Job Search Strategies Revealed by UC San Diego Extension

LA JOLLA, Calif., June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Job search experts at the award-winning University of California San Diego Extension warn professionals who are job hunting that conventional career wisdom can be wrong.

"Answering online job postings is one of the least effective ways to find a job," counsels Elizabeth Gibson, director of UC San Diego Extension's Career Transition & Development for Professionals (http://extension.ucsd.edu/programs/customprogram/careerServices.cfm). "Technology is not a job seeker's friend. To truly up the odds, you need to step away from the computer."

This month UC San Diego Extension has won the 2011 Workforce Partnership Learning Award for its new Career Transition & Development for Professionals Program. The award, celebrating San Diego County's workforce investment system, is presented annually by the San Diego Workforce Partnership to organizations that demonstrate innovative solutions to workforce development issues.

The UC San Diego Extension Career Transition & Development for Professionals Program teaches proactive job search techniques and career management strategies. More than 50 percent of the professionals who have completed the UC San Diego Career Transition & Development for Professionals Program in the last six months have landed jobs.  

Gibson advises professionals in the job hunt to concentrate on five strategies:

• Redefine personal branding
• Identify hidden employment opportunities
• Build action-oriented career plans
• Expand personal networks
• Polish interviewing skills

"Our program helps job seekers determine their next direction, decide where they fit in the market, stay at the forefront of trends and technologies, and expertly influence their future," says Gibson. "This award confirms our success."

Nearly half of the 5.4 million Americans who have been out of work longer than six months held white-collar or professional jobs that are rarely subject to long spells of unemployment, according to a study by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which based its analysis on Labor Department data. More than one-third of the nation's more than 15 million jobless were out of work for 27 or more weeks.

The UC San Diego Extension program helps professional workers accelerate job transition by understanding how to research emerging job fields, harness technology like social media in job searches and understand the unadvertised job market. Students receive training through a variety of methods including classroom instruction and one-on-one coaching. In addition to providing training, UC San Diego Extension gathers data about job seeking and provides job trend analysis to help refine future educational offerings.

The award presenter, the San Diego Workforce Partnership, is a non-profit employment and training organization committed to coordinating a comprehensive workforce development system that ensures a skilled and productive workforce and supports a healthy economy in the San Diego region. Visit http://www.sandiegoatwork.com.

About UC San Diego Extension (extension.ucsd.edu)

UC San Diego Extension is recognized nationally and internationally for linking the public to expert professionals and the knowledge resources of the University of California. As the continuing education and public programs arm of the university, UC San Diego Extension educates approximately 56,000 enrollees a year, which translates to over 26,000 students in more than 4,900 courses. Through UCSD-TV, 1 million San Diego homes enjoy daily access to an abundance of useful ideas, creative minds and provocative thinkers. Although a part of the university since 1966, Extension receives no state support and relies on the funding generated from fees, contracts, grants, sponsors and donors for its annual budget of approximately $35 million.

Media contact: Henry DeVries at [email protected] or 858-534-9955

SOURCE University of California San Diego Extension