Please contact us directly at career@hrcap.com if you wish to receive a digital copy of the Road to Employment in the United States (미국취업 실전 가이드북) guidebook.
For the next couple of months, our newsletters will provide highlights from the 2019 Road to Employment in the United States (미국취업 실전 가이드북) guidebook. We will dive into each step by step guide to employment. The guidebook is an accumulation of the expertise, insights, and know-hows of our CEO Sungsoo Andrew Kim and HRCap's seasoned recruiters and HR consultants. The 150 page guidebook contains both an English and Korean translation of the employment process, that is geared not only to Korean international students, but also for anyone looking for a new job opportunity or career transition.
Preparation and Career Search
We will first focus on the Preparation and Career Search steps of the employment process. The Preparation for Employment chapter highlights key essentials that will help job seekers started in the employment process, and the Career Search chapter instructs how to leverage and utilize multiple sources for an effective career search.
1. Preparation for Employment
Self Assessment
- Conduct a self assessment on your personality and behavioral traits. Myers-Briggs, Predictive Index, Holland Code, and Keirsey Temperament are all available online as tools and surveys that will help you assess your personality and further evaluate your strengths and weaknesses.
- Reflect on your "Hard and Soft" skills and further develop them.
- *HRCap Tip: Obtain mastery in Microsoft Office Suite, especially in Excel and PowerPoint. Most companies rely on these two basic programs. Acquiring additional computer skills will be an added plus.
Career Path Assessment
- Licenses and certifications are not always mandatory, but employers may require one or the other for a particular job in specific industries.
- Booming industries are fast-paced with constant changes, requiring that you stay competitive by having an active license and certification, and by continuously upgrading your skills and knowledge.
- *HRCap Tip: Research the current job market to study industry trends and hot skills needed to be successful in that dream job. Sign-up for daily newsletters that provide periodic updates and case studies on the current trends and evolving job market. Actively look for articles that give career insights.
Field Experiences
- Gaining field experience is the most effective way to gain the critical skills and knowledge needed for your desired career path.
- Actively seek opportunities for cooperative education, internship or job shadowing in a field you are interested in.
- *HRCap Tip: Look for and take on internships, even if they are non-paid. The opportunity will provide invaluable experiences, especially in the field of your interest.
Mentorship
- Mentors will guide you through your career development and help you succeed at your job.
- *HRCap Tip: Find several mentors and leaders with unique leadership style, business management skills and leading subject expertise that will allow you to be successful in your career. Keep in mind there is no one perfect mentor or role model.
Networking
- A strong network will help you gain key knowledge, develop your professional brand, and help in future job search and career growth.
- *HRCap Tip: Attend conferences, seminars, and symposiums to build your network. Partake in career seminars, professional development workshops, career counseling, and other learning platforms that will help you gain deeper knowledge and connect with other leaders in your field.
- *HRCap Tip: Leverage LinkedIn. Ensure to complete the work experience and education section with sufficient detail and data. This will increase your chances of being viewed by recruiters through searched keywords.
Professional Branding
- In a world heavily dominated by social media and digital content, anyone can make a preemptive decision about you without ever meeting you. You want to make sure that what is being shared online does not hurt your image or affect your professional brand.
- *HRCap Tip: "Clean" your social network profiles by removing any and all unprofessional, explicit, or compromising posts and pictures.
- Note: Additional Preparation steps for foreign students; Different types of work Visas (F-1, H-1B, J-1, O, OPT); Three stages of obtaining a work visa.
- Case Study: Switching to a STEM Major to raise chances of obtaining an OPT
2. Career Search
Industry Trends and Job Market
- Understanding the current industry trends and job market will help you determine which jobs to search for and aim for. Various online sources like LinkedIn, Monster, Glassdoor, and college websites contain extensive research and reports that examine industry trends.
- *HRCap Tip: Do not limit or focus too much on one industry. Avoid being in industry silos. Develop cross-industry skills to enhance your market value and be in greater future demand.
Industry Clusters
- Certain clusters, or regional areas have industries that are booming. These are the geographical locations where you can gain the most valuable experience for that particular industry.
- *HRCap Tip: Understand and identify industry clusters during your job search. Strongly consider moving out of your area of residence and moving to that clustered location for greater exposure to relevant career opportunities.
Active or Passive Search
- An active search process involves you directly searching for a particular job using online job boards, company websites, or career fairs.
- A passive search process is simply being open to new opportunities. This involves creating an online profile on job boards, uploading your resume, and indicating what kind of job you are open to pursuing.
- *HRCap Tip: Familiarize yourself with using "Boolean operators" and keywords to conduct advanced searches to yield optimal search results.
Job Postings
- Living in a digital age, most companies post job openings either through their own corporate websites or an online job board.
- *HRCap Tip: Actively search through the company’s career portal to see positions that are currently open. Certain job positions will only be available through the company's career portal.
- *HRCap Tip: Each job board has their own unique interface and features. Take advantage of what each job board offers for your own benefit.
Important Search Considerations
- When searching for a job, make sure to focus on the quality of the opportunity and not the quantity of opportunities available.
- *HRCap Tip: Do not limit yourself to a set number of parameters, and expand your search. Below are important search parameters to consider throughout the entire job search process.
- Qualification: the skills and requirements needed for the job.
- Location: the geographic area of the job you are searching for.
- Salary: the compensation offered for the job.
- Job Title or Level: the title or level of the job you are looking for.
- Note: US/Korea Labor Market data; List of Fortune 500 companies and their geographic cluster; Boolean operators and how to use them effectively
We have covered the key highlights of Chapter 1 and 2. For a deeper read on these two steps, please contact us directly at career@hrcap.com to receive a digital copy of the Road to Employment in the United States (미국취업 실전 가이드북) guidebook. In our next Newsletter, we will focus on the Resume and Job Application steps of the employment process.
HRCap CEO KOSEM Column
(올해 경영과제 목표 달성하기)
The 41st KOSEM Column of the 01/11/2019 issue of The Korea Daily newspaper was written by our CEO, Sungsoo Andrew Kim. The title of the article is “올해 경영과제 목표 달성하기.” If you would like to read the article in its entirety, please visit The Korea Daily website at: http://hrcap.com/recruiting/press/472?proc=view
READ THE FULL NEWSLETTER HERE: HRCap E-Newsletter (January 2018)
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