Wes Bucey
Prophet of Profit
Last week, I received this pm. I promised the writer I would take up the topic, but keep his/her identity confidential.
Frankly, the topic has taken me a lot longer to formulate my thoughts than almost any other I have ever written about here in the Cove.
First, I feel a lot of empathy for anyone who is unemployed or underemployed, but I think the most bone-crushing insult for young, inexperienced folks to be slapped with is, "Come back when you have some experience!" The Catch 22, of course, being there is no place to get experience if all the employers repeat the same mantra, "Come back when you have experience!"
So, how does a person with pertinent education crack the code to get that first, most important hire to get some pertinent experience? In the first part of this thread, we will talk about those folks who have credible education credits (decent school, decent reputation for the courses, decent grades.)
Later in the thread, I'll take up the special cases where the education may not be pertinent or credible.
Here's the message which triggered the thread:
First, let's recap what every employer really has in the back [or front] of his mind each time he reviews the credentials of a candidate (even before the interview stage):
"What's in it for me [and my company?]"
Rarely, and especially in a dire economic climate, does a person in charge of hiring employees have a mandate to think first about the benefit to the employee. Every focus is on value to the company, with a side focus on the allied benefits to the individual who manages to bring someone of value to the company.
Therefore, the candidate's job is first, foremost, and always, to focus on what value he CAN bring to the company, not on what he can't bring.
Note carefully I do not write about "experience as a Quality Manager" or "experience as a Quality Engineer," but on the VALUE of the candidate to the company.
My own continuing mantra about job hunting is
"Research the prospective employer to see what VALUE is needed."
For those of us with tons of experience, much of the value we offer is being able to hit the ground running, bringing a combination of skill, experience, and intelligence to bear on providing solutions to an employer. However, in many situations, I and many of my colleagues are definite "overkill" for the value an organization requires in the short term and most organizations are not willing or able to pay the prevailing full-time wage for folks with my experience and skills. They do, however, hire us on a short-term basis as consultants or contractors to fill a gap or get an organization kick-started, knowing that we and our high fees will soon be replaced with lower wage workers who can slip into maintaining an infrastructure we may have created. Organizations often hire super-experienced Certified [chartered] public accountants to set up accounting systems, but then, much lower wage workers are hired to "follow the recipe."
Similarly, mid-level chain restaurants like Olive Garden and Red Lobster hire top level, top paid chefs to create menus and recipes, but then lower-waged cooks are employed to execute the recipes on a day-to-day basis.
The problem remains, however, that many folks put in charge of hiring are not sophisticated or experienced enough to know what they really need and so they place unrealistic demands for knowledge and experience when viewing candidates. This puts the burden back on the candidate to really research a prospective employer and make a strong case for being the solution to what the employer really needs instead of what he [the employer] "thinks" he needs. It is not easy, but it can be done.
Ability, Motivation, Attitude
Inexperienced candidates have to sell a prospective employer on these three attributes (attributes, not characteristics, because they are subjective, not objective.) In selling each attribute, the candidate must find a way to connect the dots and tie each attribute of the candidate to how it will benefit the organization.
Just a brief glossary of what I mean by these three attributes:
Ability
This is what the candidate is capable of doing (math, proofreading, interpreting drawings, designing or running computer programs, etc. etc. ???)
Motivation
This is what the candidate intends to do [for example, I [Wes] can do math and computer programming, but I have no intention of ever doing it for a living] and why he wants to.
Attitude
Oddly, this is often most important to an organization, but because it is an attribute, not a characteristic, employers have not developed a yardstick to measure good attitude (the desire to perform at or above expectation EVERY time) versus bad attitude (the desire to just get by.) The candidate who can sell this attribute as a strong point is well on his way to getting hired.
In our other job threads, I wrote briefly about creating a grid of a candidate's skills and matching them to a grid of potential employers and their needs. This grid requires very careful research by inexperienced candidates because trying to sell an organization on one's skill as a software programmer is futile when what the organization really needs is someone who can interpret engineering drawings.
Above all,
don't whine and beg for a job. The kind of employer who wants a needy, whiny yes man and whipping boy is most likely NOT the kind of employer anyone wants to work for over any period of time.
State your case clearly and confidently. Follow the tips we've provided in other threads about resumes, references, and getting past gatekeepers. Job hunting is a skill. It can be learned. Failing to learn how to be effective and efficient at job hunting is dooming yourself to drifting along solely on the charity and good will of others. Even then, many unemployed folks who have been terminated from their jobs in favor of others who didn't seem as qualified fail to see the difference is primarily in how the candidate presents his case to a prospective employer.
Read through ALL the FAQ threads in this forum.
Frankly, the topic has taken me a lot longer to formulate my thoughts than almost any other I have ever written about here in the Cove.
First, I feel a lot of empathy for anyone who is unemployed or underemployed, but I think the most bone-crushing insult for young, inexperienced folks to be slapped with is, "Come back when you have some experience!" The Catch 22, of course, being there is no place to get experience if all the employers repeat the same mantra, "Come back when you have experience!"
