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Where Is It You Work Again?

June 7th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

by Robin Ferrier

Photo courtesy Mara 1. Flickr Creative Commons.

Today’s advice, gleaned from my 10+ years in the working world…

Where you work is as important — no, scratch that — it’s MORE important than what you do.

What do I mean by that?

If you’re the typical job hunter, you probably know WHAT you want to do. You want to work in marketing… in business development. You’re an accountant… an engineer… an architect… So you go to job search sites and look for jobs that sound interesting. You discount many jobs because the description doesn’t match exactly what you want to do. BAD IDEA!

Because here’s a secret most employers will never tell you: a job description can change in the blink of an eye.

I can’t think of one job I’ve had where the job I ended up doing matched the job description for which I was hired. My job — and the description of what I do — has always evolved, be it because I’ve exceeded expectations, because together we’ve discovered a new talent, or because the department itself has evolved to meet new company needs.

My point? Don’t go out there looking for the perfect job. Because even if the job description sounds perfect, chances are it’s not what you’ll end up doing.

Instead, figure out WHERE you want to work. Because the corporate culture at a for-profit company is VASTLY different from that of a non-profit. (I know this because I’ve worked in both.) Higher education is a far cry from Wall Street. And the opportunities that pop up in a smaller company are going to look different from what you’ll find in a large, Fortune 500 company. Research companies and organizations in your area. Visit their web sites. Read company blogs. Find employees on LinkedIn and connect with them. Use the newly launched LinkedIn “Follow a Company” feature. There are A LOT of ways to do your due diligence and find out more about potential employers.

Finding a corporate culture that matches your personality is as much — if not more — of an indicator of future career/workplace happiness as finding the job where your assigned “duties and responsibilities” are a perfect match for what you think you want.

And last, realize some of your best times and your best assignments and your best career discoveries and realizations will fall under the very real job responsibility known as: “Other duties as assigned.”

Robin Ferrier is the editor of What’s Next, Gen Y? and Communications Manager for the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus. She is also the President of the Capital Communicators Group, co-chair of the Marketing Committee for the Tech Council of Maryland, and chair of the PR Committee for the Gaithersburg Book Festival. She has inadvertently become a frequent career / professional / job hunt resource for friends and colleagues due to a career path that has included five jobs in 12 years.

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Tags: first job, job hunt, Job Search, networking, questions, Robin Ferrier, Working World
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Why I will reject you…

June 2nd, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

by Patrick Madsen

Photo courtesy smemon87 / Sean MacEntee. Flickr Creative Commons.

I am a part of what is known as “Generation X.” I am supposed to be your ally, part of the generation in the working world that understands you best. After all, we both come from a time of computers and the internet, and according to everything you read, we share a number of other characteristics and abilities. So why is it that I would reject your application, reject you during the interview, and may not even respond to you at all? Easy… because you are not showing me why I should.

Here are just a few reasons you may get rejected by me:

Professional image: Yes, business attire has changed and business casual has become more of the “norm” in corporate American. BUT that doesn’t mean that you can wear flip-flops to work, not brush your hair, or wear “Saturday night” attire to an interview or to networking occasions. The people that are still in charge and making the hiring decisions will look for the professionally dressed.
Your attitude: Just because I am not standing in front of you does not mean that I will not hear about EVERYTHING you said and did. I remember a student who showed up to our building for an appointment only to discover that I was not in the building. He threw a temper tantrum in front of our reception team, demanded to see my boss, and wrote a two page grievance letter to the dean. While printing this letter, he decided to check his email only to find out that he had mixed up the appointment day/time. He didn’t turn in the letter to the dean. But I still heard the whole story. So be careful about the image you are projecting AT ALL TIMES as it can affect your career opportunities in the future, especially when you don’t yet have a proven track record. No one wants to hire someone with a poor attitude or who cannot act professionally. (Side note: Even had I been wrong and gotten the date messed up, the temper tantrum in the lobby would have immediately put this student in the “no” pile had I been a hiring manager.)
You don’t care: I can quickly pick out those who really care about the job and those who just see it as a means to an end. Find something you are passionate about and go after it. Don’t settle for something that you will hang onto only for a short time and then move on. Your passion, or lack thereof, can be seen on your face, your demeanor, and presentation. That said, I also don’t want you to think that your first job will be your “dream job” and will meet your every criterion. But there is a mid-point between those two extremes.
Spelling and grammar: You’ve heard this before, I’m sure, but it bears repeating: One negative trend that technology has created is the lack of professional writing. With people instant messaging, tweeting, and texting, their ability to coherently develop structured writing based on the “rules” we learned in school has gone by the wayside. Emails that are poorly developed, resumes with one spelling mistake, or even a connection request on LinkedIn that has errors often will land you in the “no” pile vs. the “yes” pile.

