One foot in the door

By MARK STORY

Congratulations, you're about to graduate with that diploma or degree, and after conducting the consummate job search you expect to have at least one firm offer waiting.

While this is the ideal way to leave academia, Graeme Sterne, senior communications lecturer with MIT, believes too few students nearing graduation have neither the confidence nor the ingenuity needed to put all the job-search theory into practice.

In addition to leaving their search too late, he says most students undervalue the importance of networking when it comes to landing their first full-time job. In an era where the job spoils go to innovative seekers, he urges students to begin job-searching well before graduating.

"The earlier you start, the more likely you are to land a job you truly want as opposed to taking any old job," says Sterne, who also acts as MIT's liaison with industry.

Instead of simply trawling newspaper ads and setting up email alerts on job websites, Sterne says students need to bring a more creative and daring mind-set to their job searches.

He cites his son, Matt, as a classic example of what can happen when you invest a little time and effort.

By approaching 50 firms he managed to get three companies willing to interview him six months before graduating from Unitec's School of Architecture.

From those three interviews, one resulted in an offer of a day's work a week with a view to full-time employment on graduating.

"Even if you don't land a job you'll learn how to modify your e CV and experiment with what works best when approaching different companies," says Sterne.

In a more extreme case Stella Tanoi-Tagi (28), who completes her three-year Bachelor of Applied Communications from MIT later this year, started job searching more than a year ago. Not wanting to be left with the dregs of the employment market she applied for advertised jobs during her second semester of year two.

While Tanoi-Tagi did receive an interview for a senior position with PR firm Stix Communications she was rejected owing to inexperience.

But a call from the same firm a few days later advised her of their willingness to rework the job to meet her skill level. She then started working for them part-time with a view to full-time employment on graduating.

"I quickly learnt the importance of 'winging it'. Had I written myself off and never applied for that senior role - despite my inexperience - I wouldn't have got a foot in the door," recalls the New Zealand-born Samoan.

Since then Tanoi-Tagi has learnt the value of using every opportunity to network both informally through friends and acquaintances and via more formal channels.

She says students need to recognise that every human interaction is an opportunity to find out what's happening in the market and to broadcast your story. By networking with the Manukau City Council and other organisations she landed numerous contracts while studying.

Looking back, she admits that having two years experience plus some excellent references before graduating helped to land her current role as communications adviser with the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs.

"To ensure you don't set yourself up for failure, your job search should start the first day you know what you want to do," recommends Tanoi-Tagi.

"Even calling up companies looking for a mentoring opportunity or offering your services free can add value to your job search."

Once you've decided what sort of work you want, seasoned job-searcher and recent graduate Maggie Kjestrup, 43, recommends using the internet to pre-quality the companies you'd consider working for.

She warns against making job search parameters too narrow. Based on her experience, job searching is a numbers game within chosen niches.

But it's equally important, warns Kjestrup, not to overlook other areas you could move into.

That's why she says it's critical you take the time to fashion your CV for every job search.

"By creating a generic CV I gave the impression I had the multi-skills needed to cope with just about anything," says Kjestrup, who landed contract work with Hubbard Foods after completing her Bachelor of Applied Communications from MIT.

So much of successful job searching, says Sterne, is about having self-belief and turning every negative into a positive. For example, he says while you may lack experience, that also means you can be moulded from day one without any unwanted bad industry habits.

"By all means send your CV to the HR managers of companies. But follow up with a phone call," urges Sterne. "The art of relationships and their ability to leverage networks is a growing part of the X-gener's secret weapon in the today's job search stakes."

Ten ways to enhance your job search

* List your CV with recruiters and job websites.

* Modify your CV to fit different organisations.

* To get a foot in the door, offer your services gratis.

* Volunteer for project work.

* Keep in touch with mates now gainfully employed.

* Attach yourself to mentors for a window into industry.

* Apply for jobs below and above your parameters and experience.

* Mine the internet for background knowledge on companies.

* Use networks for self-promotion.

* Be daring, you've nothing to lose and everything to gain.