Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?: A Crash Course in Finding, Landing, and Keeping Your First Real Job (4 page)

3.
Try engaging in the task for five minutes. Use a timer. You can do anything for five minutes. If you get involved, you’ll see that it might take less time than you actually thought. But if you can’t get engaged, commit yourself for the five minutes and then walk away—you’re not ready; your head and heart aren’t in it. Try it again when you can engage.

4.
If you really can’t get started, try this: Sit alone in silence for a full five minutes. Usually doing nothing when there’s so much to do makes people want to get up and do SOMETHING; then you can try those five minutes again.

Lakein had fewer technological distractions when he was writing his book, so I’ll add a twenty-first-century warning: Watch out for black holes like endless channel surfing or obsessive online social networking. If you constantly find yourself getting sucked in, schedule time during which you are allowed to watch TV, play video games, or check your Facebook account.

If you think you’re the only one turning to the World Wide Web for information during this process, you are sorely mistaken. Discerning employers are doing their own research on you. Some companies even have employees whose sole job it is to research candidates online. Now how do you feel about those spring break photos you posted on MySpace?

Google yourself to make sure nothing negative comes up. If there’s something unseemly attached to your name, try to get rid of it. Do you blog? Even if you post anonymously, an employer may be able to find you by plugging your e-mail address into a search engine. Password-protect your writing, unless it relates to the industry and it’s something you want a prospective employer to see. If you belong to social networking sites, take down any inappropriate photos and set your privacy settings as securely as possible. Remember: It is illegal for employers to ask certain questions in an interview—but any information gathered online may be used to discriminate against you. Sounds unfair, but that’s the reality.

If negative information about you (true or false) appears on a site you don’t have control over—someone else’s blog, for instance—do what you can to have it removed. Bloggers tend to be impervious to threats that they’ve engaged in libel, but some websites may be responsive. If you can’t get rid of the information, be prepared to explain it (only if the employer brings it up, of course).

If you have a common name and are worried that you’ll be held responsible for someone else’s antics, don’t worry—all is not lost. One job-hunter I know Googled herself and found a woman by the same name whose social networking profile was filled with unprofessional personal information; she knew it would be a deal-breaker for employers. My solution was to have her create a new page, using her middle name and the name of the professional course she had just completed. We decided that on her résumé, she would always include her middle name and list the course first under “Education.” This way, she had a chance of controlling what would come up in a search. It’s not an infallible technique, but it can work.

These are all warnings about virtual networking, but don’t overlook its virtues. A discreet posting on Facebook (“I’m looking for someone to talk to about teaching jobs on the East Coast”) or an active, focused involvement with a professional community like LinkedIn could be the ticket to scoring informational interviews from your virtual network.

I know that the job search can be an anxiety-provoking process. When you feel your fate is in the hands of some employer you haven’t even met, it’s easy to get depressed and immobilized, to doubt yourself and your experience, to sink into an existential crisis. It’s scary not to know what lies ahead—unless you’re sure it’s something good.

Be open to the process. Embrace change and even rejection. The kind of job search I’m going to be leading you through can actually be a stimulating experience if you approach it with the right mind-set. You’ll meet lots of different people, learn more about the industry or industries you’re interested in (or find out what you’re NOT interested in, which is just as important), and acquire professional experience along the way. You’ll learn about yourself and the kind of job you actually want. And you’ll do it all by using resources right under your nose.

If you’re freaked out by your lack of focus, try to relax. These days, people change careers and direction at any age and stage, from their twenties through their eighties, reinventing themselves constantly. Some people will follow a track from the moment they’re out of college until they retire, but that’s just not right or in the cards for everyone. Especially when you’re just starting out, it’s fine to test out a variety of jobs. Follow your passions and be flexible—but have a plan. (A plan can be open-ended and subject to revision; it can be a plan for right now, and that’s fine.)

Keep in mind that you’re not hurting your career by not grabbing at the first thing that comes along. Not every job is worth taking just because it’s available to you; not every opportunity is an opportunity if it’s not right for you. Conversely, some jobs that might not appear desirable may be worth exploring if they fit into a long-term plan—or if the economy has tanked.

I’m going to be luring you away from impersonal job-search sites and out into the world. You’re going to have to interact with real people, so it’s especially important that you do everything you can to adopt a positive mind-set about your interim position at Job, Inc. You’re embarking on an adventure. You don’t know how it’s going to turn out, but in actuality you have a lot of say in the outcome.

Another emotional obstacle new job-seekers often face is the feeling that they’re somehow essentially unqualified. You are valuable, and so are your work and time. If you don’t believe this, then you really need to stop
looking for a job and start looking for some self-confidence. Being a novice is nothing to be ashamed of; everyone has to start somewhere.

A successful job hunt is the intersection of TWO searches: someone looking for the right job and someone looking for the right person to do a job. If you’re having trouble seeing your value in this equation, remind yourself that you are not looking for a favor or handout. In fact, once you’re in the right job, you’ll be the one doing the employer a favor. Yes, you heard me. You’re doing him a favor—even though he’s paying you. Of course, you should never act that way in an interview or at the office, but still: The employer has a job to get done and a problem to solve, and if you’re the right person for the job, you’re solving it. In short, you’re a hot commodity!

