I moderated a panel based on book, The 7 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Graduted, two days ago at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  The panel was made up of four speakers from:

• Higher Education
• Accounting / Auditing
• Technology
• Government

It was a great exercise to speak about a chapter from my book and then have the panel expand on what I spoke about from their own personal and corporate perspectives.  I plan on hosting one of these in the near term via teleseminar.  Stay tuned.

The one clear message that was reiterated over and over from this panel was how important MARKETING is in your career.  What what did he say?  Marketing?  Yes, marketing.  As job seekers we must think like we are in sales and not in job searching.  While you don’t ahve a job you should think like a sales person and not like an unemployed person.
Not one of the panelists made mention of how to write a resume, cover letter, thank you note, etc…  The one term and one idea all of them continually brought up was how important it is for job seekers to think of themselves as marketers and not job seekers.

I tried to make this point clearn in my book as well.  Finding a job is much more like being in sales than anything else.  Here are a few pieces of wisdom this panel shared:

1. Research the industry you are looking to work in to better understand where the best places are to work
2. Understand your strengths’ and weakness’
3. Make sure you are properly trained to work in your choosen industry - i.e. a college degree or certifications
4. Determine what the needs are of the company are that you want to work for
5. Craft your resume to speak to the specific needs of the company / industry you want to work for
6. Network at places and with people who work in your desired industry
7. Contact companies you want to work for to determine their current and future needs for someone with your skill set
8. Continually improve upon your skill set - never stop learning

What else?  Can you think of anything other pieces of advice for how job seekers can begin to think like a sales person?

Here you go, 20 pieces of random advice on job searching.  If you have your own advice on job searching please add it on the comments page.

Thanks

Justin

1. Moster.com ins’t the only place to find a job.

2. Most people find a job via networking not blasting out their resume to hundreds of job descriptions

3. Finding a job truly is a divine experience.  So many factors have to come into place in order for you to land a job.

4. Nine times out of 10 the door you think will lead to a job won’t.

5. One time out of 10 will lead to the job you never saw coming.

6. When you are new to job searching meet with a career counselor to help you develop your job search tool box.

7. What is your job search tool box?  Resume, cover letter, references, web site, portfolio, etc…

8. Use your personal and online network to look for a job.

9. Does anyone still use the classifieds?

10. Are you on Linked In yet?  Not only do they advertise jobs but you can use it to search for people at companies you might want to work for.  Once you have made a connection with them you can ask them about job openings.

11. Take down all of your encriminating photos from your MySpace and Facebook.

12. The first three - five years of your career needs to be spend learning as much as you can about your choosen career.

13. Find a mentor within your current employer.

14. Don’t be average, but innovative

15. Innovative employees are invaluable.

16. If you are still in college or high school, real life work experience matters more than text books.  Get as much real world experience as possible before you graduate.

17. Consider doing a job shadow before you graduate.

18. Be an intern and love it.  It might just be your best way into your profession.

19. Take an unpaid internship; suck it up, millions others before you had to do this.  It’s called paying your dues.

20. Start to collect business cards, they will make you money.

More lists like this to come on job searching.  Stay tuned.  If you have your own list of job search advice, post it under the comments section.

As some of you reading this post know, I recently left my first professional job at the Pittsburgh Technology Council. I was there five years, and thoroughly enjoyed my time at the organization. In fact, I was an intern with the Council before they hired me on full time back in 2002. They took a chance on me which I will be forever grateful for.

Since leaving, I am beginning to live my goal of being self-employed. My first and well only client is EduLink Inc. I am doing business development work for them; working with school districts, colleges, and municipalities. We offer them database management solutions.

Now that I have officially been self-employed for a whole two weeks I thought I would share with you what I have learned so far.

