Helpful Hints for Job Hunters

CPL Woodson Regional’s Helpful

Hints for Job Hunters

You can get the latest version of this document online at bitly.com/cpljobguide any time.

You can get the latest version of this document online at bitly.com/cpljobguide. Last updated on Friday, October 19, 2012.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ....................................................................................................... 1

Hot News ................................................................................................................... 1

Good Resources for Job Hunters ............................................................................... 2

For Those with Criminal Records ............................................................................... 4

Cover Letters and Résumés ....................................................................................... 5

Interviewing for a Job ................................................................................................ 6

Prominent Companies & Organizations ..................................................................... 7

HOT NEWS Finally! Word processing arrives at every CPL branch

Until this month, only three CPL locations (Harold Washington Library Center, Woodson Regional and Sulzer Regional) had office suites on their patron computers… But now, CPL is proud to announce that every patron computer at every branch now includes LibreOffice!

What’s LibreOffice, you say? It’s a free office suite that works a lot like Microsoft Office. The three key apps in LibreOffice are Writer (which is like Microsoft Word), Calc (which is like Excel) and Impress (which is like PowerPoint). Using LibreOffice, you can now write your résumés and cover letters at any CPL branch! CPL has more information at cpl.to/computersandinternet about LibreOffice.

If you’re used to Microsoft Office, you should find LibreOffice pretty easy to pick up… but if you’d like to learn more about using LibreOffice, try watching these video tutorials on YouTube: cpl.to/libretutorials

You can also download and install LibreOffice on your own computer for free at libreoffice.org.

Visit CPL’s “Especially for Job Searchers” page online CPL has a section on our website, called “Especially for… Job Searchers”, which includes much of the information in this packet and more. Just go to cpl.to/jobsearchers for more.

Free job-‐hunting seminars at CPL branches Chicago Public Library periodically hosts free informational events on finding a job. Get the complete

list of job-‐search events we’re having on our website any time at:

www.chipublib.org/events/search/?keywords=job


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State Representative’s Daily Job Openings email list The office of Mr. La Shawn Ford, Illinois 8th District State Representative, sends out an email every day with job openings in the area. If you’d like to receive these emails, call (773) 378-‐5902 or email [email protected] and ask to be added to the jobs email list. Mr. Ford’s office has assured me that this email list is only used to send out the daily job listings and is not used for campaigning purposes. (Note: Mr. Ford’s district is the West Side of Chicago, so some of these jobs may be in nearby suburbs like Oak Park, Forest Park, North Riverside, Riverside, Proviso Township and Berwyn.)

GOOD RESOURCES FOR JOB HUNTERS It’s important to know where to go for good information that will not only help you look for a job, but

how to be as prepared as possible for job interviews, how to polish up your résumé, how to train for your GED, ESL or TABE exam and more.

Chicago Public Library ( www.chipublib.org ) Allow us a moment or two to promote ourselves. CPL has tons of good resources, both in our branches

and on our website, that can help you choose a career, write a great résumé or cover letter, polish your skills and more! Ask at your local library’s reference desk for info.

Bonus! CPL’s website includes a section specifically aimed at providing solid resources for job hunters. Go to cpl.to/jobsearchers to get more information.

Illinois workNet ( www.illinoisworknet.com ) Illinois workNet (IWN) is a one-‐stop website put together by the State of Illinois that will help you do

everything you need to do in order to get a new job. IWN will help you with educational training, putting together a résumé and lots more. IWN is a great resource for job hunters in the Chicagoland area.

The Work Buzz ( theworkbuzz.com ) The Work Buzz is a job-‐seeker weblog put out by CareerBuilder.com (see below for more info on them)

which updates regularly, often with ideas for finding jobs. Check it periodically for good tips!

Work 4 Illinois ( work.illinois.gov ) Work 4 Illinois provides information and listings for state jobs. You can apply for jobs all over the state

or in a particular county using this website.

Yahoo! HotJobs, CareerBuilder and Monster.com (hotjobs.com, careerbuilder.com and monster.com, respectively)

HotJobs, CareerBuilder and Monster.com are employment directories, where you can build a résumé, then search and apply for jobs with just a few clicks. These sites also have extensive career-‐advice sections which can help you sharpen your skills or tune up your résumé in order to help you land that job.


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Craigslist Chicago ( chicago.craigslist.org ) Craigslist is a website dedicated to classified ads. If someone in the Chicagoland area is hiring, it’s a

great place to go.

