New Year Resolutions

New Year...New Year Resolutions

I don’t know about you, but the beginning of the new year always gives me hope. The opportunity to leave the old behind. To change direction. To move on to new beginnings.

Work, career, education are central to who we are and what we do with our lives. Perhaps one of your new beginnings involves your career.  A few guidelines to help you focus on career follow.

Discover who you are.  What are your top interests? Skills? Values?

• Research what jobs would be a match for you and who you are.
• Establish a plan of action to put yourself in a job suited to you. What can you put in place to help you get the job you want now and in the future? What organizations can you join? Where might you volunteer your time and talents? Who can you get to know? Who can you learn from?

Sound like big undertakings? They are! But, you’re not alone – call our office at 978-3435 and schedule an appointment with one of our Career Counselors today. We’re here to help.

Moving On, Or. . . Finding a Job Out of State

Ready to graduate and begin a new career? Want to begin that new career in another city or state? Here are a few suggestions to help you identify employers who would benefit from your skills and what you have to offer.

Make connections in the geographic area you are interested in relocating to. Network to let people know you are looking for a job out of state. Talk to instructors who may know of former students who are located where you want to move.     

Join professional associations affiliated with your career field. Contact officers of those associations regarding the job market and suggestions for your job search as you relocate. Let them know you will be a valuable member of their organization when you move.

Review the WSU Alumni Directory to find Alumni to potentially network with. Find out if there is a chapter of the WSU Alumni Association in the city you want to call “home”. Connect with the President or another officer.

Utilize LinkedIn to make connections and communicate. Join professional groups on LinkedIn, including the WSU Alumni Association Group. Participate in discussions to establish visibility.

Contact the Chamber of Commerce in the city you are interested in moving to. Ask if they have a directory similar to Wichita’s “Book of Lists”. Go through the yellow pages and make note of organizations that could use your skills. (Note: You may be overwhelmed with the number of employers you identify so break your possibilities down into workable groups.)

Use LinkedIn and networking to connect with people at the organizations, or people who may know about, the organizations of interest to you.

It is far less expensive for employers to hire a local candidate. Therefore, make it clear in your cover letter, emails, etc. that you are relocating to their area, have begun the transition and are looking for a job in advance of moving. Establish a mailing address in the city you plan to move to. Get a post office box or use the address of a friend or relative.

Plan a tentative trip. Notify actual and potential networking contacts and employers of interest that you will be in their area on a certain date. Ask to meet with them while you are “in town”.

As in any job search, making connections is crucial. It takes far more effort to connect with people across the country than to connect with people in our city, but the payoff is worth it. Once again the answer to the question “How do I do that?” is “Network”. You have to do it. So. . .what are you waiting for? Get out there. Network! Get a job. . .

Eighteen Step Job Search Plan

EIGHTEEN STEP JOB SEARCH PLAN

1.      Prepare resume, cover letter, reference page.

2.      Have above critiqued. Career Services is happy to do this.

3.      Load resume on Hire-a-Shocker. Set up a job agent.

4.      Be prepared to tailor resume and cover letter for specific positions you apply for.

5.      Talk to Career Services regarding the possibility of conducting informational interviews as a way to learn more about particular jobs…and as a way to make new connections.

6.      Make up form to record all applications, networking, other job search steps. Excel works nicely.

7.      Join professional organizations pertinent to profession. Take an active role. Make connections.

8.      Have photo taken for LinkedIn.

9.      Prepare profile on LinkedIn. Ask people to connect with you. Join groups and start/join discussions.

10.   Prepare 30 second introduction and/or “script” for use when meeting new people.

11.   Network. Network everywhere you go. Strike up conversations with people in line at the grocery store, or any place you shop! Make connections.

12.   Send a thank you note to everyone you conduct an informational interview with.

13.   Register with contract houses/temporary agencies. At a minimum, temporary positions teach you how to do the particular job you were hired for. And, they sometimes transfer to fulltime jobs. Temp jobs allow you to earn a paycheck and make connections while you search for a job.

14.   Volunteer as a way to fill the time, learn or enhance your skills and make connections while you are conducting your job search. Work can be paid or unpaid, so you can include volunteer positions on your resume.

15.   When you see jobs advertised, or hear about something, be sure to follow their steps to apply. If they ask for a cover letter, send/take a cover letter. You may want to print a copy of your resume and cover letter, dress up, and deliver your application materials directly to the employer’s site.