1. Businesses pay way too many TAXES!
2. Health insurance is expensive no matter which plan you chose. Be grateful to your employer if they pick up a large portion of the monthly premium. To match the health care coverage I left behind at the Council would cost close to $1,000 per month!!! (By the way, government health care is not the answer either.)
3. The freedom to work with multiple companies at one time is liberating.
4. Any new business I land for EduLink or in other ventures will happen as a result of NETWORKING not cold calling or cold-emailing.
5. Office supplies are taken for granted at every corporation. Ironically enough staples, tape, paper clips, post it notes, and pens do not grow in cubicles. Someone had to actually order those items for businesses to use. Weird huh?
6. IT professionals within corporations are grossly unappreciated. When you are your own tech support you will quickly realize this.
7. Macs really can be used as a business computer, much to the chagrin of every Microsoft-centric IT professional in the world!
8. Self-motivation only happens when you love what you do.
9. It takes time to start anything new.
10. Nothing happens over night, even in the private sector.
11. Someone can make the switch from the non-profit or government sector to the private sector and succeed.
12. Your parents / spouse / siblings / friends will always be cautious when you leave a “safe and secure” job to step out into the great unknown of entrepreneurship. Mainly because they care about you and don’t want to see you fail.
13. People are jealous of people who succeed.
14. You really can invest without a 401K or pension.
15. IKEA is a great place for office furniture.
16. LegalZoom.com makes forming a corporation very easy.
17. Your accountant will be your new best friend and maybe even your lawyer…. nah, on second thought, let’s just stick with your accountant.
18. Business expenses are far reaching – another reason why your accountant will be your best friend.
19. The greater the risk the greater the reward – thanks Richard David
20. Not all technology entrepreneurs get out of bed at noon and work until midnight.

I am sure there is more items I could add to this list but this is good for now. If you have taken the plunge into self-employment or entrepreneurship drop me an email; justin at justindriscoll.net

Last week I spoke at an event for a group of financial industry interns here in the Pittsburgh called PRICE.  It is a great program for students interested in working in finance or banking to get a taste of the real world.  Interestingly enough the students who attended the event all worked at major banks here in the Pittsburgh area; Mellon, PNC, and National City.  Out of the 30 students who attended my seminar only three or four actually liked what they were doing for their internship.  That begs a few questions:

1. If you are working in an internship that you do not like, do you think you will like your job after you graduate if it is in the same industry?
2. If you don’t like your job as an intern what are you going to do when you graduate to make sure you love your job?
3. Working for a company with the biggest name and the most prestige isn’t always the best idea.  Small companies can often provide a great internship experience and set you on the right track after graduation.
4. What can you do at your current internship to turn the tide?  No one wants to hate what they do.  I would suggest speaking with your boss to figure out how you can change your current assignment to one that you would enjoy.
5. An internship is suppose to be a learning experience.  Make sure you learn something.

One of students who came up to me after my talk to get his book signed was Bryan Moore.  Bryan is in college at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, but is already blogging about the financial industry and specifically stock research. Recently he started a series of posts about his job search efforts on his blog.  I think it is a fabulous idea and one that all college students should consider.  Here are a few positive aspects about starting a blog in your field of interest.

1. If your blog is done well and looks professional it gives you an instant sense of credibility with your readers.
2. It opens you up to a network of people all over the world who also blog; especially with those who blog in your same field.
3. Your resume can be posted to your blog which can then be found via search engine by recruiters who are using search engines to find candidates.
4. Blogging also forces you to keep up with what is going on in your field of interest which will then give you more to talk about in your job interview and of course on your blog.
5. Blogging also forces you to read and write more often thereby improving your communication skills.

Take a minute and jump over to Bryan’s blog The Financial Whiz and read his post about his job search in the financial industry.  Great job Bryan!

I had lunch yesterday with the owner of a small manufacturing company here in Pittsburgh.  His heat treating facility is in an interesting situation; either change and use technology to stay ahead of their competition and China or fade away into oblivion.  They have a few challenges with this massive change, mainly their workforce.  This company’s workforces is considerably older and not very adapt to change nor very interested in technology.

He told us that a few years ago he installed new machines with touch screens and the place nearly came to a crashing halt.  However, over time and training they learned the system and now think nothing of it.  However, now that he is bringing in a robot that will do the job of several men with much better efficiency and accuracy there is not telling how this will affect this aging workforce.

Now, I say all of that to say this.  He recently had a new employee start working for his company.  This person is 25 years old and very mature for his age because of the choices he made as a teenager that forced him to grow up quickly.  This person found this company on the internet via a job posting and then through the companies web site.  He was so interested in what the company was doing that he sought out the email of the owner of the company and emailed him a very convincing and impressive email which landed him a job within this company.  Here are a few thoughts and tips I learned from this real world example:

1. Traditional HR rules stink - when you are dealing with small companies, especially manufacturing companies the owners are usually very involved.  They do not think and act like HR people who are often the gatekeepers to the jobs you want.  The owner I was having lunch with was EXTREMELY impressed that this person sought him out and was honest with him about why he needed a job.  And you know what; the owner had compassion on him and saw potential in him that would never have come out through traditional HR processes.

