The Job Search Process

[Md. Anikuzzaman]

Your ultimate goal is your new job. Yet there will be several steps of completion required along the path to this goal. The following are the basic steps in the job search process.

Self-assessment
Personality
Aptitude
Interests
Values
Identify personal skills and abilities
Career exploration
Research career types
Research industries
Research geographic locations
Understand career requirements
Career preparation
Academic—major, classes, projects
Extracurricular—activities, clubs, leadership, sports
Experience—work, internships, volunteering
Establish your career objective
Job type
Industry
Location
Prepare job search tools
Resume
Cover letter
References, letters of recommendation
Find hiring companies
Identify on-campus employers
On-campus job fairs
On-campus interviews
Identify off-campus employers
Building and activating a career network
Research available employer information
Off-campus job fairs
Prospecting and following up on referral leads
Secure the interview
Make contact
Request and confirm interview
Interview
Prepare for the interview
On-campus interviewing
Phone interviewing
Company-site interviewing
Offer
Post-interview follow-up
Job offer negotiation
Accept and begin new job!

Seems simple enough, right? Just follow the yellow brick road to job search success. Unfortunately, what the process flow does not show is the iterative nature of the job search. There will be failures along the way and you will be repeating each of these steps for every employer you are pursuing. And, with multiple linear processes, it is subject to non-aligned timing. In other words, you may find yourself at square one with Employer #1 at the same time you complete the process and have an offer in hand from Employer #2. Worse things can happen in your job search, but this type of timing situation does provide a decision dilemma of its own. Seek to master each step in the employer interviewing process so that both you and the employer can evaluate your overall best fit. Mastering the job search process does not mean that each job pursuit will result in a job offer (since not all opportunities will be right for you). Yet mastering the process should result in finding the right job for you. This book is not just about finding a job. It is about finding the right job.

Notice that the job search process above closely mirrors the chapters and materials contained in this book. For good reason. This book is designed as a guide. It will provide you with the information you need (and then some) for each step in the job search process.

Source: https://collegegrad.com/jobsearch/job-search-prep/the-job-search-process