These days, “will work for food” signs are not the only options open to anxious job seekers.
Even though the economy is slowing, and finding employment is harder than it was before so many of the dot-coms went belly up, those looking for work have plenty of options for trying to track down a job.
There are traditional résumés, sent by mail or hand delivered to places of employment that are known to be hiring.
There is word-of-mouth hiring, handled mostly through networking, and encouraging potential employers through enthusiastic references from others.
An increasingly popular way of getting a foot in the door at a desirable company or in a good position is to start as an intern.
Interning gives job hunters a chance to get to know the position, the company and the people they would potentially be working for and with. It also eases the transition from the academic to the working world, letting interns get used to the demands that a job makes upon them.
Interning has also become popular with employers, who are able to use the period of internship to evaluate the skills, attitudes and willingness to learn of potential employees before they are permanently hired.
Because of all these advantages, more and more students are being encouraged to do an internship in the summers of their junior and senior years of college.
University of Memphis graduate Brian Douglass said his internship at the Commercial Appeal led to his current job.
“I went to a conference and I was told that there were three things to do if you want to get a job in journalism — work at a student paper, climb and get an internship,” said Douglass.
Posting a résumé online is another technique that tends to get results.
At the job-hunting website Monster.com, there are over 1,000,000 open positions listed, and a résumé posted there is practically guaranteed to be seen by many employers.
Online résumé posting can also get results quickly — some posters have found their e-mail full of offers within days of putting up their résumés.
But for those seeking more local jobs or a personal connection, local career fairs — like those held on campus — may be one of the best ways to find a job.
Most experts agree, though, that no matter how you go about looking for a job, the most important thing is to keep your eyes, ears and options open wide.
