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Chapter 18: Landing the Job

The Job Market: What Can a Young Person Do?

Just a few years ago, young people expected to earn millions in Internet jobs and retire by 30. Young people were in demand-and they were demanding: "Challenge me." Because of the labor shortage, companies were forced to hire anyone they could. Young people got lots of offers, and they attributed this to their own brilliance. In reality, it was just the economy.

The market comes and goes. Sometimes young people are in demand. Other times, companies decide to cut back younger workers (last hired, first fired) or not hire them at all.

What Can a Young Person Do?
Young people need to job-search the way the rest of us do: Be more expansive. Young people need to contact firms that are off the beaten path. Here are a few other tips:

Don't just go after the companies of your dreams. Make an A list, a B list, a C list. Get offers from all of them. This increases the chances of getting a dream job.
Follow up using letters and phone calls. Let employers know you are really interested.
Get real work experience throughout your college years. Anyone who just works at summer camp for 4 years is unlikely to get a good job after graduation.
Look for paid work if you need it. Some students can take unpaid internships, but most have to work real jobs for real money.
Look and dress seriously.
Don't just chase the money. Pay your dues; think long term; build a career.
Don't go into investment banking just because your parents want you to or all your friends are.
Don't use your age (young or old) as an excuse. Maybe the problem is something else. Try to figure out what it is.

The Top 10 Résumé Rules

When it comes to an actual job prospect, you should assume that you have one shot and one shot only. The possibility of a second chance is remote. Your résumé is your first and best shot at getting attention. That said, here are 10 golden rules that will present your résumé in the best possible light.

White paper only. People who are attracted to "rainbow" colors may choose to reproduce their résumés on tangerine, violet, or shocking pink paper. Unfortunately, shocking pink could shock a prospective employer. Is it worth the risk? Obviously not.
Keep it short. Unless you're a Nobel Laureate or hold patents on hundreds of inventions, restrict your résumé to one page. You'd be surprised by how much you can pack into one page (and chances are you don't have that much to pack yet).
Proofread. Your résumé must be 100 percent free of errors. If a word is misspelled or out of sequence, that will be the first thing people focus on. Don't rely on your computer's spell checker to catch your errors.
Do not mention salary. Salary requirements do not belong on a résumé. Reserve such discussion for when you actually get a job offer.
Don't try to be funny. We can't imagine life without a healthy dose of humor, but there's a time and a place for everything. A résumé is neither the time nor the place for humor.
Leave off personal references. Do not include the names of any personal references. You may include the phrase "references on request" at the bottom of your résumé, if you wish, or you could dispense with references altogether.
Don't forget your contact information. Believe it or not, some people neglect to include their contact information on their résumé and only show it on the cover letter. Make sure the information appears on both.
No photographs, please. An amazing phenomenon occurs when you put a photograph on a résumé-it immediately takes on the look of those "Most Wanted" flyers you see at the post office.
Do not use the title "Résumé" at the top of the page. Everybody knows what it is-you don't have to announce it. Your name and contact information is quite enough.
Tell the truth. Some people cannot resist the impulse to embellish the truth, and so they pad their résumés with little white lies. Other people see the résumé as an opportunity to write fiction in a big way and tell outrageous lies. Just make sure that if you say something on your résumé, you can back it up.

The Cover Letter

Before a prospective employer even gets to your résumé, he or she is going to see your cover letter. If the cover letter is not as appealing as it should be, then it's unlikely that the employer is going to be motivated enough to turn to your résumé. Therefore, you have to find a way to turn your cover letter into an invitation to read further, rather than a stumbling block to get around.

Here are some good ideas with regard to cover letters:

Always personalize it. Nothing turns people off faster than receiving a letter with an impersonal salutation. Such salutations as Dear Sir or Madam or To whom this may concern have no place in a cover letter. Find out the name and title of the person who should be receiving your letter, and address it accordingly.
Say not what the company can do for you, but what you can do for the company. Some people write cover letters from the angle of what they can get out the company. A better take on the assignment is to put it in terms of what you can do for them. That's something that might actually interest a prospective employer.
Be consistent with your résumé. Use the same paper and fonts as your résumé.
Restrict yourself to one page. There is absolutely no reason why your cover letter should extend beyond a page. It should essentially consist of three targeted paragraphs: (1) why you're writing; (2) what you have to offer; and (3) what your course of action will be following the letter. End with a proactive statement.
Let your e-mail serve as your cover letter. If you are submitting a résumé electronically, your e-mail will suffice as a cover letter. There is no need to attach a separate cover letter.
Proofread. The same rules apply here as with the résumé-don't trust your own eyes or your computer's spell checker. Get a second and third reading from friends, family, teachers, or a professional service.
Avoid humor. Again, this is neither the time nor the place for jokes. Stay serious, but be aware of the line between professional and impersonal. Keep your tone friendly and to the point, and hope for the best.
Do not staple. The résumé and the cover letter should never be stapled together.

