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.
Dr. Hansen writes this column on a biweekly basis. 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.
Pete writes:
Help! I'm a 40 year old professional male stuck in an employment rut! Which way do I turn?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
First realize that the situation you are facing is becoming more and more
common, so you are certainly not alone in how you are feeling. People of
all ages are facing the discovery of being in a job they no longer value or
enjoy, but folks and their 40s and 50s are probably the most prevalent.
The key analysis you must make before doing anything else is whether
you are sick of your specific job or whether you are sick of your career.
For example, you may love accounting, but over the years as you have
been promoted away from the day-to-day accounting and into management,
taking you away from the numbers. In this case, you still love accounting,
so you probably want to find a way to move back toward your accounting
roots. On the other hand, if you have been doing accounting for 20 years
and are simply tired of doing the numbers, then perhaps a change of
careers is best.
So, take some time to decide whether you are going to simply make a job
change or a career change. A job change is much easier, of course. You
already have the skills, accomplishments, experience, and network to make
a change within your profession. Start researching jobs that will challenge
you and put you back in touch with the part of your profession that you love
working on.
If you decide a change of careers is necessary, the first step should be
deciding the career field. Take a weekend (or longer) and conduct self-assessment
exercises and capture the activities that fuel your passion and energy. The next
step is then researching careers that use those skills and activities. The final
step is developing a plan to break into that new career field -- and may include
obtaining more education, getting new work experience (though temping,
volunteering, consulting), and developing/expanding your network.
Emily writes:
I recently read your article on 10
ways to develop job leads. I am currently job searching long distance and will be visiting the
city I would like to relocate to for 2 weeks. I am trying to figure out how to make the most of my visit.
I noticed that you mentioned one way was to submit applications by going to door to door
and it was a good method to use for someone who would like to relocate. I am very interested
in learning more about this method. Could you give me some pointers?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
All job-hunting requires planning and doing your homework, but when you
are preparing to relocate, you really need to step up both activities -- so
you are on the right track. And whenever you can make one or more visits
to your new location before you move, the more likely you will have a job
offer waiting for you.
Before we get to relocation strategies, let me just refresh folks about
developing job leads. Here are some of the best ways to track down future job
opportunities in order of how you should prioritize your efforts: your network
of contacts, professional and trade organizations, college career centers
and alumni offices, cold contact (you contacting prospective employers
directly), headhunters/recruiters, classified want ads, online job boards,
and pounding the pavement (applying directly at the employer’s place
of business).
When you are considering relocating away from where you currently live,
you should ideally have a few months to plan and make visits before you
actually move. If you cannot afford to make trips before you move, you
can still attempt some of these activities and strive for some phone interviews
so that you at least will have some hot job leads ready to tackle once you
do relocate.
And a two-week trip is wonderful. You can get a lot accomplished with
proper planning. Start building your network in the area by asking your
current network if they know people in the area. Do the same thing with
your professional organization. (For example, I am a member of the
American Marketing Association, and they have chapters all over the
U.S.) Go online to the chamber of commerce Website for the area
and locate the names of employers who need workers with your skills.
Contact the companies and ask for the manager/director for your field.
Send a resume and cover letter to that person and explain when you’ll
be in the area and ask for an interview. And if they have no openings,
ask for an informational interview. Your goal should be to have several
interviews each day you are there the first week, with some flexibility
in the second week to schedule more once you are there in the first week.
Anonymous writes:
I am a female in my late thirties with a wholesale sales profession in the
fashion industry in the middle of a job-search.
I finally met with a company with a very strong fashion brand here in the
U.S., whose business is growing rapidly and overall seems to be a great
match. The only concern is that 98% of the employees are 5-10 years
younger than I am for sure.
Is this an issue I should I be concerned about?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Yours is a great example of how age discrimination can be relative
and happen at any age. That said, since you have already had two
interviews with this firm, I think if your age was an issue, you would
already know about it one way or another.
I know it’s kind of a cliché, but I think it’s something older job-seekers
need to take to heart when seeking jobs that focus on youth or where
most of the co-workers will be much younger -- and that’s you’re only
as old as you feel and act. So, if you come into a job-hunting situation
and you act old -- you act like you’ve been around the block so you
know all the answers and act like an old dog who refuses to learn any
new tricks -- you will not get hired. And why should you? Every business
is dynamic and changing, and if you can’t change with it, why would
any employer want to hire you?
Instead, you should showcase your vast knowledge, but in a way that
also highlights your flexibility and openness to new ideas and change.
And you should not come off in an interview as a “know it all.”
And, on the plus side, once you get this job, all these younger co-workers
will help you feel younger.
One final note. Employers cannot ask anything to get at your age, so you
should make sure your resume does not give it away. Remove dates from
your college degrees and eliminate jobs that are more than 15 years
old from your resume.
Q:
Theresa writes:
I am a high school student in my senior year. I was wondering if you
had any examples or formats of resumes for high school students entering
college. If you do it would be greatly appreciated.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Resumes for high school students are definitely a little different than adult
resumes, so I am glad to offer some assistance. Let me say that just having
a resume as a high school student will make you stand out -- both for college
applications as well as for part-time or summer jobs.
Some of the basics are the same: the top part of the resume contains all your
contact information (name, address, phone(s), email). If you use an email
address, just make sure it is professional and not something like “prettyprincess.”
Because you may not have much work experience, I think you should focus
your resume with both an objective and summary of qualifications. For example,
if you are attempting to get a job in retail, a simple objective is: “Seeking
part-time retail sales clerk/cashier position with XYZ Company” -- where you
replace XYZ with each company’s name.
The summary of your accomplishments should be attributes that will help sell
you to a potential employer or college… such as soft skills (writing, talking,
listening), level of responsibility and maturity, and any hard skills you have.
An example would be: “Energetic achiever and communicator, with strong listening skills”
The remaining parts of your resume should deal with your education -- and awards
and honors you have received -- and any previous work experience you have,
including jobs like babysitting.
Finally, remember the cardinal rules of resume-writing: no lying or exaggerating
and no spelling errors or typos.
