Job Search

Whether you are a young alumnus or an experienced professional, your first step in your job search process is to determine your target. Then you can develop your marketing materials and job search strategy. Use the checklist and links below to get started.

Debra Franke, Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement for Alumni Career Programs, is available for 1 on 1 individualized coaching.

Job Search Checklist

Starting Questions

  • What are the reasons you are seeking a new position?
  • What have you done so far to find a new position?
  • What have you learned from what you’ve done so far to find a new position?  What seems to be working?  Not working?
  • Have you left or are you going to leave a toxic work environment?
  • Did you leave the workforce for caregiving or other reasons, and are now seeking to re-enter?

Target Questions

What do you want to do?

  • What kind of work?
  • What kind of organization?
  • How would you explain it to someone in the field?
  • Someone not in the field?

What is your geographic preference?

  • Are you open to relocation?
  • If so, where?

What is your geographic preference?

  • Do you want, not want, or don’t care if travel is part of the job?
  • How much and what kind of travel?

Target Companies or Organizations

List of 10-20 companies you want to target in your search. What companies would you especially like to work for/at?

Ideal Job

  • What is your passion?
  • What would be your perfect job?
  • What would you be doing?

Sample Job Descriptions

Find 3-6 job descriptions for the kinds of positions that interest you. They can be jobs that you applied for, or not; they can be from anywhere in the country. As long as they are ones that truly interest you. Use these to create your marketing materials.

What Makes You Distinctive

  • If I had your ideal job, why should I hire you?
  • How do you help me make money, save money, achieve my mission?
  • What do you have to offer?
  • Who wants that?

Marketing Materials

Advertised Job Market

Career Fairs

Recruiters and Headhunters

  • Have you worked with any recruiters? Who, in what organizations? How has that gone for you?
  • Learn more about the different types of recruiters and how to build and strengthen relationships with them.
  • How to Work With Headhunters

Entrepreneurship, Franchise Ownership

Unadvertised (Hidden) Job Market

  • Purchase The 2-Hour Job Search (2nd edition) by Steve Dalton. This book presents a step-by-step process to develop a prioritized list of target companies/organizations, identify people to contact, conduct a conversation by phone, and follow-up.
    • To obtain access to recordings of The 2-Hour Job Search Boot Camp series from Fall 2020, email franke@lasalle.edu.
    • Join the LinkedIn group, “2-Hour Job Search – Q&A Forum“
  • Peruse Nick Corcodilos’ blog
  • Meet with people in your field
  • Don’t ask if there are any openings – ask for advice. Develop a relationship – get back to them regularly throughout your search
  • Read here for a different approach to your job search; the article describes the Ask The Headhunter strategy and explains the main differences between ATH and the traditional approach to job hunting.

Professional Organizations

  • What are the professional associations for people who do the kind of work you want to do?
  • What organizations are potential hiring managers involved in?
  • Are there local chapters?  Do they have meetings?  Have you attended?

Alumni Network

  • How have you utilized your alumni network?
  • Meet with people in your field, individuals in target companies, and hiring managers

Managing Your Job Search

  • How are you managing your job search? How many hours per week? How do you plan your week? Do you keep track of how you are actually spending your time?
  • How are you taking care of yourself? What support do you have from family and friends?
  • Consider participating in a job transition group (or two) for information, accountability, support and encouragement. Contact Debra Franke at franke@lasalle.edu for a list of groups in PA, NJ and DE.

Additional Questions and Resources

How have you educated yourself about effective job search strategies? (examples: job search blogs/e-newsletters, job search support groups, books, websites, talking with successful job seekers, etc.)

What are you doing to stay up-to-date in your field? To further develop your skills, knowledge and experience in your field?

Free Learning Resources

Time to brush up on your skills or learn a new one? Learning doesn’t end when you obtain your degree. Check out these sites for free resources from short videos to full courses:

GCFLearnFree.org offers more than 200 topics (From Microsoft Office and email, to reading, math, and more), including more than 2,000 lessons, more than 1,000 videos, and more than 50 interactives and games, completely free.

Coursera partners with more than 200 leading universities and companies to bring flexible, affordable, job-relevant online learning to individuals and organizations worldwide. Coursera offers free hands-on projects and courses, in addition to job-ready certificates and degree programs.

Khan Academy is a nonprofit with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Learn for free about math, art, computer programming, economics, physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, finance, history, and more.

Hubspot Academy offers free online training in the areas of marketing, sales, service, website design, web development and data privacy. Hundreds of lessons and certifications are available in topics varying from Customer Mapping, Inbound Marketing, Sales Strategies, Web Design, to Lead Generation.

Get Set Up offers basic tech classes and community led classes – up to 5 per month – for free. Paid subscriptions provide unlimited access to the course catalog.

