Job Search - Don't Just Sit There Applying, Grab Work, Even If Not in Your Field

With so much affluence and too much supposed sophisticated career advice floating around what has become buried in the abyss is the oldest fundamental about landing a job: Nothing gets you a job like having a job. And that applies even if the title and the tasks involved in your current position are not in what you consider to be your career path or what you studied in undergraduate/graduate and professional school.

On professional anonymous network Reddit, a senior in college majoring in public relations laments sending a bunch of applications without receiving any interviews. One response is so wonderfully grounded:

"When I was a PR agency hiring manager, I hired a restaurant server and a Best Buy employee. I liked that they had to handle tasks and deal with customers. They had stories to tell during interviews that helped their cases. They continue to have successful PR careers.

"Doing something is better than nothing."

Embedded in this guidance are four realities:

Hands-on work is the best kind of professional development. You're in the moment. You're accountable. Increasingly, professional degrees such as the MBA have decreased ROI.

It's up to you to connect the dots between what value you are creating through your past/current work and what you will bring to your next employer. Yes, that becomes part of the resume and cover letter. The interview could take the form on-the-spot problem-solving and storytelling. If you don't have recent stories to tell you could be out of luck. Employers can "smell" if you haven't being working in a while. That's why gaps in a resume can derail a job search.

Don't fear multiple professional identities. So over is the one-dimensional approach to branding. At one time, you were a doctor, lawyer or Indian (Native American) Chief and that was that. Deviating from that rigid framework could result in being sidelined as a flake. Extreme success law firm Paul, Weiss chair Brad Karp is also known as change agent and master fundraiser. Philanthropist Melinda Gates has become involved in politics and is being taken seriously. 

Applying for jobs in isolation results in losing touch with the labor market. Get out there and find work, any kind; attend meetings of professional organizations; request coffee chats with those employed; and do favors which is the essence of networking. About the latter, one of my coaching clients starting a handyman business spotted weeds in an aging women's garden, asked permission to pull them free. As anticipated that generated word-of-mouth marketing. 

After my formal education (BA, MA, Ph.D.) my first real job came through a former professor to whom an employer owed a favor. What closed the deal was my answer to the interview question: What are you doing now? I had grabbed a grunt job at the University of Michigan Social Research Center. The "they" wanted confirmation that I wasn't just a lost-in-thought overeducated kind.

My first job in the career path I would develop - communications - came through a former college acquaintance who knew of an opening and the way in. That was an entry-level media position at a non-profit. 

The first plum job in my career path came through my sending personal letters (snail mail in those days) requesting informational interviews. That was in Big Oil.

Takeaway: Get work to get work and figure out how those skills are marketable for better work.  Continue to do that.

In business and life you usually have only one shot at whatever. Up the odds of success with Jane Genova. I am an intuitive coach, tarot reader and content-creator. Complimentary consultation (please text/phone 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)