for pre-registration is in the fall.

Career Fairs On-Line
www.careerfairs.com

Carousel Expo's Job Fair Directory
www.carouselexpo.com

ON-LINE SUBSCRIPTIONS

ArtSEARCH
We have subscribed to ArtSEARCH (Theatre Communications Group) online, where you'll find jobs and internships in the theatre arts. To access this site, contact FACS at 608 363-2673 or facs@beloit.edu for the password.

NACElink Connect: Access to Opportunities with Major Companies
NACElink Connect offers free access to hundreds of work opportunity listings from national employers especially for college students and new college graduates. This online, national job board is for college students and graduates looking for all types of employment, including full-time and part-time jobs, internships, cooperative education positions, and volunteer and summer work. This service is provided to Beloit students and alumni by Field and Career Services as a benefit of our membership in the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

Click on NACElink for Students:

QuietAgent
A job search tool and self assessment all in one! You don't search job postings or get any spam. Simply visit www.quietagent.com, fill in information for your profile,
and sit back. You set the criteria for the types of positions for which you would like to be considered, and employers find you on your terms! You may remain anonymous while employers view your qualifications, and you may respond to employer invitations to apply for positions without revealing your identity until you are ready to do so. This tool is a great supplement to your active job searching efforts. In addition, QuietAgent allows you to complete a personal characteristics inventory to better understand yourself and some of the types of positions for
which you may be compatiable based on your interests, values and skills.

JOB OUTLOOK FOR THE CLASS OF 2008
http://www.jobweb.com/studentarticles.aspx?id=1219
We know you've probably heard all the gloom and doom about the job market for new college grads these days. Before you believe everything you read about in the papers (after all, they're trying to sell papers!), get the facts. The National Association of Colleges and Employers surveys employers nationwide to find out about hiring trends and then puts that information in a report just for you. Their site has lots of other great information to help you with your job search so don't forget to check out their home page.

SALARY SURVEYS & ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR RELOCATING
Since most of you will be relocating (again) upon graduation, it is important that you keep a few things in mind as you prepare. First, don't hesitate to connect with other alumni in your destination city. The College's Alumni Affairs Office puts together many alumni receptions and other events in cities around the world. To find out more, look at their page at: http://www.beloit.edu/alumni/index.php.
You may also request a list of alumni by city at the Beloit Career Network section of our site. Second, if you're considering job offers from employers in other cities, you'll need to know something about the cost of living in that city (housing etc.) in order to know if you're getting a fair deal. You'll also want to know the average starting salary for new grads in your field. Here are some helpful sites:

HomeFair
This site has many useful tools for relocating including city reports, tips and timelines for moving, help with finding housing, and a salary calculator so you can compare cost of living.
Salary Calculator for U.S. cities:
http://www.homefair.com/homefair/calc/salcalc.html?type=to

Craig's List
Craig's List at http://www.craigslist.org is a useful Internet site for searching community resources, housing offerings, business services, job listings, classifieds, and more in all 50 states and over 50 countries. The site includes a compilation of helpful links to information by geographic location.

JobWeb
http://www.jobweb.com/
This site also has lots of great information on relocating as well as things to consider as you begin your first year in a new job. Jobweb is also one of the best places to get free access to national salary survey data that is completely updated each year. For salary survey data go to: http://www.naceweb.org/salarysurvey/salary_survey.asp

Economic Research Institute
http://www.erieri.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=CareerPlanning.StudentCOL
This is a helpful site for comparing a student's cost of living with the national average, or between two cities, particularly useful when planning out costs for graduate school.

THE TOP FOUR REASONS NEW GRADS DON'T GET HIRED
Ever wonder how recruiters decide who to hire from the hundreds of resumes they receive for each position? When considering why you didn't get hired into a job you really wanted, it is useful to divide the process into two steps. First, you must get an interview and second, you have to effectively sell yourself during the interview to get hired. In our many years of working with recruiters, we have been told repeatedly that there are four basic reasons new grads miss out. They are:

• You applied for a position you're not qualified for. In other words, if the job requires a master's degree or five years of experience, this is not the place for you to expend energy. At other times, this may relate to not selling yourself adequately (or accurately) on your resume and points to the importance of having a professional counselor look over your final draft.
• You made an error(s) in the application process. While one small error may not kill your chances, remember that these types of things are cumulative. You never know what kind of errors may irritate the specific individual reviewing your materials. Examples:
  • Your resume or cover letter contains spelling, grammatical, or other errors (sloppy etc.)
  • You didn't send a cover letter (or a poor one) or didn't send some other piece of information requested (transcript etc.). Note: sending something that was NOT requested is equally dangerous with the exception of a cover letter which should always be sent.
  • The gender of the salutation in your cover letter was wrong (Mr/Ms). If in doubt - call the organization to ask about gender.
  • Inaccurate information was included in your resume. This could be an honest error, but an employer may perceive it as dishonesty or exaggeration. Cross check with your transcripts!
  • Your resume/cover letter was non-standard: too long, unorthodox use of paper or ink color, poor layout etc.
• You were not effective in selling yourself during the interview.
• Your references were not great or not reachable.