Page 135 - Using MIS

entry for others who might be competing for the job. Also, make contact with students there. Find out what the hot op-
can you suggest ways to improve the system, thus using portunities are in other cities.
your knowledge of the company and the system to lock in Finally, as you study MIS, think about how the knowledge
an extension of your job? you gain can help you save costs for your employers. Even
Human resources personnel say that networking is one more, see if you can build a case that an employer would actu-
of the most effective ways of finding a job. How can you use ally save money by hiring you. The line of reasoning might be
this class to establish alliances with other students? Is there that because of your knowledge of IS you will be able to facili-
an email list server for the students in your class? What tate cost savings that more than compensate for your salary.
about Facebook? LinkedIn? Twitter? How can you use those In truth, few of the ideas that you generate for a poten-
facilities to develop job-seeking alliances with other stu- tial employer will be feasible or pragmatically useful. The
dents? Who in your class already has a job or an internship? fact that you are thinking creatively, however, will indicate
Can any of those people provide hints or opportunities for to a potential employer that you have initiative and are
finding a job? grappling with the problems that real businesses have. As
Don’t restrict your job search to your local area. Are this course progresses, keep thinking about competitive ad-
there regions of your country where jobs are more plentiful? vantage, and strive to understand how the topics you study
How can you find out about student organizations in those can help you to accomplish, personally, one or more of the
regions? Search the Web for MIS classes in other cities, and principles in Figure 3-12.

disCussion Questions

1. Summarize the efforts you have taken thus far to build want to work in banking and you know that your local
an employment record that will lead to job offers after bank has a customer information system. You could
graduation. call the manager of that bank and ask him or her how
2. Considering the first three principles in Figure 3-12, that system creates a competitive advantage for the
describe one way in which you have a competitive ad- bank. You also could ask to interview other employees
vantage over your classmates. If you do not have such a and go armed with the list in Figure 3-12. Describe two
competitive advantage, describe actions you can take to specific ways in which you can use your status as a stu-
obtain one. dent and the list in Figure 3-12 to build your network in
3. In order to build your network, you can use your sta- this way.
tus as a student to approach business professionals. 4. Describe two ways that you can use student alliances to
Namely, you can contact them for help with an assign- obtain a job. How can you use information systems to
ment or for career guidance. For example, suppose you build, maintain, and operate such alliances?

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