CareerOneStop ( careeronestop.org ) CareerOneStop is a U.S. Department of Labor-‐sponsored Web site that offers career resources and

workforce information to job seekers, students, businesses, and workforce professionals.

USA.gov’s “Finding a job” page ( 1.usa.gov/LGCkLq ) USA.gov, a website with lots of information from the U.S. government, has a page with links to a lot of

great information on searching for jobs, learning new skills that will help make you a better candidate and more.

LinkUp, SimplyHired and Indeed (linkup.com, simplyhired.com and indeed.com, respectively)

LinkUp, SimplyHired and Indeed are job search engines that look for job listings on other websites, letting you find jobs from many different sources with a simple search.


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FOR THOSE WITH CRIMINAL RECORDS If you have a criminal record, you may find that your options are somewhat limited, as some

companies prefer not to hire people with criminal records. However, there are still many companies that will hire ex-‐offenders.

Re-‐entry Services The Illinois Department of Employment Security’s (IDES) Re-‐Entry Service Employment Program

prepares formerly-‐incarcerated people for work, develops jobs for them and helps them with the transition into their new jobs. Visit the www.ides.state.il.us/ExOffenders to get more information on this program.

Illinois workNet also has a page on its website to help ex-‐offenders with re-‐entry services. Visit bitly.com/iwnexoffendersvcs for more information.

Getting Your Record Expunged or Sealed If you have an arrest or conviction on your criminal record, you can ask the court that heard the case to

either expunge or seal your record. Expunging your record removes the arrest or conviction entirely from your record (as though it never happened) while sealing your record restricts the ability of other people and organizations to find information about your arrest or conviction history.

To expunge or seal your record in Illinois, visit the website of the Office of the State Appellate Defender at www.state.il.us/defender/exp.html and follow the instructions on the page. They can also answer questions by telephone. If your case was in Cook County, call (866) 787-‐1776; if it was elsewhere in Illinois, call (866) 431-‐4907. If your arrest or conviction took place outside of Illinois, you will need to contact the appeals court in the jurisdiction where it occurred.

Illinois Legal Aid has a web page on getting your record expunged, located at bitly.com/ilaexpunging that contains a lot of great information on the topic.

Here are some organizations that can help you through the process of getting your record sealed or expunged:

Company/Organization Website Telephone

Cabrini Green Legal Aid cgla.net (312) 738-‐2452

Chicago Legal Clinic www.clclaw.org (773) 731-‐1762

Coordinated Advice & Referral Program for Legal Services carpls.org (312) 738-‐9200

James B. Moran Center for Youth Advocacy moran-‐center.org (312) 341-‐1070


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COVER LETTERS AND RÉSUMÉS Every patron computer at every branch now includes LibreOffice, a free office suite that works a lot like

Microsoft Office. Using LibreOffice, you can now write your résumés and cover letters at any CPL branch! CPL has information about LibreOffice at cpl.to/computersandinternet and you can watch video tutorials on using it at cpl.to/libretutorials.

You can also download and install LibreOffice on your own computer for free at libreoffice.org.

Good Websites on Résumés and Cover Letters Prepare Your Résumé ( bitly.com/iwnresume )

Illinois workNet has lots of great information and even includes an online résumé builder where you can create and save up to 20 résumés! (Note: You can get to the information on the website without creating an account, but you’ll have to sign in or sign up to use the résumé builder.)

Susan Ireland’s Résumé Site ( susanireland.com )

Ms. Ireland is the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Perfect Résumé. (Chicago Public Library does carry her book; ask about it at your local branch.) Her website has lots of great information, such as: writing a great résumé and cover letter, uploading or emailing it to companies, how to do well in a job interview, sample résumés and cover letters and more.

The Riley Guide ( rileyguide.com/eresume.html )

The Riley Guide will teach you how to search for jobs, what you need to know before you do, where to search, how to put together a great résumé and cover letter, how to do well in a job interview and more. A great resource!

WebResume ( webresume.com )

WebResume.com helps you put together a résumé in 10 minutes and has numerous templates for making it look great.

Quintessential Careers ( quintcareers.com )

QC has a lot of well-‐written articles on looking for a job for anyone from teenagers to older job seekers. It also includes a résumé tutorial.

Where Can I Create My Own Cover Letter and Résumé? In order to create a cover letter and résumé that you can show to potential employers, you will need to

use a word processor such as Microsoft Word or LibreOffice. LibreOffice can be used at every CPL branch.


