Using the Job Club Approach to Find a New Job

The Job-Club approach to finding a job works for a broad range of jobs, including unskilled, semiskilled, skilled, managerial, and professional. However, looking for a professional job is somewhat different from looking for most nonprofessional jobs. These differences are a matter of degree rather than of change in procedure, but they do deserve some attention.

Professionals aren’t really used to job searching

Because professionals change jobs less often than other people, when they are unemployed they usually are unskilled and bewildered about how to proceed in the job search.

These people have received their professional degrees and certification in a field that's restricted to a very few people, so they usually are in great demand and in a position to wait for job offers to come to them.

When they do look, the major search is done via the employment bulletin in their chosen profession. Once they get a position, they are likely to remain in it for a long period, often for their entire life. However, if their field is somewhat overcrowded, or if they want to get another job, they may find the usual method is ineffective and be left with a highly specialized skill that they can't make use of. This places professionals in a job-search situation similar to that of nonprofessionals, who are often in this situation.

Niche employment bulletins and job boards

Positions for professionals ordinarily are not found in the help wanted section of newspapers, but in specialized professional employment bulletins. So you need to find out where to get these bulletins. Usually, they are published by the state, regional, or national professional associations and can be obtained by letter or a phone call. If you aren't sure how to get the listing, ask some members of your profession, especially teaching members; they are aware that their graduating students need this information. If you aren't a member of the association that publishes the listings, ask your friends or teachers who are members to lend you their copy or give you a photocopy.

Use the professional job listing just as you would use help-wanted advertisements: Don't worry if your qualifications do not fit the job description exactly; don't overemphasize geographical factors; don't be dissuaded from applying because the starting salary is low or the starting date is early; and so on. Once an employer finds you attractive, almost every aspect of a position is negotiable. Conversely, a job might have apparent disadvantages—for example, the geographical location or the salary level—and yet have unexpected attractions that would justify your taking the job. Be sure to call the person, even if a mailing address is given, to establish more personal contact and to obtain more information.

Talk to former classmates and colleagues

Because a specific profession contains a relatively small number of people, you should rely heavily on personal channels of communication. Job information is especially likely to come from former classmates whom you knew in professional school and from co-professionals, since they know you well. These sources of assistance are at least as important as for nonprofessionals.

Most universities maintain an up-to-date listing of their graduates for mailing and fund-raising purposes, so try to obtain the listing that's mailed to your graduating class. Also, obtain or borrow a copy of the directories published by the relevant professional societies. All the members are listed, along with their professional affiliations.

This lets you look up the affiliation of past classmates and co-workers to determine whether you might be interested in a position in their organization or geographical area. Sometimes these directories also list the members by geographical area and by institutional affiliation groupings. If so, examine those specific institutions or geographical areas where you would especially like to work. If you recognize any of the names of people whom you have met before, contact them.

Professional conventions

Job finding is one of the major activities of most professional conventions, and each convention usually has a formal employment service for this purpose. So as part of your search, try to attend all the state, regional, and national conventions in your profession. And while you are at the convention, tell the people you know that you are looking for a job, and give them a copy of your brief resume with your hotel name and room number on it so they can contact you while you are at the convention.

When to start your search

Professional positions usually take far longer to fill than do other positions, since committees often must convene and evaluate before a final decision can be made. Several months may well pass before a professional job can be filled. Therefore, start your job search several months before you'll need a new job, if possible. If you are a newly certified professional, start the job search while you are still in school or still engaged in the usual required internship-type experience.

In short, the job search for professionals uses conventions and professional newsletters as the formal employment network, but because personal and social contacts play an even greater role than usual, the Job-Club methods are especially relevant.