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.
Joseph writes:
I enjoyed your article about
overqualified job applicants. However, I do not agree with your assessment of the "out-of-work-
desperate-for-any-job" applicant. Unfortunately, we all need money to live. A person is better off employed
beneath their level of ability than unemployed. Any employee will bolt for a better offer. The risk is
always present.
Being overqualified is in the eye of the beholder. I have had people tell me that I would be
unchallenged in a particular position. It is very flattering, but my bank does not give
credit for flattery. I am cast as overqualified and I need assistance. It has been almost
one year since I have had any employment. Also, I have gotten about four interviews.
Yet I hear the complaint that good accounting help is hard to find. This is maddening
because this is what I want to do.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
I’m sorry to hear of your predicament. I agree with you that there are times
when a job-seeker has to take any job -- what we call survival jobs -- to avoid
living on the streets. But there is a big difference between taking a low-level job
at Arby’s and applying for jobs in your field and being told you are overqualified.
When an employer tells you that you are overqualified, it usually is masking a
bigger issue. Sometimes it’s a worry that they cannot afford to pay you the salary
you should be making. Other times it’s the fear that you will NOT be happy
with the job -- that it will bore you -- and that you will leave the company and
they will have to conduct a whole new job search. Finally, it simply may be
a euphemism for a concern that you are too rigid and stuck in your ways and
would not fit in well with the current team.
If you have not had employment for a year -- and only 4 interviews in that entire
time period -- then the little alarm in my head rings quite loudly that you have
serious flaws in your job-search strategy.
Here are my suggestions.
First, you need to be working. My best suggestion is to contact local temporary
employment agencies that place accounting/bookkeeping types and work with
one that will get you back into the workforce. You might also volunteer with a
local non-profit and offer to help with their books. Perhaps contact some local
CPAs and offer your assistance.
Second, you need an honest opinion of what is not right with your approach.
Find a local career counselor or trusted friend and go through the entire process --
from resume and cover letter to mock interview. I think you have multiple problems
here that need to be fixed before you can then go about trying to find a permanent job.
Rock writes:
I really liked your article
about considering graduate school. I have made up my mind that this is definitely the
right career choice for me. I have been working for a while in Social Services, but have
not been able to make the kind of money I need to have a secure future. I am thinking
about going forward to get a PhD in English Literature. I am waffling because I really want
to pick a solid program that will offer a competitive degree in the area of social services
or education. I don't want to go all the way to get my PhD in English only to not find a job
because the jobs are too scarce. Do you have any suggestions about good graduate
degrees that will allow me to find a relatively lucrative job without having to relocate to
some obscure corner of the country or settle for something low paying that doesn't
allow me to pay my high student loans off?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Well, while I am not sure what your definition of a lucrative job is, I can tell you
that there are going to be shortages of folks with Ph.D.s in quite a number of
disciplines as this massive wave of baby boom (and older) professors begin
retiring. In fact, I do not know how some schools are going to be able to afford
to replace all these professors because starting salaries have escalated over
the last decade or so.
So, overall there should certainly be a demand for new Ph.D.s -- especially for
those who want to teach at the college level. And that demand is going to be
nationwide, not just in remote places.
Since you appear to kind of have two passions -- social work and English -- I would
suggest conducting some research in both areas. Network with former professors
(or make some new network contacts at potential graduate programs) and discuss
the marketplace.
I will tell you that teaching is much more rewarding than the salary you receive.
The ability to make a significant contribution to the future of society, to have an
impact on the minds and lives of people, and to empower them to achieve their
own success -- these are amazing perks for folks who teach.
Find more grad school tools and resources in this section of Quintessential
Careers: Graduate School Resources.
Q:
Kathryn writes:
I recently went to a job fair seeking a position which was exactly what I have been
looking for, and matches my background perfectly.... However, after a preliminary
interview I was told I would get a call the next day (No call, two business days
have past).
Afterwards I felt I did not do my best. Although my background is exactly what they
were looking for, there was also an aptitude test and a personality test, and I get
anxious and start over thinking every little thing.
That said, I have since learned this same company is holding another job fair this
week for the same position. Do I forget about it and cut my losses, or do I go back
only this time better prepared? I don't know that the same recruiter will be present
at this up coming job fair.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
There are a couple of issues here and let me see if I can address them all.
First, you -- and all job-seekers -- really need to learn the importance of follow-up.
Just because an employer tells you they will contact you at some point in the future
(and then doesn’t) does not necessarily mean bad news. So, pick up the phone
and call the employer and ask where your application stands. It is that simple.
And two days is nothing in this current extended job-search cycle.
Second, did you send a thank-you note after the job fair? Not doing so may not
have cost you a call back, but doing so gives you an edge over many other job-seekers.
Always write a thank-you letter as quickly as possible after the interview, but even
a couple of days later is still okay.
Third, aptitude and personality tests are certainly trendy these days, and it is a possibility
that whatever you scored did not match the “type” that they hire. But you have no way of
knowing this information unless you follow-up. There really are no wrong answers on
these things, so next time, just relax and do not over-think your answers.
Fourth, why not go to the job fair? If you see the same recruiter there, it’s the perfect
situation to say that you hoped s/he was there so you could follow-up in person and
ask about the status of your application. If it is a different recruiter, build rapport first,
but then mention that you had applied for a position and were waiting for a call back.
Andrea writes:
I work in retail and hate it. I have been doing it for a few years now; I kind of fell
into it at first, maybe even liked it at first, but now I don’t enjoy going to work,
am sick of dealing with customers, and don’t know how to escape this torture.
I can’t just quit my job and I don’t really know what I would do anyway.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Yours is a pretty common situation among older twenty-year-olds. You graduate
college without a clear career goal and fall into some unplanned career path. If
you are lucky, it’s the right career for you; if not, you begin living for the weekend
and dreading Monday mornings. It is such a common phenomenon that there is
even a name for it: The Quarterlife Crisis.
OK. So now that you know what afflicts you, what can you do about? For your
mental and physical health, I hope you will start working on this plan as soon
as possible. I promise the first parts are not painful at all.
First Step. Take a weekend to really examine yourself and discover your passions.
Examine the types of activities you love doing the most -- little parts of the job you
love, hobbies you partake in, classes you enjoyed, volunteering you do. Also
make a list of the things you don’t ever want to do (like dealing with customers).
If you like, take some career assessment tests too. The goal of the weekend is
to really build a foundation for career and life change.
Second Step. Research careers and jobs that use the skills and activities you i
dentified in the previous step. Once you have made a list, conduct informational
interviews and begin building a network in this new career field.
Third Step. Based on your research in the previous step, develop a plan that will
get you to your career goal. It might require further education, part-time
employment (or volunteering), or simply reconfiguring your resume on the skills
you identified.
Fourth Step. Implement your plan. (This step is the scary one for most job-seekers.
Career change is rarely easy.)