Free courses from Harvard University and Stanford University.

More sites for free online education in this article.

Check out this Massive List of Thousands of Free Certificates and Badges: 1000s of courses with free certificates and badges from universities, companies, and nonprofits worldwide.

Service Learning

Service Learning is volunteering with a goal in mind. And it’s a great tool to help you achieve your professional goals. Make professional contacts, boost your self-esteem, develop skills, and gain experience when between jobs. Or use service learning to make a career transition into a new field. And it’s one of the best strategies for re-entering the workforce after a career break.

Start by identifying what you want to learn, and be clear with the organization what kind of commitment you can make.

“There are volunteer opportunities that cover the spectrum of experience and skills,” says Jason Willet, spokesperson for VolunteerMatch.org, an online service that matches volunteers with volunteer opportunities. “Some organizations look for people with legal experience. A number of organizations need help in marketing or creating newsletters. If you’re an aspiring Web designer, there are a number of non-profits that need help designing and maintaining their sites. Whatever you’re looking to do, there’s a non-profit that has a need. Even if those skills aren’t completely developed, they’ll be flexible, giving you the option to learn on the job.”

And if you’re not currently employed, include your current volunteer work on your resume and LinkedIn profile, which looks better than unexplained gaps between jobs.

“The definition of work is you have certain responsibilities, you’re accountable to be there on time and you have someone else observing what you’re doing – that’s what most volunteer work is,” says Marky Stein, a career coach based in San Jose, California. “You should feel free to place it on your resume alongside your work experiences.”

Here are some resources for identifying volunteer opportunities:

  • Volunteer Match makes it easy for good people and good causes to connect. Volunteer Match has connected millions of people with a great place to volunteer and helped tens of thousands of organizations better leverage volunteers to create real impact.
  • LinkedIn allows you to search for volunteer opportunities by keyword, organization, location and other criteria.
  • Catchafire drives positive world change through the giving of time and talent, for the benefit of the nonprofit community. Catchafire does this by facilitating connections between professionals who want to donate their time and talent through virtual volunteering with nonprofits who need their skills.
  • Interested in a short or long-term international conservation or humanitarian volunteer project? Check out the resources and search for projects at Working Abroad.
  • Idealist allows you to search volunteer opportunities by keyword, location, and other criteria.
  • AmeriCorps is a federal agency that brings people together to tackle the country’s most pressing challenges through national service and volunteering. AmeriCorps members and AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers serve with organizations dedicated to the improvement of communities.
  • Contact your local United Way and ask how to learn about volunteer opportunities in your area.
  • The Volunteer Guide for Healthcare Students has ideas and resources useful to anyone in, or wanting to enter, the healthcare field.
  • Check with your local faith organization for local, national and international opportunities.
  • Find your town at AmericanTowns.com, then under “Community Life” click “Volunteer Organizations”.
  • Read the local newspaper for information on local organizations and events.
  • Volunteer at your employer.

Want to discuss how volunteering can be part of your professional development? Contact Debra Franke, Associate Director of Alumni Career Programs at franke@lasalle.edu.

Professional Development

What are you doing to stay up-to-date in your field?  Whether you are happily at work in a job you love, seeking a new position, or looking to change careers, you should actively continue your professional development.

Include these activities on your resume, in a section titled “Professional Development” or something similar (probably at or near the end).

Here are some examples:

  • Extensive reading in the areas of X, Y, and Z. Most recently (title of book by a well-known author in your profession).
  • Stay current with emerging trends in field through podcasts such as (list 2-4 that are relevant).
  • Member or head of a committee in a professional association in your field. List contributions/accomplishments (not responsibilities or tasks) just as you would for a paid job.
  • Volunteer work that is relevant to your field which demonstrates that you are continuing to learn and contribute. Again, list contributions/accomplishments (not responsibilities or tasks) just as you would for a paid job.
  • Continuing education: courses, webinars, seminars, workshops, etc. 
  • Write an article on a current issue/trend in your field/industry by interviewing people in your target companies – get it published in your professional association newsletter, an online blog in your industry, etc. 
  • Contribute regularly to a blog in your field, or have your own blog where you make insightful contributions to your industry.
  • Prepare a workshop/seminar/presentation on a current topic in your field, and present at a professional association meeting, Chamber of Commerce, etc. 
  • Mentor someone, sharing your experience, wisdom, and knowledge of the field.
  • Contact your alumni association and offer to organize a networking event for alumni in your industry/field/major.

Need help coming up with ideas for your ongoing professional development, or figuring out how to include those in your resume and LinkedIn profile? Contact Debra Franke, Assistant Director of Alumni Career Programs, at franke@lasalle.edu.