Getting your player ready...
Dear J.T. & DALE: I have a confession: I hated college. But since all my friends were going, it felt wrong not to go. Since graduating, I’ve gotten a job I can’t stand. I’m at a desk all day. I dream about being in a job that lets me move and use my hands. I secretly looked into becoming a plumber, but I’m afraid if I go into something that doesn’t require a degree, my friends will treat me differently. Any suggestions for pursuing something I enjoy without losing the respect of my friends? – Doug
J.T.: Friends? Are you sure? Good friends want you to be happy and successful on your terms. They’d never turn on you because you don’t have a particular type of job. You only have one person to impress with your career, and you know who that is.
DALE: However, I can sympathize with the psychological pressure you’re under. My parents didn’t have a family motto, but if they did, it would have been “What will people think?” My father and two uncles were college professors, so you can imagine the horror they felt when I dropped out of a Ph.D. program at Stanford after only one year. And they were horrified when I left corporate life, and again when I left a high-paying consulting job, and again when I sold the market-research company I owned. The prevailing attitude every time amounted to, “Are you nuts?” However, I never regretted any of those decisions. I wanted time to write and the ability to plan my days how I wanted, and I gained those freedoms. With my changing career, my friendships and colleagues evolved in a pleasing way. So, Doug, was I nuts?
J.T.: We should all be that nuts. It’s time, Doug, for you to find success and satisfaction on your own terms and go after them. Trust me, when your friends see how happy and fulfilled you are, you might be surprised at how some of them follow your lead. More importantly, you’ll find out who your true friends really are, while you make new ones in the process.
Dear J.T. & Dale: Someone told me recently that there is no point in applying to any job online because employers don’t look at the resumes. Is this true? – Abby
DALE: It’s a wonderfully useful exaggeration. I sometimes make a broader point with this overstatement: “Burn your resume!” The lesson is that if you just sit at home filling out online applications and sending in resumes, you’re missing the largest segment of the job market.
J.T.: There is truth in what you heard, Abby. The applicant tracking systems companies are using today are designed to screen out and select the applicants who best match their criteria. Since employers often get hundreds of applications for a single job, the chances you’ll be one of the three to six applicants selected for review by the recruiter is slim. Studies show that 80 percent of all jobs are gotten via referral. If you can meet someone who works at a company you’re interested in, they usually can give you the contact info of the hiring manager so you can submit yourself directly. That will give you a much better chance of a human actually seeing your resume.
DALE: Which is why I don’t really suggest that you burn your resume, and I don’t really suggest that you abandon online applications. But here’s the way to think about it: If 80 percent of the jobs are via referral, shouldn’t you be putting at least 80 percent of your job-hunting time and energy into seeking them out? Moreover, what J.T. is suggesting is that even the other 20 percent of your time can do double duty as research for networking. Observe in online posts which companies are hiring for what kinds of jobs. Then, you’ll check in with your network to see who knows someone at those companies. Your friends, relatives and former colleagues often don’t know what jobs are open in other parts of their company, but given the chance, they’ll be delighted to make a connection for you. Help them help you.
– 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.
