JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Checklist for job hunting: 1 | 2-3 | 4-5

A Checklist for Job Hunting and Launching a Career in Applied Sociology
Getting a Head Start on Your Career as an Applied Sociologist
By Catherine Mobley
University of Maryland, College Park

Here's a checklist to help you get started on a career in applied sociology. Work thoroughly through the list!

Use your sociological skills:

• Research methods
• Policy analysis
• Evaluation
• Impact Assessment

and your sociological knowledge about

• Work
• Organizations
• Occupations
• Labor markets
  ..to look for work as an applied sociologist.

Then employ these Five Job-Hunting Strategies

1. Networking

What is it?

• Concept, technique and process of developing and nurturing career contacts
• "Using what you have, in the broadest sense you can think of, in order to get what you want."

Why network?

• To beat the system
• Make yourself a known quantity
• For advice and ideas
• For leads and referrals
• For moral support: to combat the isolation and alienation that can occur in the job search

How to do it?

• Word-of-mouth
• Letters
• Friends and acquaintances
• E-mail

Who should be involved?

• Friends
• Family
• Colleagues
• Acquaintances and even strangers
  **also important to network among each other (as students) and help others to network

When to begin?

• The sooner the better
• It takes time to develop and nurture contacts
• Don't stop once you find a job
• Think about the "internal networking" you need to do within your organization
• Can mean the difference between successful advancement and staying in place

Additional tips

• Benefits aren't immediate: networks aren't built in a day
• Avoid "crisis networking": calling on people when you are in desperate need for employment and/or advice
• * Report back to anyone that gives you a lead
• Include a wide variety of people in your network: "cast your net wide"
• Don't expect instant answers or results: networking is a lot like gardening. You are planting the seeds for future benefits