16.   Apply directly to organization websites.

17.   It is quite appropriate to use online sites such as Career Builder, Indeed, etc. Just remember, networking is really really important to a job search.

18.   Try not to get discouraged. Job search is difficult. Remain positive, network and make connections. Finding a job is sometimes about timing and who you know.

 

Research Prospective Employers

This is the second guest blog and is contributed by Kristy Laufer-Nelson, SPHR. Kristy is HR Generalist/Recruiter with Koch Supply & Trading, LP.

I remember my early years of job searching when I was so excited to get a job, I would go into an interview thinking about everything I needed to say and do to get that job. “What will they ask me?” “How should I respond?” “What do they want to hear?” As I grew in my career and experienced some very positive jobs and a few not-so-positive, I realized the not-so-positive jobs were a result of the culture of the organization and the management style of the person I reported to. I wonder if I would have chosen to work at those companies if I had known what it was REALLY like to work there before I accepted a job offer. What could I have done better to identify if the company was right for ME?

One thing I started doing after I had this realization was to ask better questions in interviews. I now ask questions such as: “How would you describe your leadership style?” “ Can you help me understand what some of the unwritten rules are in your culture?” “Why is this position open?” “Why did the last person leave?” “What is your turnover rate?” I also started asking for a tour of the company, so I can get a feel of what the environment is like. Are people smiling? Is it quiet? Is it loud? What is the mood? What are the working conditions? Are the people interviewing me approachable and friendly? Do they seem to  care? If I had done a better job of assessing if the company was right for ME, I may not have continued to pursue a few of the companies where I had a not-so-positive experience.

I encourage job seekers to do some research on the companies they are interviewing with. Ask around; get a feel of the company’s reputation. Also, you can do on-line research. One site I know of that provides overviews of companies, jobs available, salaries and even reviews from past and current employees is at http://www.glassdoor.com/Jobs/jobs.htm. Obviously, this information is tied to an individual person’s experience, but it could give you an idea of what you might face at the company.

Best wishes in your job search!

Kristy

 

 

 

6 + 4 Reasons to Use LinkedIn

According to Ruth Harper, a communications student and blogger, here are six reasons to use LinkedIn (See full article at http://www.usatodayeducate.com/staging/index.php/blog/why-you-should-use-linkedin-before-graduation) 

LinkedIn offers an easy way to break the professional networking ice.

1. LinkedIn contains fewer 18 to 24 year olds than other social networking sites.
2. LinkedIn makes it easier to find internships or jobs while in school.
3. LinkedIn helps students build and maintain professional networks efficiently and effectively.
4. LinkedIn provides students an opportunity to prove themselves professionally through     authentic discussion.
5. LinkedIn allows students to promote themselves professionally online. 

Four more reasons to use LinkedIn:

1. It’s a great way to promote your blog or personal website.
2. It can be an especially effective way to connect to professionals in different locations throughout the United States or the world.
3. LinkedIn has a job search feature and more and more employers are using it.
4. It’s a great way to research a company before a job interview. You might even be able to find the people who will be interviewing you.

Time to Get Back With Your Job Search

Graduate earlier this month? Been taking a break? You deserve it, afterall. But, you also deserve a job. So, time to get back in the program and get serious about your job search again.

Where to start? May I suggest? Set up a record keeping system to keep track of all the people and organizations you have contacted, method and date of contact, response, and anything else of significance. Keep this up to date and you could potentially save yourself the embarrassment of having an employer call who you have little or no memory of contacting.

Next, make up another list of people and organizations you want to contact. This can include people you want to conduct informational interviews and/or network with, employers you want to drop by to leave your resume with, employers you will fill out an online application with. You get the idea.

After all this list making, hopefully the job search adrenalin will be pumping. Good, because next time we will go over "Ten Reasons to Use LinkedIn".

Get a Job!

~ jan

  


 

Step Out of that Comfort Zone

What is your comfort zone? If you’re in job search mode, you probably need to step—or even jump--outside it. Don’t limit yourself to applying on internet job search sites. Get up, get out and meet people. Talk with people wherever you go. This doesn't mean you need to walk up to everyone you see and tell them you are looking for a job. Just strike up conversations with people, show genuine interest, and ask them about themselves. In most cases, they will also ask about you. Which will give you the opportunity to tell them you are looking for a job.   

