Monthly Archives: August 2009

Job Fair Reflections

Posted on by Bill Ryan

The second state wide Job Fair and Career Expo sponsored by NH Department of Employment Security and WMUR-TV appeared to be a smooth operation. It will take some time, of course, to know how many attendees will get jobs as a result of this event. But at the last job fair in April, despite its being most known for getting overrun by too many people, it actually produced north of 350 jobs for New Hampshire citizens.

As one who volunteered to work at the fair I got only varied snapshot views. I didn’t get much time to see the employers’ booths. What I did see seemed to be heavy on commission sales jobs. I guess a job fair is a place to refill high turnover ranks. In the early morning I parked cars. I noticed right away, once folks stepped out of their cars that the crowd could be divided into two groups, those who dressed for success and those who did not. True, not every job required a coat and tie, and if your work history has been in jobs that did not require that attire, then you very well might not show up at a job fair wearing one. But on the other hand, showing up in “casual Friday” mode is not a useful tactic. Fortunately, as the day went on my admiration for the attendees increased.

I then performed resume reviews along with about five other professionals for four hours. About 35-40 people met with me looking for feedback and any advice that might give them an edge in this competitive environment. I applaud these people for sitting and waiting for a long time in order to speak with one of the reviewers. It shows a strong commitment to their job search.

However, I continue to notice that too many resumes are not showing the principle of professional branding. Good resumes need good leads that let a reader know right away who this person is and what they want to do. This simple notion still has not yet penetrated the conventional wisdom of resume writing. There are other improvement details that come up in these reviews of course, but none as important as building this paper as a self-marketing document. I also offered a presentation to about fifty people on the topic of career transition. The group was attentive and took notes more diligently than many graduate level classes that I have sat through.

Fewer people showed up to this job fair than in April. I wonder why. The unemployment picture is no better. Was it that too many thought there would be a repeat of an overwhelmed venue? Was it because many are starting to think that the Recession is coming to an end? Was it because people are starting to give up looking for a job? (Let’s hope it’s not that one!) Whatever the reason, I’m more inclined to be impressed by those who threw themselves into a hard day trying their best to navigate an uncertain event with more than 5000 others. When you are out of work and wanting to work, looking for a job is your job. Making a job search plan and pounding away at it as you would a job for which you were hired is what needs to happen.

So, to those who stick with fighting against the odds and getting themselves back up each day to try yet again, I say congratulations. The NH Job Fair and Career Expo had many of you in attendance. I really, really hope that many of you find that a satisfying job came as a result of the fair.

Working the 2nd Big NH Job Fair and Career Expo

Posted on by Bill Ryan

The second of two job fairs this year jointly sponsored by WMUR-TV and the NH Department of Employment Security is being held Thursday August 27 at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon. 150 organizations are scheduled to be there allegedly looking to fill 1100 open positions.  A large turnout is again expected as there was in April, but this time the venue should be better able to accommodate the crowd.

Job fairs like this one can be worth your time to attend. But to get the most out of going, some preparation is necessary so that you can maximize the experience. Approach this like it is a hard day at work. How you conduct yourself may make the difference between getting a job or not. Here are some do’s and don’ts that I recommend you consider prior to going to the fair.

Know who the employers and recruiters are who will be present at the fair. The WMUR site has a list at http://www.wmur.com/money/20264097/detail.html. Plan on visiting primarily those booths that matter to your hiring and career goals.

Have a well prepared resume and elevator pitch ready to present to recruiters. Both should reflect a professional job candidate who knows him or herself well and who can answer the question, “Why should we hire you?” What you do not want to do is to just drop off a resume and move on.

Research the companies, and if possible the open positions, that are available. Know the economic status and workplace culture of the company you plan to visit and be prepared to speak with their representatives in a way that shows you have done your homework.

Ask the recruiters intelligent questions that show you know about the company and that you care enough to have researched them. However, now is not the time to ask about salaries and benefits.

Display a professional demeanor. Refer to the recruiter by name and have good eye contact and a firm handshake. Dress appropriately. And at the risk of sounding like your mother, don’t fidget with your hair or say “um” and “you know” a lot, and don’t forget to smile. These things do matter!

If you are recently out of college, be prepared to talk about your GPA. If it is less than 3.0, then hopefully you can refer to a higher GPA earned in your major.

Even if a company is hiring outside of your field, it may still be worth networking with the recruiter to see if they represent a company that may be worth tracking for future opportunities.

At the very least, this is a time to practice your presentation with a recruiter. Do not let them intimidate you. They actually like speaking with potential employees. That is why they are there.

Use the time at the fair to network, network, network… and not only with just recruiters. Mix it up with other job seekers and any other professionals with whom you come into contact.

It is not a good idea to go on with recruiters about how bad your last job was or the philosophical issues you had with previous colleagues. Also, don’t take the stance of being desperate even though that is probably how you feel. Saying that you’ll do “… anything, anything, just please give me job!” rather than presenting yourself as qualified for something specific is not good form.

Even though we seem to be entering the mixed blessing of a jobless economic recovery do not be too discouraged to pick yourself up and throw yourself into this and other job fairs. I’ll be there to do resume reviews along with a workshop entitled Career Transitions from 2:30-3:25. I hope to see some blog readers there.

Best of luck to you!

What We Share With Ireland

Posted on by Bill Ryan

My wife and I recently returned to New Hampshire from a ten-day vacation to County Galway in Ireland. While there I wanted to get a sense of how the global economic decline was impacting the Irish. The news has been that they have been experiencing their own boom and bust story and I wanted to see how it may be similar or different from our own. I found that we share much that is troubling.

