Conducting a Long Distance Job Search
Many of the same strategies used to locate internships and full-time jobs in your university’s local area are also utilized in a long distance job search. However, finding information on these companies and identifying openings can require more time and effort than a local job search. Once you have identified your area of career interest and geographical preference, you can begin your search.
NETWORKING
Networking is about establishing relationships to help tap into a hidden employment market containing many unadvertised jobs and internships. Talking with people in your target field is the best way to explore your career options, gather information, and understand how to market yourself to potential employers.
- Get connected to FalconNet, the newly created Bentley University career networking site. One of the first of its kind in the nation, With it, you will be able to: build professional relationships with fellow students and alumni that can help you “get your foot in the door” at top-tier organizations in your specific field of interest; get the real scoop on what internships and full-time jobs are like at organizations across the country and throughout the world; and be better prepared for interviews by learning the types of questions companies ask in a first, second or final round of interviews. To join, go to www.bentley.edu/falconnet.
Start contacting those individuals which you met by attending one of the many networking events held by the Undergraduate Career Services staff. (i.e. Career Fairs, Resume Critique Night, Career Spotlight events, etc.) Contact the person(s) you met and ask for the name of appropriate colleagues in other offices across the country.
- In addition to the events, another resource for compiling lists of contacts is through eRecruiting. Get the contact names of employers who are interviewing for positions here in the New England area, e-mail or call them and ask them for their recruiting counterparts and potential opportunities elsewhere.
- Attend meetings of professional associations and become an active member. This is a great way to meet people in one’s particular area of interest.
GOINGLOBAL
The Center for Career Services provides Web access to GOINGLOBAL, which offers access to international career and employment resources including more than 100,000 world-wide job openings, internship listings, industry profiles and country-specific career information for countries. The Going Global Country Guides provides professional advice and insider tips for 24 countries on such topics as employment trends, recruiters, staffing agencies, work permit regulations, salary ranges, professional and trade associations, and cultural advice. Go to: www.bentley.edu/career-services/undergraduate
GENERAL JOB SITES AND CAREER-SPECIFIC JOB SITES
Use the “Job/Internship Search” and “Sites by Major/Interest” sections posted on the Undergraduate Career Services website. These sections contain links to specific information related to careers, and some contain links to sites that list jobs specifically for that field. They also include links to major newspapers, search firms, and internship sites.
RECIPROCITY – UTILIZING OTHER CAREER CENTERS
The reciprocity policy enables Bentley University students and alumni to use the career center of other colleges or universities. The Undergraduate Center for Career Services at Bentley University will write a general letter of reciprocity on your behalf, requesting use of the other career centers’ services. For more information on getting Letters of Reciprocity, contact the Center for Career Services at x2375.
BentleyLink – SHARING PASSWORDS
Do you know anyone who is going to college in the state which you are hoping to relocate, or someone who has graduated from a school in that area recently? If so, chances are that their college uses an on-line recruiting system to post their internships and entry-level job listings on the Web, just as Bentley University does. Contact your friends and ask them to pass along their colleges’ password.
CAREER FAIRS
Career Fairs take place all over the country, and most of them are open to anyone. Some are sponsored by local newspapers, while others are run by for-profit career fair companies. Go to the Undergraduate Career Services Website under “Career Fairs” to access some of the more popular Career Fair sites.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Contact the Chamber of Commerce in your target city: request information about the top 10 industries on your list.
- Subscribe to the Sunday newspaper in your target city or search on-line. Scan the classified section for job listings, and the business sections for news concerning the economic climate. Obtain your target area’s yellow pages which you can get on-line, and search for interesting companies in the area.
- Visit the Solomon Baker Library. There are tremendous resources available to you in the library on campus as well. The library subscribes to many on-line (and print) resources that can assist you in researching employers both during your job search and while preparing for an interview. If the resources are new to you and you need some assistance in navigating them, please see the Reference Librarians. They are there to point you in the right direction.
FOLLOW-UP
After traveling to your target area as much as possible, arranging networking and informational interviews, make sure you follow through on the information that your contacts give you. Make sure you keep a record of all the information you gather, every new piece of information brings you one step closer to a job or internship. Don’t forget to take the time to write thank you letters to those with whom you spoke.
