Needle, Meet Haystack

Everyone reaches a point during the job search when they stop being so concerned with what position they’re applying for, as long as they get it. This is past the point of selling out – this is being a job whore – because you’ll take anything you can get.

But how can you be a good job whore, and get a transition job where you can actually transition into the position or company you want?  How do you keep from selling your valuable time to the lowest minimum-wage bidder?  It all comes down to three things: attitude, intent, and relatability.

Attitude: You can’t come into a job with the attitude that it is beneath you, regardless of how temporary it is.  Rather, look at it as a gateway to new experiences and making new contacts, who might help you get into a better position.  Also, don’t feel depressed about “slumming it.”  You need to focus on getting the job done and not letting yourself get too comfortable with the idea that you have a job when you can still keep looking.  Contradictory, I know.  But you need to be able to balance your positive and negative feelings about the job and do it well.

Intent: How long do you plan to stay with your job whore position?  Try to outline a plan for yourself so you can keep looking for other work, and have motivation to do so.  It’s easy to get complacent and enjoy that you’re employed rather than pushing yourself, but if you want to make the most out of the situation, you have to intend to do more.

Relatability: It’s always a good idea if your job whore gig can relate to what you are trying to do in your (hopefully) future career.  Working at an electronics shop can relate if you’re trying for some engineering jobs, sales can be a good idea if you’re going into marketing, and so on.  Try to find a position where what you’re doing can have long-term benefits to your overall career or life goals (and I don’t just mean an employee discount).

Remember: even if you’re desperate for work and will take anything, you can still make the most of your situation to help yourself out in the long run!

So listen, guys, I talk about job searches, job seeking, job-getting and all that job stuff an awful lot, but I’ve neglected telling you how you can really get a job for the reason that it’s not as factual as, say, changes you can make to your resume, or tactics that you can use to improve your job search productivity.  Also, I knew I would have to use that last expository run-on sentence.  But since I’ll be going on a trip from tomorrow (Saturday) to Monday (boy, you must be pissed about a lack of regular updates by now after the moving thing), I figured I would leave this up for your thoughtful consideration, contemplation, and possibly commenting.

And yes, this means that both of the usual weekend features will not be up.  Sorry.

Anyway, part of the reason that people seem to be losing work is because the industries that we still have domestically are being overtaken by international competition or outsourcing.  The auto industry has crapped out, your telemarketers and phone help people have an accent, and almost any toy you get (for yourself or your kids; I won’t judge) says somewhere that it’s made in China or Taiwan.

This won’t be a globalization-bashing, rah-rah buy American conversation.  You can tell how serious I am about all this because I’m not even going to use pictures or video clips.  Pretty serious, huh?

The point is that we need, as a country, to find a new competitive advantage.  We no longer have manufacturing or services to the degree that we once did, but there are other industries that we can use to revitalize the economy (or industries that we can create).  Last time we did this, it was Internet-based enterprise, but we didn’t (and still don’t) know how to best utilize it for monetary gain and true profits.  And I mean people in general, not Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Beezos or any of those fellas.

So you might not be the most future-forecasting person, and you might not be an inventor or innovator.  That doesn’t mean that you can’t isolate some domestic necessities (goods or services) that you can provide.  Instead of bemoaning the struggles of your industry (advertising, finance, real estate, etc) you might want to look at something else that you can do.

It might be a while before the job market (and economy) recovers, but in the meantime, you might want to start thinking about what kind of job you can do that has a sustainable future, and can develop along a steady path.

Hope you all have a great weekend!  Posts resume on Monday!

Boy, this is sorta ironic, huh?  After all, I’m not an expert career adviser or anything, and here I am with a blog about looking for a job.  But here’s the thing: I sort of AM an expert on it.

I’ve been looking for jobs off and on for the better part of the past two years.  I’ve done some stupid stuff, I’ve done some brilliant stuff, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes.  So in terms of finding what can work in a job application, I am an expert.  While I might not have the training as a career adviser, I’ve got a good amount of experience in the field that I can share.

You can do the same thing!

You can be an expert in an area you have expertise in.  And the more you can show your expertise, the better-known you will be for it, and the more likely an employer will see you as qualified for the job.  Back when I was in college, I was the president of the Ad Club, and got interviewed by the local news to critique some Super Bowl ads.  Did I tell everyone in advertising and marketing who I applied for a job with about it?  Did I send them links to the video (while it was online)?  HECK YES I DID.

Because it showed my expertise.

So go ahead and start a blog, social network, website, Twitter or whatever about your area of expertise.  It can only help you in your job search.

One of the reasons I’m doing this blog is because I’ve been looking for work for a while, with varied degrees of success.  Sometimes, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel full of fish, and sometimes it’s more like shooting fish in an empty barrel without any fish.  With experience at both ends of the spectrum, I know how easy and difficult it can be to get work in the first place.

But when you’re in a drought, like many people are now, you can get consumed with looking for jobs.  Soon, you settle into a rhythm.  Your routine might not always be a good one (some suggestions here), but you will spend countless hours on the Internet, pouring over classifieds like it’s the last thing you’re ever going to do.  And some of the skills you pride yourself on having might start to atrophy like a paralyzed limb.

After two months of searches, I found steady office work mainly thanks to my Excel expertise.  The problem was, I hadn’t used Excel at all in the past year.  Over the weekend before my first Monday, I gave myself a crash-course in the entire Microsoft Office suite, remembering how to mail merge, create Access files, develop Publisher pages, and make databases.  It was exhausting and infuriating, and I promised myself I would never go through that again.

In order to keep my skills sharp, I will give myself little projects.  I inventory my MP3s in an Excel file.  I send out messages to family created with mail merge.  I make flyers for friends’ bands using Photoshop.  I cut together dumb Internet videos with Final Cut.  I develop my writing skills with this blog.

The point is, with a competitive job-hunting environment like this one (the demand is greater than the supply – just like in high school economics class!) , you can’t afford to slack off.  Even if you have to take a class to remember how to use InDesign again, it might be worth it to keep the skill.  If you’re looking for work, it’s a bad time to be forgetting things.

One of the lousiest things about entering the job market after college is that you’re probably going to have to find health insurance or an HMO on your own.  Unlike the halcyon days at the university, when your student status allowed you to stay on your parents’ plan, your current situation leaves much to be desired.  However, jobless or not, there are a few things you can do to make sure that you’re covered in case you need a physical, tooth cleaning, or new glasses.

-Check with your parents’ plan: Many services will carry over your coverage until the end of the calendar year (or sometimes longer), even if you are no longer a student.  While a number of HMOs and insurances cut off at around 21, some will carry for a few years after that.  Find out what your provider’s rules and regulations are.

-Check with your school: Some universities offer health plans for students, and also will give the same to alumni.  While it’s no longer free, it might be worth your while to look into.

-Look into getting your own plan: I did this one.  For about $20 per month, I get full medical, dental, and vision coverage, although it’s not technically insurance.  Instead, it’s what’s called a “discount plan,” and the providers give you a list of physicians who can save you at least 20% on your bills.  In some cases, if you get insurance down the road, you can put the two together to bring down your chances of hitting your maximums.  Depending on the plan, you might also get prescription coverage too.

There are a number of different companies that offer these programs.  Do a quick Internet search to find them – in most cases, these companies will offer coverage even if you have preexisting conditions.  If you can afford it, look into getting your own insurance, but make sure you know about the premiums, deductibles and renewal options on your plan.

With companies scaling back on employee benefits, it’s a good idea to look into these programs even if you’re covered by a current or old job.