A down economy brings one thing to most everyone’s career path: change. Whether it’s learning new skills for the same job or searching for a different one, these added work pressures can be especially hard on people who have been in their job for 20+ years. Rather than wind down or hit their stride, they have to start over or take it up a notch.

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

The Recession has created massive competition for the fewer jobs that become available, and it’s graduates that are paying the price. Lack of experience in industry seems like an obvious reason why graduates are not offered job placements, but surprisingly, this is not the primary reason (according to a survey of 200 recruiting managers in the US, UK and South Africa).

I recently polled 200 recruiting managers for their opinions on why graduates don’t get jobs. I was amazed at the results – as you will be. Lack of experience IS NOT the main reason. Here are the TOP 5 reasons why:

1. Anti-social tendencies – according to the poll, anti-social tendency is one of the top 5 reasons why employers are not giving graduates a start to their career. One recruiting manager, ‘Big’ George Papadopoulos in London, UK, said that “… when I get a bunch of graduates together, it is often like being on the set of Jackass .” The opinion is that graduates have been so used to living without the constraints of organizational standards that their behaviors often conflict with corporate norms. This is a big risk for recruiting managers, and they would rather stay away. It wasn’t just behaviors; many respondents cited problems with dress standards, even in the more ‘liberal’ of organizations. Some mentioned ‘highly  inappropriate t-shirts’ and ‘shocking hairstyles’.

   What can be done? If you are a graduate currently struggling to gain employment, is it possible that you exhibit anti-social tendencies that might offend others? In a world of free-speech and liberal attitudes (for the most part) changing yourself to ‘conform’ might seem a backwards step but I wonder if trialling changes as an experiment would pay off? This is a personal thing, but take note what recruiting managers are saying.
   

2. New-skool vs old-skool – over 50% of recruting managers polled described situations where graduates could not integrate well into environments that could be described as ‘behind the times’ in some areas. In other words, those organizations who were not at the leading-edge of technology adoption, e.g. in the use of social networking. It was said by several respondents that ‘digital natives’ face big challenges when working inside an organization that is not as technically dynamic as that in their university.

   What can be done? If you’re a student who takes current technology trends for granted, then it’s possible that you will face organizations who haven’t caught up yet. This is the reality of the business world. In these instances, I think you have a choice whether to wait and find an organization that does use digital technology in their core business, or join a lagging organization and use your influence and experiences to help them move on and adopt, at a risk to yourself that they will always be behind the times. This  is your choice.

3. Your mobility -  I was somewhat surprised by this one. Over 30% of respondents said that in these times, training and development budgets must yield the greatest value to their organizations. This should have always been the case, but in tought times,training budgets have been severely cut. The result: employers are reluctant to train and develop graduates who become increasingly mobile towards other employment. It’s a case of confidence (or lack of ) in graduates’ commitment.

   What can be done? If you’re a graduate who has dreams of hitting the big-time, then beware of the signals you may be giving away during your interviews. Employers want to see commitment for their training investment. You need to demonstrate that you are fully committed to your potential employer (in the mid-term at least) to avoid a rebuff.

4. Communication – the ‘language of youth’ has always been a step apart from that of the older generation. When this language is used in interviews, it often leads to confusion! It’s a simple fact that recruiters struggle to understand graduates who use this language. Marion, an IT recruitment manager in Fresno, CA, described a situation like this: “In an interview once, a graduate talked with such slang that I had to frequently ask for clarification about what was said, even on the simple stuff. It took me over 10 minutes to understand what subjects the graduate had studied. In an organization, this kind of language creates major communication gaps and would be entirely disfunctional. ‘

   What can be done? Perhaps a simple one to fix (perhaps not, but it’s something that can be learned). In interviews, use language that is simple and slang-free. The oldies won’t understand you otherwise. (OK, this maybe their problem in fact, but it’s your livelihood and future prospects you are putting on the line if you don’t!)

