Smart Job Search Strategies for Any Economy

Summary: Learn how to be creative in your job search during a good or bad economic climate.

Question: I am a second-year M.B.A. student at Seattle University. I’m currently interning with a financial planner at a large financial-services company, and I hope to find a corporate-finance or economic-research job after graduation. What are the best ways to find a good job amid the current economic climate? Will I need to make my own opportunities and be more aggressive? Which job-search websites can help?

Answer: Your phrase “make my own opportunities” defines the essence of a job search in a sluggish economy. As disheartening as this might seem at the moment, the resourcefulness you’ll be called upon to use in securing your first position will leave you with career-building skills to draw from over a lifetime.

The basics of the search still stand: Know yourself well, research and come up with a list of targeted employers, get to the people who have the power to hire you, and effectively communicate what you have to offer. It’s the creativity and persistence that differentiate a search in a tough economy.

Be resourceful, first, with your internship. If you’ve been a stellar intern, you’ll be in a good position to ask your sponsor to help with creative thinking on developing leads. Even if the financial planner you’ve worked with can’t offer you a position, he or she should have strategic tips and at least a handful of promising contacts to begin to build a network.

Along with Granted.com, HB.org provides a wealth of information.