Helping a Library User Look For Work

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Helping a Library User Look For Work

How many times has a user approached you with a scenario like this:

"Could you help me find a job on the Internet? I'm looking for work in accounts payable but when I tried looking up accounting, it gave me 250,000 jobs; it seems like most of them are either in New York or Chicago. I can't move to New York--I need a job here. I'm not sure what I should do but I need to make some money because I have bills to pay. I have to get a job quickly and I've heard that the Internet was the best way to do that but I don't where I should look."

Does this sound familiar?

In this course you will learn about:

  • Online and printed career resources;
  • Helping people find very specific job information (career fields, salary, companies, employers, etc.);
  • Different types of resumes (functional, chronological) and the advantages/disadvantages of each; and
  • How to respond to requests for help with resumes or cover letters.

This workshop will provide you with the techniques and resources you need to help users save time and have a more rewarding job-hunting experience.

Workshop Description: This all-day workshop will provide you with the techniques and resources you need to assist users seeking employment in today's marketplace. You will explore online career, salary and resume resources, search job and salary databases using specific position search parameters, and write resumes suitable for email, Internet and hard copy use. The instructor will provide sample resumes, templates, cheat sheets, and a webliography, as well as practical, useful tips that can be applied immediately.

Pre-workshop assignment:

  1. If you do not have an individual e-mail account, get one and practice using it until you are comfortable. For help with this, go to http://infopeople.org/howto/freemail.html.
  2. Prepare a list of the most common job search questions or problems users have mentioned to you for class discussion.

Preliminary Course Outline:

  • Library Users' Readiness to Benefit from the Information Presented
  • Benefits of Using the Internet to Find a Job
  • Job Hunting Tasks on the Internet
    • Job listings
    • Posting a resume
    • Career counseling information
    • Obtaining specific information (careers, salary information, companies/employers)
    • Contacting employers and others
  • Prepare And Fine Tune Your Parameters
    • Career resources
    • Salary resources
    • Resume formats and styles
  • Major Online Job Databases
  • Other Online Job Resources
    • Online newspapers
    • Job banks
    • Professional and trade associations
    • Individual job search methods

Who should attend:Anyone from the California library community who responds to questions about careers, job application, resume writing and submission, or job search.

Prerequisites:This course requires that students be comfortable with basic computer skills, including using a mouse, navigating the web, and basic keyboarding. For help with these basic skills, we recommend the New Computer Users section of the Infopeople How-to Guides, at http://www.infopeople.org/howto/

To be successful in this course, you should be comfortable using Windows, Word and navigating the Internet using Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. You should have an individual e-mail account and know how to use it well.

Check-in: 8:30 to 9 AM Instruction: 9 AM to 4:30 PM

Available for contracting: 
No