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Dear J.T. & DALE: For two years now, I’ve been trying to get back into the marketing/advertising field. I have a bachelor of science in marketing and got a job out of college at the company where I was an intern. Two years ago I got fired and took a job as office manager for a law firm. I’ve had a few phone interviews, but nothing further. When I’ve asked, they’ve said that I interview well, but it all comes down to experience. I thought about taking another internship and going back to square one. Advice? – Seth

J.T.: You are not alone. Many people have “false starts” out of college, and it can be tough to find your way back on track. Be prepared to accept the fact that you’ll need to start over in some sense and that you’ll have to make some sacrifices to do so.

DALE: That may be true, but I wouldn’t resort to starting over just yet. You have the degree, the internship and experience in the field. That’s not a false start; that’s a true start. The problem is that you’ve drifted out of marketing for two years, which confuses people. But start over? No. You need to take what you are doing now and turn it into a logical extension of your marketing career. Figure out a way to do marketing for your current firm. For instance, you could start a PR effort, maybe a small ad campaign, maybe presentations to professional groups. Create some pieces of a program, then put them together and implement a plan. Then you can say that you are currently doing marketing as a part of your job but you’re eager to get back to it full time. You then have a career story that makes hiring
you logical.

J.T.: That’s good, assuming you can get your current employer to give you the time and budget. Whether they do or not, ask yourself what you would be involved in if you were working in marketing/advertising. What events would you be attending? What groups, online and offline, would you be involved in? What continuing-education classes would you be taking? It’s time for you to start being the professional you want to be by aligning yourself with like-minded folks. By getting out there and acting the part, you’ll have discussions around marketing with peers. This will help them get to know you better and suggest you when jobs become available. Commit yourself to the profession, and your career will follow.

Dear J.T. & Dale: Everyone keeps telling me to “get on LinkedIn.” So I signed up, invited a few friends to connect and haven’t done a thing since. I don’t get it. What’s the point? – Marissa

DALE: I know just how you feel. Anytime anyone mentions LinkedIn, I feel guilty, knowing I ought to go on and update my profile. Still, I like that the site exists. I get requests to connect from old friends and former colleagues, as well as from pleasant strangers, and I enjoy seeing what they’re up to. One newer feature that I can recommend is their expert commentary. You can sign up to receive articles by a number of interesting people, including my column partner, J.T., who already has a trillion people following her on LinkedIn.

J.T.: Well, it’s around 500,000, but who’s counting? As for your question, Marissa, here’s the point: If you don’t make good use of LinkedIn, it is much harder for people to find and connect with you. There is a good chance that you are missing out on opportunities both now and in the future. LinkedIn is a recruiting tool – what if a better job awaits and you never find out about it? Second, if you aren’t using the system, people will assume that you are behind the times. You don’t want people assuming you’re “old school.” Finally, if you lose your job or search for a new one, you’ll need to network. LinkedIn is one way to start building that network so it will be there when you need it.

– Workplace consultant and career coach J.T. O’Donnell has coached, trained and mentored employees and managers on a wide variety of career-related subjects since 1994. Her book, “CAREEREALISM: The Smart Approach to A Satisfying Career” is available at JTODonnell.com. Management guru Dale Dauten has written six books and is an authority on innovation in the workplace. His latest book, “Great Employees Only: How Gifted Bossess Hire & Dehire Their Way to Success” is available at Dauten.com. copyright 2013 King Features.