Guest feature: Marketing yourself to get a professional job!

By Mary Anderson

Considering a young man at my church was recently quite surprised to see a person "my age" texting, it's a wonder that I was invited to write for the Olivet BLOG. But here I am!

I've worked in Career Services a long time, but some things never change: Marketing starts with the first impression. Unfortunately sometimes it ends there too!

One school superintendent told a true story at a recent conference. His office windows face the school’s parking lot. He observed a teacher candidate smoking a cigarette in his car on school premises before coming in for the interview. Needless to say, the interview “ended” before the candidate ever even entered the school!

Here’s my 7-point sermon on first impressions:

1. Think before you place a phone call. Plan what you are going to say, keep it very professional. If you must leave a message keep it succinct; state the reason for your call, say your name and telephone number very clearly. Employers are interested in hiring young professionals, not transitioning college students!

2. Think about how your voice mail message sounds. If you are not around when an employer calls you back, what will their impression be? Make it professional; employers detest “goofy” answering machine messages.

3. Present your résumé on good quality paper. If sending it electronically, send a PDF, not a Word doc. They don’t always look the same on the receiver’s computer or printer. PDF stands for Portable Document Format but let’s say “professional document format!”

4. Shake hands firmly and confidently to communicate your professional image!

5. Press your interview attire! Wrinkles are not professional.

6. Your professional attitude is contagious. Don’t be a carrier of a bad attitude — it's simply not professional!

7. Cell phones do not go to interviews. Turn it off, put it away! It is not professional. When you are in an interview, the interview is your only priority! When you are waiting for the interview, you should be preparing for the interview, NOT texting your friends or mother (and I am one).

Now if first-impressions-only could land you a job, you would be set, but there is much more to it than that.

You must do your homework: research companies, find out all you can about them before the interview, generate questions to ask based on your research. Showing up for the interview unprepared is like showing up for the final exam without ever going to class!

You need to network, network, and then network some more! Talk to people you know: professors, employers, family members, and anyone and everyone you know in your chosen profession. How did they get their jobs? People in your network know people you don’t know – that is the key!

First, clean up your Facebook; employers look there too! Create a professional profile on LinkedIn.com. Join groups and maintain connections —both in person and online! It will pay off in the end.

Mary D. Anderson is the director of career services at Olivet Nazarene University, where she has served since 1979. She has her bachelor of music from Millikin University and her master of arts in education from ONU. Find Mary on LinkedIn.