By : Rich Heintz
One of the challenges of looking for work, especially if you haven’t done it in awhile, is figuring out which career advice is right for you. Bookstores, websites, career centers, job clubs, one-stop centers - even this newspaper - provide an endless collection of tips and insights you can never hope to master.
As the editor of California Job Journal, you think I would have learned all the techniques we write about every week. While reviewing all this advice over the past few years has improved how I would look for work, there still are some mistakes I won't repeat.
You see, after a lot of trial and error on the job-search trail, I finally came to realize that not even the best advice works for everyone. Your individual needs will be shaped by your personality, your strengths and weaknesses, and your profession.
To illustrate, I have compiled a list of ten things I won't do the next time I look for work. A word of caution: my list sometimes runs counter to what you read in the Job Journal. I am not suggesting you follow my list - I am advocating you create your own list.
That said, here are the Ten Things I Won't Do Again.
I Won't Network. Heresy, right off the bat. Every job-search book you buy will tell you that 110 percent of all jobs are found through networking. Well, I tried it and tried it and tried it, and I'm not good at it. Part of the problem is what I do for a living. Tell the average person you are a journalist and their eyes glaze over. They probably have never met one, much less heard of a job opening. Another problem is my style. I don't suck up well, nor do I like to use people. Another was my lack of focus. What exactly was I looking for? I wasn't sure. Aimless networking didn't work. Only when I started cold-calling companies and agencies that might need my services did I begin to get real job leads.
I Won't Listen to Bad Advice. At one point in my job search, I found myself kneeling on Drake's Beach in a gale-force wind, trying to burn a list of all the people I deemed responsible for my job loss. A counselor had assured me this would help me purge my past. Yet all I kept wondering was why didn't I bring the marshmallows? My other thought was why didn't I include that counselor's name on the list? What a monumental waste of time. But when you have gone through a job loss, your self-confidence and your self-esteem are battered. The experience can cloud your judgment. Still, if you get what you sense is bad job-search advice, have the confidence to follow your instincts.
I Won't Look for Magic. When it comes to looking for work, there is no magic. Just hard work. Making the calls, sending the resumes, doing the follow-up. For awhile, I made the mistake of thinking that if I read the right books, talked to the right counselors, went to the right career centers, surfed the right websites, used the right resume font, I would magically find work. In truth, I was avoiding the real work of cold calling. The sooner I faced that reality, the sooner I was back at work.
I Won't Join a Job Club. For many people, this is a great resource. For me, it's a distraction. I get so involved doing so much with the job club, I fail to conduct my own job search. While the socialization was a plus, I found I got better interaction doing volunteer work, which also enhanced my resume.
I Won't Jam Every Detail into My Resume. Once upon a time, I directed a newspaper investigation that uncovered a land swindle at Lake Berryessa. I am so proud of what we did, I want every potential employer to know about it. But guess what? That skill wasn't needed in the jobs I sought. Yet my pride made me include it on my resume. Eventually I learned that a resume is a marketing tool - not your life story. Drop everything that does not relate to the job. That will give more emphasis to the achievements that count for the position in question.
I Won't Doubt My Own Judgment. In journalism, the resume is all-important. It not only details your achievements, it illustrates your writing ability. Yet the particular job club I attended trashed that philosophy, saying a resume does not get you a job (which is partially true). Was this part of the magic? Forget about my resume and concentrate instead on networking? For too long, I doubted my own judgment. I let someone else control my job search - a big mistake.
I Won't Expect Someone Else to Find Work for Me. I used to think that job counselors would find a job for me. Then I went to one who asked me, "If you're so good, why aren't you working?" All job counselors can do is steer you in the right (or wrong) direction. Except for temp agencies, you will have to find your own work. Would I consider meeting with another job counselor? The key would be finding the right one. Even so, the main task of finding the opening and following through will always belong to the jobseeker.
I Won't Have a Fuzzy Career Goal. Career counselors rightly recommend that jobseekers have a clear idea of what they want to do. For those who don't, they advise a battery of tests. That's solid advice. At one point I thought if I just told people about my background, they would find a place for me in their organization. It didn't happen. You can't expect people to figure out what you haven't resolved for yourself. Employers want you to tell them what you have a passion for.
I Won't Focus My Search Solely in the Bay Area. Maybe it was the economic times, but I had much more success in the greater Sacramento region - ranked as one of the top three metropolitan areas for job growth since 1998. It stands to reason that you will have more luck in the capital city.
I Won't Give Up. Is there anything more difficult than sustaining a job search? It's tough to maintain your self-worth when you are enduring rejection after rejection. But I learned the hard way that you must not give up on yourself. At one point in my search, I decided I needed a week away. By the time I came back, I had missed that all-important phone call. By the time I did contact the employer, it was too late. In essence, I had created a self-fulfilling prophesy. My low self-esteem had eliminated a solid employment opportunity.
You probably should not attempt to develop your own "Won't Do" list until you have sustained your own prolonged job search. But if that happens, you will discover shortcuts that will help ensure your next job hunt will be less extended, less exhausting, more focused and, ultimately, more successful.
