Job Tip Series # 4: Get in the Door on Your Terms. Work on Theirs.
This is the fourth article in the Capstrat series, Getting Your First Job. We hope to meet you at our Annual Networking Night, April 14 at 5:30 p.m.
Three stories told out of order.
I was circling classified ads and my dad grabbed the page out from under my nose. "That's not the way to go about this," he said.
"Make your own opportunities." How pompous and easier-said-than-done that sounds. Horatio Alger is dead, Dad, so give me back that newspaper. If you're looking for a job, shouldn't you start with the ones they've already alphabetized for you?
But the moment you get in a line, you start trying to get out of it - to stand apart. If you know where you want to be, start apart. Skip the line and work the side door. Do your homework. Network. Advertise your value to the company - never its value to you.
True, some employers will backhand you right back into the HR line. But the first few real jobs I landed were never advertised. They weren't even formal openings. When you make a connection on your own terms, you make a better fit.
She told me I was "politely annoying." Now we trade pictures of our kids.
It's hard knowing someone you've never met is tired of hearing the sound of your voice. By the time she called me in to interview, she said it was just to stop my phone calls. I didn't know her well enough yet to tell whether she was kidding.
There's a right way and a wrong way to pester someone. But accepting someone else's "system" and waiting for your phone to ring certainly isn't the right way.
I wrote the front-page story about a development that would change the character of our town. The next morning, I was in the newsroom putting down linoleum.
Organizations like to see a little grey at your temples before you start saying "that's not my department." Most people expect to work hard in their first jobs, but it's just as important to work broad.
If you think of this as "paying dues," you've missed the point - because "dues" is about you, and the truth is most employers don't keep track of your payments. They just need things done, and the place they look for flexibility is in the junior ranks.
Some days give you a chance to show your brilliance. Every day gives you a chance to show your usefulness. Useful people stick around longer.
Comments
"I was circling classified ads and my dad grabbed the page out from under my nose. "That's not the way to go about this," he said."
I couldn't agree more! If you apply to jobs you'll never get one. Network, network, network. Arrange informational interviews with people who have a job you'd like to do. Look up companies you'd like to work for and start politely harassing them.
My brother has never applied for a job in his life, and he's always had a job. He simply keeps after someone until they hire him. Not for the faint of heart, but it works.
Leave a Comment