With the economy in turmoil, many MBA graduates are finding the job search tough going. To give readers some insight into the strategies they’re pursuing and the difficulties they face, BusinessWeek has recruited four out-of-work MBAs to write about their experiences for a new feature called “The Hunt” that will appear periodically on the Getting In blog. Comments, as always, are welcome.
By Michael Janger
Since I graduated from college, the nature of my job hunt has changed dramatically. In those days, I would go to the store to buy high-quality resume paper in bulk, hit the libraries to research companies, and print out each cover letter, literally sign it, and mail it off (making sure to have the correct postage – I once sent 10 cover letters with old postage stamps the day Postal Service prices went up). Today, I use the Internet for practically all my job hunting needs. I send my resumes and cover letters via e-mail and the Web, and research my target companies and clients on Google, the world’s online library. Some people have even set up Web sites to advertise themselves. Even now, the Internet is continuing to evolve from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0, as new social networking Web sites impact the job hunt in both dramatic and subtle ways.
When I think of social networking and the job search, the first thing that always comes to my mind is the unfortunate story of Jon Favreau, President Barack Obama’s chief speechwriter. At a party during Obama’s presidential campaign, Favreau posed with a life-size cardboard cutout of rival candidate Hillary Clinton, his hand “grabbing” the area of Clinton’s breast. This picture was posted on Facebook for everyone to see, and prompted an apology from Favreau to Clinton. It was nonetheless an embarrassing episode for Obama who had just been elected president and had released a list of ethics guidelines governing the hiring of people under his new administration. More importantly, it underscored the potential impact of past behaviors on the marketability of someone who is applying for a job. Although Favreau has Obama’s complete support and Clinton accepted his unsolicited apology, this story reminded me of the importance of appropriately marketing myself through social networking sites, or for that matter, the Internet in general during the job search.