University of Dallas News

Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: News

Media Credit: John Bloch President Lazarus welcomes Ed Trachier, UD alum and current CEO, as the keynote speaker for Thursday's career panel.

"Finding a Job That's More than Just a Paycheck," an advisory forum on the job market led by Certified Career Counselor Joyce Shoop and University of Dallas alum and CEO of "Genesys Associates" and "OnTarget Partners" Ed Trachier, informed undergraduates of job seeking techniques last Thursday at 6:00 p.m. in the Gorman Faculty Lounge.

Shoop began by recalling not knowing what to do with her major when she graduated college. "I was told that you couldn't do anything with a bachelors in Psychology, but I didn't do my homework," she said. "Because of that, I surreptitiously know what to do in your situation."

She then spoke about certain steps liberal arts undergraduates should take when approaching the job market. "First, don't apologize for being a liberal arts major. You have a passion for learning-you've learned to think, analyze, research effectively and you've developed a universe of skills," Shoop said. "Employers can teach you specific skills, but they can't teach you how to think and problem solve."

Shoop also suggested that undergraduates begin their research for available jobs for liberal arts majors and specific majors. She said students could refer to the books "How to Get Any Job With Any Major" by Donald Asher and "What Color Is Your Parachute: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers" by Richard N. Bolles.

"The second step is researching yourself. Don't shortcut this process or you won't be good at interviewing and employers will be less motivated to hire you," Shoop said.

"If you do that, you're likely to end up in a job that is lower level then you want. It's called the "shotgun approach" when you apply for as many jobs as you can."

Lastly, Shoop pointed out the "hidden job market," which is discoverable through information interviews. Information interviews allow applicants to know more about a job by discussing it with the employer, but the applicant controls the questioning and feels no pressure from having to be hired.

"Sixty to seventy percent of jobs are in the 'hidden job market,' which are jobs that are never advertised. You can only access these jobs through information interviews and referrals," she said. "Continue your job search by maintaining 80 percent person to person contact with employers and researching for the other 20 percent."

Continued...

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