Chapter 7

How to Get a Job

Session One (Brief Summary) (p. 199 – 209)

Homework (HW): NONE for this week

OPTIONAL: Independent Practice: (revising a Recommendation Letter) -- The following

recommendation letter does not abide by recommendation letter writing guidelines. Rewrite it fully,
applying proper format and content requirements:

To Whom It May Concern:

It is my pleasure to recommend Jason Box for Graduate Program at your university, despite his academic shortcoming
and behavioral issues. It is still ok to accept him as he pays on time.

Jasob Box was my student in communication skills course and I came to know him as a person with a nice character, but
some mood swings from time to another.

I am highly confident that with the level of knowledge that I know of him, he will continue his success in Graduate
Programs as well, or so I hope.

Respectfully submitted,

Jack Rose

Faculty of Education

jackrose@hotmail.com

Tel 961 1 234567

Keep on preparing for the obligatory, GRADED QUIZ 2 this week:

1- It will be administered to you on Friday, December 4.
2- Quiz session will be open from 8:00 am until 11:00 pm of the same day, just
like Quiz 1.
3- Graded Quiz 2 will be on chapter 6 only, nothing else.
 CHAPTER REVIEW NOTES

 Steps the Employer Takes to Hire

1. Decide duties and responsibilities and determine qualifications

2. Advertise the job
3. Read and evaluate résumés and letters
4. Have candidates complete application forms
5. Request further proof of candidate’s skills
6. Interview candidates
7. Offer the job to the best-qualified individual

 Steps to Follow to Get Hired

 Analyze your strengths and restrict your job search

 Prepare a dossier (placement file)
 Look in the right places for a job
 Prepare a résumé
 Write a letter of application
 Fill out a job application
 Go to an interview

 Analyzing Your Strengths and Restricting Your Job Search

 Make an inventory of the most significant accomplishments in your major and/or on the job
 Decide what specialty within your chosen career appeals to you most
 What are the most rewarding prospects of a job in your profession?
 Avoid applying for positions for which you are either overqualified or underqualified.

 Looking for the Right Job

 The Internet
 Federal, state and local employment offices
 Newspapers
 Professional and trade journals
 Your college placement office
 Personal contacts/Networking
 The human resources department of a company or agency you would like to work for
 Your local Chamber of Commerce
 A résumé database service
 A video résumé
 Recruiters at a professional employment agency

 Changing Careers: Some Guidelines for Success

 1. Identify activities that brought you success in your old career or job and relate them to what
you can do for a new employer
2. Translate your experience into marketable skills you can use on a new job or in a new career
3. Seek out-placement counseling
4. Investigate job retraining programs
5. Look at current issues of business publications to find out about trends and job opportunities in
new or related areas

 Preparing a Dossier

 Your dossier is your personal file stored at your campus placement office
 It contains:
– Letters of recommendation
– Letters awarding scholarships, praising your work, or honoring you in the community
– Your résumé
– Your academic transcript(s)

 Individuals You Should Ask for Letters of Recommendation

 Previous employer
 Two or three former professors
 Superiors who evaluated your work in the military
 Community leaders or officials with whom you have worked on civic projects