Career Services Quick Start Transcripts

Video Title: Research Career Trends and Information

TRANSCRIPT

Begin transcript:

Slide 1- Welcome to “Research Career Trends and Information.” This session is presented to you by two members of your Walden Career Services advising team.

Slide 2- We developed this graphic based on concepts from Hermina Ibarra’s book, Working Identity. This visual represents our holistic approach to proactive career management. Our career identities change as we gain new experiences, meet new people, and tell a new story about our academic and professional endeavors. We hope that you find this framework helpful as you progress through your academic program and start your next career chapter. Keeping this framework in mind,

Slide 3- We will be covering steps and tools to research career and job options, job opportunities, and potential employers. We’ll also introduce social media strategies for both your job search and overall career management, which can range from building your expertise, engaging in professional development activities, and following trends in your field.

Slide 4- Why is researching career options, employers, and jobs important to your career success? Why is it not enough to post your resume on a large job board, and wait for employers to contact you? Career development guru, Richard Bolles, reminds us of our new reality “Changes in technology, society, and the world of work itself, have called for changes in the way we go about the job - hunt.” Bolles says that the success rate of posting a generic resume on a generic website is 7% or less. However, if you take proactive steps to research industries, organizations, and fields; and reach out to employers, your chances of success increase to somewhere between 70-86%. Remember that knowledge is power. Through gaining insider information from your research, you will be well-positioned to SHOW employers how you can solve their problems and add value. This gives you an EDGE over other applicants. Next, we will discuss resources for researching career trends and information.

Slide 5- We will take a deep dive into general career resources, College - specific sites, resources by sector, library resources, and social media. Exploring these various branches will maximize your efforts for career success.

Slide 6- A great starting point for your career research is the Career Services Center website. Visit careercenter.waldenu.edu to access our comprehensive resources for career exploration and job search. Let’s look more closely at our Resources tab.

Slide 7- The Career Exploration area can help you research career options, industries, occupations, and companies. We also offer College-specific resources, resources by Sector, volunteer sites, and special interest groups. Let’s take a closer look at a few sections of this page.

Slide 8- We’d like to recommend several sites to research careers, industries, and occupations. Let’s say you’re interested in becoming a management analyst. On the Occupational Outlook Handbook, you can learn about the main job duties that management analysts perform. Research environments where they work, such as consulting firms, government agencies, and others. Prepare yourself for the future by identifying the education, certifications, and skills needed for this career. You can also access job outlook information. Finally, you can explore related occupations to expand your options. ONET-Online is another great tool with career options, industry research, and bright outlook occupations.

Slide 9- Another helpful resource is What Can I Do with This Major. Let’s assume you’re interested in careers in the broad field of Management Information Systems. What Can I Do with This Major tells you that the potential areas of employment are networking, database and web administration; systems development, technical support, education and training, and consulting. Each of these areas includes lists of job titles, followed by types of employers, and strategies on how to break into specific fields. For instance, if your goal is to become a database administrator, one qualification is general knowledge of computer languages and database management software. Your next step may be to research the languages and software necessary to become more marketable. If you choose to specialize in one of these areas, you will start carving out your “niche.” The Career Services Center website also offers Resources by College.

Slide 10- In the Resources section you will find resources by College. For example, the Management page includes professional associations, job banks, and LinkedIn Groups specific to your area of interest. Examples of associations include The American Accounting Association, Society for Human Resource Management, National Association of Business Owners and Entrepreneurs, and many others. Here you’ll also find niche job boards such as Accounting Jobs Today and Marketing Jobs. Why are Professional Associations so important to career development?

Slide 11- Professional associations offer newsletters, blogs, training, networking opportunities, career information on hot topics in your field, and job boards. A large and well-known professional association is the Association for Talent Development. ATD has a robust job board where you can search for jobs related to training and development. Active engagement in a professional association through volunteering, presenting, or serving on the board is an excellent career management strategy. Through networking with fellow members in an official capacity, you have a unique opportunity to showcase your skills and qualifications and build your professional reputation. Also, you may gain access to new jobs before they are advertised to the broader community.

Slide 12- On the Resources tab you will also find resources by sector. Are you seeking to apply your skills in the corporate, public, or the nonprofit arena? Explore resources By Sector for specific career sites. The corporate sector resources allow you to research a company’s mission, services, products, challenges, industry trends, and competition. For example, you can use Vault to research top consulting firms. The government sector resources allow you to research US Federal, state, city, and county trends and job openings. For example, USA Jobs provides a list of jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities as well as a comprehensive list of federal government departments and agencies The Nonprofit sector resources allow you to explore global job openings, internships, and volunteer opportunities. For example, Idealist offers a list of over 90,000 national and global nonprofit organizations along with networking events by geographical area in addition to jobs, internships, and volunteer opportunities. We invite you to explore these wide ranging resources by sector.

Slide 13- We also want to point out that the Walden Library has the Hoovers database where you can research employers related to your specific career area. Once you find an employer of interest, visit their website to view their mission, vision, services, products and open jobs. By learning detailed information about the employer, you’ll be better equipped to tailor your resume and prepare for interviews. If you’re searching for a higher education position, The Chronicle of Higher Education has relevant articles and job postings.

Slide 14- Now we are going to take a look at two social media sites LinkedIn and Twitter. • LinkedIn is the top online professional networking site • with over 360 million members worldwide • It is an excellent tool to Connect with other professionals in your field • Join professional groups • Research and follow companies • Search for jobs • Be found by recruiters or hiring managers for a potential position • If you’re not already a member, you can join LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com and • Create a strong professional profile We will take a closer look at a few of LinkedIn’s features.

Slide 15- Membership in LinkedIn groups is an excellent way to get inside information about your career field. Whether you are interested in entrepreneurship, consulting, marketing, or other areas, you will find a LinkedIn group related to your area of interest. Also, groups often post job opportunities for their members.

Slide 16- You can also use LinkedIn to search for jobs in your field. In this example, we used the advanced job feature to find a number of positions related to human resources in a specific geographic area.

Slide 17- You can search for specific companies to find information on products and services, what is happening internally at the company, and their job postings.

Slide 18- You can sign up for channels that provide updated articles and information relevant to your areas of interest. A few sample channels are Leadership and Management, Technology, and Entrepreneurship. You can also follow individual business innovators–current and former CEOs of major companies, international and global leaders, and experts in your field.

Slide 19- Here are additional resources to learn more about LinkedIn. Access the LinkedIn Help Center, Watch the Career Services webinars on LinkedIn, and join the Career Services LinkedIn Group.

Slide 20- Now that we’ve discussed LinkedIn, how can Twitter help you locate job opportunities and manage your career? Twitter allows you to communicate with others through small bits of information called “tweets.” It offers a multitude of job search tools, real-time career information, directories of employers and job postings; and the ability to connect with experts, hiring managers, and recruiters. Let’s take a closer look at the Twitter Universe.

Slide 21- Tweetmyjobs is a powerful search engine that offers job listings by location, industry and career level. If you have a Twitter account, you can select from thousands of Job Channels by field and location, start following those channels, and receive “tweets” of new openings.

Slide 22- Another effective way to search for jobs is using Twitter’s hashtags. Hashtags allow you to receive “tweets” based on “tagged” words related to your interest area. Insert key words such as jobs, job postings, or recruiters after the hashtag symbol and Twitter will generate leads for you. If you’d like to learn more about how to maximize Twitter as a job search and career management tool, we recommend Mashable’s Twitter Guide Book, which offers free online resources and tutorials to help get you started.

Slide 23- Along with LinkedIn and Twitter, these sites offer cutting-edge tools to connect you with the right opportunities. LinkUp is a search engine that posts jobs directly from company websites. Indeed and Simplyhired are job search aggregates that compile listings from numerous job boards. Mashable’s job search filters include business, marketing, technology, social media, and many other career fields. Finally, SmartBrief’s e-newsletters deliver articles on the latest trends by industry or function. SmartBrief also provides industry-specific job boards.

Slide 24- Explore niche sites related to your field such as MBA Highway, a site specifically designed for business professionals with top job search sites, recruiter directories, career webinars, and online communities. Join social media networks on LinkedIn and Twitter to follow career trends and receive advice from others. Beyond.com is another way to connect with professional communities and forums, stay informed on hot topics, and share your expertise.

Slide 25- Remember that the more information you uncover about companies, people, and jobs, the more you can SHOW that you have the skills and qualifications to excel in your future role. Would you like to learn more about what others are saying about your target company? Gain insider information by reading company reviews posted anonymously by employees on CareerBliss.com and Glassdoor.com. Read profiles of companies and people on ZoomInfo.com; research salary information using Payscale.com; and visit Homefair.com if you are preparing to relocate. In summary, we encourage you to engage in your career management by staying informed on trends in your field, connecting with professionals and experts, and maximizing the many online and social media tools available for you to reach your goals.

Slide 26- We want to leave you with this final thought from Lucius Seneca, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Thank you for joining us today. We look forward to supporting you through your career journey!