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HBCU Careers Magazine

34

relations, etc. So do not get caught up in thinking that

you cannot apply at a hospital because your major is not

in the healthcare field.

There are so many career websites that you can apply.

Here are a few:

www.internships.com

, www.collegegrad.

com,

www.monster.com

,

www.careerbuilder.com

, www.

sciencejobs.com

,

www.socialsciencejobs.com,

www.

summerjobs.com,

www.flipdog.com,

www.headhunter.

net,

www.womensjoblist.com, www.computerjobs.com,

etc. I cannot possibly list all of the career websites, but

you get the idea of how important it is for you to research.

Relocate and Think Outside the Box

Sometimes the better positions are in another city. Know

your city’s trademark. In Memphis, we are known as a

distribution city, so if you want to work in a fast paced

financial district with a lot of opportunities, you might

want to move to New York and work on Wall Street.

Some opportunities are resume builders. Sometimes

when a company sees that you worked at a well known

company in another city, they will pursue you. You can

always come back to your hometown, once you have

built your experience.

I have a former student who worked an internship

abroad in China. She always wanted to live in China.

So she researched internships, funding, fellowships and

graduate school opportunities in China. After she found

a program in China, she went back on several occasions

for other opportunities. While she was enrolled at our

college, she took Chinese on the side at another local

university that offered it so that she could become fluent.

She prepared herself for what she wanted and now

works full-time in China. So she had a dream – sought

it – prepared for it – received it!

Apply Your Networking Skills in Every Situation

Getting a job is not what you know, it is who you know.

Talk to everyone and try to see if there is a connection.

Just because someone is not in your field of interest does

not mean that they do not know someone who is. They

could be related or married to someone in your field. It

is okay to tell people you are looking for a job. If they

do not know, they cannot help you. You can network

at the health club, grocery store, bank, mall, airports,

recreational outlets, churches, clubs, organizations,

volunteer work and through social networking websites.

Make sure you have your resume with you at all times.

Iwasvisitingawell knownHBCUwhereagroupof students

created their own internships. It was a requirement in

order to graduate. They would invite companies where

they wanted to work to a networking reception. They

would ask one of the companies to sponsor the food.

They invited students who were interested in working for

those companies and sold themselves. At the end of the

reception, several of them received internships at top

companies. They did this once a month.

Turn Potential Jobs into Contract Work

Every once in a while, a company might not hire a person

traditionally, but will hire him as a contract worker. The

contractor will provide the same service as the employee.

The company will pay the contractor what he or she has

proposed because they save money by not having to pay

benefits. Contractors/Consultants can usually charge

$100.00 an hour or up. So turn your talent into a need

for that company. For example, if you are an art major

and can do graphic design, you can present your work as

a contractor to create their artwork or logo. So if they do

not have a traditional position available, they can create

one for you.

Do Not Take Rejection Personally

When the company turns you down when you have

applied for a job, it is not about you. They are looking

at the overall picture of the company. They have so

many applicants applying for the same position that they

have to weed out most of the resumes. Remember, an

interview has an underlying message of why should I not

hire you. So they are looking for ways to eliminate you. If

you did not get the job, contact the company to see why

you did not so you can work on that area of development

and be better the next time. It might not be for you at

that moment, but if you apply again with more skills you

just might get that opportunity at the appointed time. If

you do not first succeed, do not give up, just try it again!

These are just a few ways how you can acquire what

you want in life. So while you are waiting on your big

break, go through the process with skill development,

soul searching, purpose, preparation, a renewed mind,

creating opportunities, applying and letting everyone

you know that you are looking for a job. The waiting

period might be soon or it may take a while, but surely it

will come!