The trouble with comfort zones is they are so darned comfortable they are restricting. Just imagine. . what could happen for you if you were willing to take a risk?  

Job Search

I met with an alumni yesterday. Talking with him reminded me of something I want to tell you but you probably don't want to hear--your diploma is not a guarantee that after graduation you will walk right into the job you want. You may have to keep working at it.

This guy did well in school--in the classroom and out. As a result, he interviewed with a company he really wanted to work for. Although he did his best in the interview process, he didn't get a job offer.

What did he do? He remained with the company he worked for while he was a student. A good company who promoted him to a good position, but not what he had planned -- or had hoped for--at the end of his studies. Unknown to him at the time, that turned out to be a smart move and a remarkable opportunity. Now, just two years later, he is in a position better than he ever anticipated.

There is a really good chance you won't get the exact job you are dreaming of when you graduate. But, with hard work and determination, in time you will have the job you want -- or maybe even a better one.     

Rachel's Job Search: Celebration

Phase 4: Celebration

 I will always remember the phone call of my first job offer. I was driving home and heard my phone ringing so I pulled into shopping center and answered. The director of the department got right to the point and said they would like me to be part of their office. I was completely overwhelmed. What I meant to say was “I am so thrilled! Ever since the interview, I have known that this is the job that I want and the news couldn’t come at a better time.” Instead, I said “I have to tell you, my grandmother died.” The eternally gracious director expressed her apologizes as I whacked my palm against my forehead thinking “Why did you say that, idiot!” I stumbled through awkwardly trying to explain that both my husband and I had lost grandmothers in the past week and we both needed some good news and this was good news. The very kind director saved me by moving on the explaining the next steps of the process.

After hanging up, and thinking “Did I really just start that conversation with ‘my grandmother died?” it dawned on me: I had a job. I drove home in silence with a huge grin on my face. I wanted to tell my husband in person to see the look on his face. We went out for dinner that night and saw friends, all the while celebrating the payoff for ten months of the unknown. There were plenty of hurdles to come, the paper work, moving, the first day, training, making new friends, etc., but at that point, the search was over. Later I would reflect on the experience and realize how much I had learned about myself, how lucky I was to have such a wonderful supportive family, and how I had developed patience and coping skills I would use for a lifetime. But in that moment, all I could do was smile and think “I have a job.”

Rachel's Job Search -- Interviews

·         Revisiting my skills. I pulled out the notebook from my Career Development class and reviewed all of my reflections and personality assessments. This was perhaps the one thing that made me feel the most at ease with the process because it helped me feel truly confident in my abilities and able to communicate how those related to the position.

·         Practicing interviewing. Once I had the invitation for an interview, I knew I should practice by actually saying answers to questions out loud. I felt really uncomfortable with the idea of mock interviewing so I didn’t take advantage of that and I probably should have. Instead I used my daily 45 minute commute as practice time, recording the entire trip on my phone, asking and responding to questions out loud. Later I would play the recordings back to identify areas or questions I needed to work on. 

By the time interviews came around, I felt well prepared which alleviated a lot of the nervousness and stress. However, the most difficult part was not the interview itself, but the emotional piece that went with the dealing with rejection to being constantly on edge waiting to hear something. It took me awhile but I slowly found ways to cope:  

·         Identifying a support system. In my situation this was mostly my family and my mentors. I actually found it kind of difficult that the rest of my friends and classmates were going through the process and often didn’t turn to them to support. It was too likely that we would start comparing or trying to one up each other in misery points.

·         Keeping busy and remembering I still had a job. Because I was a student, my internship supervisor was very supportive of my job search but after about a week of spending all my energy and focus on my search, I realized I needed to refocus my energies back to my work projects. That actually worked out well because it helped keep me distracted.

·         Setting up search process rules. When I first entered this stage I checked my email almost every ten minutes. My phone was either on my desk where I could see it or on vibrate so I could hear it. I was as jumpy as a cat. Once I realized I could not continue this way, I instituted a rule that I could only check my job search email every two hours and my phone stayed in my purse on silent only to be checked during breaks. It may sound ridiculous to have rules, but I think I was a much better functioning human being for it.

·         Staying organized. Again, the job search process involves a lot of lack of control so by staying organized I was able to have some sense of ownership. It was also helpful once several applications were out there. After a while all the job descriptions started to run together so having things organized made it really easy to review everything if I did get invited for an interview.

