FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Fired in 1993 at age 23 from a public relations job at NBC, Tory Johnson landed a six-figure job as communications director for Nickelodeon.
Soon realizing she was dissatisfied with working for “the man,” she moved to a job as marketing director at a magazine launched by the son of the fashion designer Ralph Lauren.
Soon discovering she wasn’t content to work for “the man’s son,” Johnson struck out on her own with an idea: Launch a company that puts on career fairs for women. Ten years later, Johnson’s company runs recruiting events nationwide, and Johnson — now 39 — is the workplace contributor for ABC’s “Good Morning America” and best-selling author of books such as “Fired to Hired” and “Will Work From Home: Earn Cash Without the Commute.” Johnson spoke with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about the challenges facing women, who now make up 47 percent of the total work force.
Question: How have the recession and job market been different for women than men? Johnson: Men have lost the majority of jobs in the recession, because they dominate the industries that have been hit the hardest.
Women’s jobs have been spared, mainly because industries that have fared better, like health care and education, tend to attract a lot of women. But that’s not to say it’s all good news for women. … If you are a mother, for example, who has a teaching aide job where you’re making $30,000 a year, but your husband lost his $80,000-a-year construction job, there’s an extraordinary hardship on your family.
Q: What should women be doing differently than men to manage their careers or job searches? Johnson: I don’t know that there’s a difference. I think the biggest mistake that everybody is making now in job searching is spending way too much time on the Internet, sitting behind the computer every day, applying for jobs online.
Q: What should they be doing? Johnson: Getting out of the house. scheduling their time, filling up their week. There are three things we talk about.
No. 1, starting or joining a job club, where you meet every week.
You have a group of people to whom you are accountable. People are going to tell you what you’re doing right, what you’re doing wrong; they’re going to provide you leads. You get to know everyone.
No. 2, look for some kind of strategic volunteer opportunity that’s also good for your head. It’s going to help you close a gap in unemployment. If you are an out-of-work accountant, you are doing some kind of strategic volunteering that’s either connected to some kind of a nonprofit association that supports accountants, or you’re doing pro bono accounting work for the Humane Society.
And No. 3 is pursuing an adult internship. It’s a willingness to work for free, or a small stipend, (and) you have the ability to put experience on your resume. I always suggest a small to medium-size company instead of a large one. You’re not going to walk into a Fortune 500 company and get them to change their employment policies.
Q: The labor force continues to grow, in part, because stay-at-home spouses are returning to the job market to help support their families. How do families decide if it’s worth it for the spouse to go back to work outside the home? Johnson: It comes down to economics. If the child care is going to cost you considerably more than what you would earn, that would be a reason not to go back to work. However, even if it’s an equal wash, there’s a lot of merit to going that route. Ultimately, the kids are going to get older, your child-care costs are going to go down, and the longer you’re working, the more your earning potential is going to go up. The longer you’re out of work, the harder it is to make a comeback.
Q: I run into a lot of job seekers who are returning to the job market after a long absence, and they worry about filling the gap on their resumes. Maybe they’ve done direct sales, or a lot of volunteer work, but they don’t always view those as marketable skills. How do these folks assess their skill sets? Johnson: Point to successes. Focus on anything that is quantifiable: You’ve built a loyal client base (in direct sales) that you’ve served over a number a years. You’ve volunteered in a leadership role in a PTA.
Instead of listing a hundred things, you want to group them …
under a broad umbrella about leadership roles you took. Maybe you’ve built a couple of school fundraisers, and participation built over a couple of years, or donations built. …
Perhaps going the retail route (would work). … The Container Store is one where they’ll look at somebody’s skills as a customer, and they might take them.
Look for opportunities for easier entry, like small businesses.
They look for people who are loyal, hungry and determined.
Q: What’s the best way to work a job fair? Johnson: The biggest mistake that people make is walking in and just dropping off a whole bunch of resumes and approaching booths saying, “What do you have for me?” Those who truly stand out are the ones who walk in and instead say, “Here’s what I can do for you.” They also are willing to talk to every organization (and) talk to other attendees.
A lot of job seekers I talk to believe job fairs are worthless because the people behind the table are there only to take resumes.
In some cases that’s true. But to define somebody as worthless because they’re not the hiring manager shows a flawed perception. That person has the ability to help you get a foot in the door, get both feet in the door.
——— ——— (c) 2009, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