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INTERVIEWING FOR A JOB A good interview can be the difference between getting hired and getting passed over, so you need to

be prepared, confident and ready to make a good impression on your interviewer. Ask a friend to help you prepare by staging a practice interview the day before your real one.

Tips for Interviewing 1. First impressions are vital. Arrive on time or a few minutes early. Dress and act professionally.

2. Bring all necessary paperwork with you. Have a résumé, portfolio or previous work and all necessary certificates or documents on hand, in case you need to show your interviewer.

3. Sell yourself. Let an employer know what you can do for them that others can’t. Make sure you communicate effectively about your experience and your unique attributes that would make you an asset to the company.

4. Be honest. Don’t lie during the interview; it’s a sure way to get rejected.

5. Research for the interview. Be prepared to answer questions about yourself, your experience or the company with whom you’re trying to get a job. Check out the company’s website and read recent news articles about the company. Review your resume for errors and omissions.

6. Ask questions. An interview is a good chance to get answers about the company that your research didn’t answer. You can also set yourself apart from other candidates by asking your interviewer questions about the company that show how interested you are in them.

7. Be gracious. When the interview is over, be sure to thank the interviewer for the opportunity.

Online Resources YouTube Video: Basic Interview Skills ( youtube.com/watch?v=V9W4SogHXhI )

SUNY Rockland Community College has posted a helpful and easy-‐to-‐follow video on YouTube of some “best practices” for interviewing.

Best Job Interview ( best-‐job-‐interview.com )

This site contains lots of great info on how to have a great interview and includes a valuable checklist of things you should bring to your interview, how to respond to difficult questions and what questions you should ask your interviewer.

YouTube Video: Interview Do's and Don'ts ( youtube.com/watch?v=S1ucmfPOBV8 )

Vault.com has produced this video of tips for what to do (and what not to do) in an interview.


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PROMINENT COMPANIES & ORGANIZATIONS Please note that although we have done our best to put together a large list of companies, agencies

and organizations–many in the Chicagoland area–that may be hiring, not all may have open positions when you inquire.

Type the web address exactly as you see it written here. If a web address is two lines long, just type it out as though it were all on one line, with no spaces in the address. If an address contains capital letters, make sure you type it that way.

Good luck! You can do it!

Retail & Food Service

Company/Organization Website or Contact Information

Ace Hardware acehardware.com/corp/?page=jobs

Aldi Stores aldiuscareers.com/opportunities

Apple Inc. www.apple.com/jobs/us

AutoZone, Inc. autozoneinc.com/careers

Avis Rent-‐A-‐Car avis.com/car-‐rental/html/employment/

Barnes & Noble Booksellers barnesandnobleinc.com/jobs/jobs.html

Best Buy bestbuy-‐jobs.com

Budget Rent-‐A-‐Car budget.com/budgetWeb/html/en/aboutus/employment/

Carson Pirie Scott careers.bonton.com

CB2 Housewares & Furniture cb2.com/careers

CompUSA compusa.iapplicants.com

Crate & Barrel crateandbarrel.com/careers

CVS cvscaremark.com/careers

Dominick’s careersatsafeway.com

Enterprise Rent-‐A-‐Car erac.com


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Company/Organization Website or Contact Information

Family Dollar corporate.familydollar.com/pages/careers.aspx

Hertz Rent-‐A-‐Car hertz.com/rentacar/abouthertz/ ?targetPage=initialJobSearchView.jsp

JC Penney jobs.jcp.com

Jewel-‐Osco jewelosco.com/about/careers.jsp

Macy’s macysjobs.com

McDonald’s mcdonalds.com/usa/work.html

Micro Center microcenter.com/at_the_stores/employment.html

National/Alamo Rent-‐A-‐Car nationalalamo-‐erac.icims.com

OfficeMax about.officemax.com/html/officemax_careers.shtml

Office Depot www.officedepot.jobs

Sears searsholdings.com/careers

Staples staples.com/sbd/cre/resources/jobs/

True Value Company truevaluecompany.com/work-‐true-‐value

Walgreens careers.walgreens.com

Wal-‐Mart Stores careers.walmart.com

Whole Foods Market wholefoodsmarket.com/careers

Security

Company/Organization Website/Contact Number

AlliedBarton Security Services jobs.alliedbarton.com

Brinks Security brinksinc.com/Contact-‐Brinks/Careers.aspx

Digby’s Detective & Security Agency digbysecurity.com/careers


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Monterrey Security fastrecruiting.net/career_portal/monterreysecurity/ monterreysecurity_careerportal.aspx

