Now that the Digital Boom has hit rough-and-tumble times, are companies ditching this concept? The career prospects for culture coordinators would seem to be as promising as those for, say, freelance shepherds. But recruitment experts disagree.

The Cultural Collapse
John Henkel, president of Management Recruiters in Wisconsin, is one of those experts. “Since the culture coordinator position is an overhead type of job,” he says, “companies are going to look at it very hard when times are lean. When companies are continually looking for cost savings, this position could be in real jeopardy.”

But Susan Cinco, vice president of Management Recruiters of Melbourne in Florida, says there’s still plenty of need for such a position–and not simply for rah-rah morale-boosting in bad times. “I see more of a continuing need for a culture coordinator,” she says, “and it really isn’t tied into the state of the economy. With mergers and acquisitions becoming the norm, this person is needed to blend workers and company philosophies. With the diversity of the workforce, you have the new X and Y generations coming on board with a mature, older workforce and management staff. You need a coordinator to help both sides figure out what drives them.”

A great culture coordinator can produce concrete, substantive benefits. Consider Diane Rich. She serves as “chief culture officer” at Massachusetts-based iPhrase, an enterprise information software company. By coordinating the efforts of ten in-house “culture” teams, Rich has pushed employee commitment to physical fitness, healthy diet, company-driven volunteerism, recreation, and family needs.

“These efforts are a reflection of the individual here,” says Rich. “It’s not being dictated, as it is in most cases, by one of the founders. At iPhrase, we don’t have a founder with that kind of ego. So we pursued this from the bottom up, to reflect the values of the employees.” Indeed, iPhrase’s roster of in-house culture teams might sound a bit corny: iEscape, iEat, iGive, iSweat, and so on. But for many modern professionals, the corporate life tends to define their own. The leaders at iPhrase want their employees to be productive, resourceful, and well rounded.

Birth of the Cool
The company offers many other projects and outings for their workers. The dinner rotation features an eclectic variety, with yogurt and fruit replacing cookies and chips. Employees are helping a local high school design its own Web site, tutoring at a local grammar school, and building homes for Habitat for Humanity. And they host golf outings, Boston Harbor cruises, an in-house Battle of the High Tech Bands, and fall foliage hikes.

“Yes, I realize there’s the impression that culture isn’t cool anymore,” Rich says. “It’s a sad perception, but it isn’t true. The goal of a culture coordinator shouldn’t be putting on fun events for the sake of having fun. They should create an environment for talented people to enjoy what they do, and contribute to our success.”

Perhaps Rich’s own business-focused background helps. She started her career at Arthur Andersen, focusing on the turnarounds of mid-market companies, and went on to serve as a consultant on strategy development and operations within the telecommunications industry. She has a BS from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the esteemed Wharton School of Business. At iPhrase, chief culture officer is just one of two titles: Rich’s is also vice president of new markets.

This mission-focused experience elevates her culture-focused duties in the eyes of her colleagues. “The problem with so many companies is that they don’t tie culture into business objectives,” Rich says. “That’s why the culture coordinator position gets cut when the going gets rough. It’s more than a surface-level thing here. Improving culture at a company is about more than providing a foosball table.”

“While one out of every 200 resumes–some studies put the number as high as 1,500 resumes–results in a job offer, one out of every 12 informational interviews results in a job offer,” says Katharine Hansen, author of A Foot in the Door: Networking Your Way Into the Hidden Job Market. “That’s why informational interviewing is the ultimate networking technique, especially considering that the purpose of informational interviewing is not to get job offers.”

Take Kevin Dugan, a senior public relations consultant at HSR Business to Business in Cincinnati. To crack the PR market in his area, Dugan conducted informational interviews with local PR firms. He kept in touch with the contacts he created and, six months later, one of the interviews turned into a job. Now, as an employer, Dugan eagerly grants informational interviews to PR hopefuls.

Play the P.I.
Find out everything you can about the companies you’d like to interview. The best sources for researching companies are business and executive directories such as Hoover’s Handbook of American Business, Dun’s Regional Business Directory, and the Job Bank series. There are a number of resources online offering the same information.

Choose Your Targets
Your first urge may be to contact someone as high up in the company food chain as you can. Squelch that urge. “Sometimes it’s more informative to interview someone who simply holds the kind of job you’d like to have,” says Hansen. “That’s especially true for college students who can benefit from interviewing recent grads with entry-level jobs.”