People forget that a job interview is a sales call. You need to sell me your “value”! Why should I want to hire you if you cannot sell me on the idea of you? Think about yourself as a product. What would make a consumer purchase that product?

And remember that you are still playing in the world developed by those from the Baby Boomer Generation and Generation X. Learn as much as you can about how they think, how they work, and what motivates them. The more you know, the more it will help you interact with those from the generations doing the hiring.

Patrick Madsen is the Director of Programs & Education in Career Services at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School. He manages the Programs & Education curriculum to include career advising services, speaker series, brand management training, and other events to help students prepare themselves for the world of work. His background includes a degree in Psychology from North Carolina State University, a masters degree in Counseling from East Carolina University, and a doctorate in Organizational Leadership/Student Affairs from Nova Southeastern University.

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Tags: Cover Letters, first job, Interviewing, job hunt, Job Search, Life Transition, LinkedIn, networking, online persona, Patrick Madsen, Personal Brand, Reputation, Resumes, Working World
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Personal Branding and Your Online Persona

May 4th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

by Patti Nuttycombe Cochran

Image: emdot / marya, Flicker Creative Commons

You need to be vigilant 24/7 on all sites where you have a presence, profile… or where you’re adding “interesting commentary or banter” publicly on friends or colleagues’ sites.

I know it’s cool to engage in “exhibitionist-speak” on Facebook or Twitter. You know what I’m talkin’ about: those self-absorbed status updates that completely don’t matter to anyone but the author?? Or posts from those whom I’m sure feel superior or RELIEVED when they’ve just blasted off on someone on some social media platform.

Stop thinking these are private sites where you can have a one-on-one confidential conversation or exchange. Always assume that whatever you post is visible, viewable, usable and confusable by the entire free world! When you operate under this assumption, your posts will be less hip, cool, clever and funny and boomerang-like…

But a lot more acceptable, safe, generic and worry free. With the fabulous internet, things are out there forever — good or bad. There are no make-goods, “ooops-I-didn’t-mean-its”! It’s forever. Always. Undeniable. Attributable.

So, with that annoying fact out in the open, here are a couple examples of career-ending blunder statements that one can’t recover from. I offer these in the spirit of helpfulness. Translation: DON’T MAKE THESE MISTAKES!

Career Ending Social Media Status Updates…

“I hate my client” – Never use the word HATE! Anywhere… but certainly not on a Social Media site! And, HATE and CLIENT in the same sentence???? What are you thinking? Goodbye direct deposit from your paying gig…
“I don’t want to deal with anymore STUPID customers” — Okay, this is only SLIGHTLY less incendiary than the example above! Goodbye direct deposit from that paying gig, AND you’ll never work for any of those clients, either!
“Supposed to be working” — now THIS ONE seems benign, right? I hope you answered No. Yet, Twitter is riddled with this dumb comment! Clients, bosses and others who might be depending on you read this and think, “Wait a minute… we’ve got a project to finish… he/she’s on our dime…”
Updating Facebook when you’re supposedly ill. This one’s particularly stupid, too, when the person has “friended” their Boss on FB! Nice. So all through the day that you’re “illin’”, the boss is watching your updates about the fun stuff you’re doing. Makes the next day at work interesting!

Remember: don’t put your brand AND your relationships at risk. Be extremely self-aware and DEFENSIVE of your image: In the flesh AND online!

Patti Nuttycombe Cochran is Vice President-Client Services Consultant at Right Management, a global provider of Career Transition services and consulting expertise on Talent Management, Leadership Development, and Organizational Effectiveness. Patti is an avid networker interested in building the region’s business and philanthropic communities.

