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6The Daily Tar Heel Monday, October 12, 1987 Tried aM By JEAN MA BAXTER Staff Writer The major task for most college seniors is finding a job, and this can be accomplished via several different options. Networking (using personal con tacts), university career placement offices, employment agencies and want ads are a few of the options available to students in the job market. "Networking is the most effective way for people to find a job," said Marcia Harris, director of University Career Planning and Placement Services (UCPPS). Fifty-nine percent of the recent graduates surveyed in UCPPS's annual poll said that they used personal contacts to obtain jobs, she added. An additional 18 percent used previous work connections, and another 12 percent used faculty connections. Internships also allow the student the opportunity to make good con tacts, develop references and gain valuable experience, Harris said. Even unpaid internships are helpful in the long run, she added. Utilizing the services offered by UCPPS can be another effective means of finding a job. Of the UNC May 1986 graduates surveyed, 37.9 percent said that they found their jobs through UCPPS services, Harris said. The career office offers students a number of different programs and services, such as job market informa tion and employer requirements. Overseas By SHARON KEBSCHULL Stan Writer Students who want to teach Eng lish in Japan or build houses in Honduras or keep the water clean in Kenya will find plenty of opportunity but poor pay. While students will find a bounty of overseas volunteer programs, paid positions and internships are scarce. But there is hope for combining a COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE Opportunities available in development, brokerage, leasing and property management. Resume Drop: October 21 true inraeffi On the job market: Students who found jobs through various methods Method ' Percent Application process. . . .34 Friends .29 Want ads. .21 Placement Office. ; . .11 Employment Agencies. . . . . .5 Source: These figures are based on a recent survey conducted by the Maryland State Board on Higher Education. The Board surveyed more than 2,500 1984 college graduates in the state of Maryland. UCPPS also teaches the tools necessary for effective job hunting, including resume writing, cover letter writing, interviewing skills and job hunting strategies. , Andy Voso, a senior industrial relations major from Tryon, said, "I'm taking Job Search 101 from, the career office so that I can begin dropping resumes within a couple of weeks and start interviewing this month." Directories and lists of potential employers who students can contact on their own also are available , at UCPPS, Harris said. "Researching a company in our employer files and notebooks prior to an interview is also an asset," she said. The resume referral service sends employers the resumes of those students who meet their qualifica tions, Harris said. On-campus interviews, another jobs are career abroad with enough money to get by. National organizations, a good resource for volunteer jobs, may give the experience and contacts necessary to find a permanent job. The Peace Corps, which has about 5,500 volunteers working abroad, is one of the best sources for overseas jobs. Of those 5,500, about 80 percent have a college degree, said Vinnette Jones, director of recruitment. COIViRANieS Charlotte, Greensboro Presentation: November 12 HanesHall 7 P.M. All Majors Welcome B Hl SBBHI 8BB m3H UCPPS service, coordinates nearly 7,000 interviews a year between students and employers seeking new graduates, she said. Employment agencies are another option available to job hunters. Elaine McCardel, manager of the temporary division of Smither and Associates personnel services in Chapel Hill, said, "A lot of the jobs we have are clerical and entry level, but entry level jobs are a good way for a newly graduated student to get involved in a company and work his way up." Harris said that although employ ment agencies can be helpful to job hunters, it is important for students to be aware of the financial commit ments incurred by their use. Some agencies require a fee of as much as 10 percent of the first year's salary. UCPPS's 1986 survey showed that 3.4 percent of the student polled used plentiful!, A congressional order will almost double the size of the Corps by 1992, she said. The concentrations of volunteers are in Kenya, Honduras, the Philip pines and Sierra Leone, Jones said. There are no volunteers in Nicaragua, El Salvador or South Africa. The U.S. government restricts participation in the Peace Corps, requiring U.S. citizenship and a Interviews: November 13 employment 4, DTHTony Deifell Jennifer Jones talks with Belk representatives at the 1 986 career fair employment agencies to secure jobs, Harris said. Newspaper want ads also can be a helpful source for job openings. But too many people restrict themselves to the want ads as their only means of job searching, she said. Eighty-five percent of the available jobs are hidden and not shown in the want ads, Harris said. No matter which job-hunting method is used, there are a number of steps students should follow in order to maximize job opportunities, Harris said. The first step is self-assessment of career interests, she said. - but profitable satisfactory medical record and security clearance. Present or former employees of the Central Intelligence Agency are barred from the Peace Corps, and a former employee of the Corps may not work for the CIA or any intelligence-gathering organiza tion for at least four years after leaving the Corps. The average commitment to the Corps is 27 months, Jones said, and 20 percent of the volunteers extend that to three or four years. Applications and training are year round, with the majority of training between April and September. The host countries also place some restrictions on participants, Jones said. For example, after an applicant has cleared all of the U.S. checks, the government of Botswana requires, final approval. Other countries have restrictions on where volunteers may go in the host countries, such as local military bases. The Peace Corps takes about 2,500 volunteers who have just graduated, PRE-LAW STUDENTS DISCUSSION SESSION Professor Zygmunt Plater of Boston College Law School, a law teacher and environmental attorney, will speak on "Opportunites for Law Student Activism " at 5 PM Wednesday the 1 4th, in Room 2 1 3. Carolina Union. All Welcome. BOSTON COLLEGE LAW SCHOOL Prof. Plater will be available to interview students interested in law school, at 3:30 Wed., Oct 14, in Room 222, Carolina. Union. BCLS is an equal - -opportufiity-affirTnati Ve-action-institution.- Students must also develop a well constructed resume, because in most cases, this is the first contact with an employer.. ; . Lastly, students should make a list of ways to go about finding a job. A second list should be made of employers who can be contacted even if they do not have an advertised opening. "It is important to set weekly goals in order to continue productive job searching," Harris said. "Job searching requires patience and persistence. A person cant sit back and wait for something to fall into his lap." Jones said, adding that it is a good entrance into other permanent over seas jobs. The Peace Corps often sends its volunteers to help with projects for other organizations, such as the European Economic Community, CARE, or Lutheran World Services, which may lead to permanent jobs. The Foreign Service is another source for overseas opportunities. While there are only a few overseas internships available, paid jobs are open to students who pass the foreign service exam or for specialists who act as assistants. Deadline for applying for the exam is Oct. 23, and it will be given on Dec. 5, said Lisa Ritter, administra tive assistant to the chief of recruit ment. Competition is fierce out of the 16,000 who took the exam in 1986, about 1,200 passed. There are usually less than 200 positions avail able with the Foreign Service each See OVERSEAS, page 7
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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