Securitas Security Services www.securitasjobs.com

Titan Security Group titan-‐security.com/employment/career.html

US Security Group ussecurityassociates.com/employment

Health & Hospitals


Advocate Bethany Hospital advocatehealth.com/careers

Bally Total Fitness ballyjobs.com

Chicago Lakeshore Hospital chicagolakeshorehospital.com/careers

Children’s Memorial Hospital childrensmemorialjobs.silkroad.com

Elmhurst Memorial Hospital emhc.org/careers

Jackson Park Hospital jacksonparkhospital.org/careers.html

John Stroger Hospital johnstrogerhospital.org/dom/workatdom.html

Kindred Chicago Central Hospital www.kindredhealthcare.com/careers

La Rabida Children’s Hospital larabida.org/work-‐train-‐here-‐working-‐at-‐la-‐rabida

Little Company of Mary Hospital lcm.jobscience.com

Loyola Medicine loyolamedicine.org/Human_Resources

Mercy Hospital and Medical Center mercy-‐chicago.org/careers

Methodist Hospital of Chicago bethanymethodist.org/employment.html

Misericordia Heart of Mercy misericordia.com/careers

NorthShore University HealthSystem northshore.org/careers

Norwegian American Hospital nahospital.org/?Itemid=107


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Resurrection Health Care reshealth.org/findajob

Saint Anthony Hospital cath-‐health.org/careers/tabid/55/default.aspx

Saint Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center stbh.org/careers

South Shore Hospital southshorehospital.com/?view=article&id=24

Thorek Hospital and Medical Center thorek.org/careers

University of Chicago Medical Center www.uchospitals.edu/jobs

University of Illinois Medical Center hospital.uillinois.edu/career_opportunities.html

Weiss Memorial Hospital weisshospital.com/for-‐professionals/employment.aspx

Schools & Museums


Adler Planetarium adlerplanetarium.org/employment

Art Institute of Chicago artic.edu/aic/jobs

Chicago Children’s Museum chicagochildrensmuseum.org/index.php/about/jobs-‐volunteering

Chicago History Museum chicagohs.org/aboutus/jobsvolunteering

Chicago Zoological Society czs.org/czs/careers

City Colleges of Chicago projects.ccc.edu/joblist/joblist.aspx

DePaul University hr.depaul.edu/careers/jobs/index.html

The Field Museum fieldmuseum.org/about/employment

La Petite Academy lapetite.com/about/careers

Loyola University Chicago www.careers.luc.edu

Museum of Contemporary Art mcachicago.org/info/employment


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Museum of Science and Industry msichicago.org/about-‐the-‐museum/jobs

National-‐Louis University www.nl.edu/jobs

Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum naturemuseum.org/?id=25

School of the Art Institute of Chicago saic.edu/about/jobs

Shedd Aquarium sheddaquarium.org/working_at_shedd.html

University of Chicago uchicago.edu/working

Communications & Technology


Apple Inc. www.apple.com/jobs/us/

AT&T www.att.jobs

CDW Corporation careers.cdw.com

Cars.com, Apartments.com, HomeGain.com & HouseFinder.com classifiedventures.com/opportunities.php

Google google.com/about/jobs

Hostway Global Web Solutions hostway.com/aboutus/current-‐openings.html

IBM ibm.com/employment/us

IBM (at their Technical Services Delivery Center in Dubuque, Iowa) ibm.com/employment/us/iowajobs/

InterCall intercall.com/about-‐us/careers.php

Microsoft Corp. careers.microsoft.com

Motorola Mobility (mobile phones) motorolacareers.com

Motorola Solutions (everything else) careers.motorolasolutions.com

NAVTEQ Maps & Traffic corporate.navteq.com/careers.htm


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Nielsen nielsen.com/us/en/careers.html

Orbitz careers.orbitz.com

US Cellular www.uscellular.jobs

Verizon verizon.com/jobs

Manufacturing & Transportation


Boeing boeing.com/employment

Caterpillar caterpillar.com/careers

Chicago Transit Authority transitchicago.com/careers

DHL dhl-‐usa.com/careers

Federal Aviation Administration jobs.faa.gov

FedEx fedex.com/careers

GATX Corporation gatx.com/wps/wcm/connect/gatx/gatx_site/home/careers/

Kraft Foods Company kraftfoodscompany.com/careers

Merisant merisant.com/careers.html

Metra Rail Services http://metrarail.com/content/metra/en/home/ utility_landing/employment/career_opportunities.html