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Tags: Facebook, first job, job hunt, Job Search, networking, Patti Nuttycombe Cochran, Personal Brand, Reputation, social media, Twitter
Posted in Job Search, Life Transition, Networking, Patti Nuttycombe Cochran, Personal Brand, social media, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

Outsmarting your competition is easier than you think (but it does require some effort)

April 22nd, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

By Jennifer Nycz-Conner

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pshan427/ / CC BY 2.0

I’ve been out of college for … well, let’s just say longer than I’d like to admit. Plenty has changed since then. Today’s twenty-somethings don’t have to battle the eternal questions surrounding the job application process: how many pages a resume should be, sending it flat versus folded in a regular envelope, to use a staple or paper clip.

But there are still plenty, less tangible, attributes that remain constant. A big one? How to make yourself stand out from the masses. In a good way.

With many years as someone who’s both been hired and done the hiring, I’ll let you in on a secret: It’s not really that hard to do. It will require some effort, however.

Steve Buttry has a fantastic example of this on his blog. As the Director of Community Engagement for Allbritton Communications’ new Washington, D.C. yet-to-be-named Web site, Buttry is on what in this economy could be referred to as a hiring spree, with plenty of qualified candidates from which to choose. But in his latest hiring announcement for a social media producer, candidate Mandy Jenkins popped to the top of the pile:

“Other excellent candidates interviewed before Mandy, though, and I thought of this as a crowded field when she arrived for an interview. I saw good signs even before she reached the office. She checked in from the Metro station nearby about 20 minutes before the interview, then from a nearby coffee shop. When I commented on that as I met her in the lobby of our offices, she told me she was using the beta of check.in, a new service that checks you in on multiple location-based platforms at once. There’s a good interviewing tip for you: If you’re applying for a social media job, start the interview right by telling the prospective boss even before you sit down that you’re using something he’s never heard of.”

That is a classic example of doing your homework, getting into your potential boss’ head and finding a way to use actions, not words to demonstrate why you are the right choice.

Here are some tips to make yourself stand out throughout the entire life cycle of the application process. It sounds like common sense, but many people do not do any of these, let alone all:

Spelling. Yes, this is basic, but you’d be amazed how many people don’t check their spelling. Want to show, not just say, you’re detail oriented? Spell your potential boss’ name correctly.
Do your homework. There is no excuse not to have done research on a potential employer today. It’s too easy not to. Don’t stop at the first two Google links you see. Go on LinkedIn and see where that hiring manager has worked previously. Check the news sites to find out what the company, and more importantly, its competitors, have been grappling with. Looking through social networking sites to find people you may know in common, or people that have worked at that company in the past. Ask them for guidance on what life is like inside the company. All of this is critical to prepare for the dreaded, “So, do you have any questions for me?” question. Which brings me to the next point…
Have a topic — or topics — ready for the dreaded, “So, do you have any questions for me?” question. You know it’s coming. Prepare for it. Better yet, use it as an opportunity to show what you know about the industry, your critical thinking skills, and your ability to add something to the team.
Think like your potential boss. If you were him or her, what kinds of questions would you ask? What kinds of answers would you want to hear?
Outthink your competition. What are your best competitors likely to do? How can you do it better, faster, different?
Follow up. Send the thank you note, and quickly (yes, it matters, says the girl who cringes at the thoughts of the ones I should have sent). Stay in touch, about the job, about the company and particularly with the person.
Be passionate. Anyone can have experience, or be shown how to do a job. Enthusiasm and passion cannot be taught. If you have it, show it.

Jennifer Nycz-Conner is a Senior Staff Reporter and Media Strategy Manager for the Washington Business Journal. You can read more great advice from Jennifer on Working the Room, her blog for the Washington Business Journal.

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Tags: Cover Letters, elevator speech, Interviewing, Jennifer Nycz-Conner, job hunt, Job Search, networking, questions, Resumes, Skillset
Posted in Cover Letters, Interviewing, Jennifer Nycz-Conner, Job Search, Networking, Resumes, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

Your Personal Brand: An Individual Evaluation

April 16th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

by Patti Nuttycombe Cochran

As a result of my recent offer, several courageous readers requested a Personal Brand Evaluation and the process was interesting and happily very positive!

