Please note: On a somewhat infrequent basis, Quintessential Careers asks noted
career experts five questions related to their expertise and publishes the interview
in the current issue of QuintZine,
our biweekly newsletter. Here is one such interview.
What's the best way for job-seekers to figure out what career will give them the
greatest happiness? Which assessments do you think are the most revealing and
helpful? What techniques -- beyond assessments -- do you advise for really getting
at a student's/client's career passion?
A:
I think the very best assessment for this purpose is the Myers-Briggs Type
Indicator (MBTI). The MBTI provides a list of chosen professions for people of
the same type. It indicates what professions the different types gravitate to and are
the most prevalent in.
Another helpful assessment is the Personal Profile System, also called
the DiSC, which looks at a person’s preferred behaviors in various work situations.
Armed with results from both assessments, the job seeker can make a fully informed,
better-researched career decision and has greater chance of success and career happiness
and fulfillment.
Self-analysis and reflection are also paramount in discovering one’s passion. Think
of those times when you had the greatest sense of satisfaction. Think back toward
a time where you accomplished or completed something and even now, upon reflection,
you smile and think, “That was fun. I did a good job with that task.”
Ask yourself, “If money were no object, what would I do?” The answers to this question
can usually turn up one’s passion. It may not be as successful with younger, college-age
students. Usually one does not discover or realize one’s passion until the mid 30s or 40s.
Can you comment briefly on the relationship between personality and career
choice? In what ways does a personality assessment such as the MBTI help with career choice?
A:
More and more studies continue to show that employees who like their jobs
are both more productive and more fulfilled in their careers. It is obvious that
similar personalities seem to gravitate toward similar jobs. For example,
entrepreneurs seem to be creative risk-takers who don’t like authority and
regulatory constraints. These personality traits equate to job satisfaction or
dissatisfaction. Someone who prefers clear-cut rules, guidelines and directions
does not perform well in ambiguous situations and work environments.
Employers should care about personality and career preferences because
good matches between employees and jobs lower hiring and re-training costs,
increase productivity, and create good working environments, thus increasing
retention and profitability. Good job matches are a win-win solution.
Q:
What do you feel is the most disturbing trend in job-hunting today?
A:
The most disturbing trend I am seeing is employers who request
salary information along with résumés. This practice goes against
everything we have ever taught job-seekers. The goal of establishing
rapport and ensuring you have communicated your value to a prospective
employer, and that it is a good job match before discussing salary and
negotiating benefits is now very difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish.
Most résumé writers and career coaches seem to be advising clients to
submit a salary range when confronted with this requirement so as not
to be disqualified. This weeding-out process on the employers’ part
is an unfortunate trend in an employers market.
Q:
We are hearing increasingly from job-seekers about frustrations with Internet
job-hunting. They complain that they never hear anything from employers,
and that employers increasingly put up impenetrable barriers to keep job-seekers
from following up and being proactive. Are the old rules of job-seeking and
follow-up changing?
A:
The current low success rate of Internet job-hunting will not impact current
job-hunting skills and requirements. No job-hunting method has surpassed networking,
which remains the single most effective way to gain employment. I have not
found any way to follow up on Internet leads. Prospective employees frequently do not
even know a prospective employer has looked at his or her résumé. Most employers
do not respond to résumés submitted over the Internet, not even to acknowledge
receipt, which is very frustrating to job-seekers. Internet job-hunting remains a very
passive job-hunting exercise and one that should consume no more than 10 percent
of the job-seeker’s time and efforts.
[Editor's note: To learn more about networking, see our many resources in the
Art of Networking
section of this site.]
Q:
What's the best way to uncover job leads?
A:
Job-seekers must use every avenue available to them and consider job-hunting
a full-time job. They must attend local events, such as Chamber of Commerce
mixers and events, industry-specific meetings, children’s PTA meetings, Rotary
Club meetings, or even a local Toastmasters group. Job-seekers must send every
friend, relative, former co-worker, and acquaintance a résumé and let them know
they are seeking employment. Actually walking through town and delivering presentation
résumés to local businesses of choice should be done weekly. Job-seekers should
research every company they want to work for and visit their Web sites.
[Editor's note: See our Guide to Researching
Companies.] They must become familiar with current corporate issues and corporate concerns. They should
send résumés to each company and then follow-up.[Editor's note: See our article,
The Art of the Follow-Up After Job Interviews.]
Job-seekers should identify others who are in the same or similar career fields and request meetings for
informational interviewing. Talking with others who are employed in the same occupation creates
name awareness, further job leads, and information about local meetings and groups of interest.
[Editor’s note: To read more about how to conduct informational interviews,
visit our tutorial.]
Networking is still the key and still achieves amazing results!
Cory Edwards, of Sterling, VA, notes that she stays “amazingly busy” creating federal
résumés for her clients. “In the current state of the economy, more and more job-seekers
are turning toward federal employment with great success!” Edwards notes. “The federal
government currently has more than10,000 vacant positions.” Edwards says her coaching
clients are obtaining jobs of their choice within 30-45 days of working with her.” The Washington,
DC, employment picture is perhaps better than other places around the country; however,
job-seekers must be diligent, persistent and committed to working to find a job,” Edwards notes.
“We have suffered enormous layoffs here in AOL and WorldCom country, so I am instructing
résumé classes each month for Loudoun County government.” Edwards can be
reached at resumewriter@aol.com.