Historically, Ireland has not been known as an affluent country. In many ways it never seemed to shake its reputation of being a poor country from which millions escaped potato blight and the oppression of the English. Here in America, the Irish immigrants seemed to be more known for scruffiness and drunkenness until President Kennedy’s presence helped to polish their image.

Then, during the 1990’s we started hearing of a different tale coming out of Ireland. An Irish economic emergence, which was to become known as the Celtic Tiger, was recognized worldwide. Suddenly, we heard that more young people were walking the streets of Dublin with cell phones glued to the sides of their heads than were youth in New York City. Multinationals and major American firms were setting up shop. Apple, for example, established its European headquarters in Ireland. A well respected educational system combined with strong national pride had led Ireland to be a major player in software, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries. Property values, commercial development, and the overall standard of living began to increase.

Even the brutal politics of the North softened as Sein Fein and Unionists decided to oppose each other free of violence. Musically, the Chieftains moved over to make room for Riverdance and Celtic Women. Western Europe’s poorest country had suddenly become chic.

But along with much of the western world, Ireland’s economy began to sour, and precipitously. Last Autumn they, along with Iceland, had hit a brick wall. The Celtic Tiger era seemed to grind to a sudden halt. It didn’t take being in the country long by reading newspapers and speaking to the very open and chatty residents to see what had happened. Their story sounded familiar, albeit with a different accent.

The banks had over-speculated on property, construction, and commercial development. The largest banks, for example Associated Irish Banks (AIB) suddenly found 25% of their assets distressed. In order to remain solvent, commercial and residential lending needed to be sharply reduced or curtailed. The big national debate now is about the necessity of the government’s National Asset Management Agency (Nama) plan, which is their version of a bank bailout complete with all of the controversy we see here. Unemployment is rising and the youngest generation of workers is getting their lesson in impermanence by having to tighten belts for the first time in their lives.

So, what do I take from this dual sob story? It is that ordinary citizens have been alerted to the high impact which can result from the interaction of banks and real estate on everyone’s lives. These high stake business relationships can greatly affect the lives of people many degrees removed the principal players. Both Irish and Americans citizens are appropriately asking themselves whether or not greater oversight and regulation should be asserted to those in the banking industry and the politicians they report to.

If a bad decision hurt just themselves that would be one thing, but unfortunately their bad decisions can create black holes into which we all get sucked. The result of actions taken by unelected and enormously influential banking representatives has been economic calamity, especially in higher unemployment. Should not the people have a say in the possible negative outcomes of their decisions, which are contrary to our respective national interests?

Americans share much with the Irish both culturally and economically. And although it is not realistic to expect boom times to go on forever, it is nevertheless reasonable to expect business, especially a wide ranging one like banking, to be mindful of what is best for their respective nations. If they cannot regulate themselves in that endeavor, then someone will need to step in and do it for them.

The Most Important Decision of Your Life

Posted on by Bill Ryan

An unfortunate piece of legacy wisdom regarding career development suggests that it is very important that a young adult make their just-out-of-school career choice extremely carefully or else they may inflict irreparable harm to their future. Imagine feeling that such a weighty life/work decision, like what to do for the rest of your life, needs to be made by someone who has no significant employment experience. Talk about pressure!

Aside from quick thinking action-adventure movie heroes with lightening quick reflexes, most of us, particularly those just beginning adulthood, do not make the most high quality decisions under extreme stress. For big life decisions, like determining a career direction, there needs to be time and guidance to assess options, weigh benefits and risks, and in short, apply a rational process that results in a decision, which hopefully leads to success. The reality is we are transitioning from a world in which career choice was a onetime monumental decision to a world in which career is now comprised of iterations that are unified by a multi-faceted and dynamic theme. 

I am from the much-ballyhooed Baby Boomer generation. Among the unique traits that we possess is that we are probably the last generation in which large numbers of us will have worked our entire careers in one job or industry, perhaps even with just one single employer. Boomers have gone from hip to dinosaurs in thirty quick years. 

Well, so it goes. But among the rapidly outdated notions we still possess and which we should be increasingly hesitant to pass along to young people is the one professing this up-and-coming cohort should approach career decision making the way we did. Not only is the pressure non-productive and unhelpful, but unnecessary. 

Initial career steps are more like speed boats in a relay race, not slow-moving ocean liners. Careers, like life itself, are fluid, changeable, and developmental. We progress and we grow. Choosing a career at the onset of your working years is essentially choosing an uncharted journey, one in which the routes are yet to be planned and the ultimate destination is unclear. 

Now, that is not to say that there are not some major decisions in life that have some relative permanency. Marriage, parenting, vocations of high dedication, like for example becoming a priest, are commitments which also see growth and change, but within well-defined parameters. A career is not this. Its structure over time is much more set by you, as opposed to for you by tradition or antiquated rules. You are completely in charge of this piece of your destiny. 

This is the message Boomer parents and grandparents should be getting out to young people. It starts with asking children and adolescents if what they are thinking, feeling, and how they are behaving is working for them. And as they approach their robust individuation years, helping them to see how the person they are becoming can best interact with the big wide world. 

We are all better off knowing viscerally that we will always be building on what was built by ourselves at an earlier time. Also, a helpful message and attitude is that there really is no sharp distinction between life and career. We don’t dive into one to escape from the other. What we do is who we are. 

So, let us adjust the way we prepare youth for career decision making. Let us make the point that what is most important is adaptability, experimenting, and continuous learning, not how expert one is at predicting what will make them happy for the rest of their lives. Helping to prepare our young people for the world to come, rather than the world being left behind, is a valuable gift to leave the next generation.