Starter Business Wardrobe

Dressing for success is an idea as old as business itself, and so is the basic business look. A professional appearance is based on being well-groomed and appropriately dressed for the occasion. Clothes are your packaging. It is what people see first, but dressing for success is not all about clothes for you if you don't have the self-confidence, the poise, and the positive self-image, you won't wear the clothes well.

The following is just a guideline. You will want to take into account your own style and expression, as well as your company's dress code.

STARTER BUSINESS WARDROBE
	Men	Women
Suits	2	2
Jackets/Blazers	2	2
Pants	3	-
Shirts/Blouses	10	5-8
Dresses	-	3
Skirts	-	3-5

Colors and Their Meanings

Clothing is a visual language. Style and color are the words of that language. Color is the most important variable in the clothing language. When you are dressed, ninety percent of your body is covered with color. Fifty-five percent of our messages are received visually.

Using color effectively is an art. Use these color principles as a guideline, and try to develop the expertise to use color effectively.

Basic Business Colors and Their Meanings
DEEP RED	Vitality and interest in people (forceful, impossible to ignore, color of both love and anger)
NAVY	Honesty, sincerity, and loyalty (reliable)
WHITE	Status and purity of intentions (focuses attention to face)
BLACK	Control
GRAY	Business professionalism and success
BROWN	Personal warmth and stability (security)

Rules for Using Color

The eye will always be drawn to the lightest color in a color combination.
Light attracts and makes an object "move" forward and appear larger.
Dark retreats and makes an object "move" backward and appear smaller.

Color does four things in business dress:

draws attention to the face
makes garment appropriate/inappropriate
implies rank in organization
expresses personal qualities

Accent colors are used in very small amounts to personalize business messages.

Before the Interview

The interview is your big chance to impress someone who has the authority to approve you or give you a job. Because people know that interviews are so important, they get nervous. To minimize your nervousness and increase your self-confidence, prepare yourself for the interview beforehand. Here are some suggestions that will help you arrive at an interview well prepared.

Do some research about the company. Get information about what it does, sells, etc. Be ready to answer questions about the company history.
Do some research about the job. Make sure you understand the duties and responsibilities of the position.
Be ready to explain why your experiences and skills qualify you for the job. It is a good idea to practice this beforehand.
Be prepared to answer the questions that almost always come up. A list of commonly asked interview questions can be found in this section of The Complete Student Online Companion.
Be prepared to handle discriminatory questions. Although employers cannot legally ask certain kinds of questions, sometimes they do. Be prepared to answer directly or with a way to return the interview to its proper focus: the requirements of the job.
Make sure you are well groomed and that your clothing is appropriate. In general, it's better to dress on the conservative side because it projects a professional image.
Bring several copies of your résumé, a pen, and a small notebook. You may want to jot down some notes.
Be prepared to take one or more tests. You will probably be notified beforehand if you are expected to take an aptitude test, skills test, medical exam, or drug test.
Know exactly where the interview is and how to get there. Plan to get there 10 minutes early to collect yourself.

Getting ready for an interview is a lot like getting ready for an exam or even a first date. The more you prepare, the less nervous you will feel, and the better you will do.

From Reaching Your Potential: Personal and Professional Development, 3rd edition by Robert K. Throop and Marion B. Castellucci. Copyright © 2004 Thomson Delmar Learning, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. All rights reserved.

Preparing for Interview Questions

Your interview could last 20 minutes or it could last 2 hours. An interview that goes long is usually a good sign. Luckily you have some control over the length of the interview-by keeping conversation flowing. One of the keys to doing this is practicing commonly asked interview questions beforehand. The following is a list of questions you might encounter. The Web Links for this section has additional resources, including how to answer such questions. For now, ask yourself these questions and consider writing down and practicing your responses.

What do you know about our company?
Why would you leave your current position?
Tell me about yourself and your past experience.
Describe a time when you have been very motivated.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Give me an example of a project you handled from start to finish.
Tell me about a time when you had to learn a new program or system.
What experience have you had that qualifies you for this position?
How would your boss describe you and your work style?
How would you describe your personality?
Tell me about your most important/proudest accomplishment.
How would you rate your communication skills?
Read any good books/seen any good movies lately?
Do you prefer to work independently or as part of a team?
What appeals to you about this position and/or this company?
What are some aspects of your present (or most recent) position that you like?
What are some aspects of your present (or most recent) position that you dislike?
What do you see yourself doing 5 or 10 years from now?
What does success mean to you? How do you judge it?
How do you cope with pressure?
What types of things make you angry? How do you react?
What important goals have you set in the past, and how successful have you been in working toward their accomplishment?
In what ways do you think you can make a contribution to our department?
What are your salary expectations?
Do you have any questions?

