Career News Resources

Elisabeth Leaf is the poster child for a successful job search.

The 21-year-old University of Washington-Tacoma senior knew she wanted to work in urban planning. So a few months into her senior year, Leaf began cold-calling people who work in her chosen field and arranging informational interviews to glean an insider's perspective on what their jobs are really like.

She discovered a few things, like the fact that she'd prefer to work in the private sector.

Designer Jewelry Brands | Volleyball | Night Vision "I wanted more of a career path, rather than just a job," she said.

She ended up with an internship at her first-choice company and will likely have a permanent job offer after she graduates.

When it comes to finding a job that you want, successful job hunters, career counselors and recruiters all say to spend less time on the Internet and more time meeting people. Job seekers spend most of their time sifting through job listings online and in the want ads, while employers get most of their new hires through personal and professional contacts, said Judy Colburn, manager of UWT's career development center.

"Go out and have conversations with people in the jobs you are interested in," Colburn said. "We encourage people to search online, but we also encourage them to talk to everybody they know."

It takes some nerve to call up strangers and ask them questions about their job and for advice. But Leaf said she received a phone call back from every person she called. Four times she met with people in person for more in-depth interviews.

The UWT senior didn't immediately ask about openings, but instead prodded people for bits of information about their jobs.

College graduation is just around the corner and that means the job search is on.

This year, some experts said that there are some good job prospects for graduates in a relatively new sector of the business world called sustainable business, WISC-TV reported.

Sustainable business is a growing area and nonprofit organizations are finding ways to become more environmentally and socially responsible.

University of Wisconsin senior Julia Glad and others like her are signing on with companies committed to helping others. Glad is currently working for Envest, a local financial company that she's helping launch. She will eventually provide loans to poor individuals in developing nations like Nicaragua, WISC-TV reported.

"Often they are small families or moms who are looking for ways to send their children to school," said Glad. "With these small loans, individuals have the opportunity to pursue other jobs or careers beyond things like slash and burn farming, which have a really negative effect on the environment."

UW business professor Tom Eggert said that companies like Envest are part of a growing trend.

"What we are seeing is increasing interest in businesses, nonprofits, community groups, governmental leaders in addressing the issues that society feels are facing it now," said Eggert.

Eggert teaches a course in sustainable business and said that the incentive for businesses goes beyond just good public relations.

"From an environmental perspective, much of what they're doing is realizing where costs are, how they are allocated and what they might do to minimize those costs," said Eggert. "And, oh, by the way, that is also a good thing from an environmental perspective, so it's a win-win situation."

That is precisely how Glad said she feels about her job with Envest.

"This is exactly what I want to do, helping people know what they can do to help," said Glad. "That's really what my job is about."

While taking Eggert's sustainable business course, Glad began working with Envest on a class project. She stayed on with them while she finished her degree. She said that she hopes to have the opportunity to continue working with Envest after graduation, WISC-TV reported.

The P-I is launching a new column offering simple, practical advice to advance your career. Maureen Moriarty, executive and leadership development coach and trainer, provides tips each Monday on how to succeed in the workplace. Whether you are on a challenging workplace team, a new manager or an experienced leader, these lessons from the Workplace Coach offer a best-practice guide to increase your effectiveness in the workplace.

Developing and maintaining trust is critical to success in your career, workplace teams, leadership and business. It is the foundation for individual and team performance. But trust can be difficult to earn and far too easy to lose.

Think of having a personal trust account much like your bank account. Every action you take with your customers, team, boss and direct reports is either a deposit into the trust account -- or a withdrawal.

If you overdraw, you risk bankruptcy. Careers and businesses can be derailed because of a single incident and overdraft on the trust account.

How do you gain and keep trust? This isn't rocket science -- more like everything you learned in kindergarten. Here are a few guidelines:

Do what you say you will do. If you commit to something, take responsibility and deliver. Better yet (to build overdraft protection), exceed their expectations. One of the surest ways to destroy workplace or client/customer trust is to overpromise and underdeliver. Avoid automatically saying yes to all requests. Know your limitations and resources. Commit to only those requests you know you can deliver on.

Be genuine and congruent. Most of us can spot a faker, pretender or workplace politician. Sometimes you can't put your finger on it -- you just know something about this person isn't trustworthy. A caution flag goes up in our hearts or gut that says, "Something is wrong with this picture." When the words the person is speaking don't match up with their non-verbal cues (the video we see doesn't match the audio we hear), we lose trust. Be mindful of the messages you are sending -- your tone of voice, eye contact and other non-verbal signs. Trying to fake or hide how you feel and what you think and want can increase the likelihood of others mistrusting you.

Be clear and concise in your communications (including e-mail!). Communicate to be understood. Ask others to repeat multifaceted instructions or complex ideas for clarity. If you are one of those people who use too many words or don't know when to stop talking, people may avoid you. Pause and let someone else in the conversation versus rambling or overexplaining yourself.

Listen well. Be careful about spending too much of your communication time in tell or lecture mode. Spend an equal or greater amount of your time listening to understand the other. By the way, if you are crafting your reply or rebuttal in your head while the other is talking -- you aren't listening. Many leaders spend too much time telling and not enough time listening. I've never heard a leader criticized for listening too much. To listen better, be curious, paraphrase (you'll pay closer attention if you know you have to summarize their words) and ask clarifying questions.

Avoid gossiping. What happens when you hear a co-worker back-stabbing another co-worker? Likely you make a note to self not to trust him or her because it's logical to assume one day you may be the target. If you have an issue with someone, have the courage and integrity to take it up with him or her directly. Back-stabbing is often a career derailer.

Generously give credit to others. Self-promoters are typically not trusted. Spend less time promoting yourself and more time giving credit to your team or direct reports.

Job losses in the Western New York auto industry and other sectors have created a business opportunity.

But more than that, Katy Shafer and Valerie Stanek see it as a way to help people in a region they adopted as their home years ago.