5. Commitment to yourself – this is perhaps a tough one where there is no easy solution. Respondents with many years of experience in employing graduates told of their stories where they had secured hot young recruits who could really hit the big time, only for the recruits to leave shortly afterwards once they realized the industry ‘wasn’t for them’. Truth is, many people turn away from the industry that they have studied in once they realize that it wasn’t what they expected. This was a problem in the 80s and 90s when IT graduates entered an industry that had moved on from the subjects they studied. There were not graduate courses on the Internet at that time.

   What can be done? My take on this is that this is the right thing to do. If you’re a graduate disengendered by the industry you had passion for as a student, then you’re much better to move on than prolong your misery. If you haven’t yet begun your career in your chosen subject, then I recommend that you take an internship to gain experience and learn about the industry to see if it suits you, or connect and network with people who are already working in the industry to learn what it is really like.

Heart-Break!

So many grads dreams have been shattered when they discovered that the employment opportunities they expected to come to THEM haven’t appeared. If jobs do materialize, they’re often the jobs that any Tom, Dick or Harriet can walk in off the street and begin. It is a heart-break!

I’ve found this really great book called College Grad Job Hunter: Insider Techniques and Tactics for Finding A Top-Paying Entry-level Job which is an expert guide on starting your career with the job you expected to land, before you graduated. It’s over 300 pages, and it’s jam-packed with the kind of advice I think adds value – not just the stuff you can view for free in blogs. The ‘insider techniques’ focus on building your resume, your job search and interviewing, and it’s all in-depth and throughly laid out.

Are YOU a Graduate Struggling to Find Employment?

Do you recognize any of these observations in yourself? Or maybe you don’t, and you’re STILL struggling to get that first job of your career. Leave a comment to tell us about YOUR story…

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.

If you’ve just been laid off, or are in the process of it, you’re probably shocked and worried. If not, maybe you know someone who is. The probability of either case is growing. Yikes! What if I could give you some some practical steps to turn the situation around? Here are 7 things to do to turn your situation around and get yourself right back into employment.

1) Firstly, don’t panic! This is very important – here’s why. When panic sets in, all sorts of things happen. People in panic behave irrationally and do strange things. This is a time for a level head and some calculated action. The worst outcome is to make matters worst by doing something you will later regret. I’ve known several people go into a panic state; one friend of mine booked himself onto a training course at the cost of $4,000 (paid out of his severance pay check) – he didn’t need the course and it was a waste of precious funds. Another got herself onto a pyramid selling scheme and lost over $10,000! Both of these people are typically rational people (much more than myself!)

2) Next thing to do is to take a break. I don’t mean a coffee break, but a proper leave from the shock of your layoff. You’ll need this time to set some things into action, but also not set too high expectations of yourself. You’ve had a trauma and you really need some time to get over it. You should give yourself a week or two.

3) At the start of your break, go get a lined, hard-backed book. A leather-bound one would be a nice investment. You will need this to write down your to-do list, and notes you will need to take, and journal your next journey.

4) Now you need to give yourself some actions to take over your break. There are some housekeeping activities to undertake, as well as beginning your job-search. Here are the tasks you should aim to complete before you move on:

• Notify and negotiate with any debtors you own money to, such as your mortgage company. You need to get your debts under control, and it starts with informing those organizations about your new situation.
• You’ll need to work out how much of your severance (if you received one) you will be committing to paying off debts, and how much you’ll reserve for running capital. My advice is to always pay off as much debt as you can afford. There is a simple financial fact that debts are always more expensive than your gain in savings. So if you can, pay off credit card bills and short-term loans. Get them out of the way so you can budget for your next phase of job-seeking. I also advise to reserve enough capital for 3 months.
• Write up a list of other domestic jobs you have been putting off. Why? Well this list will be your back-up of tasks if you run out of time, energy or inclination to apply to your job-search. What you’re looking to do is to not be idle! A sustained completion of your domestic jobs will keep you busy, avoid moping, and boost your confidence when the jobs are complete.
• This is the more nitty-gritty stuff now. You should now be looking at your next term of employment, and what you want (and don’t want) from it. I urge you to write a list of things you like and didn’t like about your previous job (being as objective as possible) and add on a list of things you do want, and don’t want, from your next job. Once you have this list, sit on it for a day or two and revise if necessary.
• Looking at your want and don’t want list, now consider if you want to continue doing the same type of job, or if a different job is more suitable. Write a list of job types/roles you are keen to do next. This is a great opportunity to take a ‘course-correction’ in your career and pursue the roles that will bring more fulfilment and happiness. You could consider taking on freelance work and the lifestyle that goes with it, or conversely, go permanent following a stint of freelancing.
• Once you have your list of roles, consider alternative roles that are on the same vein. For example, if you are keen to continue your role as a Unix administrator, could you turn your hand to becoming a Microsoft administrator? Although the technology is different, many of the management practices, processes and activities are very similar. Try to avoid pigeon-holing yourself into a technology, but instead consider what job-family you want to join. Much less percentage of ‘work’ is done on a specific technology than you might think.

