PVCC Instills Job-Hunting Fundamentals
A small group of students congregated in an unused classroom on Wednesday, April 17, to discuss some basic yet important factors of entering the job market: networking and negotiating a salary. Job and Internship Coordinator Gigi Davis led a talk in which she urged students to network and make friends in their prospective industries.
The workshop touched on many different facets of job-hunting skills, such as finding the right position for students through informational interviews. An informational interview is when a person asks for a 30-45 minute interview with a person in a career they would like to be in.
“It’s great to do informational interviews, and for those who haven’t heard of these before, it basically means talking to someone about what they do, how they like what they do and how they got to that position,” Davis said. By conducting this form of interview, a job-seeker stands to build a connection with someone in the industry, as well as to get a sense of whether this job is what they want.
Davis encourages students to see the potential for growth and connection in people everywhere, from co-workers to those in prospective positions, even PVCC faculty.
Davis said, “A lot of times people see this type of networking as using people, but ultimately at some point down the road you will be able to reciprocate and act as a resource to those who have helped you.”
Focus on networking brought up the idea of cold talking, such as using the technique FORM. FORM is an acrostic that stands for family, occupation, recreation, and message. In order to have a friendly conversation with someone upon first meeting them, a person might begin by introducing themselves and talking about their family, asking what this person does,
moving on to what they do for fun and, if the conversation has gone well thus far, get to the heart of why they approached this person. At events such as a Chamber of Commerce meeting or a convention, this allows a job-seeker to make valuable contacts in a small amount of time that can be built upon at a later date.
Another important tip is for everyone to know their worth as they head into the job market. “Unemployment is low in Charlottesville, and what I’m hearing is employers telling me they simply cannot fill positions,” said Davis. According to Davis, this atmosphere should encourage applicants to negotiate the salary rather than accept whichever job offer they receive first. Applicants are encouraged to research the salary of comparable positions on websites like glassdoor.com, or even LinkedIn, in order to be better prepared to begin negotiations.
If the desired salary cannot be reached at hiring, applicants can ask about performance reviews and chances for salary raises at that time. Additionally, job-seekers can negotiate benefits such as parking spaces or time off.
Davis offers resources such as resume- building packets and slides on networking and negotiating by email or request and can be reached at madavis@pvcc.edu.