Let’s take the example of Glen Montgomery, a passionate video editor from Ohio who submitted himself and his online persona for a Brand Evaluation. After googling, twittering, yahoo-ing, myspacing, facebooking and Linking-In…here’s my evaluation:

Glen’s image is consistent and passionate. There’s a terrific alignment within his multiple profiles.

His Twitter following is impressive and he incorporates multimedia links which give his profiles depth. His passion for filmmaking, editing and the world of film is palpable on all sites. I came away really admiring his drive, passion and interest in his profession!

His photo image on Google and Yahoo and LinkedIn is a wonderfully happy photo. Facebook, while a different photo image, shows someone fun-loving yet is “safe” from judgment or scrutiny by recruiters or employers. He’s used filters well, so that what he chooses to keep private is kept private. Smart!

A couple thoughts:

Glen’s LinkedIn page was updated one month ago… perhaps more regular updates would keep his name active in LinkedIn’s status updates thereby creating a more prolific impression.
He also describes himself as “trying to find himself in the world of post-production.” This description is wistful, but suggests desperation or someone who’s seeking. A bolder description that claims his ability and passion would be stronger as an overall description.

But, generally, Glen’s done a terrific job of presenting himself to the world as a focused, passionate individual with clear direction.

I hope Glen will stay in touch with us — and perhaps even submit some blog posts for us talking about his quest to “find himself in the world of post-production” so we can see if he’s successful.

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Tags: Facebook, job hunt, Job Search, LinkedIn, networking, Patti Nuttycombe Cochran, Reputation, social media, Twitter
Posted in Job Search, Networking, Patti Nuttycombe Cochran, Personal Brand, social media, WhatsNextGenY | No Comments »

Your Job Search: Is it like looking for water in the desert?

April 12th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sidavid/ / CC BY 2.0

Guess what? The world changes constantly. (Big surprise, right?)

It wasn’t that long ago that we were riding high with the many new industries opened up by the introduction of the world wide web and the fascination of what a company could do with computers. Jobs were abundant. Nationwide, headhunters were gathering candidates before graduation. It’s not happening like that today. (But you already know what that. You’ve probably experienced it first hand.) Why, you ask? Well, in case you’ve been living under a rock – and if you have, you’re going to have other problems in your job search – our economy has hit a few road bumps, budgets have failed, and companies have gone under. This can make it very difficult for today’s graduate to locate a job that is worth all the time and money spent in college.

I have had numerous students come into my office with the same complaints: Where are the jobs? Why did I even go to college if there is nothing out there for me?

Let me clue you in: There are jobs out there.

I definitely believe that. It’s just a matter of finding them. And that is the key: Companies are not going to find you anymore… you have to find them! So what does that mean for you, the job seeker? It means you need to learn a few new tools and techniques so you can creative in your job search. And that’s why I’m here. I’m going to teach you how to be assertive and aggressive in your job search by getting to know yourself and your potential and options.

Getting creative means looking for jobs in areas or with techniques previously not used. Did you know that only about 20–30% of jobs are actually published to the general public? (One of my fellow bloggers knows this is true. She wrote about it.) Yet, despite this fact, 80–90% of people looking for jobs concentrate their efforts solely on finding published jobs. So where are the rest of the jobs? They’re centered around an employer’s wish list or they’re just “thoughts,” waiting for the right person to come along and make them a reality.

All employers are thinking about the future: where the company is headed, what projects the company needs to undertake, and who they will need to hire to meet these goals. Many professionals network to find the person to fill positions rather than publicize it to everyone and chance hiring the wrong candidate. This means to you that you need to start digging for jobs rather than searching for them.

Digging entails networking with professionals already working in your desired industry/career field. It means getting to know the people, talking with them and picking their brains for ideas. Networking also may mean interviewing professionals about their career and how they got there (not necessarily just handing them your resume, but rather hinting at your search in progress).

Digging also can mean taking on more volunteer work, part-time work, or internships in the areas you are interested in. This will allow you the chance to get “your foot in the door” and gain contacts in the field. I cannot expect to just jump into the computer industry without first having some experience in computers or by not having any contacts to “back me up”!

