Career Planning andJob SeekingJanne Loikkanen

Planning Officer

Content of the presentation

What is career planning?Skills needed in working life

How to look for work?Application documents and interviews

CAREER PLANNING

Who am I?What do I want to do?

Why?

JOB HUNTING

MAKING DECISIONS ANDPLANNING ACTIONS

(Sampson et al., 2004)

SELF KNOWLEDGE OCCUPATIONALKNOWLEDGE

Documents, interviewskills, finding jobs,contacting employers

Setting and specifying goals,building a concrete plan

Options, requirements,trends, employment

Skills, values, interests,goals, wishes

Sampson’s Career Triangle

Have clear goals andknow your strengths

GOALSo What do you want from a job? What have you been particularly

interested in at earlier jobs?o How convincing are your education, work experience, personal

skills etc. in relation to what you are seeking? Your first job(s) willnot necessarily match your ambitions, before being considered formore demanding jobs.

o How do your plans for the near term differ from your long termambitions?

STRENGTHSo Recognizing your own skills correctly helps you find the jobs that

suit you best, and increases the probability of getting hired.o It is important to remember to consider all aspects of your life,

competences and experiences.

SKILLS, TRAITSAND VALUES

“Hard skills”“Soft”, transferable skillsPersonal traits and values

Classification

HARDo Subject–specific and teachable abilities that can

be defined and measuredo Specific hard skills are essential for getting a specific

job done (e.g. accounting for accountants)SOFTo Contrary to hard skills, soft skills are usually less

tangible and harder to quantifyo Can be developed in any kind of a job, during

studies and by extracurricular activitieso Customer service skills for example

”Hard” and ”Soft” Skills

Hard and soft skills are often referred to whenapplying for a job.

For most jobs, while the hard skills are essentialto getting the interview, it's the soft skills that willeventually play a big part on who will be chosen.

o Working with others/team workingo Communication/presentation skills, both written and oralo Project and time management skillso Problem solvingo Research management -- research leadershipo Creativity and ability for abstract thoughto Knowledge of research methods and technologieso Teaching skillso Research ethicso Enterprise skills (entrepreneurship, commercialisation,

innovation, patenting and knowledge transfer)o Use of science in policy-making

Examples of Transferable Skills

Personal Traits and Values

Personality, attitude and motivationo What kind of jobs suit…

omy personality?omy lifestyle?omy believes and values?

o What do I want to do right now? Why would I want todo that?

o What are the things that drive me in a job?

Personality: Four DifferentStereotypes of Behavior

Subject-centered

Human-centered

Pro-active Re-activeDominance StabilityComplianceInfluence

Dr. Marston, William Moulton, 1928 / SLG THOMAS

PROPERTY& MONEY

WORK

PRESTIGE

PLEASURE

FREE-TIMEGOALS INLIFE

ETHICS &RELIGION

FAMILY &FRIENDS

ME,MYSELFAND I

HEALTH

The Effect of Principles and Values

SOMETHING ELSE?

Life management Communicationalskills

Leading people andtasks

Innovation skills

Learning skills Interaction skills Coordinating skills Creative skills

Scheduling skills Skill to listen Decision making skills Ability to face changes

Personal strengths Oral communicationskills

Management skills Ability to face risks

Analytical- andproblem solving skills

Written communicationskills

Skills to controlconflicts

Envision skills

Planning andorganizational skills

General Working Life Skills

JOB SEARCHING

About ways to look for a job

Possible, but usuallyineffective:o Mailing out CV:s randomlyo Answering to published job

adso Surfing around without any

ideao Relying on private

employment agencies

Efficient job seeking:o Networkingo Getting contacts through a

good internship placeo Finding ”hidden jobs”o Targeting the right

employers and convincingthemo What are the skills you most

enjoy using?o Where do you want to use

those skills?o Why should they consider you?

Why don’t people and jobs alwaysfind each other?

