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.
Janine Moon is a Professional Certified Career Coach.
Q:
One of the strategies experts suggest for job seekers making a change in
careers is to gain experience before making the change full-time. Do you
agree with this strategy? And, if so, how should these experiences, many
perhaps short-term and voluntary, be positioned on the job seeker’s resume?
A:
It’s always easier to market a “proven” product than an untested one,
so a job seeker will always have an easier ‘sell’ with some experience
under his or her belt. Similarly, employers are more comfortable with a
hiring decision backed by some measurable experience than one based
on blind faith.
The number of volunteer opportunities and the need of most non-profit
organizations creates the possibility that almost any job-seeker can gain
experience in almost any skill set s/he needs or wishes to develop. A lifelong
commitment to development via volunteer experiences creates a time frame
that can be highlighted on a resume for its variety and depth of experience,
to say nothing of the value to the receiving organization(s). The skills can be
incorporated and focused in two ways:
Competencies can be identified and featured in a “preamble” to the Work
Experience section of the resume. There need be no distinction between the
competencies gained through paid employment and those gained through volunteer
work. As the first section a reader sees, the “preamble” either encourages the
reader to continue or to send the resume to the round file.
Following the Work Experience section of the resume, the job seeker might
create a listing and explanation of the most relevant additional skills gained through
volunteer work. For example, for a marketing specialist position the section might
be titled “Additional Marketing Skills” or “Skills Related to Marketing Specialist
Position” and the skill sets can be expanded through volunteer work experience
stories that include activities and results the job seeker brings to the work place.
These unpaid experiences can be gathered by volunteer position, e.g., Marketing
Coordinator for Big Sisters, or by position opening, e.g., Volunteer Work in
Marketing. Either approach allows for “stories” to relate relevant skills to the
needs of the open position.
Q:
Given that most employers would prefer to hire someone with experience for any
given opening, what are some ways that career-changers can demonstrate their
enthusiasm for a new field, and more importantly, their ability to do a job they may
not have done before?
A:
Get the experience before applying! Again, there are so many, many volunteer
opportunities that virtually any needed skill can be learned and practiced.
Computer-related skills can be achieved by volunteering to assist with technical
associations’ member tracking activities, or any volunteer organization’s technology
area. Soft skills can be developed by working with people in virtually any social
services organization, whether by helping in a soup kitchen or by handing out
programs at the local theater production.
Unpaid internships abound and have no age limits. Many, many businesses
would love to have an extra pair of hands to help with an understaffed area in
exchange for those hands learning a new skill or developing deeper experience.
It’s the career-changer’s responsibility to propose the exchange in such a way
that it limits the organization’s concerns and is an obvious “win-win” for both parties.
Career changers can additionally seek new learning or training that might provide
some hands-on application and experience. For example, someone who wants to
move into the graphic design area could take a college or community-center course,
and use that training to develop a portfolio to take along on interviews. With a little
effort, the would-be designer could develop brochures for a parent-teacher organization
event, a web page for a start-up neighborhood business and a program for a
philanthropic organization’s black tie affair! It’s likely that the instructor of any training
would have suggestions and access to organizations that could utilize a learner’s skills.
Most schools are under-funded, most non-profits are under-staffed, and many cultural
organizations are led by volunteer boards that would welcome a new skill set and eager
pair of hands. A career changer will be limited only by his or her hesitancy and
unwillingness to seek out opportunities. Potential learning and networking opportunities
abound, and are there for the asking!
Q:
What do you feel is the most exciting or hopeful trend in job hunting?
A:
As we move from an “Industrial Age” to an “Information Age,” our job-hunting
and career movement approaches are changing as well. This change (which
sometimes seems evolutionary in pace!) involves the development of career
resilience and self-reliance, and associated tools to support this career self-management.
To become and remain competitive in a dynamic global marketplace, employers
increasingly rely on employees who can meet and, ideally, exceed the speed and
shape of changes. And those employees who can stay on top of an employer’s
needs and run with the direction that helps the organization meet and exceed its
goals will have created his or her own job security.
While many may long for the days when the employer determined career direction
and therefore, job security, today’s job market is placing the responsibility and
control for a career where it can best be satisfied: in the hands of the individual who
can ultimately best define work/career satisfaction. An employee’s development of
his or her career self-reliance creates an exciting opportunity to find more work
satisfaction than ever before and to create as much job security or risk as an
individual desires.
Gallup surveys and other studies continue to place high value on the “job satisfaction”
and “contribution” aspects of individuals’ motivation toward creating an effective and
productive workplace. The more capable we become in guiding our own career direction,
the more successful we become in the labor market and the more successful employers
become in the global marketplace.
Q:
What are the top 5-10 skills that most employers are REALLY
looking for these days? What are the key skills that make job
seekers employable?
A:
Although technological and job-specific skills are of obvious importance to
employers, of greater importance are those known as “soft skills.” Companies
are really looking for well-rounded individuals who can accept the challenges
of a dynamic work environment and move the organization’s goals forward in
the midst of uncertainty and change.
In a recent Chicago Tribune article, director Phil Gardner of the Collegiate
Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University said: “[Employers are]
looking for fit: the ability to work in teams, communicate effectively, be aware of the
social and cultural context of what they’re doing and how that allows them to relate to others.”
The essence of these skills is a set of competencies around knowing and managing
oneself and one’s relationships with others, including self-assessment, empathy, initiative,
collaboration, communication, and self-control. Often labeled as “emotional intelligence,”
soft skills are often viewed as of greater importance in today’s new workplace than technical
skills or cognitive abilities. Gardner goes on to say that “[E] mployers are adamant, they
have to have soft skills.”
Q:
What’s the biggest myth about job hunting?
A:
Perhaps the biggest myth about job hunting is that there is a “right”
or “best” way to do it: that there is a “best” way to format a resume,
a “right” way to interview, a “best” way to get your foot in the door, and
a “right” way to ensure that you’ll make the final cut and get the job.
Given that the rules for job-hunting and career transitions are very different
today than those of even five years ago, a “better” approach to job hunting
includes:
a targeted (as opposed to a shotgun) approach;
a focus on your strengths, tailored to the target;
a plan that uses marketing approaches and tactics;
a marketing plan that utilizes every available resource and contact;
an attitude that is wild with initiative and out-of-the-box thinking;
a plan that incorporates emotional support systems;
a career coach to keep you on track and making steady progress toward your goals.
In addition to a master’s degree from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor of
Science from Bowling Green State University, Janine A. Moon has an organization
development background, including NTL course work. She is a member of the Career
Masters Institute and the International Coaching Federation. Janine has achieved
certification as a Professional Certified Career Coach™ (PCCC) from the Career
Coach Institute (CCI) and is working toward Master CCC status. She achieved a
No. 2 national ranking in the Business and Professional Women (BPW) 2002 ID
Competition and is licensed to deliver CJ Hayden’s marketing program, Get Clients Now!™
Her current projects focus on generational differences in the workplace and “Career
R&R: Career Resilience and Self-Reliance.” Her coaching practice,
CompassPoint Coaching LLC,
is particularly focused on people in transition. . . a midlife career transition; a move from
college to the “real world;” the exploration of a second or even third career; and other life
changes that have a tendency to "get in the way" of life/career satisfaction.
