Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Vault Library Troubleshooting

The Vault Online Library uses Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology to ensure that only authorized users can use the Vault guides.

Here are some pointers on accessing the Vault guides with minimal DRM hassles:
  • The DRM is facilitating just one operation: downloading a Vault guide onto one computer, so that it can be viewed or printed on that computer. If you download a Vault guide onto your work computer and then email it to your home computer, the guide will not open.
  • Version 7 of the Adobe Acrobat Reader gives you the best results.
  • Sometimes a strong corporate or personal firewall can interfere with the transmission of data necessary to unlock a document. Temporarily deactivate your firewall before downloading
If you’re still having difficulties, take a look at Vault’s detailed download FAQs or contact the Library.

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

The Frank Lowy Library's career resources page

The Career Resources page is a joint project between the Frank Lowy Library and the AGSM Placement Office and is a central place to look for resources on how to get a job.

To access the careers page, you first need to login to the Frank Lowy Library research site [see these instructions for logging in].

There are three main components to the Career Resources page: the Vault Online Career Library, Useful Links, and Print Resources.

Vault Online Career Library
The Vault Online Career Library is the centrepiece of the Career Resources page. Current students are able to access over 70 electronic Vault career guides. The books are comprehensive, authoritative and are typically about 200 pages in length.
There are guides for particular industries (Energy, Technology, Advertising etc.) and top employers within an industry. There are also guides to more general aspects of the job-seeking process, such as resumés, cover letters and interviews.

Much of Vault’s content is U.S.-focused, but that is changing with the recent inclusion of Australian employee surveys which cover:
  • Workplace surveys
  • What it's like to work for a specific employer, including, but not limited to corporate culture, diversity, hours, dress code, and opportunities for advancement.
  • Interview surveys
  • Hiring process and interviews (how many rounds of interviews, who conducted the interviews, and whether there were any specific interview questions you remember of note).
  • Salary surveys
  • Information about base salary, signing and year-end bonuses, stock options, vacation time, and other special perks and reimbursements.
  • Business outlook surveys
  • Analysis of strengths and weaknesses in competition, distribution channels, products and services, employee morale, etc.
Useful links
The second component of the Career Resources page is a collection of career-related links selected by the AGSM Placement Office. If you know of a good resource please contact the Library on 02 9931 9390 or library@agsm.edu.au.

Print Resources
The third section of the Career Resources page highlights some of the books that the Frank Lowy Library has in this area. Click on the hot topics to get a list of books on job hunting, career planning or interview techniques. These books are often more in-depth and authoritative than many of the job-seeking resources which can be found online.

Monday, August 07, 2006

Career research - finding company and industry information

Do your homework before you contact a company.
Gather as much information as you can. The online databases provide a wealth of detail on companies and industries.

Proquest
Start here by checking the thesaurus for industry terms to search as a subject term combined with a geographical area or other relevant terms.

Business Source Premier
Great for industry profiles. Search the industry as a subject term, then click on Industry profiles. Also contains Datamonitor company profiles.

Mergent and Reuters Business Insight
Contains industry reports on technology, energy, finance,
health care and consumer goods.

GMID Euromonitor
Look here for statistical information and market reports.