1. A season for everything -- An important transition -- New skills for success -- No one to help you -- The great disconnect -- 90 days and you're out! -- 12 months and you may be history -- Your crash course to success -- What's your hiring I.Q.? -- Resources for organizing your future -- Cramming for success -- 2. Do first things first -- Forget the trendy generation talk -- Find the right job proactively -- 15 mistakes job seekers make -- Seven steps to job search success -- Organize a 90-day plan for success -- Seek assistance -- Alternative career services -- Meet the new career advisor -- Locate a certified career professional -- Consider an internship -- Your CampusCareerCenter connection -- Important prerequisites for success -- 3. Specify your motivated abilities and skills (MAS) -- What can this stranger do for me? -- Show me the evidence -- Identify your skills -- More self-assessment techniques -- Computerized assessment systems -- Online assessment options -- Recommended self-assessment books -- Make discovering your MAS a top priority -- 4. Discover your interests and values -- Vocational interests -- Work values -- Computerized programs and online services -- Your future as objectives -- 5. Formulate an employer-oriented objective -- The next step -- Goals and objectives -- Analyze your past, view your future -- So what should a new grad do? -- Focus on employers' needs -- Be purposeful and realistic -- State manageable goals -- Incorporate your dreams -- Talk the language of employers -- Three steps to setting realistic goals -- State an employer-oriented objective -- Gurus and goal setting resources.
6. Conduct research -- Investigate job and career alternatives -- Target organizations -- Be an opportunist, find a company that's right for you -- Contact individuals -- Ask the right questions -- Identify the right community -- Know what's really important -- 7. Create winning resumes and letters -- Communicate positive images -- A love-hate relationship -- Missing the point -- Myths and promising realities -- Resume writing mistakes -- Production, distribution, and follow-up errors -- Types of resumes -- Structuring resume content -- Producing drafts -- Evaluating the final product -- Final production -- Job search letters -- Basic preparation rules -- Types of letters -- Distribution and management -- Responding to classified ads -- Effective job seekers follow through -- Self-initiated methods -- Useful books and software -- Online writing assistance and services -- Resume blasting services -- Tooting your horn with focus -- Resume examples -- Letter examples -- 8. Network your way to a great job -- Advertised and hidden job markets -- Are you a savvy networker? -- Focus on getting interviews -- Prospecting and networking -- Communicate your qualifications --Develop networks -- Prospect for leads -- Handle and minimize rejections -- Be honest and sincere -- Practice the 5R's of informational interviewing -- Approach key people -- Conduct the interview well -- Telephone for job leads -- Key networking books -- Internet resources for networking -- Network your way to job success.
9. Interview for jobs and offers -- Stressful times -- What's your interview quotient (I.Q.?) -- interview sins and knockouts -- Behavioral and Internet trends -- Interview for the job -- A communication focus -- Answer questions -- Take your briefcase with you to the interview -- Prepare for objections and negatives -- Encounter behavior-based questions -- Develop strong storytelling skills -- Face illegal questions -- Ask questions -- Appear likable -- Close the interview -- Always remember to follow up -- References : what you need to know -- Useful interviewing resources -- The face-to-face encounter -- 10. Negotiate your best salary and benefits -- Most salaries are negotiable -- Consider your financial future -- Prepare for the salary question -- Time the salary question well -- Handle the salary question with tact -- Reach common ground and agreement -- Consider benefits with care -- Offer a renegotiation option -- Take time before accepting -- Know and stress your value -- Use the right resources -- 11. Turn your job into a great career -- Neither a student nor a professional -- Take more positive actions -- Tales and lessons from the working world -- Be alert to changing job requirements -- Beware of office politics -- Conduct an annual career check-up -- Use job-keeping and advancement strategies -- Assess and change when necessary -- Revitalize your job -- 12. Government, nonprofit, and international jobs -- Public and international arenas -- Government and law enforcement jobs -- Nonprofit opportunities -- International jobs and careers -- 13. CompusCareerCenter's Employer Network.