Dos & Don'ts - Career Services - Oakland University

Do's and Don't's

Do:

Identify your key skills and accomplishments and use transferrable skills to articulate how your work experience can transfer to the new position. This approach is especially useful and important for new college grads and career changers.
Create multiple versions of your resume, including a traditional, reverse chronologically formatted resume and a text-based (ASCII), scannable resume.
Dress professionally for interviews and networking events. Your first impression is a very important one.
Utilize your friends, family, and colleagues to network. If you tell everyone you know that you are job searching and what you are looking for, they can tell their network thus expanding yours exponentially.
For every job lead you hear about and every job you apply for, follow up and be persistent - the "squeaky wheel" cliché can be very true.
Provide your home phone, cell phone, and email and ensure that your voicemail and e-mail address is professional.
Have your resume reviewed by a professional to review strengths and weaknesses. One approach is to connect with people who are currently responsible for hiring in the field, industry or position you are interested in. Ask them for their input and feedback on areas in your résumé that need improvement and that will better highlight your skills and experience.
Network. Connect with professionals in the industry you're interested in. Do Informational Interviews with people currently doing the type of work you you’re interested in. Join professional associations and participate in professional networking events and workshops.
Use every resource available to you to get your resume and information to your targeted audience and market. Apply to jobs posted on Internet databases, career-related websites, newspaper ads and professional publications. Contact recruiters and staffing agencies, but make sure that they don't charge you a fee. Contact college career resource professionals (the Career Services office and the Career Counseling Center at Oakland University).
Do research for information on companies of interest and contact them, even if they have no job postings that you’ve found. Attend career fairs and industry-related events and have your resume and personal "business cards" ready to distribute to employers at these events. Don’t just rely on passive job-hunting methods (only using job search engines to post your resume).
Practice your public speaking and interviewing skills by preparing appropriate answers to difficult questions, articulating the value and benefit that your skills and experiences can contribute to the company, and presenting yourself professionally to others in both your mannerisms and dress. College students should do Mock Interviews, which are offered on most college campuses each semester.
Thank everyone who has helped you in your job search and make sure to follow up with everyone who has interviewed you with thank you notes. This can be the deciding factor between two equally qualified candidates. Many people still don’t follow up with a thank you note. When you show appreciation to those who have helped you in your job search, you'll keep you network strong and continue to build connections. Also, offer to help others in their job search through either mentoring or offering connections to others.
Continue building your network even after you secure the perfect job. Manage your career by being proactive and seeking out new and diverse responsibilities and opportunities. Update your resume with current information. Keep a record of your achievements and new skills on an on-going basis.

Don't:

Put all of your energy and extra time into your job search. You need to have a balance of personal and social time as well as time devoted to your job search. You can set a specific number of hours each day or week that you devote to your job search. The other time can be used to do self- improvement, take a course, read, learn a new skill or volunteer. You can also take time to catch up with friends and family or home-improvement projects. The job search process can be stressful and frustrating, but if you approach it as an opportunity for personal growth, you can find that there are more benefits than you thought.
Set expectations that may be difficult to meet. The job search process takes time and patience. Most people don't find jobs overnight.
Use only one method to job search, especially job searching on the Internet. Using this approach should only be a portion of your job search techniques.
Focus on one potential job offer and stop all other activities and search efforts. No job opportunity is guaranteed until a job offer has been made and accepted. Continue to look and submit resumes. Continue interviewing for other positions even if you believe that you will receive an offer from another employer.
Speak negatively about past employers, coworkers, or employment situations. This is a poor reflection on you. You never know who the hiring manager you're interviewing with knows at your former company. Think of how you have overcome this negative situation and what positive attributes you can bring to your new job.