Kuva: iwantmycareer.com

Kuva: fabrizioguarnieri.wordpress.com

• An employer needs someone, but doesnot publish the need

• No special need at the moment, but aninteresting person is always worthnoticing

Hidden jobs

Kuva: linkedin.com

Where can you look for hidden jobs?• Recruiting needs and job changes

• Taloussanomat• Kasvu open.fi• Kauppalehti• Company sites and blogs

• Networks• Friends and acquintances + friends’

friends• Summer jobs• Internship employers• Study companions• Fairs and events

• Advertisements, discussionsand contacts in social media• Linkedin: jobs, companies, groups• Twitter: #rekry #työpaikat #jobs

It’s a job to get a jobRecruiting is not based on science; writingapplications is not science!o commonsensical work, but you have to know what you are doingo you often don’t know what kind of a person will be reading your

application documents OR what exactly are they looking for OR whoelse is applying – there can be no strict rules– concentrate on what you CAN do

Job hunting is competitiono if you are not able to express your strengths for the job, there’s no

other person who will do it for you– don’t think that the recruiter can read ”between the lines”

EXERCISECV, Cover Letter, Interview

- what is important?

CV

Application documents: CV

A good CV:o is accurate and up-to-date, max 2 pageso is short but informative; easy to browse through

o contains essential information relative to the applied jobo gives reasons to what skills and information a person has

and why would they be valuable for the applied jobo is targeted for one exact job in one organisation

Do your research!

Application documents: CV

A Finnish CV normally includeso personal information (picture?)o education – reverse chronologyo work experience – describe your tasks in a

suitable mannero positions of trust or voluntary work (if

applicable)o language & IT skillso activities, hobbies, interestso references

VISUALISATIONInternet is full of examples. Good

and very bad.Whatever you do, do it well.

Picture: Pinterest

COVER LETTER

Application documents: cover letterGood cover letter (= motivation letter):• gives an answer to questions: ”Why should we take you?” and ”Why do

you want to work for us?” = motivation!• expands the relevant experience mentioned in CV• has concrete examples supporting statements• is short (one page) and precise• possibly visual, at least clear• has a personal touch• is spelled correctly

address

headline title

strengths, with examples

the WHY?

you as an employeesignature

Use stories and examples!

Application documents: cover letter

Picture: Eric Carver, University of Helsinki

Concentrate on your skills, knowledge and motivation

INTERVIEW

The InterviewIn an interview:o be prepared! (know about the company/organisation, read the job ad

one more time, think of the usual questions beforehand…)o remember: if you get to an interview you have at least somewhat

raised interest – the employer is looking for someone to fill a jobo you should be nervous – doesn’t matter, be yourselfo you have to show your interest = motivation again!o be honest, although you can tell about things in different ways

The topics (in general):o task-related things – the core; skills and competenceso official knowledge – education and work experience (examples!)o person-related things – motivation, suitability to work community

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Interview is negotiation: you can get back to an issue

General, commonsensical rules:o prepare for the usual questionso be on timeo dress according to the positiono nervousness is ok – it shows that you are seriouso do not interrupt or judge anything or anybodyo be honest, don’t pretend to understand the questiono no lecturing – give precise but informative answerso be active and if possible, ask questionso positive ”self-talk”; be nice and honest to yourselfo to conclude: express your motivationo remember to thank the interviewer

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The Interview

What do employers want?o 78% of employers will consider any major. Only 19% of employers

look for specific majors and do not consider candidates withoutthem

o Work experience (particularly internships and other work duringschool) is more important to employers than academic credentials,including GPA, and majoring

o An internship is the single most important credential for recentgraduates to have on their resume

o Most interviewers value extracurricular activities, like professionalclubs, athletics and service, more than GPA

o Employers want students to improve their knowledge of theorganization and industry to which they are applying, and shoulddo better in interviews

Study: “The Role of Higher Education in Career Development: Employer Perceptions”

“Prediction is very difficult, especiallyabout the future.”

Niels Bohr

Future Job titles according to”The Futurist” (January/February 2011)

o Amnesia surgeono Astro-farmero Avatar relationship managero Brain signal decodero Clone ranchero Digital archeologisto Digital identity plannero Energy harvestero Future-guideo Green career coach

o Online Community Organizero Personal brand managero Post-normal jobs counseloro Smart road

designer/engineero Space junk recyclero Unmanned cargo vehicle

operatoro Wiki writer

Career Services

Publish job and internship advertisementso intranet.utu.fi/index/vacancies/Pages/default.aspx

Give counselling and guidanceo CV-clinicso Interview practiceo Personal career planning talkso Coming up: Working in Finland seminar 13.2.

utu.fi/rekry

Tune your application documents

CV Clinics, twice a monthDates, times and places:utu.fi/rekry