·         Widening my search. By April, I was still waiting to hear back about two jobs but all the others had come back very clear “nos.” It didn’t seem like any new positions were being posted to my regular circuit of HR websites. I was going to go crazy if I didn’t do something so I decided to start looking outside of my ideal area. This meant widening my scope from working at a college to working for anything related to education or non-profit organizations. I revisited my skills and tried to think about how they could be utilized in different areas in addition to starting to scope out different job postings sites.

April was a rough month. Even though I had an in person interview that went great, the pressure was beginning to get to me. In addition to the search, I had the Comprehensive Exam for my Master’s degree, my husband and I were making regular trips to Wichita to find a place to rent, we were making concrete moving plans, and work was getting busy with not only projects but the added work of preparing to transition all of these projects to a new person. This sort of limbo lasted for about a month and a half and almost every day I had to remind myself, that eventually, something would work out.

Tomorrow: Celebration!

Rachel's Job Search Phase 3

Phase 3: Interviewing (The Waiting Game)

 This part of the job search process can only be described as an emotional roller coaster. With several applications out, there were the highs of invitations for phone interviews followed by the lows of cold form rejection emails. The interview part was actually easier for me than the waiting so I’ll start there. I had both phone and in person interviews and ended up being happy with all of them even though only one turned into a job. I think the reason they went so well was because of the prep work I did which included:

·         Reviewing the application materials. Remember my computer files where I saved all the documents relating to each position I applied for? Yep, those came in very handy here. I would go back and review the job description and my notes, doing some reflection on the way to see if there was anything I could add. I also reread my cover letters and any short answer responses so I was reminded of what they knew about me from my application.

·         Researching the position, office, and organization. I spent a lot of time on different department websites reading mission statements, taking note of special programs or projects, and reading about staff members. I also always looked at the bigger organization (in my case the student affairs division and the university) to know about recent important issues.

·         Reaching out to my network. I knew several people who had worked at one of the schools I applied to and sent a few emails just letting them know I had been invited for an interview and asking if they had any tips or insight. This proved invaluable in the sense of getting a real understanding of the school’s culture and values.

*Be careful with these last two. It is good to be aware and knowledgeable but not a good thing to be creepy or to misrepresent your skills, values, or abilities to get a job. You won’t be happy in the long run and hiring committees can usually tell. Always think about middle ground of what they need and what you offer.

Rachel's Job Search Continued

Phase 2: Applying (Jumping in Feet First)
 

There was no magic time when I suddenly realized I should start applying for jobs. During Fall 2010 I had found a few jobs that had seemed interesting but I always had a reason to not apply. “I could do this, but it isn’t exactly what I want,” or “It is really too early, they would probably want someone to start before I’m done with school.” One way or another, I talked myself out of submitting an application. That was until one Monday in January, when one of my good friends announced that not only had he applied for a position but he had a job offer. Uh-oh, I thought, I should probably get a little more serious about this. 

About a week later I applied for my first job. I was on the fence about applying because it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for. I had sought my mentor’s advice and she wisely reminded me that there was no harm in applying and that job searches were kind of like dating: both the interviewee and the interviewer were simply trying to figure out if they were a good fit. So the first job I applied for was an “I don’t really know if this is right for me at this point in my life” which was fine because I didn’t get invited for interview. This was not surprising in hindsight. As I explained before, this was apparently just my chance to practice writing an atrocious cover letter and to turn in a resume with the word “education” misspelled. Irony at its finest. Did I mention have your resume reviewed 8 million times by 8 million people? Also, just a tip, if you spell out your headings in all capital letters, Microsoft Word doesn’t spell check those words so you might double check all of those. 

Once I got my resume all fixed up, I also started to work my connections. A close high school friend offered to pass my resume along to an administrator at one of the colleges I was interested in. My mentors contacted old colleagues to inquire about jobs. In the oddest turn of events, my mother started up a conversation with a stranger on a plane that somehow ended up being a potential job lead. For me, none of these actually panned out in my search process out. Although, oddly enough, once I started working at WSU, some of these connections showed back up and have led to opportunities after being hired. This was a great reminder for me that my field, like most others, is very interconnected and every contact could be somebody who knows somebody.

Once I got past the hurdle of applying for that first job, the rest came much easier. Through the roughly three months (January, February, and March of 2011) of this phase, I applied for six jobs, all the while keeping the following advice in mind:

·         Apply for anything you think you might be happy with and are qualified for. Let the employer decide if you aren’t qualified enough and use the interview to determine if you are a good fit for each other.

