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Microsoft offers technology tips for getting a new job
An estimated 1.2 million students left college this year and hit the pavement in search of a job. Landing that first job can be tough, however, and this year's college graduates are facing a tight market. According to Time magazine, it will take these graduates about four to six months to find employment.
Although every profession requires specific qualifications, more and more employers seek technologically skilled graduate proficient in software programs such as Microsoft Office (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and Outlook).
Dozens of schools are now offering, or even requiring, Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS) certification in Word and Excel to ensure that their students are well equipped with the skills needed in today's workplace.
Microsoft Corporation has compiled the following tips for using Office to help manage a job hunt. Graduates who employ these tips also demonstrate to prospective employers that they are proficient in using the same tools that an estimated 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies have on their PCs. Once on the job, employees can continue to use these tips to help them shine.
•Use professional resume templates on the Web. If you use Microsoft Word to create your resume, you can get a jump-start with the dozens of resume and cover letter templates available on the Microsoft Tools Web site. Go to officeupdate.Microsoft.com/templategallery/ , click on the template you want to use and personalize it with your information. After your interview, return to the template gallery for follow-up letter templates. The site also features templates for business plans, accounting spreadsheets and more. Use them to make a splash at your first meeting or when drafting your first report.
• Get a second opinion. Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint offer a new electronic editing tool called Send for Review, that makes it easy to send your resume in e-mail to a professor, mentor or friend for proofing.
The Send for Review feature streamlines the feedback process by automatically merging all changes into the original and gives the author full control over which comments and revisions to accept or reject. And color-coded changes make the edits easily visible.
New "mar-up balloons" identify each reviewer's changes or comments without obscuring the original document.
•Track your progress. Organizing interview trips and tracking company contacts, progress and impressions can become a paper-trail nightmare.
Set yourself up for success by using Excel to organize all your data in a single spreadsheet for easy reference.
•Ensure speedy delivery. Send your documents via Outlook as a Microsoft Word attachment, or in the body of the e-mail message in plain text or using HTML, whichever the employer prefers.
•Power up your portfolio. PowerPoint is an easy-to-use tool for displaying your work portfolio in an interesting way. PowerPoint can make your work easy to read and professional looking, and will demonstrate to your prospective employer the great technical and presentation skills you possess.
•Market yourself with your own web site. Use the Microsoft FrontPage Web site creation and management tool to build your own Web site to market your skills and portfolio in the Internet.
Knowing a few tips and tricks can help you hit the ground running and make an immediate impact. Tips and tricks for using Office are posted at their Web site: www.microsoftoffice.com/office.
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