Post-Interview Self-Evaluation

After each job interview, take a few minutes to evaluate your performance. Look at yourself through the interviewer's eyes and rate yourself on the following points:

Appearance-This includes health, grooming, hygiene, posture, dress, and social graces.
Verbal presentation and nonverbal signals-This includes your tone, grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary.
Honesty-Tell the truth. Remember you're selling yourself. Say what you can do, but remember you can't do everything.
Determination-A willingness to tackle a job and get it done, and take on responsibility.
Self-confidence-Self-confidence is an important trait. Believe in yourself. Program yourself for success. Develop a feeling of importance.
Imagination-Use your imagination in turning your weak points into strengths. Focus on your assets and counter your weaknesses with them.
Manners-This includes your attitude, enthusiasm, friendliness, tact, as well as social graces.
Attitude-Your state of mind-a positive mental attitude. Be interested in what is going on around you.

If you evaluate yourself after each interview, you will learn from each experience. You will get better and better at making a good impression in an interview.

Negotiating Your Compensation Package

Most job hunters hear the offer and then either accept it or reject it. This is not negotiating. If you have never negotiated a package for yourself, you need to practice. Why not try to get some offers that don't even interest you, just so you can practice negotiating the salary? Here are some hints to get your started:

Know the company's and the industry's pay scales.
Know what you want in a negotiation session, and know what you are willing to do without. Negotiate one point at a time. Negotiate base pay first and then the points the employer would easily agree to. Save for last the issues of conflict. Be prepared to back off, or not even bring up, issues that are not important to you.
You are both on the same side. Each of you should want a deal that works now and works later-not one that will make either of you resentful.
Care-but not too much. If you desperately want the job-at any cost-you will not do a good job of negotiating. You must convince yourself, at least for the time you are interviewing, that you have alternatives.
Try to get the company to state the first bid. If they say: "How much do you want?" You say: "How much are you offering?" If pressed about your prior salary, either say instead what you are looking for or be sure to include bonus and perks. Some include an expected bonus or increase in salary.
If your prospective employer makes you an unacceptable offer, talk about the job. Look disappointed and say how enthusiastic you are about the position, the company, and the possibility of doing great things for this manager. Say everything is great, and you can't wait to start-but your only reservation is the compensation. Ask what can be done about this.

Be reasonable. As the saying goes: Bulls win, and bears win, but pigs never win.

Starting Out on the Right Foot in Your New Job

Starting out on the right foot in your new job can be tricky: You are on board, but the jury is still out on you. It is a time of trial. You are being watched to see if you work out. Here are some things you need to do to start out on the right foot and keep moving in the right direction.

Before You Start
Say thank you. Contact all the people who helped you get the new position. Often people don't make this effort because they feel they'll be in the new job for a long time. But today, when the average American changes jobs every 4 years (or less), the odds indicate you're going to change jobs again soon. You need to keep up those contacts.

Right Away

Don't fix things or do anything big for the first 3 months. Take time to learn the system, the people, and the office culture. You cannot possibly understand, in those first months, the implications of certain decisions you make.
Make yourself productive immediately. Do things that are safe.
Introduce yourself to everybody. Be visible-walk around and meet people as soon as possible, including those who work for you.
Don't make friends too fast. Someone who befriends you right away could also be on the way out. Get to know everybody, and then decide with whom to get closer.

In the First Three Months

Learn the corporate culture. People new to jobs lose those jobs often because of personality conflicts rather than lack of competence.
Learn the organizational structure-the real structure, not the one that is drawn on the charts. Find out who relates how with whom, who knows what, who thought of this project, who is important. You could be surprised.
Pay attention to your peers. Your peers can prove as valuable to you as your boss and subordinates. Encourage them to talk to you.
Don't set up competition. Everyone brings something to the mix and should be respected for their talent, no matter what their level. Find ways to show your respect by asking for other people's input on projects that require their expertise.
Set precedents you want to keep. If you start out working 12-hour days, people come to expect it of you-even if no one else is doing it. When you stop, people wonder what's wrong.
Set modest goals for your own personal achievement and high goals for your department. Make your people look good and you will, too.

Three Months and Beyond

Continue to develop contacts outside the company. If you need information for your job, sometimes the worst people to ask are your boss and the people around you. A network is also a tremendous resource to fall back on when your boss is busy-and you will seem resourceful, smart, and connected.
Keep a hero file for yourself, a hanging file where you place written descriptions of all your successes. If you have to job hunt in a hurry, you'll be able to recall what you've done. You can also use it if you stay. If you want anything, whether it be a raise or a promotion or the responsibility for a particular project, you can use the file to build a case for yourself.
Keep managing your career. Don't think, "I'll just take this job and do what they tell me," because that might take you off your course for success. Remember where you were heading and make sure your career keeps going that way. Be proactive in moving toward your goal. Take on lots of assignments. If a project comes up that fits your long-term plan, do it. If one doesn't fit your plan, you can do it or you can say, "Oh, I'd love to do that, but I'm really busy." Make those kinds of choices all the time.

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