Write It Right
Now’s the time to put fingers to keyboard and compose the letter that will open doors for you in your chosen field. There are several keys to writing a letter that gets results:

• Let the employers know that you’re interested in their professional experience and advice. “There’s nothing in it for them but a plug for their ego,” Dugan says, “someone saying ‘I really value your opinion.’”
• Tell the employers how you got their name. “Having someone refer you to prospective informational interviewees is a great way to get your foot in the door,” adds Hansen.
• Stress in your letter that you want to meet for only a short time–a half hour at the most.
• Assure the employers that you’re not looking for a job in this interview.
• Depending on your situation, offer to do the interview in person, on the phone, or by e-mail.
• Tell the recipients that you’ll contact them to follow up and set the appointment.

Follow up
Follow-up calls can be scary, but bite the bullet and ring up your potential interviewees to remind them of your request. Have a practiced message ready, just in case you’re put through to the employer’s voicemail.

Prepare for the Inquisition
Write out a list of questions that show you’ve done your research. Dugan used two tiers of questions. First came the normal job-related questions, asking about a typical workday and other things. The industry-related questions were next. “I’d ask about current events, what did they think about this, what caused that to happen,” says Dugan. “It shows you’re interested in the industry.”

Break a Leg
All the usual interview advice applies: Dress like you work there, exude confidence, bring your finely honed resume (if you have a good rapport, you can always ask the interviewee to look it over with a critical eye). Feel free to ask for referrals, but as much as it pains you to do so, you must refrain from asking for a job. “The minute you ask for a job in an informational interview, you have betrayed yourself as duplicitous since you initially requested the interview based on the premise of obtaining information only,” says Hansen. Use the informational interview for what it is: a means of gathering information on a company or industry.

Keep the Fires Burning
Follow up on your informational interview with a thank-you letter, so you’ll always remain in the employer’s mind as “that nice guy/gal who sent the thank-you letter.” And try to get in touch with your contacts at least once a year so their memory of you doesn’t fade. Send them progress reports, holiday cards, articles, or news clippings of special interest to them.

Even after you land a job, keep on interviewing. Informational interviewing keeps you in practice, expands your contact network in your industry, and is a good precaution in today’s economic slowdown.

Sure, we’re motivated to leave dull jobs behind, but we’re also reluctant to face the challenges that come with change. How do cautious people adopt a workable plan, gracefully transitioning from everyday routine to a perfectly passion-centered career? It can be done, some say, if you’re willing to take a chance.

Re-Invented Lives
Those who just did it-successfully made the move to a perfect job-say that you have to find something you love, then follow it wherever it leads. Tanya Lyle, a writer and editor by day, devotes evenings and weekends to her own desktop publishing business.

Lyle edits for an internationally known contractor, but is curiously unimpressed with the trappings of her day job. The plan to reinvent her career was absolutely necessary, she says, but she was very careful when planning any moves. “I wanted the freedom to direct my work and develop my skills,” she says. “But I’m practical about it, too. I take advantage of all the training and experiences I get in my present job, and that helps me in my transition.”

The Value of Creativity & Freedom
Most people think that money (or a lack thereof) keeps us from making a career transition. But, for people who really want to work at jobs they’re passionate about, money isn’t an issue. So reports Richard Chang, CEO of his own business consulting firm in California and author of The Passion Plan: A Step-by Step Guide to Discovering, Developing, and Living Your Passion (Jossey-Bass, 1999). Chang believes that “people no longer want to just collect a paycheck. They want their work to have meaning. If there’s no emotional connectivity between the employee and the organization, then the luster of material prizes quickly fades.”

Michael Lee agrees. Lee has been an amusement park designer for the last ten years, working for major companies like Warner Brothers and Lucasfilm Ltd. It’s an exciting, satisfying, and lucrative job, but most important for him is that it fills him with passion.

According to Lee: “It’s simple to ask, ‘Is there enough money in it?’ But look at Bill Gates. He made something that other people never thought of, but made it useful. As a result he’s very wealthy.” Although Lee is comfortable financially and happy with the transition he made, it wasn’t always the case. He held other jobs that didn’t pay very well. But money still wasn’t the major factor in his decision to follow his passion. “I valued my own creativity,” he says simply. That creativity became, in a sense, his money in the bank.

