Career Services Series (Part 2): Guidance for College Students Seeking Employment During COVID-19 

By Connie Harrington, Associate Director of Career Development & Employer Relations 

Part 2 - Conducting a Virtual Job Search  

Last week in Part 1 of the Career Services Series: Guidance for College Students Seeking Employment During COVID-19, I discussed the importance of a good resume by taking an assessment of yourself, your skills and accomplishments to look for ways to make you stand out in a crowd of applicants. Part 2 will discuss how to conduct the job search process virtually, in light of the COVID-19 limitations. 

Consistency in all of your professional job search materials and how you communicate your message as part of developing your professional brand.  These materials (i.e. resume, cover letter, social media sites, business card, “elevator speech”, etc.) then become your promotional message portraying the image you wish to present to your network and employers. Have you established your professional brand? 

Get Organized! 

In a competitive market, you need a solid strategy for how you plan to pursue employment opportunities. Research and target specific companies/industries, do your homework and then go after the companies you targeted. 

Get Started! 

How do I find job leads and how much time should I spend on each type? 

• Build/maintain your network to find employer contacts (60% of your time) 
• Conduct informational interviews with people doing the job you want (10% of your time) 
• Apply on at job sites to internet postings (10% of your time) 
• Look for clubs/associations (10% of your time) 
• Attend job/career fairs (5% of your time) 
• Get help from search firms/recruiters (5% of your time) 

Where can I find resources to develop my target list? 

• MyCapitol Career Services: https://mycapitol.captechu.edu/ICS/College_Offices/Career_Services/ 
• MyCapitol Library:  https://mycapitol.captechu.edu/ICS/Library/ 
• LinkedIn Jobs: https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/ 
• Career Services LinkedIn Group: www.linkedin.com/groups/4820053/ 
• LinkedIn Learning Center: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/learning-linkedin-for-students/ 

Did you know that Capitol has job search resources through the online Career Center/Job Board (Symplicity)? The Career Center also allows you to interact with Career Services as well as employers. Click here to visit your account. If you don’t remember your password, click on “Forgot Password” to reset and access your account. 

Assistance, additional information, and resources are available at Career Services. You can schedule meetings via email at careers@captechu.edu, Symplicity at https://captechu-csm.symplicity.com/ and by calling 240-965-2494. All meeting will be held via Zoom. You will need to sign into Zoom to join the meeting and will be placed in a waiting room for me to begin the meeting. 

These Step by Step Resume Resources are great in getting get you started: 

• NACE: Advice for College Students: How to Maximize your Career Development During COVID-19 
• The Balance Careers: Job Hunting Guide for College Grads
• LinkedIn: The Student Job Hunting Handbook

Click here to read Part 3 of this series - How to Become a Notable Networker.