5) Before you begin your job-search, you need to make sure your personal marketing is top-notch. You’ll want to capitalize on every opportunity that comes your way! The kinds of things I mean are:

• Dust off your resume and get it updated. See my post ‘9 Highly Effective Habits of Great Technical Resume Writers’ to see how to create a kick-ass resume
• Your resume is still important, but it is just one tool in your arsenal. Your social profile is very important in today’s business climate. So you’ll need to register (or update) your LinkedIn profile and get your experience, interests and skills in there. Take a look at ‘Make Your LinkedIn Profile Really Stand Out’ to learn more.

6) The next step to take is to engage your network of contacts and tell people that you’re available. Tell as many people as you can! This step can really pay off as it’s much easier to get counsel and a sniff of job opportunities from people you know. Don’t just look at this as a means of learning about job opportunities; instead use your network to get feedback on your experiences, opinion on the kinds of roles you are suitable for, and general support and wisdom about beginning your job search. Why is step at #6 and not earlier? Well the reason is that if you do get wind of an opportunity from your network, you need to be ready to pounce on it. And to be ready, you need to have prepared yourself using steps 1-5. You’ll need your resume, your profile, and a firm understanding of the roles you are looking for, and not looking for. Otherwise, you could lose those opportunities, and worse still, piss off a contact.

7) The sooner you get on with your job-search, the better. But only once you are ready! The approach you will take depends on how much time you can buy yourself financially. If you have a couple of months, then I suggest you start with a very targeted campaign. To begin with, I thoroughly recommend you use the method I discussed in my post ‘How To Search The Invisible Job Market’ to find the jobs in the companies you want to work for. This takes a little longer but the outcome will be far better. If time is of the essence, then you have to get your foot back into the workplace as soon as you can, and build your career back up from there. Therefore, I recommend you follow the method I described in my recent post ‘7 Essential Steps To START an IT Career in a Recession’. Sure, you’re not STARTING your career, but you are starting from a similar position of needing to get gainful employment. This isn’t a desperate tactic – it’s a means of laying solid foundations to build from. Does this go against advice I gave above? I don’t think so. Sure, you might take a job on that isn’t in a role you want, but the job is an opportunity to get there. So I strongly suggest that if you do take on a job that isn’t ideal, that you talk to your employer BEFORE you accept the job about your plans and ambitions, and check that the path of progression is a viable option.

Here ends the list. Follow these 7 steps immediately after your layoff and you’ll be giving yourself the best chance of getting right back on your career track.

Before you go, I just wanted to share a comment from a good friend of mine, Andy Shultz, who was laid off three weeks ago from his Web Developer job:

When I learned about my layoff, it was a shock. I can remember the adrenalin rush and to disbelief. It took me over a week to come to terms with the feeling off loss. It wasn’t just losing the job or the income – I lost friends at work and the feeling of belonging to something. I had to turn it around, quickly, as I am heavily in debt with my mortgage. Thankfully I hooked up with Simon and he helped me work a plan which has turned my attitude and feeling of loss around, and now I am looking to a bright future! – Andy

More posts which will help you in your new journey!

• How To Land Top Jobs by Distinguishing Yourself
• How To Search The Invisible Job Market
• 5 Tips for beating recession in technical roles
• Your Career Checklist During The Global Financial Crisis
• Five Self-Marketing Tips for Information Technology Employees

©2012 SimonStapleton.com. All Rights Reserved.