·         Get good at seeing your transferable skills and how they relate to different positions.

·         Write a separate cover letter for each position. You might even reorganize or tweak your resume for each job depending on what you want to highlight.

·         Create a “Job Search” folder on your computer and in your email. I created a subfolder for each job and saved the job description, confirmation emails, and all of the documents (resume, cover letter) I submitted to help keep things straight.

Job Search Experience (continued)

· Getting all my ducks in a row. This was the simultaneously the hardest and easiest part for me. I relied heavily on mentors and friends to help me put these pieces together. In hind sight I probably should have used my University Career Center, but hey, hind sight is 20/20, right? The two biggest items for this were:

o Resume. I had an old resume I had used to apply to grad school and severely underestimated the time it took to add to it and spruce it up quite a bit. Once I had what I thought was the best resume ever, I had it looked over by close friends who promptly tore it to shreds. This was very hard for me and it took me awhile before I let anyone else look at it. Eventually I got my head around the fact that they were simply trying to help me make it the best possible and that it really was helpful to have several different sets of eyes on it.

   Cover letter. I didn’t write one of these until I found a job I actually applied for. This was probably a mistake as my first one was absolutely atrocious. Needless to say I did not get invited for an interview with that one. If I had it to do over again, I would have written some practice ones for jobs I was just looking at for research. After the second cover letter, I started to get the hang of it. I began printing off the job description and writing down an example of something I had done that either fulfilled the requirements or demonstrated a similar skill set. This helped tremendously in figuring out where to start and what to highlight.

This phase of the process started in August of 2010 (I graduated in May 2011). It continued all the way through the fall semester. Some of my classmates waited to start this process in the Spring and for most of them, it worked out one way or another, but those of us who started in the Fall had an easier time exploring more possibilities and were more prepared to take any opportunities that crossed our paths. By Winter Break I felt ready to get out there and by the time the Spring semester started I was in the thick of a whole new phase of the search.

Rachel's Job Search Phase I (cont)

·         Identifying what was important to me. My search was structured around my husband’s education, which meant, specifically in the Wichita area. But beyond location, I had to figure out what I wanted to do. Breaking that down into smaller categories was very helpful. Specifically, doing the Flower Exercise from the book What Color Is Your Parachute helped me list out my preferences free from job titles which helped me keep an open mind while searching.

·         Training myself to think in transferable skill sets. Again, What Color Is Your Parachute led me through some very helpful exercises in identifying these groupings and then thinking about different types of jobs I could use them in. I also took the StrengthsQuest (also called the StrengthsFinder) assessment which helped me focus in on what I was really good at. This also ended up being very beneficial when I got to the interview part of the process. But the details of that are for another day.

·         Figuring out where to search. I knew I had to search in the Wichita area, and I knew that my first preference would be to work at a University so I found all of the schools in the area. I then bookmarked the Human Resources website for each school and started checking them every other day for positions. Some of my friends used job posting boards like higheredjobs.com or careerbuilder.com but because I knew I was geographically restricted, at this early point in my search, these didn’t make much sense for me. Later I expanded my search but this was my starting place.

Job Search Continued From 11 21 11

Phase 1: Accepting Reality and Preparing (Sheer Terror)

I remember the first day of the capstone course of my master’s program. Our professor asked us to line up according to stress level in relation to how we felt about finding a job after graduation. As my classmates slowly made their way to varying places along the wall of stress, I made a B-line straight to the “can’t even articulate how anxious” end of the line.

We all struggled with getting started. Some of us felt limited by geography because of a significant other; others had no restrictions and had a hard time finding a place to start. Some of us were so concerned about landing something, anything, we were ready to take the first job no matter what it was. Others had such high expectations that they could have been offered the university president’s job and they would have turned it down because the benefits weren’t exactly what they wanted. None of us knew how salaries worked or who to address cover letters to or how to sell our experiences without overstating our abilities.

Although this stage was initially very overwhelming, once I got past the fear, this was actually the easiest part for me because it had the most pieces that I could control. I also realized that the best way to deal with all these questions was to ask. At the time I was enrolled in a Career Development class which was immensely helpful because it helped me develop not only the “props” of a job search but also forced me to do some really beneficial reflection as well. For me, the process went something like this: (to be continued tomorrow -- check back to see Rachel's process)

Story of a Job Search by Rachel Gibson

Thought it might be both helpful and interesting for you to read of someone else's job search. Helpful in terms of ideas that might be useful to you. And, interesting in terms of a "misery loves company" sort of perspective.

