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.
Barbara writes:
I am a single mother of three in my late twenties. I have very little job skills and no formal
education. I am eager to attend college and begin a career so that I may support myself
and my children. My dilemma is that I have never wanted to be anything other than a wife
and mother.
I have hobbies, likes, and dislikes just like everyone, but how do I turn them in to a career?
I desperately want to go back to school because I know that without an education I will not
be able to get any kind of employment that will provide enough income for my children.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
First let me assure you that you are doing all the right moves -- you realize you need to attend
college to make a better living for yourself and your children and you want to take the time to
find the right career for you.
One of my favorite things to do is help people discover their career passions -- because when
you are passionate about your career, you tend to love your job, and success follows. You will
also be healthier and happier because of the fulfillment you receive from doing a job you enjoy.
We have a whole tutorial on Finding
Your Career Passion on QuintCareers.com and I encourage you to get more depth on the
subject than I can provide here, but let me give you at least an outline for what you need to do
to move forward.
First step: Take some assessment tests. There are a number of good assessment tests (online
and in print) that can give you some valuable career feedback based on your responses.
Second step: Assess yourself. You have already started this process -- examine your likes,
favorite activities, lifelong interests, hobbies, volunteering. Make a list. Then look for common
threads among all these things and develop a list of core attributes.
Third step: Examine your life goals and research ideal career paths. Review what you want to
accomplish in your life, and along with the results from step 2, begin researching careers that
will use your skills and help you achieve your goals.
Fourth step: Identify college majors and minors that will assist you in entering your ideal
career path.
Q:
Carole writes:
I have read where it is illegal to ask the year you graduated from high school or college.
How do I get around the request for an "official copy" of my recent transcript from said
college for my master’s that refuses to remove the date of graduation from my bachelor
of science degree (1973)? Said college told me that would be tampering with the transcript!!
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Asking your age is illegal. Asking when you graduated from high school or college is a legal
way of trying to determine age, though I am not aware of many employers who ask this question.
I am also puzzled -- unless you are applying for some sort of academic position -- why an
employer would request a transcript.
Age discrimination is certainly an issue in job-seeking, and that’s why I also suggest to older
job-seekers that you should limit the number of years of job experience on a resume to no more
than 12-15 and that you should remove all dates from your educational record.
I suggest contacting the Registrar of your master’s degree university and requesting the removal
based on age discrimination issues. If that fails, I would move up the ladder of the institution --
perhaps the dean of your college -- and keep requesting the removal of the date. There is no
excuse for them potentially aiding age discrimination.
Mai writes:
About 3 years ago, I was fired from a major retail chain for being an accomplice to theft.
Recently I re-applied to this company and they have invited me for an interview. Since they
will find out that I am former employee and that I was fired, could I possibly write them a
statement explaining the circumstances as to why I was fired and that I would like a
second chance to prove that I've changed?
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
First, I think your situation shows that many employers do not conduct much
screening in the early phases of the job-search -- of initial candidates -- because
if this employer had done so, I strongly believe you never would have been invited
for the interview given your past with the company.
So, that brings you to the interview and what you should do.
I am an advocate of full disclosure of anything that is going to make you appear
dishonest -- even if it means you losing a job opportunity. I mean, you could take the
chance that this company’s employee database is so bad that your previous work
history and incident will not even show up, but how likely is that to occur?
My advice is that you write the statement -- taking full responsibility for the incident,
but focusing more on what you learned and how you have changed -- and emphasizing
on how much you feel you can contribute to the company. Ask a trusted friend or former
boss to review it so that you are sure it has the proper content and tone.
Finally, you need to decide when to present the statement. I think you have two choices.
You can either bring up the subject and present the statement at the end of the interview
(after you have sold them on how great you are) or enclose it with your thank-you letter
you send after the interview. Which method you choose partly depends on how well you
think you can talk about the incident.
Q:
Angela writes:
I recently read your article on Getting the
Raise you Deserve. I thought I would ask your opinion on the situation I am in. I was recently
hired at a rather large dry-cleaning company. This company has bought several small chains, and
is in the process of merging them all under one name, and starting a re-branding. I was hired on
as an administrative assistant for $10 an hour while I am working on my marketing degree.
Just recently the company’s marketing director was let go, and I was informed I was now the
marketing director. I streamlined all of her tracking methods, and innovated new strategies to bring
customers into the current stores. This is in addition to creating a logo for the new re-branding,
maintaining the client email database and all the mailings, collaborating with the designer for the
new website, creating new forms from scratch, designing letterhead, brochures, and door
hangers, and much more.
My boss is very impressed with my work and responds by giving me more marketing responsibilities,
which I don't mind, as it's my passion and what I love to do. However, I feel that this work I'm doing
is worth much more than $10. With the work I am doing, in my location, the hourly rate for the tenth
percentile is $16.51 an hour ($34,330 annually). The median is $35.46 an hour ($73,760 annually).
I was thinking asking for a raise to $15 an hour, or comparable salary, but the mere act of asking for
a 50% pay increase before my three month preliminary time is up feels wrong. At the same time
I don't want them to think they can take advantage of me.
Any advice you can give is very much appreciated.
A:
The Career Doctor responds:
Wow. What an amazing opportunity for you -- and it just shows how luck plays such a
role sometimes in career advancement.
You are obviously a very sharp and gifted job-seeker AND marketer. To jump into the fire
and achieve the rebranding and customer growth is amazing. And then to realize that if
you are going to ask for a raise, you want to have research that backs up your salary
increase request.
Should you request a pay increase? Of course. You should have really done so when you
were given the marketing position, but you also have more ammunition to ask for even
more now, so it’s ok.
Make a list of all your marketing accomplishments, including as many specific savings and
sales numbers as possible – even if just for a one-month period. Add to this list your salary
research. Then request a meeting. At the meeting you can propose one or two possibilities.
One would be an immediate change in your pay to reflect your job status; the other would
be to request a smaller pay bump now, with a guaranteed review in three months and a
good-faith commitment to raise your salary again then if your success continues.