Using this train of thought means you need to follow some simple steps:

Get to know your interests: What is it that interests you? You must first learn the product you are going to be selling before you can create a marketing plan!
Market yourself: You must continue to learn new things so that you have opportunity to move to different areas. Learn effective job search strategies from Career Services or from your contacts.
Take away the bumps in the road: If your industry is feeling a pinch in your area, be willing to move somewhere else. I can remember a student who asked me the potential job market in the Greenville area for fashion design. I couldn’t help her much because, let’s face it, Greenville is not the center of the fashion world. Keep this train of thought in the forefront of your mind.
Be positive and energetic: It will be hard in some instances…believe me. But, remember to keep your energy high and your mind positive. The more negative you become, the harder the process gets. Employers pick up the negativity in the interview and this will count against you. No one wants to work with a sour-puss!

So what happens when you do all this and still hit a brick wall in your search? Easy. Back up and find another road to follow. This is where your resources come into play.

Contact your school’s Career Services department. Contact friends who can provide you with an outside view. Contact alumni groups for your university. Contact your parents’ friends and your friends’ parents who work within a relevant field. And read further into this great blog! Anything to keep you moving forward with your job search.

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Tags: elevator speech, job hunt, Job Search, networking, Patrick Madsen
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My First Job… or Learning to Appreciate the "Menial" Tasks in Life

April 8th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

http://www.flickr.com/photos/valerianasolaris/ / CC BY 2.0

A recent post by blogger Tom Madrecki has generated some conversation — both on the blog and in other outlets — so I thought I’d respond by reflecting on my experience at my first job.

Like Tom, I left college ready to take the world by storm. After all, I had a college degree. What more could I need in order to make my mark on the world, right? Yup, you guessed it. That would be a big, fat WRONG.

I quickly learned that college degree = menial labor when it comes to your first job. And though I wasn’t happy about it, since my parents made it clear that a paycheck was key to my survival, I knew I had no choice. (I grew up in a very practical household. Aspirations were great and all, but first you paid the bills!)

My first job was as a literary assistant at a literary agency. Don’t get me wrong, I got to do some fun things. My favorite was reading the unsolicited queries from authors seeking representation and writing memos as to why I thought the agency should or shouldn’t sign the authors as clients. But that was a small fraction of my time, and it was often done at night or on weekends because the other, menial, have-to-get-done-now tasks took priority during the work day. These were things like inserting my bosses’ fixes to book contracts (using a typewriter!), answering phones, filing, ordering supplies, organizing (read: cleaning) my boss’s office, sending royalty checks and statements to clients… tasks I’d always thought of as “secretarial” — the sort of thing I’d gotten a college degree to AVOID doing.

At the time, I hated those menial tasks. Now, I can appreciate them for what they were: an incredible learning experience.

I learned more about the business by performing what I’d before thought of as “menial tasks” than I ever would have otherwise. One reason was that I decided if I had to do these things, I would do them well. (Not to mention I had a boss who was a stickler for details.)

What I found was that once I proved I could handle those detail-oriented tasks, my boss gave me increasing responsibilities. I was given the opportunity to edit one of the proposals, which was so much fun. And eventually, she asked me to supplement the public relations activities being done for her authors by the publishing houses. It was my chance to shine… and boy did I. It’s the reason I have the career I do today.

So what’s the moral? Or morals?

Those “menial tasks” you may think are beneath you right now present some of the best learning opportunities… if you let them.
Everyone has to work their way up the ladder, and sometimes that means taking a job that isn’t “ideal” just so you get your foot in the door.
Oh, and those “menial tasks” you think are beneath you? Trust me. They aren’t. Those “menial tasks” are often part of some of the most difficult jobs out there, and it takes a special person to be able to do them well and do them gracefully. (Case in point: When my current boss’ assistant goes on vacation, I handle my boss’ calendar. It’s time consuming. It’s challenging. I do it without complaining, despite being 10+ years into my career. And I’m always more than relieved when her assistant returns!)

Now I’m going to call on all of you. Please comment below and share your first job stories — both the good and the bad. I’m sure we’re all learn something from what you have to say.

