Job Hunting in Really Hard Times -- by Marilyn Moats Kennedy (J65, GJ66)

Everyone is talking about how dismal the job outlook is. “It’s a new Depression, worse than the Great Depression.”  or “The unemployment rate will go to 14 percent.” or “A flood of college graduates will hit the market in June.”

Look at the facts.

1. People got jobs even in that depression.
2. Don’t dwell on parental anxiety. Recruit your parents to connect you with their working friends.
3. Work as a temp until you find the right job.
4. Look for one job with one organization, not ten -- focus on what you want; don’t spread yourself too thin.

What job makes sense as a first or second step for you? If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.  Don’t think job title, think necessary experience. If you want to own your own business someday, even though you don’t know what that business would be specifically, you don’t have to. First look for a job with a start-up company (about five years old). Present yourself as someone who wants to learn how to run a business. If you want to be a freelance writer and want to write fiction, remember, Hemmingway worked for The Kansas City Star and Kafka worked for an insurance company.

What’s your game plan? You can’t job hunt in fits and starts. You’ve got to make a plan and stick to it until you get what you targeted. People without a plan make poor choices because they get weary of job hunting and decide to take anything.

Look in the right place. You can’t work on a major consumer magazine in Chicago. Move to New York. You don’t have the same odds of getting into a movie in Chicago as you’d have in Los Angeles. Move to L.A. In your third or fourth job, as you build your name, you can negotiate all kinds of things, but not on your first job.

Define the non-negotiables. What will you really, truly not do to get your dream job? Most people can define what they will do, but not what they won’t. If you won’t leave Evanston, your prospects are going to be different than if you would. If you don’t want to work for a company that pollutes the environment, put them on your reject list. Never explain or defend your non-negotiables. They simply are.

Everyone is a potential contact and can help in your search. Once you’ve named your target even if it’s just, “I sure wish I knew someone who worked for Boeing,” you can use your parents and everyone they know, not to mention your Sunday School teacher, old Scout master, and anyone else who will return your e-mails. Contacts are different from friends. Friends need to like you personally. Contacts are people who will help you regardless. 
 
Work a minimum wage job first. Get a minimum wage job between now and graduation -- waiting tables, bussing tables, any job in which you are at the bottom of the food chain. Why? College graduates, especially from elite schools, have gotten a bad rap since 2000. A significant number of employers actually believe those folks won’t “start at the bottom” or “work until the job is done.” You can argue against someone’s unspoken premises or you can plant your flag on someone’s instep. How does a potential boss know you have a serious work ethic? Your resume shows you’ve been successful in low level jobs. Anyone can be a star with enough preparation, backup, support etc. Someone who shines in a very lowly position is a potential star in a larger venue. This defies the common wisdom. Is there another way to show you’ve got a stellar work ethic? How about all the work you did on Dance Marathon? What about new, successful ideas you brought to the group that furthered the mission? Put it on your resume.

Never forget that your resume is a work in progress. As you get more focused on what you want revise, your resume can show what you can do and what you want to do. Don’t just list your internships, describe the results you achieved. Many employers are deeply suspicious of internships because they believe the fix is in and there is more entertainment than education. Confront this by talking about what you learned and what you contributed.

Never forget that demographics are on your side. There are three times as many workers ages 55-70 than 18-24. You have the power of scarcity. It should temper your thinking right now and will be clear to everyone else when the economy turns up.

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Career consultant Marilyn Moats Kennedy (J65, GJ66), is an expert on career planning, job hunting, and workplace trends. In her 38 years of experience as a career consultant, author, and speaker, she has lived through time of economic prosperity and economic downturns. Here she offers some wisdom to job seekers about practical things to do to keep moving forward on the career trajectory, even when times seem really hard.

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Posted January 19, 2009.