It's a Whole New World For Job-Hunters

Hello Everybody,

This post is going to go into detail about the first chapter in What Color is Your Parachute? 2016.

The first chapter covered a lot of different topics but I'm going to mostly focus on what stood out as the most important aspects for me, what has worked in my personal experience and what I have seen work for others.

The most difficult part for job-hunters is that they go in practically the opposite direction that employers go when looking to hire someone. The reason why this happens is that job-hunters and employers value different things. As job-hunters we value time. We know how difficult it can be to find jobs now a days, so our main concern is spending as little time as possible on each job opportunity so that we have time to apply to other positions and increase our chances for getting an ideal job. Employers value risk. The less risk the better. The less riskiness of a hire the less likely the possibility for loss time and loss of money.

• So the number one way to hire with the least amount of risk is to hire from within. I worked for 4 years at a retirement home and they were constantly providing incentives for wait staff employees to go to school so that they could become CNAs or nursing staff and promote employees from wait staff into those open positions. This worked out best because these employees already knew the campus, the residents, and the other employees. And if there was only a few CNA shifts open, these employees could lob between wait staff shifts and CNA shifts to get in all their hours. 
• The second choice to hire is using proof. This is something as a graphic designer has been engraved into my brain. I don't know how many times I've had to explain to my dad that my grades from college don't actually mean anything in the real world. A 4.0 does not mean you can actually design an effective poster. Showing a potential employer a powerful poster you designed, means you can design. Straight and simple. So whatever your skill is collect proof, make a portfolio, or act least come up with real life examples of your skills to share in the interview. Hearing a true story of how you utilized certain skills means more than you simply listing them.
• The third is using a best friend or business colleague. People take into account people they trust's opinions. Network, network, network. It might not be entirely fair but the world is all about who you know. This was how my mom was able to leave a job that was weighing her down. While she had a lot of interviews at a lost of different companies and her resume was impressive, the job that she actual was able to get only happened cause she knew an employee already at that company.
• The fourth is using an agency they trust. 
• The fifth is using an ad they have placed.
• The sixth is using a resume. When I was looking for an internship for the summer, I contacted a design firm in my town with a  thoughtful email and I attached my resume. I never heard back. I doubt they even opened the attachment. Just sending out a resume is the least effective way to get a job.

For more helpful information order your own copy of What Color is Your Parachute? 2016.

Until next time,

Caitlin Campbell