{"id":27483,"date":"2019-10-16T19:57:26","date_gmt":"2019-10-16T23:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2019\/10\/16\/jobsearch\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T14:19:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T18:19:51","slug":"jobsearch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2019\/10\/16\/jobsearch\/","title":{"rendered":"A Common Sense Guide to Acing the Job Search"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/media-old\/2019\/10\/support-center.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-21594 size-medium\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/media-old\/2019\/10\/support-center-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><\/a>Launching a job search can seem like a daunting task. Luckily, Northern Essex Community College is here to help.<\/p>\n<p>Before you start on your next career move, be sure to check out these common-sense tips, courtesy of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.necc.mass.edu\/succeed\/career-services\/\">NECC Career Center<\/a> team, to perfecting your application. Who knows \u2013 they might just help you land your dream job.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sharpen your resume heading<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The devil is in the details. Take a close look at the contact information you list in your resume heading &#8212; it is, after all, the way that employers will reach you.<\/p>\n<p>Make a good first impression by having a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">professional email address<\/span>. Preferable professional emails include some variation of a person\u2019s first and last name. (If you have a common name and encounter some trouble finding an appropriate email address, you can use numbers as well.)<\/p>\n<p>If you do choose to include numbers in your email address, be sure to avoid using a combination that might indicate your year of birth. Including your age can, in certain instances, increase the possibility of age discrimination. Employers are prohibited from discriminating against people over the age of 40 under the federal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eeoc.gov\/laws\/types\/age.cfm\">Age Discrimination in Employment Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Make sure to use a modern and recognizable email service such as Gmail &#8212; this is particularly important for individuals who are looking for jobs in high tech fields, like IT or Computer Science. An outdated email service like AOL or Yahoo can lend the impression that you are not keeping up with the latest tech trends.<\/p>\n<p>If you put your <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">phone number<\/span> on your resume, expect a phone call. With that, consider what your voicemail sounds like and what type of impression it will have on an employer. Do you have a ringback tone? Are you using an automated voicemail that just states your number? A professional voicemail should include a personalized greeting with your full name. Including your name in the voicemail will help an employer ensure that they are leaving a message with the correct applicant.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Make a resume appointment with the Career Center<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The NECC Career Center is here to help students and alumni! Making a resume appointment with one of our enthusiastic team members will help ensure that your resume is current and easy to skim and read.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fun fact:<\/strong> Did you know that, on average, a recruiter or HR professional will look at your resume for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glassdoor.com\/blog\/scanning-resumes\/\">six seconds<\/a> before deciding whether or not it should go in the \u201cno\u201d pile? Knowing this, you should take the time to ensure your resume is clean, well-formatted, and easy to skim. We recommend that your resume focus on highlighting marketable skills, quantifiable career accomplishments, and <span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">relevant<\/span> experience for optimal results.<\/p>\n<p>Resumes should be free from grammatical error. To boost your chances of passing the six-second test, run a spell check on your resume and have several people proofread.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Use social media wisely<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We often hear about how social media can <em>negatively<\/em> impact your job search, but consider the ways in which you can use it to positively enhance your brand.<\/p>\n<p>Find one to three social media platforms that are manageable and relevant to your future career. Spend time on boosting the quality of your posts on their platforms, rather than focusing on having presence on all social media platforms. Schedule and time your posts that are geared toward your target audience. Post content that is positive and related to your future career or target industry. Follow thought leaders, target companies, and professional associations to learn from them and to remain current on industry trends. Social media can also be useful for researching employers in order to prepare for hiring interviews.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Prepare your references\u2026 and respect their time<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nothing is worse than a surprise reference call or an unprepared reference. Before you list someone as your reference, contact him\/her to request permission. Doing so will give your prospective reference the opportunity to agree or to explain why they may not feel comfortable.<\/p>\n<p>Help them to prepare for the conversation by sending them an up-to-date version of your resume, along with a copy of the job description you are applying for.<\/p>\n<p>Keep them informed about your job search and the timelines, so they know when to expect a phone call.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Send follow-up communication to your prospective employer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Take the time to thank the person\/people who interviewed you. A hand written note is nice, but is certainly not required in today\u2019s job market. A post-interview email thank you is expected, however.<\/p>\n<p>During the interview you may meet with just one person, or multiple people. Make a point to collect business cards so that you can send the proper acknowledgements after your meetings.<\/p>\n<p>To help remember specific conversations with individuals, jot down notes on the back of the business cards. Taking this step will help you personalize the thank you email(s) that will follow.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Want to learn more about career services at NECC? Visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.necc.mass.edu\/succeed\/career-services\/\">Career Services page<\/a> to explore jobs and internship opportunities, sign up for upcoming workshops, and more.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Launching a job search can seem like a daunting task. Luckily, Northern Essex Community College is here to help. Before you start on your next career move, be sure to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":27485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Common Sense Guide to Acing the Job Search - NECC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2019\/10\/16\/jobsearch\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Common Sense Guide to Acing the Job Search - NECC News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Launching a job search can seem like a daunting task. 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