Robin Ferrier is the editor of What’s Next, Gen Y? and Communications Manager for the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus. She is also the President of the Capital Communicators Group and the co-chair of the Marketing Committee for the Tech Council of Maryland. She has inadvertently become a frequent career / professional / job hunt resource for friends and colleagues due to a career path that has included five jobs in 12 years.

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Tags: first job, job hunt, Job Search, post-college, Reputation, Robin Ferrier, Skillset, Thomas Madrecki
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A Reality Check for Soon-to-be-Grads

April 6th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

by Sarah Morgan

http://www.flickr.com/photos/18425359@N03/ / CC BY 2.0

One of the What’s Next, Gen Y? bloggers, Thomas Madrecki, recently posted about trying to figure out what to do upon graduation.

Few things are more obnoxious than hearing from someone older that you’re mistaken because of your youth, so it’s with misgivings that I set out to do exactly that, especially because it’s obvious that Thomas is both intelligent and successful and I don’t want to take issue with him in particular. But what struck me in his post was this:

“The idea, of course, is that work-place competition and increased selectivity in turn engenders more successful paid hires in a tightly budgeted and relatively small industry. All of that is well and good, but even for the most confident of applicants, the idea of heading to a new city with no guarantee of long-term growth or a permanent job is a potentially worrisome hurdle to overcome.”

This started the wheels turning for me. Yes, competition and selectivity IS well and good. And “worrisome” is, often, a fact of life. The thing is, the system is not set up to care about the feelings of new entrants to it.

What bothers me is that frequently, undergrads are called out for having unrealistic expectations or for being entitled — and nobody fixes it. There are increasingly job-specific undergrad offerings, but still, no Reality 101. Sometimes parents or internships explain what you’ll need to wrap your head around, but many times, graduating seniors are in for a woeful shock.

So here I am to shock you. You don’t have to like what I’m going to say. I didn’t. But please believe that the sooner you accept it, the sooner you get through it.

You will be lonely at first. Your career so far has been education, in the company of a peer group that was growing together. You won’t have that company in the same way again, and it’ll be a jarring difference in life.

You will be the butt of jokes about your youth. These include, but are not limited to, references about musical acts, fashion trends, and which president was in office when you were born.
You will make friends with whom you have far less in common than your friends to this point. The work force makes college — yes, every college — look like a military school of conformity.
You will not understand where your coworkers are coming from.

You will have to do what your elders will refer to as paying your dues. This will be maddening. You’ll have a thousand very good reasons why it’s nonsense. It will happen anyway.

You will lose out on something due to office politics, outside relationships or tenure.
You will have to work later than your boss.
You will have to do stuff that is boring.
You will not get paid as much as you want.

You won’t know anything. Yes, despite all that you just went through to learn all that.

You will only use about 15% of your degree. The rest of what you find yourself doing will come from your experience with clubs, roommates, activities and internships.
You will want to use the theory that you learned. Nobody has the money or the support to work on those theories.
You will do things because that’s how your boss wants them, even when you have a better idea.

You will have to fight to be taken seriously.

You will get the same reaction as a precocious child at the grown-ups’ table when you first begin to try to contribute. Keep doing it anyway.
You will learn to get to the point faster. There aren’t any more assignments where you have to hit a maximum. Cut everything you want to explain in half.
You will, in five years’ time, either laugh or cringe about 90% of what is upsets you right now (just think about five years ago). Keep this in mind before unburdening yourself on your coworkers. They’ll be understanding, but you want to be taken seriously, not just understood.

Please don’t despair. I’m only telling you the bad parts on purpose. You’ll see them coming and they won’t sting as much. And you can enjoy the rest of it that much more. The good parts are fun and surprising and there’s no need to prepare for them. Congratulations and have fun!

Sarah Morgan has a decade of experience working in and with the top pharmaceutical companies in the world. She educates corporations, organizations, universities and media about social media; blogs at sarah-morgan.com; Twitters at twitter.com/sarahmorgan; appears professionally at linkedin.com/sarahmorgan, informally at facebook.com/profile.php?id=10908629, and in real life in the glorious state of New Jersey. (Yes, New Jersey.)