It is true that recent graduates and young job seekers without extensive track records in the work world pose a certain risk to employers—but, especially in a troubled economy, the benefits may outweigh the risks.

When you hear about widespread layoffs, keep in mind that many of the jobs cut are expensive, senior-level positions. At a difficult time when he’s likely to be short-staffed, a smart employer may leap at the chance to hire an ambitious, reliable, and enthusiastic young person at an entry-level salary.

Even during flat-out hiring freezes, there are things you can do. Be proactive: Freelance, temporary, and part-time opportunities abound in bad economies. Be open-minded, too: You may have to consider options you wouldn’t have thought about in better times, even as temporary measures—sharing housing, moving home, relocating for better opportunities.

Besides your youth, energy, and flexibility, you have another great asset: You’re cheap. (But please don’t tell your mother I said that …)

When I moved to France for a job, I knew I wouldn’t understand everything, so I made an executive decision: I would say “yes” if asked a question to which I didn’t know the answer. I wanted to be positive. When I was confused, I did not hesitate or panic; I replied with a resounding
“OUI.”
True, I ended up with a savings account I didn’t discover for years and had a few other minor mishaps, but having an answer made me feel better. A friend without a sense of direction has a “take a left” policy, chosen for her political leanings. Whenever she isn’t sure whether to take a right or a left, she takes a left. Fifty percent of the time, she has to turn back, but she always feels in control and purposeful.

DO YOU NEED FURTHER TRAINING?

The lesson here is that no matter how unsure you feel, you’re going to act confident and decisive. When someone asks you what kind of job you’re looking for, you will not say, “I don’t really know, do you have any ideas?” People can’t help you if you don’t give them any direction. But if you say, “I’m interested in fashion; do you know anyone in the field?” you’ll be much more likely to get a name out of it. If they say no, prompt with more specifics: “I’m looking into sportswear marketing, children’s clothes lines, and anything to do with accessories for women …” and see if that yields anything.

Keep in mind that once you have a job, you have it. You won’t necessarily be able to stay up late, read a book just for fun, window-shop, run, or see a movie in the middle of the day.

So make the most of your hunting time—and your downtime, too.

FINDING AND MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR CONNECTIONS

A man walks into a bar …

I know what you’re thinking. “I need a job, and you’re telling jokes?”

This is not a joke.

A man walks into a bar—an Irish bar, to be exact—and walks out with a job for his daughter.

This is a true story. I asked one hundred recent college grads to talk about how they had gotten their last jobs, internships, or job leads, and one of them said, “My dad was in an Irish bar and started talking to the bartender; his son worked in the field I wanted to get into. He told my dad to have me call him. I did, and I got a job.”

You’ll hear story after story like this if you start asking people. For good reason. You tell your parents you’re thinking about
exploring the real estate world in California and your mom says, “My hairdresser’s son’s mother-in-law works for an agency in L.A.; you should call her if you go out there.” You might make a face and ignore her, but if you do, the joke is on you. The truth is, you need to get in touch with this woman—because this is how people get jobs, or at least learn about jobs. Certainly, many people do find work through traditional job-hunting channels like the “Help Wanted” or “Employment Opportunities” section of the newspaper, Internet job-hunting sites, company websites, recruitment sessions, job fairs, alumni career networks, or, for certain jobs and levels of experience, headhunters. These are all valid resources. But surveys estimate that 80 percent of all jobs fall into what’s known as the “hidden job market”—an area in which jobs are not publicly advertised and are filled by word of mouth.

That hidden resource should be Job, Inc.’s focus. What you’re going to be doing is finding people to talk to, people who can help get you inside a company or organization and steer you to these “hidden” jobs.

“I looked on the website of the company I’m interested in, and they don’t have openings”—that’s a line I’ve heard over and over in my job-counseling sessions.

The website may not list anything, but that doesn’t worry me. Most websites do not have the real story about job openings. Ask someone inside a company what’s really going on, and you’ll be amazed at what you hear. Someone is pregnant and about to take maternity leave. Someone is about to get fired but doesn’t know it. Someone is getting married and relocating. The company is being bought and reorganized. There is a posting but there are strong internal candidates for the job. A job is about to be posted but must first be advertised internally to conform to union or other regulations.

The possibilities are endless. So when you look at a corporate website and see few or no openings, don’t write off a company you’re interested in. Conversely, if you see an opening that looks good, apply for it—but realize that you must still try to connect with someone on the inside.

In our “six degrees of separation” world, tapping into a network is the most effective way to get a job. It will enable you to meet interesting people and to learn more about the industry or company to which you’re applying.
You may make some friends in the process, and you may even meet someone who becomes a mentor or long-term professional resource. If you think you don’t have a network, I’m going to show you how to create one.