There is more to getting a job today than having a good resume. Here is an analysis of the results of the dougsguides quiz "Are You Ready to Look for a Job?". If you haven't taken the quiz yet, why not take it before looking at the results below?
Quiz Results
When is the last time you updated your resume?
A vast majority of students have up-to-date resumes. Since most of the quiz takers are supposedly about to look for a job, this shouldn't be too surprising and is good news. (Here's a link to building a strong resume.)
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What resume?
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2% | |
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More than a year ago
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8% | |
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Less than a year ago, but more than three months
|
18% | |
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My resume is up to date
|
72% | |
How big is your network? (Your network is the number of people you know who can help, advise, or support you in your job hunting activities. It includes people working in your chosen field, professors, and other students).
Forty-two percent of the respondents have more than 15 people in their professional network! Another 44% have between 5 and 15. Having a strong network increases your chances of getting a job by 2-10x. If you are at the low end of the range, follow this advice to build your network.
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Fewer than 5.
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14% | |
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Between 5 and 15
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44% | |
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Between 15 and 25
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20% | |
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More than 25
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22% | |
Do you have the skills prospective employers want?
It's probably not too surprising that almost half of the students have many but not all of the skills that employers need. Since the survey was open to everyone from freshman to post-docs, I expected a wide range of answers. I'm more concerned about the 11% who don't know. Maybe it reflects students who aren't sure what field they will be working in. If you need help in assessing the skills you need, check out The Right Skills.
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I don't know
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11% | |
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I have some of the skills employers want, but not all.
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28% | |
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I have most of the skills employers want, but not all.
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47% | |
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Yes, I have all the skills required
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13% | |
Have you done any informational interviews? (An informational interview is an interview with someone working in your field of interest with the goal of getting information, not getting a job.)
Unfortunately, the majority of students (54%) haven't done any informational interviews and another 33% have only done one or two. Informational interviews are the best way to understand what skills are needed in a job, what kinds of jobs are available, and who's hiring. (Here are some sample questions to ask during an informational interview.)
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No, I haven't
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54% | |
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I've done one or two
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33% | |
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I've done three or more
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13% | |
Do you have any contacts (e.g. friends, family, mentors, profs) inside the companies you would like to work for?
I was surprised by that almost most half (48%) of the quiz takers have inside contacts at companies they are interested in. They have a tremendous advantage over applicants with no contacts. A recent NYT article says that internal referrals will promote your resume to the top of the pile. Grow your contacts through informational interviews (see above) and LinkedIn.
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No
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52% | |
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Yes
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48% | |
Which of the following do you have? (Check all that apply)
Wow - 86% of the students are already on LinkedIn and 18% have a professional webpage! There's no doubt that LinkedIn is becoming a business necessity. You can differentiate yourself if you start blogging, since only 2% of the respondents have a one:
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LinkedIn account
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86% | |
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Professional (not personal) blog
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2% | |
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Professional (not personal) webpage
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18% | |
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None of the above
|
10% | |
Have you checked out your college career center or other web-based career counseling sites?
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Yes
|
58% | |
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No
|
42% | |
What club (charitable group, fraternity, sorority, interest group, student organization, etc.) activities have you engaged in? (Check all that apply)
Most of the people who took this quiz are joiners and/or leaders. If you are among the 30% who aren't a member of a club or professional organization, you are missing a big opportunity. (Here are some ways to show you are more than a student.)
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Member of a group or club
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45% | |
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Club leadership (e.g. club or group organizer, officer, event manager)
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26% | |
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Member of professional organization, including student chapters (like IEEE, ACM, WiB)
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43% | |
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Leadership or volunteer in professional organization, including student chapters
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21% | |
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None of the above
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30% | |
Have you done an internship or had a full- or part-time job? (Check all that apply)
I was also surprised at how many students had already done an internship or had a job. This probably reflects the lousy economy of the past couple of years. Previous work experience is a great indicator to a future employer that you can make the transition from being a student to working full-time:
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I've done at least one internship
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32% | |
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I've had a full- or part-time job
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72% | |
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No, I don't have any work experience
|
16% | |
Have you searched for yourself on the major search engines (Google, bing, Yahoo) to see what pops up?
What's with the 12% who haven't self-searched yet???
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Yes
|
88% | |
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No
|
12% | |
How familiar are you with 50 Tough Interview Questions?
This is another area where potential job candidates can be better prepared by anticipating the kinds of questions they are likely to be asked and thinking about how to answer them:
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I've not read it or only glanced at it
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73% | |
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I've looked at the questions and thought about how I would answer them
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17% | |
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I've looked at many of the questions and jotted down notes about how I would answer them
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5% | |
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I've looked at the questions and made notes about how I would answer most of them
|
4% | |
Have you joined your college alumni association?
About half of the respondents have already joined an alumni association. I didn't ask for demographics so this might reflect a difference between undergrads and grad students:
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No
|
51% | |
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Yes
|
49% | |
Do you have business cards?
Business cards are cheap - everyone should have them:
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Yes
|
34% | |
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No
|
66% | |