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Tags: job hunt, Job Search, post-college, questions, Reputation, Sarah Morgan, Thomas Madrecki
Posted in Job Search, Personal Brand, Sarah Morgan, Thomas Madrecki, WhatsNextGenY | 4 Comments »

The Tug of Truth

March 31st, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

by Thomas Madrecki

cartoon of people jumping off a cliff like lemmings

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hikingartist/ / CC BY 2.0

When I talk to friends and family members about future job prospects, there is a now nigh standardized list of ideas and opinions that seems to inevitably meet the air: “You should go to law school.”

Yes, as a trained journalist and devout academic scholar, I seem to have a knack for all things research-based and detail-oriented. And ever since I began to see America’s legal system in action, there has been a part of me that readily identifies with the profession and feels I could easily become one of the thousands of well-paid lawyers across the country.

At the same time, though, I must say there is some aspect of law school that strikes me as undeniably mundane and typical. To employ a clichéd description, I don’t know if anything screams “selling out” quite like attending law school. Of course, that’s my personal opinion – but to me, it is the sum of all things “safe,” “expected,” and “what your girlfriend’s parents might like their future son-in-law to do if he isn’t a doctor or a celebrity.”

If not law school, though, what course of action might best suit my talents and interests?

With a background in editorial decision-making and writing, not to mention a decent amount of print and web design experience, I’ve naturally focused on job opportunities within those sectors. But communications agencies are tough to break into and many require that potential full-time entry-level employees fulfill an internship post-graduation. Those internships are frequently unpaid and there is an upfront emphasis on the fact that interns may not – and, in this economy especially, chances are, will not – be hired after the summer months. The idea, of course, is that work-place competition and increased selectivity in turn engenders more successful paid hires in a tightly budgeted and relatively small industry. All of that is well and good, but even for the most confident of applicants, the idea of heading to a new city with no guarantee of long-term growth or a permanent job is a potentially worrisome hurdle to overcome.

Elsewhere in the communications world, truly viable job prospects seem few and far between. There are plenty of interviews to be had, even in this tough economy, but what is missing is an easily accessible pool of entry-level positions tasked with the type of far-ranging creative work in which I have an interest. I might be able to find work as a marketing associate or as a corporate communications assistant, but the degree of responsibility – how multi-faceted an opportunity is – entrusted to me would most likely be lacking if the average job description holds any truth.

The end result is a feeling on my part that accepting a job for the sake of having a job would be, much like law school, settling for something I don’t whole-heartedly want to do. I’m a passionate person, a devoted person, and a hard-working person – but I have to believe in what I’m doing, and I have to feel like whatever I’m working on takes full advantage of all my talents and mental abilities. Perhaps from a pejorative stance that makes me highly selective and/or slightly inflexible. On the other hand, I consider this potential weakness one of my greatest strengths: Whether in good or bad times, I won’t settle for anything less than the best.

That notion of “refusing to settle,” though, brings to mind perhaps my biggest fear about the “real world” and the job market. I’m a firm believer in the pursuit of happiness – in a quest for existential meaning and philosophical understanding. Some might even say that the questions of truth – What makes living worthwhile? How can man better his condition? How does one become a hero if becoming a hero is possible? – tend to dominate my thinking on a wide range of subjects.

And so, now on the verge of entering a consumerist, very non-philosophical world (in which the bottom line reigns supreme and one’s only goal is to fulfill the demands of his job), I am somewhat concerned that any job opportunity will require me to make a personal sacrifice – to X-out or subdue the Nietzsche-loving student, to replace the self-directed author and literary critic with a mechanical businessman removed from higher, more human devotions.

Which is better? Which is more immature – to obsess over truth or to obsess over completing menial tasks?

The answers to those questions are profoundly personal, and everyone has a different opinion to share. That much has been made clear to me while I’ve searched high and low for the elusive perfect opportunity.

As for how I’ll respond to such musings, I have yet to determine what I’ll do next. I’ve come to a cliff – it’s time to jump or run…

Thomas Madrecki is a fourth-year Echols Scholar at the University of Virginia and the former managing editor of The Cavalier Daily newspaper. A true media chameleon, he hopes his extensive writing background and knowledge of various print/web design options makes him the perfect candidate for a career in brand management, communications, journalism, and/or public affairs. On the side, he’s also a former Dexter USBC High School All-American bowler (averaging about 225) and a budding, Nietzsche-adoring philosopher with a keen interest in existentialism and the pursuit of happiness. Make sure you check out his online portfolio!

