Choosing a Career Path in 2004
(Part 3 of 3)
by Beverly Baskin

Planning Ahead
As Microsoft's Bill Gates says, "Employers want trainable, not trained workers. Jobs are, after all, fixed solutions to changing problems. Society needs college graduates who have the knowledge, skills, abilities and values necessary for continuous problem solving and lifelong learning, not people trained for a particular job."
Planning ahead is advisable while one is still in college. Even if a person is an accounting major, he or she may find it advisable to take various electives in liberal arts in order to be viewed as a well rounded and a trainable employee. One can investigate internships and foreign study programs offered by the college. Look for creative college courses that partner actual business people with students, either inside or outside the classroom.
Albert Bandura, a noted behavioral psychologist talks about the concept of self efficacy. Setting high expectations for oneself yields high results. Playing it safe and setting low expectations often leads to discouragement and low self esteem. Hands-on learning and on-the-job training are the best ways to try out the skills related to a particular occupation, build valuable self esteem, and obtain a sense of professional identity. Sometimes it is just as valuable to find out what one dislikes in terms of a job or career as it is to find something that one loves. Knowing what a person doesn't like to do actually brings to the surface the skills that really interest him or her. It becomes a process of elimination.
The Concept of "Shadowing"
The best way to prepare for a career is to talk to as many people as one can in the profession. In career counseling, this process is called "shadowing." When a prospective job seeker shadows a person in the field of computer programming, he or she spends an entire day or more with that person at the work site, and observes the day to day activities associated with the job. The person might ask questions about what the employee likes about the job and some of the things that the employee dislikes. Shadowing is also helpful to explore salary ranges and the potential for growth and advancement.

Networking
Studies show that 65 to 75 percent of jobs come through network development. The cardinal rule of networking is "never ask for a job." The best way to network is to ask people for advice and suggestions. The contact person will not be put on the spot and very often desires to help the career seeker with job search information and career marketing strategies. After the person communicates some advice and suggestions to the job seeker, then it is time to ask for two other names of people the contact person knows who might be able to help the job seeker with information. These two names become referred leads, and the same networking process is repeated again.

Eventually, the job seeker will talk with someone who is looking to hire a new employee. This is what networking is all about. One uses the advice and suggestions of friends, family, and business acquaintances as "safety nets" to assist in obtaining meetings with influential decision makers. Once a person networks with contacts and obtains results, it becomes a valuable skill--but it must be practiced and refined to be effective.

As mentioned, the best way to network is to ask for information about the particular field because the proper information will get the person closer to the goal of securing employment. It is not advisable to ask for a job because the contact will usually state if he or she knows of an opening. Another productive networking activity is talking with college alumni. An individual can obtain an alumni list from his or her college career placement office. Alumni want to help fellow graduates and can be a source of many referrals.

Shotgun Approach
I often tell my clients to use the "shotgun approach" for securing a job. This includes performing networking activities, sending targeted resumes and cover letters to classified advertisements, and utilizing the services of employment agencies. Names of employment agencies can be found in the local Yellow Pages and many career counselors have extensive data bases of recruiters in specific fields with corresponding salary ranges. Research indicates that 25-30 percent of jobs are found through employment agencies and newspaper advertisements as opposed to 65-70 percent of jobs found through networking.

The third way of finding a job is by soliciting one's resume and targeted cover letter to specific companies of interest. This takes research on the job seeker's part, but it is worth it. Even though there is only a 2 percent return on this type of career marketing, targeting specific industries, timing, and good karma may be on one's side, and a company receiving the resume packet may be planning to hire a new employee. A Nationally Certified Career Counselor (NCCC) or a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) can assist clients in writing and developing professional resumes and cover letters. It is a wise investment in one's career.

Formal and Informal Job Market
The Formal Job Market consists of classified advertisements in the newspapers, job listings and announcements, and job orders from employment agencies. Richard Bolles says that the Formal Market is the preferred method of searching for employment for the average job seeker. Unfortunately, it is not the preferred method of the manager who is looking to fill a position. The last thing a company usually does is put an advertisement in the newspaper. That is done only after other methods are exhausted using the Informal Job Market.

The Informal Job Market consists of jobs that are not yet advertised and usually found through informal networking procedures. First, the employer asks other employees if they know anyone who can fill the particular job opening. If that does not produce a candidate, then he or she goes to Human Resources to see if there are any applications on file or if there are any other referred leads through industry contacts, salespeople in the field, or distributors. It can be very advantageous to secure employment through the Informal Job Market because there is very little competition; the job opening has just been created. The job seeker can even create his or her own job title if there is a need for a particular service. Employers are always willing to listen to ideas regarding new or proposed positions that will increase profits and productivity.

Job Search Planning
Planning a job search will soon become a full-time job! The quickest way to find a job is to devote at least 25 hours a week to an individual search and to obtain two interviews per week. The word interview can mean an informal informational meeting or a formal job interview for a particular job. A contact is also a person who can refer you to more resources, not necessarily the one who has a job available.

Job Search Research
Conducting research in the library and utilizing the services of the librarian can be very helpful. Basic reference books related to specific careers include MacRAE's Industrial Directory (individual states), Directory of Corporate Affiliations, Dun and Bradstreet Million Dollar Directory, National Directory of Addresses and Telephone Numbers, and the National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States and Canada Labor Unions. Helpful books include What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles, The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America by Robert Levering, and The American Almanac of Jobs and Salaries by John Wight. There are numerous other reference books and every year the list is updated.

Going for the Gold--Choosing the Right Career
When looking into career choices, a person must realize that he or she spends more time at work than at home. Personal identity, competency, status, and self esteem are all tied into the type of work a person does. An individual's career is the totality of his or her life's work. If one chooses the right career path, it can be creative, fun, challenging, lucrative, and a source of great pleasure and accomplishment.

Robert F. Kennedy said in Promises to Keep "....if this is the vision of the future---if this is the direction in which we want to move---the next thing we must consider is how we want to get there, and what obstacles lie in our path. For such a vision is never self-fulfilling. We cannot stand idly by and expect our dreams to come true under their own power. The future is not a gift, it is an achievement."

Good Luck!

Work Cited: Holland, J. (1994) Self Directed Search. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
*****end of part 3 of 3*****

About the Author: Beverly Baskin