Lyle also understands the financial fears people have as they decide to transition to a career they love. Her financial advice is practical: “Let your day job fund your dream job, and save some money. Don’t let money worries keep you from doing what you must do for yourself.”

Follow Your Head, Lead With Your Heart
Even though people are afraid to make the change to a better career, Lee sees the process as “a spiritual thing. I went to many career counselors, took aptitude tests, but none of it helped. In the end, you’ve got to have confidence in yourself.”

Chang says that organizations are starting to employ people who are confident and passionate about their jobs. “Given the current challenges that organizations face in the economy,” he claims, “it’s important that they harness the power of people’s vitality, creativity, and energy-in a nutshell, their passion. Companies like Ben & Jerry’s, Southwest Airlines, and others have found tremendous success because they are passion-driven.”

If large business and corporations appreciate the power of passion in the lives of their employees, and use that passion to make their companies successful, what are you waiting for?

Enlist Some Help

If you have a big deadline and need time to write, consider hiring a babysitter for a few hours or having Grandma take your child out of the house for the day. This can be a lifesaver when you need to focus on the task at hand.

Work at night or early morning

By now, you have an idea of when your child will go down for bed and when he’s going to get up. Take advantage of this free time and get work done. Also, if your child is still taking a nap, take advantage of that time.

Have Some Tricks Up Your Sleeve

Toddlers are forever getting into things and need lots of attention. Have some tricks up your sleeve to keep your child entertained. A big box of toys in the office will work or put them in their highchair with juice and a snack. This will give you at least a few minutes.

Keep Your Cool

You may be working on the computer, when a container of pencils crashes to the floor or your toddler finds the stack of mail and starts going through it. This is one of those times you may want to give up on working. Patiently clean up the mess or take away the object and get them busy working on something else.

Plan Work for One Day a Week

If you find it’s too hard to fit in work when you are home with your toddler, consider working one day a week, such as Saturday, when your spouse is home or a relative can provide babysitting.

With a little creative thinking and a lot of patience, there are ways to get stuff done, even with a little one to take care of!

Most people go into denial when they realize their job is in jeopardy. They work longer and harder, hoping they are wrong or that their boss will suddenly realize how important they are.

Unfortunately, even if you recognize the warning signs and work twice as hard, your boss is not likely to change his mind. So what other options do you have? This short guide will help you prepare if you think you are about to be terminated.

Take a Deep Breath
Remember that you are not alone. The latest job statistics show new unemployment claims rising to their highest level since 1992. The good news is that about the same number of people are getting new jobs as are losing them. Moreover, wages and benefits are still rising, although at a slower rate than at this time last year. If you stay calm and take the right steps before you are terminated, you will be in a better position to use this as an opportunity to advance your career.

Research Your Severance Deal
Negotiating a good severance package is critical. It allows you time to find the right job and can greatly facilitate your job search. You not only have to negotiate the fair amount of severance, but also outplacement, a later termination date, the wording of your references, keeping your voicemail or e-mail for a period of time, etc.

To get a better package, you need information and leverage. Jodie-Beth Galos, author of Firing Back, suggests that you “get your hands on the policies governing termination and severance, get copies of what’s in your personnel file, and talk to anyone who knows what others have gotten.” Although actually filing a lawsuit should be a last resort, knowing your legal rights can provide you with the leverage you need.

Get Your Finances in Order
Defer any major purchases. Cut back on spending. Put money aside if you can. Talk to an investment advisor. Try to arrange your investments so that they provide income while you are unemployed. Do whatever you can to ensure that you will have enough time to find a good job and not settle for the first thing that comes along.

Prepare a Great Resume
Don’t feel sorry for yourself; focus on the future. Think about the things you do best and the things you like to do. Then, try to determine the type of job (and type of company) that suits your vision. Make a list of your major accomplishments, both at work and outside the office. Be specific. Quantify any results you have achieved to the extent possible (”increased revenues” or “reduced costs”). Use this information to write a focused resume–and post that resume online. Also submit it to headhunters and friends.

Prepare to Job Search
Familiarize yourself with the entire process. Read books on networking, interviewing, negotiating, etc. Web sites, such as Careerbuilder.com, can also be extremely helpful. Learn how to use the numerous Internet job search tools found there.

Make a List of Everyone You Know
Start with the people you know best: friends, current and former co-workers, relatives, headhunters who have called you, people in your associations and clubs, etc. Get a copy of the company directory, take it home, and add key individuals to your list.

