Job Search Tools

Used by all Fortune 500 companies, Handshake allows you to discover and favorite jobs at top financial institutions, cutting edge tech firms, leading design and marketing agencies, nonprofits making the world a better place, and more. You can also receive personal recommendations based on your interests, skills, major, location preferences and search history.

In addition to being the place where you can search and apply for internships, part-time, and full-time jobs, you can also use Handshake to:

• Upload a resume and complete your online career profile.
• Allow your online career profile and resume to be viewable by employers.
• View upcoming career fairs, events and attending employers.
• Research contact information for local and national employers.

UNCW Students

• All active students have an account created for them at the start of the semester.
• To access your account, log in through MySeaPort or Handshake.
• Enter in your UNCW email and password, or use the blue single sign-on button.
• Now you can begin exploring thousands of opportunities that are tailored to your interests!

UNCW Alumni

As an alum, you have access to our services for free for life. However, you need a Handshake account to access our resources and to schedule an appointment with a Career Development Counselor. If you still have an active UNCW email and password, please login to Handshake using your UNCW credentials and update your primary email address to a personal email. If you no longer have access to your UNCW email, Please submit the UNCW Career Center Alumni Form.

Learn more about Handshake

Focus your internship or job search on opportunities which can build on your skills and abilities, and reflect your interests and work values.

You may be clear about these personal preferences. However, if you would like to clarify or explore these qualities in a more formal way, you might take a career assessment. The O'Net Interest Profiler will help you explore your career interests, values and skills, and list the career fields which most nearly match your preferences.

See more details about the O'Net Interest Profiler and other Career Assessments.

Are you looking for an internship or full-time job? In what geographic areas? In what industries or career fields? With what job titles or functions?

These last two questions can be the hardest to answer. It is overwhelming to search for "any job", and rarely successful. If you don't have definite job titles in mind, identify two or three interests or skills you want to use in your job. What do you do well, and enjoy doing? Use those interests and skills as a basis to identify industries, organizations and job titles.

Use free job search engines such as those listed below to explore opportunities. Put quotes around your interests, skills, phrases or job titles, then a location (i.e. "production assistant" Atlanta GA; "computer systems analyst" Raleigh NC; "event marketing" Charlotte NC)

This also is a good way to learn more about the job market for any specific career or location. These job search engines cover the entire U.S., and some international opportunities as well.

Don't stop until you have 20 organizations that match your interests or skills.

Update your profile and resume in your Handshake, and complete your professional profile in LinkedIn. Upload a professional head shot picture of yourself. In your Profile, include a few interesting characteristics in your brief Summary section. If appropriate, include industry or occupational skills in the Expertise in Specialties section. Create other Profile categories to highlight your education, experiences or skills, such as Courses, Honors & Awards, Projects, Volunteer Experiences, etc.

Build on the career goals that you identified in the first two steps above.

• Where do you want to go with your career?
• What do you expect from a new job?
• Which functions? What type of organization? Which industries? Which locations?

LinkedIn can then help you find people who may be in a position to help you achieve your goals. Start by creating your own network within LinkedIn of family, friends, classmates, co-workers, professional association members, UNCW alumni, etc. Begin by including people in your email contacts list. You can import your email contacts lists from most email accounts.

Then you can search LinkedIn members by location, school (over 16,000 students and alumni currently in LinkedIn), or industry.

LinkedIn shows you the connections between people, so now look at the networks of the members of your own network. You can be connected to these second degree contacts through your own first degree contacts. LinkedIn allows you to request introductions to third degree contacts as well.

You also can identify new contacts for your network by joining LinkedIn groups. Join groups that match your occupational or industry interests, geographic preferences, etc.

To find specific people who might be helpful in your job search, use the Advanced Search function within LinkedIn to search using key words out of your career goals statements. Browse the networks of your own connections. Look in the membership lists of the LinkedIn groups you have joined. Use the Companies tab to find contacts at employers that interest you.

Once you have made connections to people in industries or organizations related to your career goals, ask their advice on getting internships or jobs, current challenges, job search strategies, etc.

Rather than advertising internship or job openings, some employers are searching LinkedIn for qualified candidates. Your complete profile and posted resume may result in some direct contacts from employers.

• Students' Guide to Getting Started in LinkedIn
• LinkedIn and Your Job Search

Develop a list of potential employers using these powerful online resources.

• Search for thousands of employers and "favorite" companies and organizations on Handshake
• UNCW Library
• Search companies on LinkedIn using the search window and sorting by name, location, industry and size
• CareerShift, in-depth information on employer contacts, job listings, etc.

Check out internship and job listings in these online databases and search engines:

• Handshake for UNCW students and alumni
• CareerShift
  
• Indeed
• Juju
• SimplyHired
• LinkUp
• Google (put key words in quotes, such as "environmental jobs")

Visit our Guide to Networking. Create your own business card and check out our Business Card Template!

Visit our Guide to Writing Resumes and Cover Letters.

Learn to nail job interviews. Visit our Interviewing Guide and practice for your job interviews with BigInterview.