There are several things that you can do to improve your long-distance job search.

VISITING COMPANY WEB SITES:

For graduating seniors and recent alumni, this is probably the best strategy for finding current job openings, and the most overlooked. Companies pay a lot of money to advertise jobs in newspapers and online, so the only jobs they will pay to advertise are those that are hard to fill (which generally means sales, technical, mid-to-upper level management, and ditch diggers).

By the way, this is, in part, why networking works - uncovering the jobs that are never advertised.

Some companies also allow you to post your resume to their database, even if they do not have a specific opening that suits you at the time.

GENERAL JOB SITES:

Though there may seem to be a lot of links on this page, these are the cream of the thousands of job sites available on the Web.

Click here for our links to general job sites.

LOCAL JOB SITES:

A lot of localized job sites on the Web end up flying underneath most job seekers' radar, in part because some of them are both local and specific to a particular career field.

Visit these two sites to find some good local job links:

• Newspapers by State (Yahoo)
• Local U.S. Job Opportunities (Riley Guide).

RECIPROCITY - USING OTHER CAREER CENTERS:

The reciprocity policy enables Boston College students and alumni who live beyond 50 miles of Boston College to use the career center of a more local college or university. The Boston College Career Center will write a general letter of reciprocity on your behalf requesting use of other career centers' services.

More information on getting a Letter of Reciprocity.

NETWORKING:

Most people give up on networking far too easily. There are over 400 members of the Career Network living in California and over 250 in Illinois, just as examples. And though many of these people may not be in the career fields you are targeting, they can still provide assistance. I would suggest meeting with a career counselor to talk about the networking process.

IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT ask alumni in the Career Network for jobs!!!

You're probably thinking, "Wait a minute! What I need is a job! Why shouldn't I ask for a job?" 

Two reasons. First, if your contact is not in a position to hire, or if they don't know of any appropriate job openings, that's usually the end of the discussion. You've asked for a job (or for job leads), they don't have any, they're busy, they need to get back to work. End of conversation.

In addition, you are asking your contact to go out on a limb for you before they know the first thing about you. You are, in essence, asking them to vouch for your character by referring you to a colleague in their profession.

Here's the good news. Once you have established a bit of a relationship with this person, usually by interviewing them about their career, they will be much more likely to take the risk of referring you to others. They might pass your resume along to someone with a job opening, or they may give you the names of other people who could help you in your job search. (Don't be afraid to ask for names.)

More information on networking and for access to the BC Career Network.

NOTE: If you want to use the Career Network, you'll need the password. Call us at 617-552-3430 and provide us with your name, your class year, and the BC school you graduated from.

CAREER FAIRS:

Career fairs take place all over the country, and most of them are open to anyone. Some are sponsored by local newspapers, while others are run by for-profit career fair companies.  Check our homepage for an updated list of local and major national career fairs.