Network With the People on Your List
Networking is essential to finding the job that you want. It is easier to do this when you are still employed, particularly if you haven’t spoken with someone in awhile. Try to set up breakfasts, lunches, and evening meetings with people you trust. Seek their advice and let them know that you are interested in other opportunities. (Note: You needn’t tell them that your present job is in jeopardy.)

Shape Up
Join a gym. Take some classes to brush up on your skills. Attitude is the most important thing in a job search. The more positive and confident you are, the more attractive a candidate you are to prospective employers. Looking and feeling good will help.

Taking action while you are still working gives you a head start on your employment search. You can move quickly if (and when) you actually do lose your job. Plus, you will have the time and confidence necessary to land the job you really want.

How could this happen? Why do so many people experience career indecision?

Workers who don’t know what they want are out of touch–with who they really are and with the things that truly matter to them. Their thoughts, beliefs, and values are elusive; they cannot identify the things that uniquely motivate and define them. After all, how can we know what we want if we don’t really know who we are?

Some career choice candidates reach the decision point and just get stuck in indecision. This is no failure on the counselor’s part. No one can tell you what you want, not even the best career counselor or coach! “Wanting” is an inside job. You must know your inner self first, then make a committed career choice based on that.

Perception vs. Reality
A certain amount of self-discovery is essential to this process. The inability to make a career choice proves one thing: A gap exists between who you think you are (and what you think you want) and who you really are (and what you really want.)

Career choice thus becomes a reason to look again, to find the “you” you want. In Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow, author Marsha Sinetar makes a key point. Before we can choose to do what we love, we first must choose for ourselves. Only then can one make an authentic career choice. But this idea goes further back. As the German poet Goethe, in an essay titled Commitment, reminds us: The moment we definitely commit to a choice, all of providence will move to help us. But we must tell the truth about who we are and what we want.

We must learn to trust our choices, too. Best-selling author Marianne Williamson, in her book Return from Love claims that our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, but powerful beyond measure. So sometimes it just feels safer to say: “I don’t know what I want.”

Reconnect With Your Inner Self
If you truly feel unable or unwilling to make a career decision, here are some things you can do to ease the process along:

• Pay attention to your inner self. Start noticing your thoughts and feelings as you go through each day. We tend to look the other way when these feelings come up–but that’s what creates the disconnect. So pay attention to yourself. Meditation can help here. Sit quietly for five minutes, twice each day, and concentrate on your breathing. Notice your thoughts, acknowledge them, and stay focused on your breath.
• Start with your next job. There is no need to settle your whole life today. Just narrow down the career choices in front of you; it’s enough to choose your next best step.
• Turn career choice inside-out. Rather than look for what’s out there, look at what you have and who needs that the most. Then consider how that matches up with the issues and industries you like. “Inside-out” thinking can clarify a career starting point.
• Re-think the purpose of career. If we choose the right career, we think, our whole life will suddenly fall into place. But that’s not true: Career is no silver bullet–it’s just a career. If your whole life is riding on choosing the right career, the choice may seem impossible.

Are You Ready?
For a lucky few, giving dynamic, attention-grabbing speeches is a piece of cake. But for most of us, it doesn’t come naturally. Companies now place increasing value on good communications skills; you need to learn to feel totally at-ease behind the podium. Here are some tips:

• Volunteer to lead a discussion group for your department   before you’re put on the spot and you have to.
• Take speaking engagements with your professional association or local Chamber of Commerce.
• Give a speech at your local Kiwanis or Rotary luncheon
• Be the speaker at the next meeting of your Camera Club, or Book Discussion Group, or Scout meeting.

Remember Ross Perot?
Remember his salesmanship? He was a member of Toastmasters International for awhile. Toastmasters is a nonprofit club whose main purpose is to help members hone their public-speaking skills. The organization celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1999 with a membership of more than 178,000 in 8,500 clubs and 70 countries.

Try following in Perot’s footsteps and joining your nearest Toastmasters to get the speaking experience you need. (Okay, he never actually won the presidency, but he’s done all right in life thanks to his speaking abilities.) Many large corporations now actually have in-house chapters of Toastmasters for the convenience of employees who’d like to brush up their speaking skills.

