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GUiDe Your Personal Competitive Advantage

using your knowledge of the company and the system to Finally, as you study MIS, think about how the knowl- 139
lock in an extension of your job? edge you gain can help you save costs for your employers.
Human resources personnel say that networking is Even more, see if you can build a case that an employer
one of the most effective ways of finding a job. How can you would actually save money by hiring you. The line of rea-
use this class to establish alliances with other students? Is soning might be that because of your knowledge of IS, you
there an email list server for the students in your class? What will be able to facilitate cost savings that more than com-
about Facebook? LinkedIn? Twitter? How can you use those pensate for your salary.
facilities to develop job-seeking alliances with other students? In truth, few of the ideas that you generate for a
Who in your class already has a job or an internship? Can any potential employer will be feasible or pragmatically use-
of those people provide hints or opportunities for finding a job? ful. The fact that you are thinking creatively, however, will
Don’t restrict your job search to your local area. Are indicate to a potential employer that you have initiative and
there regions of your country where jobs are more plentiful? are grappling with the problems that real businesses have.
How can you find out about student organizations in those As this course progresses, keep thinking about competitive
regions? Search the Web for MIS classes in other cities, and advantage, and strive to understand how the topics you
make contact with students there. Find out what the hot op- study can help you to accomplish, personally, one or more
portunities are in other cities. of the principles in Figure 3-12.

DiSCUSSion QUeStionS

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