The experience problem is one that many new graduates and those reentering the workforce both face. Not only do employers want experience, they want recent experience. No one is more desired than one who is already trained and already working. When you are looking for a job from a position of unemployment, then you have to make yourself seem even more desirable than the other candidates.
But how do you get experience when no one will give you a job so you can get experience? One way of doing this is to volunteer. No, you will not get paid but many volunteer opportunities lead to jobs and they can certainly lead to contacts. More importantly, they are something to put on your resume under ‘experience’ and that is a category that needs to be completed.
No matter how much education you have, no matter how impressive your degrees or your university, experience trumps all of that. When including volunteer work you don’t have to specify that it was volunteer unless asked. It’s quite easy to calculate how much your position as a volunteer was worth by exploring one of the online salary calculators.
Another way to get experience is as an unpaid intern. Few companies are going to turn away someone who is qualified and wants to work for free even if it is only part time. The bonus in this is that not only will you gain experience and networking contacts, you could also land a job. If a position in your area opens up the company is going to be more inclined to hire someone who already knows the job and how the company itself operates.
There are ways around the lack of experience issue. It just requires a little creativity and ingenuity.
Why You Should Always Be Hunting For A New Job
Job Search
Common wisdom suggests that when you have found a new job you quit hunting for a new one. This is a mistake that the vast majority of professionals make and it’s one that is typically detrimental to their careers. Constantly looking for new opportunities not only keeps you current with what positions are available, it also keeps you fresh in your current position.
Continuing to search for a new position isn’t necessarily an active pursuit. When you are reasonably happy in your current position and not really looking to change either your career or your employer, job search takes on a more passive role. Much of what you do during an active job search is ignored, such as cold calling, applications and interviewing. In a passive job search you keep your resume updated and you occasionally examine what is open in your field.
Networking is still a part of a passive job search, but instead of looking for a new job you are looking for contacts. Meetings, seminars and various network gatherings can be a fun way to meet new people as well as stay current in what your field is offering to new job candidates. It’s also a way to stay current on new trends in your area of expertise as well as current salary ranges; this can be helpful during your next salary negotiation or promotion meeting.
Staying in the hunt for a new job also means that you are ready to hit the ground running should you suddenly need to make your passive search an active one. In an uncertain world it’s good to have this in your career arsenal.
By now everyone has heard about people being hired and then either dismissed during the probationary period or shunned to the back room because of tattoos and/or piercings. Because these displays of individuality are becoming more common, you might not give it a second thought when you arrive at your interview with a nose ring. The truth is: you should be giving your appearance a second thought when looking for employment.
As part of your job search/interview prep, you need to determine the climate of the place where you are applying. Some companies have no problem with body art or multiple piercings. However, other work environments consider them to be detrimental to the company image. While it’s rare that a stellar candidate would be automatically excluded based on this alone, in a tough job market where there are several great candidates vying for every position, it could be problematic.
New graduates need to remember that it’s rare that others of their immediate generation will be the ones hiring. You will generally be interviewed by someone who has been in the workforce for a number of years, so their standards are the ones you need to be mindful of when deciding whether or not to wear your piercings to job interviews or on the job.
On the other hand, some companies may simply not care at all.
Common sense advice: research the company prior to applying for the job. Of course the reality is that often people apply to every place with an opening. Either way, add to your list of things to look into the personal grooming policies of the company regarding tattoos and piercings.
You want to project a professional image that is inline with others at the company. Abiding by the dress code in the environment you’re applying to will save you from entering into an awkward situation with the hiring manager, and, could even be the difference in getting the job or politely being shown the door.
Some people never really leave high school. Even as adults you will still find them hanging out and spreading the latest gossip. The problem is that no matter how they go about it, a workplace gossip is killing their own career. It’s one thing to spend a few minutes chatting about the latest ball scores or last night’s, “Castle” episode, or to discuss the co-worker who has just returned from maternity leave, in a positive manner. It’s quite another to be dishing the dirt on anyone or anything at work.
No one really trusts a gossip. If you pay attention, you will see that their careers are going nowhere fast. What does this have to do with you as you are hunting for a new job? The best resume and cover letter in the world isn’t going to change what your boss has to say about you when he or she is called. If you think that your boss either doesn’t know you are a gossip or isn’t going to say anything about it, you’re wrong. Your boss will mention it and it will hurt your chances at a new company.
Gossips are rarely liked and it’s even more rare that they are trusted with sensitive material. More importantly, being a workplace gossip means you have two character traits that employers loathe; you have the potential to cause discord and you waste time. Gossip often harms people and relationships. This is bad for the work environment. An employer needs people who work well together and a gossip can often bring out the worst in people, not the best. The wasting time issue is self-explanatory. You are being hired to do a job, not talk about people.
So what do you do if you have been the go-to person for the latest dirt? Knock it off now. A few weeks and people will forget all about your past as the ultimate gossip.
There is an old joke of sorts that defines recession as an economic period when your neighbor is out of work, and a depression as an economic period when you are out of work. The point of that is that for someone looking for a job the economy is never great. This is why persistence is so important for your job search. Without it, even in a great economy, you aren’t going to have much luck.
As an example; a young woman I know was looking for a job. She had been an intern at a company that wasn’t hiring, but she sent them a copy of her resume anyway and requested that it be kept on file. She called and checked on new positions every other week but the company had tightened up due to the economy. After 6 months of this, she went and placed her updated resume on file. The head of the department remembered her and they were chatting about some of the changes that had taken place in the year since she had been an intern. The young woman drove the three hours home. Guess what? There was a job offer from the company waiting for her on her answering machine. The head of the department admired her persistence in keeping after what she wanted.
This is a real world example of getting what you want by going after it. When a company isn’t hiring, politely request that they keep your resume on file and be sure to ask how long it will be kept. Then send another one. Visit the company, network with those who work there. Because many companies prefer to hire from within, consider taking any position that opens up with that business. Persistence is often the difference between a job and a career. It’s also often the difference between being employed and being unemployed.