As a Toastmaster, you will learn how to:

• Prepare and give better presentations
• Give and objectively receive constructive criticism
• Build management skills
• Answer impromptu questions
• Run and participate in meetings

Organization Is Key
Nobody remembers speeches. But they will remember YOU if you are organized. According to Canadian speechwriter Matt Hughes in Management Review, the average business speech audience will retain no more than two or three new facts from your 20-minute presentation. Pare your facts ruthlessly; deal with the essential information you want your audience to take away.

Communications consultants Wilma Davidson, Ed.D, and Susan Kline in Journal of Accountancy, March 1999, suggest dividing your presentation time into three blocks.

• The first 20 percent is when you tell your audience what you’re going to tell them
• Use 70 percent of your time to expound on your message with the appropriate facts, examples, or anecdotes
• During the remaining 10 percent tell them what you told them by restating the theme

If you make it easy for your listeners to follow you, they’ll follow you anywhere. Poor organization leads to a squirming or dozing audience, along with frustration for you, the speaker.

Visualize Success
Start with a positive image of yourself in front of the crowd. Think: “What if the audience really ENJOYS what I do?” rather than “What if I fail?” Look happy and self-assured. If you don’t feel that way, pretend you do. As Shakespeare said, “Assume a virtue if you have it not.”

Picture yourself before an audience:

• Confidently stepping forward
• Listening to the hush fall as you begin
• Feeling the audience’s anticipation as you enthusiastically drive home your few points

Run the whole process in your mind several times the night before and the morning of your event. “See” a whole movie of your performance, including your standing ovation. “Experience” the pleasure you’ll feel from your listeners’ positive responses.

Winning the Battle
Winston Churchill, one of history’s great orators, overcame a lisp and the lack of a university education to lead England for nine crucial years. Your goals probably do not include leading a nation at war; however, you need all the help you can get to triumph on today’s corporate battlefield. Effective speaking is one more powerful weapon to add to your arsenal.

Some do succeed, right? They do what they want, answer only to themselves, and generally feel fulfilled. They’ve accomplished what they were born to do. But some of these dream-followers eventually fall apart, and they don’t know why.

Success Breeds Discontent?
Sometimes, you just can’t finance a dream. “After college, I was completely broken-hearted to realize that I couldn’t support myself by doing what I loved. Waiting tables became my full-time job,” says Lynn Mitchell, an artist in Charleston, SC. “My dream career has always been in the art world. If money were no object, I would open a gallery this afternoon. But my wallet hasn’t allowed it.”

Then again, your dream profession may not be what you think it is. “Entertainment is a business, driven by money, and money blinds,” laments Robert Sherwood, who recently moved to Los Angeles to become a comedian. “I had to accept that fact. It hurts to see the untalented or the physically beautiful make it, while true artists waste away in anonymity.”

Dreams require a bit of research, too. A passion for literature does not give you the skills to open a bookstore. An animal lover may not be emotionally or intellectually equipped to be a veterinarian, handling sick pets every day. But don’t dismiss your dream career yet.

“People can choose to be happy, whatever happens when following their dream career or opportunity,” says career counselor Heather Wagoner, PhD. “However, there has to be extreme flexibility.” Being flexible helps you avoid the guilt that can set in if your dream flounders. Bills have to be paid. Families must be cared for. Economies rise and fall. Just because we love something does not mean it will provide us with riches and constant happiness. We can do everything right and still have go under; no need to add guilt to the equation.

“Don’t waste time fretting about your decision to go for it,” Wagoner advises. “If you respect that you tried things out instead of criticizing yourself, then you will grow. You would have never known these things if you hadn’t explored them.” So, she adds, consider your secondary interests. “It’s not too late to begin other things you love. For most of us, similar to our concept of love, there isn’t typically an ideal career, but many realities we would be compatible with. Be open to this.”

Try to get support from friends and family. “Pursuing a dream can be exhausting,” Wagoner says. “Your family connections are an essential component toward surviving this type of change. They truly know who you are, so they can help you explore alternative pursuits.”

Specifics Required
First and foremost, Wagoner believes, you must clarify your path: “What do you want from the future? What is important to you? What isn’t? Write these things down. Do a timeline of successful events in your past, and then note any characteristics you displayed to make these effective. Say tou yourself, ‘If I displayed those traits then, I still have effective abilities. How can I continue to build upon these in my next step?’”