Johnson & Johnson careers.jnj.com

Morton Salt careerbuildermedia.com/projects/morton

Sara Lee Corporation saralee.com/careers.aspx

Shure shure.com/americas/about-‐shure/careers

Southwest Airlines southwest.com/html/about-‐southwest/careers

Underwriters Laboratories ul.com/global/eng/pages/corporate/careers/


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Union Pacific Railroad www.unionpacific.jobs

United Airlines united.com/careers

UPS upsjobs.com

USG Corporation www.usg.com/careers/why-‐usg.html

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company wrigley.com/global/careers.aspx

Publishing & Entertainment


Cast & Crew Postings from the Illinois Film Office illinoisfilm.biz/?Itemid=26

Johnson Publishing Company johnsonpublishing.com/careers

Kerasotes Theaters kerasotes.com/joblistings.aspx

Morningstar corporate.morningstar.com/careers

Rand McNally randmcnally.com/about/careers.jsp

Sun-‐Times Media Holdings suntimesmediaholdings.com/careers

Tribune Company www.tribune.com/employment

Hotels & Real Estate


Citadel Group citadelgroup.com/careers

Clarion Hotels careers.choicehotels.com

Equity Office equityoffice.com/careers.asp

General Growth Properties ggp.com/careers/careers-‐introduction

Hilton Hotels careers.hilton.com


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Hyatt Hotels www.hyatt.jobs

InterContinental Hotels Group ihgplc.com/?pageid=7

Jones Lang LaSalle joneslanglasalle.com/pages/careers.aspx

RockTenn rocktenn.com/careers

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP som.com/careers

Wyndham Worldwide wyndhamworldwide.com/careers

Government (Local, State & Federal)


All Illinois State Agency Web Sites (Visit each & check for jobs!) www2.illinois.gov/pages/agencies.aspx

Central Intelligence Agency https://www.cia.gov/careers/

Chicago Housing Authority thecha.org/pages/careers/24.php

City of Chicago bitly.com/cityofchicagojobs

Cook County bitly.com/cookcountyhr

Federal Bureau of Investigation fbijobs.gov

Illinois Dept. of Corrections idoc.state.il.us/subsections/jobopp

Illinois State Police (civilian) isp.state.il.us/employ/employcivilian.cfm

Illinois State Police (sworn) isp.state.il.us/employ/employsworn.cfm

Illinois State Police (forensic) isp.state.il.us/forensics/html/employment.html

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater of Chicago mwrd.org/irj/portal/anonymous/EmploymentOverview

National Security Agency nsa.gov/careers

State of Illinois work.illinois.gov


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Transportation Security Administration tsa.gov/join

US Department of State state.gov/careers

US Department of Veterans Affairs va.gov/jobs

US Government Jobs usajobs.gov

US Office of Personnel Management opm.gov/job_seekers

US Secret Service www.secretservice.gov/opportunities.shtml

Banking, Finance & Insurance


Allstate Insurance allstate.com/careers

Aon Corporation aon.com/about-‐aon/careers.jsp

Bank of America careers.bankofamerica.com

CNA Financial www.cna.com/careers

JPMorgan Chase careers.jpmorganchase.com

Northern Trust northerntrustcareers.com

PNC pncsites.com/careers

TransUnion transunion.com/corporate/about-‐transunion/careers.page

Staffing & Temporary Employment


AppleOne Employment Agency appleone.com or call 1 (312) 236-‐4645

Banner Personnel Staffing bannerpersonnel.com/candidates.htm or call 1 (312) 580-‐2500


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Esquire Staffing Services www.esquirestaffing.com or call 1 (312) 795-‐9999

First Associates, Ltd. firstassoc.com/candidate.php or call 1 (312) 253-‐4000

Kelly Services kellyservices.com

Lakeshore Staffing livinglakeshore.com

Loftus & O’Meara Staffing loftusomeara.com/joomla/?Itemid=54 or call 1 (312) 944-‐2102

Manpower Chicago manpower.com

National Able Network nationalable.org or call 1 (312) 994-‐4200

Seville Staffing sevillestaffing.com/candidate

Smart Resources, Inc. smartstaffing.com/index.php/candidates/ or call 1 (312) 696-‐5306

Miscellaneous


Accenture Consultants careers.accenture.com

Exelon Corp. www.exeloncorp.com/peopleandculture/careers

North Shore Gas & Peoples Gas integrysgroup.com/career

RR Donnelley rrdcareers.silkroad.com

Helpful Hints for Job Hunters

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