Readers:
Dr. Randall Hansen, a nationally recognized career expert, is the Career Doctor.
Discover more about Dr. Hansen, read about the purpose of this column,
and find previous issues of this column at the home of The Career Doctor.
If you have any college, career, or job-related questions or comments that Dr. Hansen could
provide valuable assistance with, please
feel free to email him at: careerdr@quintcareers.com.
Dr. Hansen writes this column on a biweekly basis.
Irene writes:
I've been unemployed for a month and just accepted a "temp to
perm" position this past Friday.
Here's the catch: Friday afternoon I've already received two more
calls for much better positions (after accepting the temp job). One
is through a family member and I am sure to get that position. The
other is also a good possibility. With a potential few interviews
during my first week of the "temp to perm" job...how do I pull all
of this off? The temp position is 99% to go perm with good
attendance, etc, etc...and it's an 8 - 4:30 position. Is there a way to
schedule interviews around this? (especially when I have to dress up?)
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
I have always advised my clients that job-hunting is often very streaky …
one often goes long periods of nothing happening -- and then it all seems
to happen at once. And now you are faced with a number of decisions.
First, what is the ethical thing to do? Since you have accepted this new
position and have already started working there, do you abandon it so quickly
because other opportunities have arisen? My opinion is that there is certainly
no harm in interviewing, but if you get offers from both new opportunities, that’s
a different decision.
Second, what’s the best career opportunity for you? My advice is always to
follow the opportunity that is going to give you the greatest satisfaction or
do the greatest good for your career - in the long-term. Which of the three jobs
is best for you?
Third, how can you go on job interviews when you are working all day? You
have a couple of options. You can ask for earlier -- or later -- than normal interview
times (such as 7:30 or 5:30). Or, you can try and interview over your lunch break.
Or, if those options fail, you can show up late or leave early (and change to
interviewing clothes away from your current job).
And, finally, if you do interview and get a job offer from one or both places
and you decide to take one of them, you would certainly not put the current
job on your resume; it would just disappear as though it never existed (as
you would do with any short-term stint).
Q:
Mark writes:
What qualifications do I need to become a chemist? Is it financial viable?
Pro's and con's of this career? Where in the world can I follow my career?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
First and foremost, as with ANY career decision, what you need to decide above all
else is whether you have the interest and skills and abilities to be a chemist. Do
you enjoy the analytical and laboratory aspects of chemistry? Would you want to
work in industry, government, or education? How many chemistry courses have
you taken? Have you talked with any chemists about career paths?
According to the American
Chemical Society (ACS), most chemists are employed in one of four areas:
industry (60%), academia (24%), government (9%), or non-traditional (7%).
While a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in some area of chemistry (organic,
polymer, macromolecular, medicinal, etc.) is required for the most basic lab jobs,
many of the better career tracks require an advanced degree, including a doctoral
degree in chemistry. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics
projects most of the growth in this field to come from pharmaceutical companies
and in research and testing firms.
Is the career financially viable? Even though I cringe at that question, the ACS
reports that in 2000, the median annual salary of its members with a bachelor’s
degree was $55,000; with a master’s degree it was $65,000, and with a Ph.D. it
was $82,200. Median salaries were highest for those chemists working in private
industry; those in academia earned the least. Recent college grads with just a
bachelor’s degree earned a median starting salary of $33,500 in 2000.
Q:
Anonymous writes:
I believe the career portfolio is an important job search tool; however, many of my
co-workers are not convinced. I want to know some statistics that will reveal that
many employers are actually interested in interview candidates who come to the
interview with a career portfolio. I am a business technology teacher at the secondary
level and I teach my students job readiness skills. We will be creating career portfolios
in all of the classes I teach this fall. I would like the other teachers to do this as well.
I am the business department chair and I want to provide some information that
explains how powerful a tool the career portfolio really is.
I have visited lots of sites but I do not see info that tells me which businesses in
particular are using or want their applicants to come with a career portfolio. Can
you help me, help my students and other educators at the secondary level?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Unfortunately, I cannot give you the statistics on the number of employers
who require or are interested in career portfolios. I can, however, state that I
am a big proponent of career portfolios because they are just another selling
tool in the job-seeker’s career toolbox. A resume states what someone has
accomplished, but a portfolio can actually show it! There is nothing more
powerful, in my mind, than pulling out a hefty portfolio of your work and placing
it on the interviewer’s desk with a resounding “thump.”
And while career portfolios have traditionally been used by job-seekers in the
arts, more and more job-seekers across all disciplines are using them as a
way to develop a career focus, document experiences and accomplishments,
and as an aid for prepping for job interviews.
In fact, one of my colleagues actually supports the development of two portfolios,
an external portfolio used for job-hunting purposes and an internal one, used for
career development.
All businesses ideally want job-seekers with experience, and a portfolio is the tool
to document that experience. Things that can be included in a career portfolio
include:
Resume(s)
Career Goals/Objectives/Summary
List of accomplishments
Samples of work and reports
Awards and honors
Professional development activities
Reference list
Just one final note: Do not send portfolios to employers unsolicited; job-seekers
should bring portfolios with you to the interview.
Chris writes:
I just finished reading an article you wrote regarding interview preparation.
You briefly mentioned potential employers using assessments, testing for
personality and skills, to help in their hiring decisions.
I am curious to hear your honest opinion on the subject of assessments which
attempt to measure potential -- assessments that are supposed to be able to
predict a candidate's job performance and potential for growth and advancement.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Let me first state that I am a strong believe in using career assessment
tests as a personal tool for career development and career direction.
And I think there is some value to assessments that employers use to
measure skills vital to a job -- typing tests for secretarial positions -- but I
am really against tests that demean job-seekers, especially low-wage
job-seekers.
I am on the fence about personality tests. I remember this one discussion
with an employer that used personality tests almost exclusively to decide
whether prospective job-seekers would “fit” the organization. The top management
was convinced that only a certain personality type would succeed in their
company and they only hired people who matched that profile.
In an era of diversity -- however we define diversity -- I think having employees
of all personality types could only add to the creativity and decision-making
of organizations.
As for tests that supposedly measure things like honesty and morality or
future job performance, I say get rid of them. They are a liability to using people
skills to evaluate prospective employees, and I do not support their use at all.
