Responding to Classified Advertising

Why even bother with employment advertising? After all, isn't it just a waste of time? Yes, it can be, if used improperly. If all you do is scan for entry level jobs in your field, you will likely end up wasting your time. You are looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. Even if you do find it, so have hundreds of others.

But employment ads go far beyond the occasional entry level listing that your eyes might happen to fall upon. Think about it. Where else can you find a full listing of companies that are actively hiring along with descriptions of the organization and what they think are their strongest benefits for potential employees? Nowhere else but the classifieds.

But don't expect to find an abundance of entry level positions advertised. That is not our purpose in scanning the classifieds. Our purpose is to locate hiring companies, possibly hiring managers, then work toward finding a potential entry level position within the organization.

First, you need to locate the right resource. If you have a specific geographical area (or areas) targeted, you should be subscribing to the major Sunday paper(s) for that area as your resource. In addition, if there is a national newspaper targeting your job type or industry (such as Computerworld for information technology, EE Times for electrical engineering, The Wall Street Journal for finance and accounting), you should make sure to include it on your subscription list. Yes, I said subscription list. With Sunday newspapers, make sure you tell them to include the classifieds since some papers will mail only the news sections if you are outside of their local area. In either case, ask for a student discount and a short subscription period (such as two to three months--you can always renew).

When scanning the ads, look first for entry level jobs in your field. It is unlikely you will ever find even one, but you might as well look. And if you see it, be there bright and early Monday morning (I don't care what the ad says about "mail your resume" and other such screens). Next, look for entry level jobs in other fields. Although they are hiring in a different field, they are hiring at the entry level. Next, look for experience-required jobs in your field, no matter how high the level is. These ads are often the most valuable to entry level candidates since they often list who the new hire will report to and what the responsibilities will be. It gives you plenty of ammunition for approaching the company. Last, use the ads for other positions as a research tool to give you further information about companies in the area. Always read the company description. Find something interesting? Find companies appropriate to your background? Include them in your list of companies to contact.

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