Job Vacancy , Indonesia Job , Job Indonesia
One of the challenges of looking for work, especially if you haven’t done it in awhile, is figuring out which career advice is right for you. Bookstores, websites, career centers, job clubs, one-stop centers - even this newspaper - provide an endless collection of tips and insights you can never hope to master.
As the editor of California Job Journal, you think I would have learned all the techniques we write about every week. While reviewing all this advice over the past few years has improved how I would look for work, there still are some mistakes I won't repeat.
You see, after a lot of trial and error on the job-search trail, I finally came to realize that not even the best advice works for everyone. Your individual needs will be shaped by your personality, your strengths and weaknesses, and your profession.
To illustrate, I have compiled a list of ten things I won't do the next time I look for work. A word of caution: my list sometimes runs counter to what you read in the Job Journal. I am not suggesting you follow my list - I am advocating you create your own list.
That said, here are the Ten Things I Won't Do Again.
I Won't Network. Heresy, right off the bat. Every job-search book you buy will tell you that 110 percent of all jobs are found through networking. Well, I tried it and tried it and tried it, and I'm not good at it. Part of the problem is what I do for a living. Tell the average person you are a journalist and their eyes glaze over. They probably have never met one, much less heard of a job opening. Another problem is my style. I don't suck up well, nor do I like to use people. Another was my lack of focus. What exactly was I looking for? I wasn't sure. Aimless networking didn't work. Only when I started cold-calling companies and agencies that might need my services did I begin to get real job leads.
I Won't Listen to Bad Advice. At one point in my job search, I found myself kneeling on Drake's Beach in a gale-force wind, trying to burn a list of all the people I deemed responsible for my job loss. A counselor had assured me this would help me purge my past. Yet all I kept wondering was why didn't I bring the marshmallows? My other thought was why didn't I include that counselor's name on the list? What a monumental waste of time. But when you have gone through a job loss, your self-confidence and your self-esteem are battered. The experience can cloud your judgment. Still, if you get what you sense is bad job-search advice, have the confidence to follow your instincts.
I Won't Look for Magic. When it comes to looking for work, there is no magic. Just hard work. Making the calls, sending the resumes, doing the follow-up. For awhile, I made the mistake of thinking that if I read the right books, talked to the right counselors, went to the right career centers, surfed the right websites, used the right resume font, I would magically find work. In truth, I was avoiding the real work of cold calling. The sooner I faced that reality, the sooner I was back at work.
I Won't Join a Job Club. For many people, this is a great resource. For me, it's a distraction. I get so involved doing so much with the job club, I fail to conduct my own job search. While the socialization was a plus, I found I got better interaction doing volunteer work, which also enhanced my resume.
I Won't Jam Every Detail into My Resume. Once upon a time, I directed a newspaper investigation that uncovered a land swindle at Lake Berryessa. I am so proud of what we did, I want every potential employer to know about it. But guess what? That skill wasn't needed in the jobs I sought. Yet my pride made me include it on my resume. Eventually I learned that a resume is a marketing tool - not your life story. Drop everything that does not relate to the job. That will give more emphasis to the achievements that count for the position in question.
I Won't Doubt My Own Judgment. In journalism, the resume is all-important. It not only details your achievements, it illustrates your writing ability. Yet the particular job club I attended trashed that philosophy, saying a resume does not get you a job (which is partially true). Was this part of the magic? Forget about my resume and concentrate instead on networking? For too long, I doubted my own judgment. I let someone else control my job search - a big mistake.
I Won't Expect Someone Else to Find Work for Me. I used to think that job counselors would find a job for me. Then I went to one who asked me, "If you're so good, why aren't you working?" All job counselors can do is steer you in the right (or wrong) direction. Except for temp agencies, you will have to find your own work. Would I consider meeting with another job counselor? The key would be finding the right one. Even so, the main task of finding the opening and following through will always belong to the jobseeker.
I Won't Have a Fuzzy Career Goal. Career counselors rightly recommend that jobseekers have a clear idea of what they want to do. For those who don't, they advise a battery of tests. That's solid advice. At one point I thought if I just told people about my background, they would find a place for me in their organization. It didn't happen. You can't expect people to figure out what you haven't resolved for yourself. Employers want you to tell them what you have a passion for.
I Won't Focus My Search Solely in the Bay Area. Maybe it was the economic times, but I had much more success in the greater Sacramento region - ranked as one of the top three metropolitan areas for job growth since 1998. It stands to reason that you will have more luck in the capital city.
I Won't Give Up. Is there anything more difficult than sustaining a job search? It's tough to maintain your self-worth when you are enduring rejection after rejection. But I learned the hard way that you must not give up on yourself. At one point in my search, I decided I needed a week away. By the time I came back, I had missed that all-important phone call. By the time I did contact the employer, it was too late. In essence, I had created a self-fulfilling prophesy. My low self-esteem had eliminated a solid employment opportunity.
You probably should not attempt to develop your own "Won't Do" list until you have sustained your own prolonged job search. But if that happens, you will discover shortcuts that will help ensure your next job hunt will be less extended, less exhausting, more focused and, ultimately, more successful.
Job Vacancy , Indonesia Job , Job Indonesia
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