What if you love the dream but can’t really make a living at it? Easy. Pursue the dream part-time instead of full-time, as Mitchell is doing: “I’m saving money through retail and real estate. I’ve been buying homes to rent to friends. Eventually, I’ll open a furniture and antique store and sell artwork and furniture from local artists. Meanwhile, I’m networking with artists and have learned how to run the business end of a retail operation. I’m working smarter instead of harder.”

Sherwood is equally determined to make it. “This sounds like something you’d cross-stitch on a pillow,” he says, “but I don’t see how anything you have a passion for could ever be cancelled out by negatives. I see a lot of bored people in this world. I know why–they have nothing to pursue with passion. I’m very lucky to have found something I really love, no matter how hard it is.”

Spread the Word

From your next-door neighbor to your best friend, everyone knows someone. Let them know a little about what you do and perhaps give them a business card. When they know of someone who needs your service, you’ll be the first to get the call!

Make Yourself Visible

Volunteering is not just good for your community; it’s also good for your business! For example, if you write for a living, offer your favorite non-profit organization your writing skills for their next brochure or newsletter. Who knows where it might lead!

Get Online

If you don’t already have a web site, now is the time to set one up! Whether you set it up yourself or you hire someone, having a web presence makes it easy for potential customers to find you.

The Yellow Pages

Many times when someone is looking for a service and don’t know of anyone, they flip through their phone book. Call your yellow pages office and set up a listing. Be sure to include your business address, website address and e-mail address. Keep in mind that you don’t want to list your home address. If you don’t already have a post office box, get one now.

Promotional Items

People love to get free stuff. Whether you choose personalized pens, magnets, or other items, your business name and contact information will get out to more people than you might realize. An easy way to send out your promotional items is to send a thank you card to past and current clients and include the promotion. This will also help keep your business fresh in their minds.

Meetings and More

Have you been to your local Chamber of Commerce meeting lately? If not, now is the time to take a break from work and get out in the community. To make attending more comfortable, consider bringing a friend, perhaps someone who also owns their own business.

Trading

Earlier, building your web site was mentioned as a key tool in promoting your business. If you are short on cash to pay for the web site, have you thought of trading some of your business services for the web site? Trading services with other freelancers is a great way to keep your costs low and network with others.

Professional Organizations

By joining professional organizations, you are getting connected into a network with thousands of others who run businesses just like yours! Not only will you have access to lots of tools and resources, you may be able to help out other members with extra work they can’t handle.

Be a Source

Reporters are always looking for the next good story. When they write, they need sources and experts and you can be one of them! Contact your local newspaper and offer to be a source for their next business story. When you establish yourself as an expert, new doors can open up.

These are a just a few ways you can promote your business. If you take the time to think of creative promotional ideas, you’ll find it’s not only fun but your business will prosper!

Peter Vogt, President of Career Planning Resources and producer of The Career Services Kiva ( www.careerserviceskiva.com ), a comprehensive news and information web site for college and university career services professionals, believes employers may increasingly decide not to fill open positions, especially if the economy continues on its apparent downturn.

“This could hurt new grads in that many of those open positions might be entry-level positions or positions deemed non-essential, which often turn out to be the ones new grads have the best shot at,” Vogt said.

He is, however, optimistic that it be may too early to tell how the slowing economy will ultimately affect new college graduates. Vogt encourages new grads not to get complacent about their job searches.

This is especially important considering the increased competition from recently laid off workers. Vogt believes that there will be more competition, especially in the technology and dot-com sector.

“I’m hearing more and more from people who graduated, say, a year or two ago and who now find themselves the victims of layoffs. These people haven’t accumulated much professional experience yet, and so they’ll likely be competing with brand new graduates for some entry-level jobs — and, in some cases, one-step-above-entry-level jobs,” Vogt said.

Seek Intelligent Counsel

Never assume there is a job out there with your name on it. Employers care about their bottom line and how you can help them. In order to answer that question, have your resume evaluated by a career counselor. They will help you to find your strengths and how you can fill a prospective employer’s need.

Dawn Rosenburg McKay, an About.com Guide for the Career Planning Site, believes students need to use all resources that are at their disposal.

“You have to be proactive about this (your job search). Use all avenues available to you, i.e. your college’s career services office, online/print job listings, and members of your network.” McKay said. “Make sure you have the best resume you can have — with a clear objective on each one you send out (this objective can change depending on the job for which you’re applying). Prepare for job interviews so you can present yourself well.”

Vogt gives the following tips for working with a career counselor: