Job searching is in itself a full time job. 

Are you currently job seeking or planning to start your job search? Follow this 5 step process.

1. Start with Introspection

Ask yourselves, What industry or industries are you investigating? What type of roles are you looking for?
Look further into your answers to these questions. 
Why does this interest you? Will you be great at this? Now the next and most important question is how can you show that you will be a great candidate for this position. Remember, it’s not enough that you believe you are a strong candidate. You need to show it in a way the employer feels the same way about your candidacy. Assessments can sometimes be helpful in learning more about yourself and to explore various opportunities. 
 

2. Build your personal brand

If you had 30-60 seconds to answer this question, “Why are you a great fit for this job and organization?”, what would you say? Your personal brand should be in line with your answer to this question. 
Think of personal, academic, professional, skills, experiences, aspirations, desire, benefits you can provide the organizations and weave these into your story. Your response should be in story format NOT bullet items. People remember stories not bullets.
It is helpful to think about the question “What is the employer seeking in a new hire?” (Hint: the job description is a great start) when you craft your story. A good idea here is to find 10-15 job descriptions across different companies that you are interested in and find the skills/experience that is frequently associated with these jobs. 
 

3. Leverage your resources

Start with the Career Center website. Following are some examples of resources you could use today to advance your job search and career. Download and use our Career Guide.
Explore the different handouts such as

• Resume Writing Brochure
• Action Verb List

Get instant feedback on your resume using Vmock Automated Resume Review at www.vmock.com/tamu
Use LinkedIn and LinkedIn Learning (free online courses/skill building for TAMU students)
To learn more about about these resources, watch our past webinars at: Tx.ag/EngrCCworkshops

4. Get out there!

Now you are ready to put yourself out there in the market. Be in the know of every opportunity to engage with an employer. Don’t stop at job posting boards. Get creative. 
Check the jobs available at HireAggies Job posting Board. It’s an exclusive resource for Texas A&M students with over 60000 jobs posted annually. 
Attend Career Fairs. There are around 18-20 career fairs each semester. Learn about all the upcoming career fairs here. 
Network, Network, Network

• Are you expanding and deepening your network?
• Think of every professional, company, professor, LinkedIn… interactions as a networking opportunities

Are you researching, tailoring your cover letter and resume, and applying to 5, 10, 20+  employer postings per week? Create a spreadsheet to track the different companies, jobs, career fairs and networking opportunities you should be looking for. To track your job search you can use a spreadsheet. 
 

5. Stay Motivated / Keep your mojo up

This is an important piece to the job search puzzle. 
When you start applying to positions, you will experience rejections. It is easy to think, “What is wrong with me?” Realize that you can be a great candidate, but the statistics just got you
In more challenging times like now, as a manager I’d review 100 resumes, phone interview 10 candidates, have 3 in-person interviews, and hire 1 person. Numerous great candidates don’t get the job. Employers who are great fits for you are out there. It will take time, effort, and “failures” to get the job. 

Don’t let rejections dampen your self-esteem. Think continuous improvement. A negative result is only a failure if you fail to learn and grow from it.
 

---

- Written by Abdullah Abdul Kader, based on Roland Block's 5 tips for Job Search.