So, how does a person with pertinent education crack the code to get that first, most important hire to get some pertinent experience? In the first part of this thread, we will talk about those folks who have credible education credits (decent school, decent reputation for the courses, decent grades.)
Later in the thread, I'll take up the special cases where the education may not be pertinent or credible.
Here's the message which triggered the thread:
I have a hunch most of our Cove readers have found themselves in a similar predicament at some point in their lives and they certainly know friends, relatives, and children of friends and relatives who are facing the same brick wall today.Good afternoon,
First I wanted to thank you for all the hard work you put into all the threads under the Occupation Discussions threads. I have read though much of the information and continue to as well.
I am a recent graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology at [deleted for confidentiality] and am currently seeking to find a position that would let me apply what I have learned and more importantly, learn so much more about being an engineer. I am currently working as a quality intern at a local power steering and fuel line production for the automotive industry. I came about this site for to research and learn as much as I could about the quality standards for the automotive industry as I had no experience with quality in my studies.
In your posts, much of the advice was geared toward people who had more relevant work experience towards the company's job description to show how they would stand out. As a recent graduate, I only have what I have learned in college as well at my current job as well as past jobs though they don't have any starting my career. My questions are how would you best advise a graduate in a job hunt? How can I stand out from people who have years of experience? Many positions have years of experience required and never sure if I should try applying even if I know I would be able to do the job well.
Sorry for the somewhat long message and would appreciate any advice.
Thank you for your time,
First, let's recap what every employer really has in the back [or front] of his mind each time he reviews the credentials of a candidate (even before the interview stage):
"What's in it for me [and my company?]"
Rarely, and especially in a dire economic climate, does a person in charge of hiring employees have a mandate to think first about the benefit to the employee. Every focus is on value to the company, with a side focus on the allied benefits to the individual who manages to bring someone of value to the company.
Therefore, the candidate's job is first, foremost, and always, to focus on what value he CAN bring to the company, not on what he can't bring.
Note carefully I do not write about "experience as a Quality Manager" or "experience as a Quality Engineer," but on the VALUE of the candidate to the company.
My own continuing mantra about job hunting is
"Research the prospective employer to see what VALUE is needed."
For those of us with tons of experience, much of the value we offer is being able to hit the ground running, bringing a combination of skill, experience, and intelligence to bear on providing solutions to an employer. However, in many situations, I and many of my colleagues are definite "overkill" for the value an organization requires in the short term and most organizations are not willing or able to pay the prevailing full-time wage for folks with my experience and skills. They do, however, hire us on a short-term basis as consultants or contractors to fill a gap or get an organization kick-started, knowing that we and our high fees will soon be replaced with lower wage workers who can slip into maintaining an infrastructure we may have created. Organizations often hire super-experienced Certified [chartered] public accountants to set up accounting systems, but then, much lower wage workers are hired to "follow the recipe."
Similarly, mid-level chain restaurants like Olive Garden and Red Lobster hire top level, top paid chefs to create menus and recipes, but then lower-waged cooks are employed to execute the recipes on a day-to-day basis.
The problem remains, however, that many folks put in charge of hiring are not sophisticated or experienced enough to know what they really need and so they place unrealistic demands for knowledge and experience when viewing candidates. This puts the burden back on the candidate to really research a prospective employer and make a strong case for being the solution to what the employer really needs instead of what he [the employer] "thinks" he needs. It is not easy, but it can be done.
Ability, Motivation, Attitude
Inexperienced candidates have to sell a prospective employer on these three attributes (attributes, not characteristics, because they are subjective, not objective.) In selling each attribute, the candidate must find a way to connect the dots and tie each attribute of the candidate to how it will benefit the organization.
Just a brief glossary of what I mean by these three attributes:
Ability
This is what the candidate is capable of doing (math, proofreading, interpreting drawings, designing or running computer programs, etc. etc. ???)
Motivation
This is what the candidate intends to do [for example, I [Wes] can do math and computer programming, but I have no intention of ever doing it for a living] and why he wants to.
Attitude
Oddly, this is often most important to an organization, but because it is an attribute, not a characteristic, employers have not developed a yardstick to measure good attitude (the desire to perform at or above expectation EVERY time) versus bad attitude (the desire to just get by.) The candidate who can sell this attribute as a strong point is well on his way to getting hired.
In our other job threads, I wrote briefly about creating a grid of a candidate's skills and matching them to a grid of potential employers and their needs. This grid requires very careful research by inexperienced candidates because trying to sell an organization on one's skill as a software programmer is futile when what the organization really needs is someone who can interpret engineering drawings.
Above all,
don't whine and beg for a job. The kind of employer who wants a needy, whiny yes man and whipping boy is most likely NOT the kind of employer anyone wants to work for over any period of time.
State your case clearly and confidently. Follow the tips we've provided in other threads about resumes, references, and getting past gatekeepers. Job hunting is a skill. It can be learned. Failing to learn how to be effective and efficient at job hunting is dooming yourself to drifting along solely on the charity and good will of others. Even then, many unemployed folks who have been terminated from their jobs in favor of others who didn't seem as qualified fail to see the difference is primarily in how the candidate presents his case to a prospective employer.
Read through ALL the FAQ threads in this forum.
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