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Your job search can seem overwhelming, however, having a strategy can make the process seem less daunting and much more manageable. Career Services is here to help! Attend our workshops or meet with your Career Counselor for additional help.

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Job & Internship Search Strategies  Job & Internship Search Strategies

Clarify Your Career Goals

  • Identify your VIPS (values, interests, personality, and strengths/skills), meet with a Career Counselor for support.
  • Reflect on your education, experiences, and what you know about yourself
  • Determine how you add value, and what you can offer a company
  • Consider personal preference (geographic location, employer size, work environment).

Identify Your Job Targets

  • Research career fields and industries
  • Utilize the Graduate Status Report
  • Explore occupations and the work involved
  • Review job descriptions

Plan and Organize Your Search

  • Identify the steps you need to take (application instructions, materials, deadlines)
  • Identify helpful resources (like specific job boards and networking opportunities)
  • Use a Job and Internship Organizer/Guide (.xls)
  • Track your interactions and progress along the way

Start An Effective Search

Use Multiple Search Strategies & Resources

Prepare for Interviews

  • Use our Successful Interviewing guide to help you prepare and perform in interviews
  • Practice interviewing with our online resource Big Interview (access through MustangJobs)

Evaluate Offers

Where to find a job or internship  Where to Find a Job or Internship

MustangJobs

MustangJobs is Cal Poly's online job listing service where you can find on-campus, local part-time jobs, internships and career positions.

Current students can log in directly through their my.calpoly.edu portal. To find out how to create saved searches and apply for on-campus interviews, check out our MustangJobs Student Guide (coming soon!)

Alumni can log in directly here or create a new account if needed.

For information about MustangJobs privacy settings and policies, please click here.

Job and Internship Listing Links

Agriculture and Forestry (see also Environment)

Architecture and Environmental Design

Art and Entertainment

Business

Communication and Media

Education (see also Nonprofit)

Engineering/Computer/Technology

Environment and Outdoors

Freelance

Government

Health and Medicine

History and Social Science

International

Nonprofit and Social Service

Science & Mathematics

Sports and Recreation/Hospitality and Events

Sustainability

Fellowships

SLO County Household Jobs

This listing is for SLO County household jobs such as child care, tutoring, and yard work. Find them in MustangJobs through the my.calpoly.edu portal.

Cal Poly Academic Department Job and Internship Listings

Red Flags  Job Scams

Grammatical and Spelling Errors

  • Most online fraud is perpetrated by scammers located outside the U.S.
  • It is often evident in their poor grasp of the language which can include poor grammar and the misspelling of common words.

Claims a Problem with Account

  • After creating a user account on sites like Monster.com or Careerbuilder.com, a job hunter might receive an e-mail saying there has been a problem with their account or they need to follow a hyperlink to install new software.
  • Phishing e-mails like this are designed to convince readers to click a link within the message to fix the issue, but actually take them to a web site that will install malware or viruses on their computer.

Asks for Personal Information

  • An employer may ask for extensive personal information such as social security or bank account numbers.
  • Regardless of the reason or excuse given by the employer, a job applicant should never give out his or her Social Security or bank account numbers over the phone or e-mail.

Offers Opportunity to Become Rich Without Leaving Home

  • While there are legitimate businesses that allow employees to work from home, there are also a lot of scammers trying to take advantage of senior citizens, stay-at-home moms, students and injured or disabled people looking to make money at home.
  • Job hunters should use extreme caution when considering a work-at-home offer and always research the company with their BBB first at www.bbb.org.

Asks for Money Upfront

  • Aside from paying for a uniform, it is rarely advisable for an applicant to pay upfront fees or make a required purchase to get a job.
  • Most recently, the BBB of Metropolitan Dallas uncovered a scam where job hunters were told they had to pay $64.50 for a background check before they could be considered for a cleaning job. Predictably, after paying for the background check, the job seeker never heard from the company again.

Offers Salary or Benefits that Seem Too-Good-To-Be-True

  • The adage holds true for job offers: if the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
  • Phony employers might brag about exceptionally high salary potential and excellent benefits for little experience in order to lure unsuspecting job hunters into their scam.

Requires Employee to Wire Money Through Western Union or MoneyGram

  • Many phony jobs require the prospective employee to cash a check sent by the company through the mail and then wire a portion of the money on to another entity.
  • Whatever the reason they ask, the check might clear the employee’s bank account but will eventually turn out to be a fake and the employee is out the money he or she wired back to the scammers.

Additional Red Flags To Be Aware Of

  • There is no specific location listed. Be suspicious if it is advertised as a local part-time position, but lists the location as “nationwide.”
  • The employer tells you that the company does not have an office set up in your area, and they will need your help to get one up and running.
  • There is no contact information or web address listed in the job posting. If it is a legitimate job it should give valid contact information.
  • The contact email address contains a generic email domain that is not specific to the company, such as "@gmail.com" or "@yahoo.com" for example.
  • The employer asks for your banking information, supposedly to help the employer make financial transactions.
  • For further information about ways to protect yourself, visit the Cal Poly Information Secruity Office's Top 10 Security Practices.

What do I do if I am already involved in a scam?

  • If you are a current student, you may file a report with the University Police Department by calling them at (805) 756-2281. The police are responsible for conducting an investigation (regardless of whether the scam artist is local or in another state).
  • If it is a situation where you have sent money to a fraudulent employer, you should contact your bank or credit card company immediately to close the account and dispute the charges. If the incident occurred completely over the Internet, you should file an incident report with the FTC or call the FTC at: 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).

Video Resources  Video Resources

Networking   Networking

Networking is essential for exploring career possibilities, as well as for finding internships and jobs. Career Services offers numerous ways for you to engage in networking.

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