GENERAL JOB SEEKER TIPS & ADVICE
Looking for a new opportunity is exciting and scary. Fortunately, there are many free tools and resources available to you that are listed below. We also offer periodic low cost workshops to help you figure out your passion, structure a search, or enhance your job search tools. Also, be sure to "Subscribe" in the upper right hand corner of this website to receive our newsletter of current job postings and other job seeker related information.
JOB BOARDS
If you know what you want to do, check out these sources for Michigan jobs! Other job boards that you might want to check out include Indeed.com and Craigslist.com and your college alumni career resource offererings.
- http://www.Indeed.com Excellent source of job leads
- www.MiTalent.org- This is a wonderful website with around 80,000 jobs in Michigan on any given day!
- www.annarborusa.org/work-here/job-seeker-resources - Ann Arbor SPARK has a nice assortment of opportunities in the local area, with a focus on technology companies.
- http://www.CountyOffice.org - Great website for finding local and county government opportunities.
- http://www.Craigslist.com - This is a great place to find things other than bookshelves!
NONPROFITS: JOB BOARDS AND SEARCH TIPS
For researching positions with nonprofit organizations, our team suggests monitoring individual organization websites as well as general job boards. Some nonprofit job boards include:
- The Chronicle of Philanthropy Job Board - https://www.philanthropy.com/jobs
- Council of Michigan Foundations Job Board - https://www.michiganfoundations.org/jobs
- A resource for internships, jobs, and volunteer opportunities - Idealist.org
CAREER SUPPORT
There are lots of organizations and tools that can be very helpful in your job search. Here are a few of our favorites:
- Michigan Works! Your local service center might have programs such as resume reviews, job seeker clubs, social media programs and other support to help you find your next opportunity. http://www.michiganworks.org/job-seekers/
- Center for the Education of Women (CEW). Free career counseling and resume reviews for men and women. http://www.cew.umich.edu/
- Career Transition Center at Washtenaw Community College (WCC). Whether you’re transitioning from school to a career or find yourself in transition due to a layoff or other circumstance, the Career Transitions team can get you pointed in the right direction. We are committed to providing students, employers and the community with a point of contact to assist with career step transitions. http://departments.wccnet.edu/careertransitions/
- Note from a successful job seeker: "I highly recommend JibberJobber.com to organize a job search and keep yourself on track. It is much better than a spreadsheet and allows you to associate people with companies, opportunities, keep notes, schedule reminders, etc. The basic level is free and useful enough that it’s all I’ve ever used. Really helped me through the Great Recession."
- Michigan eLibary Career Center. Here is a wide range of career tools and resources: http://www.learningexpresshub.com/productengine/LELIndex.html#/center/career-center/home
RESEARCHING MICHIGAN TECH COMPANIES & REGIONS
We highly recommend proactively identifying the companies that would hire you to do what you want to do. This puts you in the driver's seat, instead of just waiting for a job posting to pop up. Here are a few websites that have nice summaries of neat companies in Michigan!
- www.MadeInA2.com - This is a great collection of Ann Arbor startup companies that are doing incredible things!
- http://www.ventureupnorth.com/default.asp - This is a nice overview of the Traverse City region, key industries and key employers.
- https://www.workliveup.com - Awesome place to find job and lifestyle information about the Upper Peninsula!
RESUME TOOLS AND RESOURCES
There are lots of tools and resources out there for resumes. Remember, there are lots of different formats that are acceptable, although we have a personal bias towards a "chronological resume" over a "functional resume." And don't forget the cover letter!
- Resume Builder Guide: https://www.how2become.com/resources/ultimate-guide-to-building-a-cv/
- ResumeBaking - http://www.resumebaking.com/
- Resume Workshop - http://www.rawresume.com/
CAREER ASSESSMENTS
These are quick ways to get some initial ideas about careers that are a good fit with your personality and interests.
- Quick and easy general assessment: https://www.roguecc.edu/Counseling/HollandCodes/test.asp
- Strengths Finders is an excellent tool-http://strengths.gallup.com/default.aspx
- Reader recommended assessment! http://www.quintcareers.com/career_assessment.html
- "Finding Your Element" by Ken Robinson - this was a client recommended resource and workbook for identifying a career that will bring you satisfaction.
- Open Colleges' Career Quiz which includes a personality profile - http://www.opencolleges.edu.au/careers/career-quiz
NETWORKING EVENTS
Don't spend all of your time sitting behind a computer screen sending out resumes. Get out there and meet people! 60-70% of jobs are found from networking and employee referrals.
- Ann Arbor SPARK event calendar http://www.annarborusa.org/events
- New Tech Meet up http://www.meetup.com/a2newtech/
- Ann Arbor Connectors Club http://www.meetup.com/A2ConnectorsClub/
- Michigan Business & Professionals Association http://michbusiness.com
- Crain's event section http://www.crainsdetroit.com/section/events
ONGOING JOB NEWS & UPDATES
Subscribe (upper right hand corner) for our weekly updates which includes a summary of our posted job openings. EVERYTHING that we are working on is posted, so you can let us know what is of interest.
Plan to spend around 10% of your time looking at websites, 10% of your time going to career fairs and other events and the other 80% of the time out there networking with people to proactively identify the type of work that you would like to do, and finding the employers that would hire you to do what you want to do. Statistically, more than 70% of the jobs are filled through networking! - Good luck!
SPECIAL WEBSITE FOR INTERNATIONAL TALENT
- http://www.migtri.org The Global Talent Retention Initiative is a great resource for international students that are at a University in Michigan and would like to work in Michigan upon graduation.