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AIU Career Services: Communication Makes the World Go Round

August 24, 2011 •Alumni, Career Services • 0 Comments

Job seekers need to remember the most important aspect of any search is communication. You can have all the qualifications in the world and meet every aspect of a position’s requirements but if you are unable to effectively and professionally portray that to an employer you will not have a chance getting through the door. It can be hard to know if your communication skills are holding you back in your job search simply because we all see ourselves in the best light possible so we may not catch the verbal missteps or the grammar issues that creep up from time to time. One way to overcome this is to enlist the help of others and technology.

Just as you may have in the past while preparing for a job interview, record yourself. Focus on actual conversations as opposed to going through interview questions. Rehearse calling a company to follow up on an application and talk about your resume. It may seem silly but it gives you a true interpretation of how you sound and how you form your statements. Also, use your friends and family to evaluate the recordings to see if they can give you any constructive criticism.

The same can be said for written statements. The key to judging your messages on the page is time. Every letter you plan to create type it the night before you plan to send it. In the morning read it again and you may be able to catch any mistakes or inconsistencies that you would have missed the night before. This can work best when following up on an application or even sending a thank you letter to an employer after a job interview.

An employer’s judgment of your communication skills does not end with the resume or your e-mails but also with how you present yourself. The best example of this is your persona on the internet. Plan to double-check all of your social media postings on a regular basis. Whether they are your Facebook updates or blog postings they may become public as employers do research web profiles for some potential clients. If they see inconsistencies with your communication skills or if they simply deem your online content inappropriate they may not move forward with you as a potential candidate.
If you take some time and think about everything you plan to write or say for public consumption or for an employer then you will be sure to present the best profile of a candidate possible!

For assistance with your job search, please contact Career Services at 877-221-5800 ext. 15060 or careerservices@aiuonline.edu.

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