There is more to getting the job of your choice than just having a degree. Your degree will open many doors, but it is up to you to obtain the employment you desire. Advanced preparation is critical. Let us examine what you can do to successfully meet the challenge of competition for employment.

First, you must recognize that searching for the position you desire can be a full-time job in itself. You must be prepared to make a personal commitment of time and energy. You will need to spend time analyzing your career and life goals, and you will need to be organized and flexible as you pursue these goals. The more committed you are to your job search and decision making, the greater your chances of finding the job most satisfactory to you at this time of your life, paving the way for a rewarding career in the years ahead.

Second, you must accept the fact that obtaining the position you desire requires a sales campaign on your part. Consider for a moment that you have a product to sell and that the potential employer is the consumer. As a salesperson, you must ferret out potential customers of your product and learn how they could use your product. You must be aware of your competition and know the product you are selling.

Putting this in terms related to the job search, you must do a complete analysis of yourself--your values, interests, and skills--in order to determine what you want, what you can do, where you would like to do it, and what, if any, your second choice might be. The following questions serve as a guide to accomplishing the self-analysis:

Who Am I?

Have you ever sat down and written a clear, concise statement related to this question? Could you in five minutes or so clearly describe yourself to a stranger? Have you identified your strengths, your weaknesses, your interests, your special talents? If not, you may find yourself at a distinct disadvantage because your competition may have made this self-analysis. Being able to discuss these things with employers in an orderly and convincing manner will make a much more favorable impression.

What Do I Want To Do?

For many candidates, this is a very difficult question. To employers, however, it is one of the most important. The answers you give to this question will indicate whether you are realistic, whether you have given serious thought to where you've been, where you are now, and where you hope to be in the future. The more thought you give to this question, the more convincing you will be. Employers need a starting point in evaluating candidates, and often this question "What do I want to do?" is it. Remember, employers will be paying you for "doing something" and not just for "knowing something."

Why Do I Want To Do It?

If an employer asks you this question, can you answer it convincingly? Have you thought through what motivated you to make this decision? Are you realistic? The answer you provide to this question, like the answer to the question, "What do I want to do?" will be a big factor in determining your success in convincing an employer that you are an excellent candidate for employment.

Where Do I Want To Work?

When an employer asks you, "Where do you want to work?" or "Why are you interested in my organization?" the interviewer is anticipating a well-thought-out response. 

"Where do you want to work?" has hidden meanings. It could mean to work for a specific employer; it could mean to work for a particular size employer or a particular type of employer; and it could mean to work in a particular geographical location. The responses you make to questions like these will assist you in deciding whether you should even interview with a certain employer. Your responses to these questions, should they be asked, will help you make a favorable impression.

Often, to arrive at the answers to these questions, you will have to conduct some research. Career Services is equipped to assist you with this project. In any case, your analysis of these thoughts will go a long way toward saving you time and money.

What Are My Goals?

No one expects you to say with absolute resoluteness what you plan to be doing 5, 10, or 20 years from the time you enter the job market. However, many employers will ask this question. Their purpose is to see if you have thought about where your entry-level job may take you and where, at this time, you'd like it to take you.

It is important for you to realize that you are being hired, not only for what you can contribute today, but for the potential you are exhibiting for tomorrow. Today is a developmental stage bringing about change, growth and future direction. Tomorrow is the era that allows leadership qualities to fully blossom.

Thinking about goals now helps you stay on target as you develop, learn and implement the skills from your entry-level position.

Summation 

Choosing a career direction calls for a close look at your product--you. In doing this self-analysis, you must:

• Know Yourself. Make an honest appraisal of your interests, abilities, and disabilities.
• Determine Your Interests. Analyze what activities interest you most (outdoors, helping people, mechanical, clerical).
• Recognize Your Aptitudes. Identify the special abilities you have at present and for the future, and determine your best combination of abilities.
• Evaluate Your Work Experience and Education. Determine what knowledge or skills you have acquired through your academic training and work experiences and how this knowledge will transfer to your desired career path.
• Recognize Your Personal Qualities. Evaluate those traits that will make you an outstanding candidate and be able to discuss them clearly and concisely.
• Understand Your Physical Capacities. Do you have any physical disabilities that would prevent you from functioning in certain jobs? If so, concentrate your efforts on obtaining employment where these will not be a limitation in accomplishing your short and long-range goals.  Employment laws have changed to require employers to provide reasonable accommodations.
• Identify Your Leisure Time Activities. Evaluate your personal interests and hobbies. Determine how these can be an asset to you in accomplishing your goals.  
• Determine Your Vocational Goals. It is important to establish goals. However, goals are only short-lived. They are either attained, at which time new goals are set, or they are not attained for whatever reason, and then alternative goals are established. In any case, at the very outset it is important to establish short-term as well as long-term goals. Doing so provides a target and helps keep you on the proper path.