How can a person with diverse skills ever get picked out of the thousands of e-mailed applications processed through HR departments? Software programs, which search for "programmed" items, bypass some of the best candidates. They can't capture human intuition experience and the full impact of interpersonal contact. It has been my experience that the "outside the box" people are the ones that really create opportunities for companies. Yet they are the "hard fits" for the computerized job search. When a machine makes the first round of decisions, who is in control? In the end, my talents and skills seem best applied to self-employment. -- Only Human
A: Hey, Only Human, this is the beginning, not the end! :) Take control by becoming an informed entrepreneur. Prepare yourself. Multitask yourself into a job that, in a year or two, will give you the experience, contacts and product knowledge needed for a solid start in your own business. Hunt online. Read the classifieds. Don't let any one method demand your full attention. Network. Try everything you can think of, including referrals from people you know, who will point you to people you don't know. Approach people in your chosen field with whom you've done business through the years. You may not really want a job at their company, but you might discover expanded connections. Shine at what you're doing and they'll notice. -- mlc
Q: INDUSTRY OR FUNCTION?
I graduated from college in December with a major in apparel merchandising and minors in business and Spanish. I am just willing to do anything and usually look in retail, but also public relations and marketing. All I am looking for is an opportunity to gain experience get my foot in the door and some day move up in the business. Internships and summer jobs have enabled me to experience the business world, but an entry-level job would allow me to experience it hands on every day. An open mind and the determination to succeed will help me move beyond entry-level, but finding out what exactly the company is looking for in a candidate and getting that job is the difficult part. Going to interviews is the only way to know if a job is real or if it's for me. -- Upbeat Grad
A: Sometimes it's possible to find a job when you believe that "attitude is everything." Upbeat Grad morphed into Excited Grad after flying to the Big Apple, where she slam-dunked a trainee position in retail product development. She'd practically lived online but found her job at a company she'd heard about in college. How could she have minimized the agony of the previous months? Just what you can do. Communicate with everyone in your target industry. Recognize that functions such as PR and marketing cross industries. Delete functions for which you're not qualified -- PR in her case, because writing isn't her strong suit. Getting a temp job in the industry, even if it means relocating. Excited Grad proves that eagerness and diligence can pay off. Let them propel you off the ground floor. -- mlc
**blogTip**
REVENUE OR EXPENSES?
Looking for a job or angling for a promotion? "Understand that the needs and wants of the employer far outweigh your needs and wants," advises Steven Rothberg, president of CollegeRecruiter.com, based in Minneapolis. "An employer does not care that you really want to work there or that you need to make more money to maintain your standard of living." Employers look for ways to increase profitability.
Rothberg says to strengthen your position by determining ahead of time how you'll help increase revenue or reduce expenses. (Any chance of finding a way to do both?) This is your responsibility not that of an employer: "An employer is not in as good a position as you are to objectively measure the value you'll deliver in that new job."
(E-mail your job-hunting questions to syndicated columnist Dr. Mildred Culp at culp@workwise.net. Copyright 2004 Passage Media.)