2. Don’t Be Typical - A typical person would have simply sent their resume through the traditional means and waited to hear from the company.  I don’t like playing defense and neither should you when it comes to finding a job.  This young man showed a lot of heart and passion by searching out the email address of the owner of the company so that he could convey to him more about himself than his resume ever could.

3. Resumes Aren’t Enough - a resume is fine if that is all you can deliver to your perspective employer but consider a professional web site, blog, electronic portfolio, etc…  Average doesn’t cut it in today’s job market.  You need to convey your worth to your perspective employer in as many ways possible.  A single sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 isn’t a great option but if that is all you have make sure it is the best it can be.

4. Honesty Works - Especially with small companies who are not burdened by HR policies.  If you can talk with someone on the phone or through an email be honest with them about your interest in the company.  Tell them why you want to work there and tell them what has caused you to seek employment in their company.  They won’t be able to assume that from your resume.

In closing, finding a job is like sales.  Sometimes you must cast a wide net to find that nugget.  And as in sales, doors will open in ways that you would have never guessed or could have planned.  Don’t give up it will work out soon.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been writing about how college students can guarantee for themselves a job after college.  The best way to do this is through experiential education during their college career.

To illustrate my point with real life examples; I attended Liberty University’s graduation ceremony in Lynchburg Virginia last weekend.  My cousin Josh graduated from their school of government.  Way to go Josh!

We drove down to Lynchburg in the middle of the night and arrived in Lynchburg at 6AM.  There is nothing like driving through the Virginia country side in the middle of the night half asleep.  Those flat roads all start to look the same after a while.

Josh may have graduated with a degree in government but was offered a job in the schools IT department because of his amazing abilities in information technology, specifically Apple computers.  Josh is the sole reason I am writing this article on my nice and fairly new black MacBook.  He convinced my brother and I that Apple is far superior to Windows years ago.  Thanks again Josh!

While he was in school at Liberty taking classes in the school of government he was applying his amazing abilities in a totally different field, computer science and tech support.  Since he had a passion for computers and specifically Apple he was offered a job upon gradation in the schools IT department to handle support of all Apple products at the university.  Did he waste his time by getting a degree in government? No way!  The information he learned via his degree and the hands on skills he has in computer science field will be applicable and practical in a variety of companies.

It worked for Josh and is certainly can work for you!

Over the years I have heard the frustrations from students about the lack of knowledge when it comes to choosing a job or career after college.  They know they should have some type of idea but from what I have gathered most do not.  Even though their parents are pushing them to get a job they have no idea what they are suppose to be doing.  More importantly they have no idea what they want to do.  It is one thing to have a job but it is another thing to have a job you love doing!

Therefore, I have put together a plan for college students that should give every student, who sticks to the plan, a guide to help them determine what future career they may want to explore.  At the crux of this plan are two words… experiential education.  Every student must get out of the classroom and into the real world, while they are in school in order to determine what they want to do with their life.  It is extremely difficult to ask someone what they want to do with their life if they have no idea what their options are.  Ignorance is never bliss when it comes to career development!

Here is a conversation that has taken place between parents and college seniors thousands of times.  Can you relate?

What are you going to do with your degree?... “I don’t know?”

Where have you applied for a job?… “Do they pay people for updating their MySpace page?”‘

Well, you better get a job because I have spent a lot of money paying for this college education that was suppose to land you a job!  “Does this mean I can’t live at home after I graduate?  I mean it will only be for six months or so.”

The term experiential education, as defined by Wikipedia is as follows:

Experiential Education is a philosophy in which educators purposefully engage with learners through a variety of experiential methodologies in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills and clarify values.

I would add that is a combination of activities like job shadowing, company tours, internships, co-ops, mock interviewing, etc…

There has never been a company that said, “We should really hire this person because they have no idea about business, our industry, our products, or our customers.”

What they actually say is, “We really need to hire this person because they understand our business, our industry, our products, and our customers.”

The only way to have a chance at being that person who understands their business, industry, products and customers is to have experience under your belt before you graduate!  As a student your primary focus is school but your college experience must have a variety of opportunities to interact with companies who can show you what life is going to be like after college.  Not only to show you what life is going to be like but also to allow you to explore the many different career opportunities that exist in our world.  We all have been given special talents, skills, and abilities.  The question is have you found out what yours are yet.  Once you do then and only then can you think about what job or career you can apply those talents in.  Experiential education is the only way you will be able to determine what you are good at or interested in, not in the classroom alone.