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Tags: Job Search, law school, lemmings, post-college, Thomas Madrecki
Posted in Job Search, Thomas Madrecki, WhatsNextGenY | 4 Comments »

The Rules of Recruiters… and Why Commitment Matters to Them as Much as it Does the Guy You're Dating

March 29th, 2010 :: Robin Ferrier

by Allison Kapner

So rather than go in a boring step-by-step order and continuing with Step 2, I’m going to share a bit about working with recruiters… which, in the dating world, translates into dating guys that are just out for one thing.

For those of you who don’t understand the face of recruiting, times have changed. Employers used to hire recruiters for all levels and all functions. During the recession, companies began realizing how much they were spending on agency fees and started creating strategies around working with recruiters.

Internal HR staff are now trained to make cold calls and use social media to reach out for certain positions. So, for example, analyst roles most likely will not go through recruiters because of the number of applicants who apply on their own. Ask yourself, why would a company pay a VERY hefty fee for me when I can apply directly and not go through a third party?

So while recruiters who are experts in their field can be extremely helpful and add value, if you’re young and inexperienced, I wouldn’t count on a recruiter landing you your first job.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/randysonofrobert/ / CC BY 2.0

Recruiters – of the internal and external sort – can be your best friend or worst enemy. They can act as the gatekeepers to your dream employer, or can be the reason you don’t get your dream job. The genuine ones (such as me in my past life) care about you and put your needs first even if it means missing a deal. They do this because they know and respect good karma. The ruthless recruiters are only focused on you as a dollar sign. Recruiters, by nature, stay on top of their star candidates, the people who can actually interview successfully for the roles they are looking to fill. They woo you, keep you on their good side and walk you through the interview process. The second you mess up or the client decides to “pass,” you are back to the starting line until another job comes along that you’re the PERFECT person for.

The funny thing is, the worst thing you can do to a recruiter is work with other recruiters. They’ll say whatever it takes to keep you from others because they don’t make money if someone else places you…which leads me to a dating story and point that recruiters and men (sorry guys!) can in fact consciously or subconsciously share the same mentality.

I once met a guy – we’ll call him Aaron – who has an intense personality and acts as someone who is driven and motivated. For the first few weeks of knowing each other, he contacted me. I didn’t think much of it and didn’t respond much. In fact, he was upset that I wouldn’t friend him on Facebook. I was impartial. (Similar to how most candidates are in a good market when approached by a recruiter.) He persisted and we went out to a three-hour first date dinner. It was great. He wanted to know all about me (1st interview or “screening” per a recruiter) and I “passed” round one. He suggested going to get ice cream a few days later, and after going to four places and striking out four times trying to get ice cream, Aaron finally figured out a way to find us ice cream. I was impressed, he was creative and innovative. (Similar to a recruiter getting you a first round interview, if you’re a strong candidate, they’ll do whatever it takes.) This continued and things were going well. A few weeks into it, I decided it was time for me to finally give in and be nice and after him asking many times for a housewarming gift (weird, yes), I brought over cookie dough as a housewarming gift.

Stop the presses!! From then on, every time I received a text or spoke to him, the question was “how many guys do you bring cookies to?” Well, he obviously couldn’t handle the idea of me dating other people and he freaked himself out (later apologizing, then falling off the face of the earth). In his apology, he admitted he freaked himself out because he wasn’t ready for someone who would expect something out of him but he was too insecure to have me date others.

Moral of the story: If you can’t make a recruiter a quick buck or be a quickie to a shady guy, you’ll get dropped – and fast – which is probably for the better.

Second moral: Keep your options open until a recruiter asks you to only work with them (or until a guy asks you for a commitment). Don’t give either the satisfaction of being your one and only unless they prove themselves worthy.

Allison Kapner is a Relationship Manager in Career Services at the Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School where she is responsible for building partnerships with employers to ultimately create job and internship opportunities for students and alumni. She also advises and coaches students on job search techniques and brings a unique corporate expertise to assist candidates, as her past experience was as an Executive Recruiter in financial services in New York City.