The New Hampshire statewide job fair on April 9, which resulted from a collaboration among WMUR television, Southern New Hampshire University, and the NH Department of Employment Security was one wild ride. Three to five thousand attendees were expected. By late morning 10,000 attendees had arrived, exceeding the capacity of the Athletic Center at SNHU where the fair was held. Of the 140 or so vendors which had set up shop, allegedly 1500 jobs were available. This event concretely demonstrated the current poor condition of the NH labor market. It’s deeply impacted by unemployment.
The news stories about the day and recent labor stats are dramatic enough, but my impressions are based on having volunteered to work at the fair and to see first hand who was walking through the door. I was one of six (yeah, count ’em six!) professionals who were available for resume review and who were ready to offer advice on how to best navigate the fair. The number of people desiring such assistance was huge. We could have used twice the number of volunteers for this work. We worked very hard with minimal breaks seeing as many people as we could. Although I didn’t keep a tally, I estimate that I saw about forty people that day for some intense one on one consultation. And nearly everyone had a sad story. As I write this on the weekend after, I still feel the emotional pull of the situations I encountered. They ranged from the uneducated, ill prepared with children to care for to the deeply experienced professional whose rich resume is intimidating hiring managers because of its message of over-qualification. Although displayed at various levels of intensity and desperation, the personal loss of self-reliance came through with all of the individuals with whom I spoke.
Another thing struck me quite clearly with most of these folks. It was the lack of clarity and directness they were able to communicate about what they wanted. This came through both with those who did not have and never have had a resume despite being old enough and with adequate work history and experience to have one. Here’s how I picked it up. As a fair attendee sat down for help I’d ask something to the effect of, “So what are you hoping to do?” This was before looking at their resume. In most cases, I got vague, open ended, and definitely unrehearsed responses. This then became my starting point for the interaction. “Let’s talk about developing your two-minute pitch”, I’d say.
When searching for work at any time, but especially now, it’s imperative that you be able to describe clearly who you are and what you want. Fearing that by restricting yourself to too narrow of a job-type, by thinking you may be closing too many doors, is keeping too many of you from specifying what you really want. You are not positioning yourself well if you are essentially saying to organizations, “I want a job. I’ll do anything.” You’ve got to decide in advance what kind of jobs both appeal to you and for which you are best suited.
Then, when confronting an appropriate recruiter make the two-minute pitch for the job that is available. Describe exactly the type of work you are excited about getting and back up your vision with the best description of qualifications you can muster, be they from your temperament or your skill sets. Script what you should say and rehearse it. Become comfortable and confident with a brief yet succinct and powerful delivery of what you are seeking and why you deserve it. This self-pitch should also, by the way, be reflected in the lead professional summary section of your resume.
Your chances of finding a decent job right now and for the foreseeable future are hard enough. Not being prepared to market yourself only keeps you in the crowd of job seekers, not standing apart from it.
