Although the goals of the two are typically quite different, the methods can be surprisingly similar. This line of reasoning was inspired by a scene in the hit movie We are Marshall. If you saw the movie, which I highly recommend, you will no doubt remember the important scene where the new head coach, played by Mathew McConaughey, asks the college president to consider why he might be having trouble getting the NCAA to make an exception for Marshall to allow them to play freshman on their football team. The coach says to the college president [played by David Strathairn], who has just received his latest, final rejection letter from the NCAA, “I’ll bet that you did not ask your wife to marry you in a letter.” Pause. “And I’ll also bet that she did not say yes to you over the telephone.” [or words to that effect]

When the college president changed his methods to match the importance of the goal, everything else changed, too. He went in person to plead his case to one of the board members, and the NCAA did make an extraordinary exception that allowed Marshall University to break the NCAA rules and play freshman for the first time in history. More extraordinary events followed that first major breakthrough.

If you are in the midst of your first serious job hunting experience, fresh out of high school, college, or graduate school, consider the importance of the job you are about to accept. This first job can be life-changing, because it is the start of a career path that will probably determine the course of the rest of your professional life. Considering its importance, how many of you are simply mailing out resumes and sitting at home or in your dorm room or apartment anxiously awaiting your acceptance letters? How many of you have already received rejection letters? Do you really believe that this is how the system works? If so, we need to talk about what you should be doing.

Think about how you have met the last several people you have dated or the people who have become your best friends over the years. My guess is that you did not meet a single one by sending them your resume or even a letter. You probably met them through other friends, by attending events you both enjoyed or in class. Right?

If you translate these methods used for meeting friends into methods for meeting potential employers, they become these activities you should embrace – as soon as possible:

· PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: Become involved in professional organizations related to your major or career interest either on or off campus. Your level of involvement should include volunteering for some kind of work within the organization, however small, since that allows you to become someone the other professionals will know personally.

· DEPARTMENTAL MEETINGS: Try not to miss a single departmental picnic, lecture, or meeting. While attending the event, find a reason to talk with as many faculty and staff members as you can manage without making a pest of yourself. If you have read their publications as you should, intelligent questions or observations about their work can be a way to start the conversation. If you haven’t read their research, you can at least mention something you know about a class they have taught.

· NETWORKING: Stay in touch with people you have worked with on internships, summer jobs, volunteer projects or former classes. Your ability to find the “right job” is highly correlated with the number of people you have helping you look.

· CAREER FAIRS: Although many of these are similar to meeting a potential dating partner in a bar or “meat market”, a career fair can be a good way to learn which employers are actively seeking recent graduates. They are also a way to introduce yourself to a recruiter on a more personal level. It is important to dress appropriately for the occasion.

· PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES: Attend professional conferences and bring your business cards and even your resume. Preparation for the conference should include reading articles written by some of the faculty or other professionals who will be presenting papers at the conference. This will give you something to discuss when you go up to introduce yourself after the lecture.

· RESEARCH ASSISTANTSHIPS: If you know a faculty member who is doing some research that interests you and ask if you can help with the research. If the paper is accepted for presentation at a professional conference, you may find that the faculty (especially if he or she is already tenured) will be willing to share the stage with you. After something like that, your networking power will explode. You should know that opportunities to co-author research papers will be extremely rare for undergraduates. However, you have little to lose by looking into the possibility.

· PARENTS AND FAMILY FRIENDS: Last, but perhaps not least, accepting introductions from family friends or even parents could open up some interesting connections you might not have known were available to you. If you are being presented to these people as an equal, rather than as someone’s child, you might get your foot into a door that would otherwise be closed.

You may have noticed that the mailing of countless resumes was not on the list. That was not an oversight. It’s not on the list because resume mailing rarely works. Sure, you may get some job offers or some commission only “opportunities” if you do that, but they will rarely be the offers you want. Just as you would not find a good friend through the mail, you are not likely to find a good employer through the mail.

http://www.jobopeningsblog.com/jobs/2008/09/how-job-hunting.html