What follows is an introduction to part one of a series of notes I will share with you from the recent job search conducted by Rachel Gibson, our newest Career Counselor.

"I’m a planner. I attempt to anticipate and organize everything. From the minute to minute details of a vacation schedule to the color coded hangers in my closet, I like to coordinate every detail. Naturally, the thought of embarking on my very first long, confusing, overwhelming job search in which I had no control, terrified me. Although, now sitting a little more comfortably from the other side with a job, I realized I gained a lot more than just a job through the ups and downs of the process. 

As I quickly learned from talking to my classmates, every person’s experience is very different and no matter how many people are going through the same thing, there are those times where it feels like you are the only one in the world struggling. People find jobs in different ways, usually in ways that relate to their personality. Some people find jobs through connections, some through relentless determination, some through impeccable organization and planning, but all with a little bit of luck. The most important advice I could give would be to set up yourself up so that when you do find yourself in a lucky situation, you can take advantage of it. This was my experience. It is definitely by no means the “right” way to do things but I hope it gives you some ideas. At the very least I hope it gives you some comfort to know someone’ else’s process, complete with its ups and downs."

Check back in tomorrow for Phase 1 of Rachel's job search.

~jan

The Art of Networking

You've heard us say -- more than once -- in fact, lots and lots of times -- how important networking is to your job search and your career. Heck, networking is important in all of life. So, here's your chance to learn how. Oct. 26, from 5:30 to 7:00pm, Lauren Brunner-Jenkins, who works in Human Resources with Emprise Bank, will be here to walk you through the technique of networking. As if that wasn't enough, you also get the chance to practice with local employers. Call me today at 978-6834 or email jan.mead@wichita.edu and reserve your place for The Art of Networking, to be held in the Ulrich Museum of Art on Oct. 26.

Get a job!

~jan  

Job Search

Looking for a different job? Want to keep your current job until you land that new one? Want to receive a positive reference and recommendation from your existing employer? Here are a few words of advice – it’s not a good idea to look for a new job on your current employer’s time.

What does this mean? 1) Don’t include your work phone number or email address on your resume, cover letter, or application. 2) Don’t update your resume at work – or print it on office stationary. 3) Don’t search for or apply for jobs when you are at work – or supposed to be at work. If your supervisor comes to your desk to find you talking to someone about a new job, updating your resume or job search correspondence, or conducting internet searches not related to your work with him, he will probably not be happy. Say goodbye to the idea of a positive recommendation.

Another good reason not to include your work phone number or email on your resume or job search correspondence – it does not make a good impression on potential future employers. As a prospective employer, it gives me a negative vibe about you if I think someday you’re going to be looking for another job on my time.

When you are called for an interview, try to schedule it before or after work or during your lunch hour. If you can’t do either, take a vacation day or personal leave.

It all comes down to common sense, courtesy and respect for your current employer. Ask yourself how you would want to be treated if you were an employer. It is a small small world and it’s amazing how news travels far and fast. You want the news about you to be good news.

Get a job!

~Jan Mead

Change

A great poem just came my way. It's too good not to share. Here it is --


An Autobiography in Five Chapters

1) I walk down the street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I fall in.

I am lost — I am hopeless.

It isn’t my fault.

It takes forever to find a way out.

2) I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I pretend I don’t see it.

I fall in again.

I can’t believe I’m in the same place.

But it isn’t my fault.

It still takes a long time to get out.

3) I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk

I see it is there.

I still fall in — it’s a habit.

My eyes are open.

I know where I am.

It is MY fault.

I get out immediately.

4) I walk down the same street.

There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.

I walk around it.

5) I walk down a DIFFERENT street.


~Written By Portia Nelson

Ask for the Job

Want that job you interviewed for?

Let the employer know.

You assume the organization knows you want the job. Why else would you have applied and agreed to an interview? However, interviews can be very revealing. Managers want to know if you are interested in joining their organization after meeting them and learning more about the position.

How do you let the employer know you want the job?

Tell them. At the end of the interview, tell them you are very interested in the position and ask what the next steps are.

And, then, tell them again. Send a thank you note.

Get a job! Ask for it --

~jan