If you incorporate experiential education into your college experience you will have a much better chance of finding your passion rather than your job!

Over the next four days I will be making individual posts that outline a plan of action for every level of students; freshman through seniors.  Stay tuned.

Day One – Freshman Year

Day Two- Sophomore Year

Day Three – Junior Year

Day Four – Senior Year and beyond…

I am not a career counselor; however I have become fascinated with the career development industry.  My view of career advice and comes from experience and the experiences of others.

Today I want to focus on career development and planning.

Did I ever take a career assessment?  Sure, who hasn’t?  All of us sat in the guidance counselor’s office in high school completing those meaningless tests to try and tell us what we should do for a living.  To be honest with you I cannot remember what my results said, do you?  If that is the only opportunity for career assessment or if that is the only time we ever think about your career options how does that prepare anyone for their future?  How do you choose your career?  How do you know what you want to do if a high school career assessment is your only opportunity for consideration?

I currently work at the Pittsburgh Technology Council in Pittsburgh, PA.  I often say in speeches that I did not wake up one morning and say, “I really want to work at the Pittsburgh Technology Council one day!”  I landed there because of an internship that a professor in college helped me get.  My career assessment was not very thorough or planned.  My own career journey happened with much inquiry and on the job assessment.  I was willing to try just about anything.  My internship was enjoyable, I enjoyed the work, I enjoyed the people I worked with and I believed in the mission of the company.  And now I have been there almost five years.

These three principles has kept me at the Council and are the three principles that keep most people at their employer or makes them want to work for a particular company.

1. Enjoy what you do
2. Enjoy who you work with
3. Believe in the mission

Has your career happened because of much planning and pre-assessment or did it happen by a random or probably divine set of events?  It would be an interesting study to determine how many people in the workforce are working in a field they studied for or planned for and how many are there for reasons they cannot explain.

How about you?  Are you in a company or job you planned for or did it happen in a seemingly divine series of events?

Attention employers!!

If you are interested in hiring quality talent from the pool of mostly unqualified people you might want to consider a few cosmetic changes when it comes to your office and hiring practices.

If candidates walk into an office environment and are greeted by an unenthusiastic receptionist or no receptionist at all what image does that portray of the company to the candidate?

If a candidate walks in to hear the CEO yelling at a roomful of employees about God knows what; how does that enable the candidate to have a strong desire to work at your company? Are they going to be subjected to this type of treatment?

If a candidate is interviewed in a room that consists of lingering cigarette smoke and ash what type of image does that portray of the company? Will it encourage the candidate to want to work there? What is their office going to smell like? How long has that donut been laying on the counter?

I hear so many companies telling job seekers what they must do to get noticed by employers but I hear very little talk around what companies must do to get noticed by job seekers. As the baby boomers begin to retire in greater numbers many futurists state that the labor shortage will continue to grow at a rapid pace. If companies aren’t planning for their labor challenge now it may be too late when the market is really tight.

If your company is in a growth mode and are hiring a large number of people you might want to consider putting a plan in place to ensure that your company looks attractive to perspective candidates. Let’s face it; the talented and qualified job seekers will work at companies who emanate greatness. If the candidate is great they aren’t going to settle for a sub-par company that is just getting by. They want to work for a company that has their act together so their career can flourish and at the same time they can help an exciting company grow.

It is easy to give good advice but it is even harder to follow it when it is your own.

I flew in to Richmond Virginia last night in the middle of a snow and ice storm.  While we were landing the cloud cover was extremely thick.  Most of the time once you get below a certain altitude you can begin to see the ground but on this particular night we could not see the ground below us until we were only a few hundred feet off the ground.  In other words the pilots were essentially landing the plane with very little visibility.  I am very glad they have a good training program to know how to do this.  I am sure everyone else on the flight felt the same way.

Do you feel like your job search experience is like landing a plane in the middle of a snow storm with zero visibility?

Here are some thoughts on navigating your way through your job search experience

• Understand your strengths and weaknesses
• Determine what you are truly interested in doing for a living
• Set manageable career goals
• Speak to other people who currently work in that field
• Get the proper training or certifications need for that job
• Understand the industry you are hoping to work in

These are just a few thoughts on making sure you are not trying to navigate your career through the fog of bad weather.  What are some other pieces of job search advice do you have for someone who is looking for a new job or making a career transition?  Feel free to comment below or send me an email to justindri@gmail.com.

Thanks

Justin Driscoll