Networking key to job hunt

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Colleen Rowan learned the hard way that searching for a job online wasn’t enough.

The December graduate of Eastern Illinois University went on five interviews with three companies whose job openings she found on websites. One company never got back in touch. She was rejected by another. And the third offered her a job — but it paid only commission with no salary or benefits, and seemed fishy.

“I have hit a wall with the online search,” said Rowan, 23, who majored in marketing with a minor in advertising.

While the growth of online job sites has exploded — and searching for a job that way seems as easy as pointing and clicking — experts say don’t fall into the trap of relying on the web too heavily.

Peggy Killian, director of career education at Elmhurst College’s Center for Professional Excellence, advises students to put online searching at the bottom of their job-seeking priority list. Networking, she says, is far more important.

“We encourage students who have prepared their resumes in earnest to make a list of everyone they know, whether that’s a teacher, their pastor or their neighbors,” Killian said. “They should let everyone know the kinds of careers they’re looking to go into, and ask for more contacts.”

Students may worry their professional inexperience is a disadvantage, but Killian said they are fortunate that “everyone wants to help college students.”

Rowan, who is living with her parents on the South Side, has refocused her job search and gotten out into the community to make her desires known. She recently volunteered to help organize and publicize a bean-bag tournament for the South Side Irish Family Fest, sponsored by the Beverly Arts Center.

“I really enjoy event planning,” she said.

Already, she has made contacts who are telling acquaintances about her search for her ideal job as an event planner or marketing professional.

Craig Powell, CEO and founder of ConnectEDU, a Boston-based company that connects students with colleges and employers, said it’s even more important in a down economy for students to start building a professional network as early as their sophomore year since employers are increasingly connecting with students early in their college careers, .

“Students should never just begin cultivating a network at a time when they need something,” Powell said, noting that a desperate student looks as though he or she “has his hand out.”

“Don’t be shy about reaching out to folks to find a reason to connect. Perhaps they went to the same college as you, or share an interest, such as the arts,” he said.

When students meet a college alumni, a parent’s friend or a professor’s colleague, they should ask them what they like about their jobs, the skills they use in their profession and other helpful hints.

“Use the time to gather information, and then ask that person for five other people you might contact in your job search,” Powell said.

After the meeting, students should send an immediate e-mail or call, and then continue to check in to keep the contact engaged.

“The student should check in and say, ‘Here’s how things have been going since I last sat down with you,’ ” he said.

By building a solid network, students can create an employment or internship opportunity rather than applying for a job that has been posted or made available to others, Powell said.

Yet another peril of the online world, experts said, is social-networking sites such as Facebook. Powell says you should be careful when networking with potential employers or even with teachers on such sites.

“Students should control their privacy and access settings in social networks to ensure that they don’t mix business with pleasure,” Powell said. If a student is asked to “friend” a would-be employer, the student should move the conversation off-line or to e-mail.

Another no-no is for the student’s parent to call a potential employer.

“These things are done with the best of intentions, but the employer wants to see the student show initiative and a willingness to get outside his or her comfort zone,” Powell said.

Another effective way to find a job is doing an internship, even if it’s unpaid, Killian said.

Melissa Roos, a 22-year-old who graduated from Elmhurst College last month with a degree in interdisciplinary communications, did two unpaid internships during her senior year in college.

Employers understand that college students usually don’t have much experience, she said.

“It’s important to say, ‘I’m new at this. I don’t have the knowledge but I’m willing to do whatever I need to do,’ ” Roos said.

Roos, however, did have success using the Web to find those internships, meaning you can’t rule out the Internet altogether.

For one, she wrote movie reviews and feature stories for Static Multimedia, an online review site.

For another, she worked as a marketing intern at Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare — a position she got after filling out an online application and then directly e-mailing the hiring supervisor. She gained valuable experience writing for the company newsletter and helping with a golf outing and branding campaigns.

Both the experiences helped Roos decide that she wants to pursue a career in marketing or human resources.

Even if you snag an internship, don’t short-change your day job. Roos, who worked part time at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Orland Park while she was interning and going to school, let her supervisors know that she wanted greater responsibilities. She is now a full-time customer-service supervisor at Dick’s.

“I kept putting myself out there, doing more and letting it be known I didn’t want to be stagnant,” she said.

As she continues her job search, she checks job ads online one or two days a week and is “keeping in touch and contacting former employers and co-workers,” she said.

And she has patience — and tries not to stress out about the whole process.

“If I don’t find the perfect [job] right now, it’s OK,” she said.