Gearing up for job searching

This morning 2 of our staff had the opportunity to conduct "mock interviews" at Hellgate High School to help prepare the students for job or school interviews. It was a very cool experience for both them and us, and got me to thinking about the many resources the library has to help prepare for something that can be a nerve-wracking experience.


Our shelves are stocked with books to help you with each step of the process from resume writing (see titles like "The 30-Minute Resume Makeover" and "Knock 'em Dead Resumes") to job interviews, and even specialized focuses like marketing your military experience. Find these in our non-fiction shelves under 650.14. There are lots more in our catalog.


Or, if you're more of a listener, we have audio books both on CD here in the building and downloadable from any Internet connection. Listen to tips on "Nailing the Job Interview" or "Acing the Interview" and feel confident when you walk into that meeting.


And, best of all, we have online help. Look on our home page under Electronic Resources for Learn-a-Test. Despite its name, this resource is more than just tests. It has an entire section on resumes, interviewing, job searching, and even business writing. And you can use it from any Internet connection.


If you're working on a resume, ask at the Reference Desk to use our word processing rooms on the upper level - it saves you from having to wait for a turn in Web Alley and lets you work in peace.


The new year is approaching, and new jobs await!

Looking for a job?

The Morningstar Investment Research Center Job Search

The Training Corner | by Lars Wasvick, Associate Product Manager

The unemployment rate rose to 7.6% in January 2009. Did you know Morningstar's Stock Screener can assist in your job search?

Access the Morningstar Investment Research Center by going to our website, www.missoulapubliclibrary.org. Click on "E-databases" and then click on the "Morningstar" link. You will need to enter your library card number if you are accessing the database from home.

When looking for a job, it's important to identify your criteria. Where would you like to work geographically? Would you like to work for a small, medium, or large company? What industry would you like to work in? And maybe most importantly, is that a financially healthy company? When you take this sort of reverse approach, you can really dig down and find companies that you may like and want to work for.

So let's get started with a company search using my preferences: I want to find a company in Illinois that has around 2,000 employees and is in the publishing industry. (One caveat: The companies we cover are only on the major exchanges, so that limits searches to public companies, but that still leaves more than 10,000 companies to screen from.)

To set up my screen I go into the Stock Screener. Under General information I choose Location of Company, Illinois. The next point is Number of Employees. Don't worry about the distinction between big and small. We have that broken down in quartiles, for some context on size. For my final screen setting, I find Stock Industry and set that equal to Publishing.

Voila! I've found two companies that fit my criteria. Now I can look at company profiles, access their Web sites, and find job openings.

Obviously, this is a far stretch from searching job sites and the classifieds, but for the persnickety job seeker, it's something to consider. For anyone else, brushing up on company information before an interview is always a good idea.

(C) Copyright 2009. Morningstar, Inc.