Q: Dear Dr. Culp, I am frustrated beyond belief at the soul-destroying task of finding employment. After four and a-half years as a receptionist with general office duties, I found myself without work when the company split. I found another job, only to lose that one with a co-worker in March because of 'job elimination.' I have spent three months diligently searching Internet sites and newspaper advertisements, and replying to about 79. I received three interviews, but they didn't work out. Is this the 'American Dream?' We're about to sell our furniture and my wedding band to pay the rent. Does anyone need typing I could do at home? -- Blind-sided
A: Dear Blind-sided, You were, indeed, to the realities of the American workplace. Jobs have become very unstable here, disappearing when replaced by a machine or blended into another job. When the situation improves, some employers hire people back.
Go to temporary agencies right now to find work. Look for one that will multiply your skill set through new training. Take assignments that will teach you something new. Ask your agency/agencies what they think you'll learn on an assignment that you don't already know. Could you ultimately become a paralegal? People are discriminated against for all kinds of reasons. Banish those thoughts and strive to increase your skill bank. A full-time job will fall into your lap. -- mlc
LACK OF CLARITY
Q: Dear Dr. Culp, Please take a look at my resume and cover letter. I want to change careers. I am service-oriented and love research, teaching, and problem-solving. I have focused my efforts on project management, management, and administrative positions and have had my resume professionally done -- twice. Still, I get almost no interview offers. Can you help? -- Disheartened
A: Dear Disheartened, Your resume reflects that you know what you've done but that your vision for the future is blurred. It uses a hackneyed phrase -- "A challenging position with opportunities for growth." What kind of work is (BEGIN ITAL)that(END ITAL)? Then you require readers to wade through massive detail, at which point they arrive -- guess how -- even less focused than you seem.
Make it easy for everyone! Develop a single objective that tells readers what kind of work and company you seek, what type of company, and what benefit you bring. Short of that, draw two parallel lines from the left to right margin and insert three departments suited to your interests and experience. Put an asterisk, bullet or dash between them. If you can't do one of these right now, research the types of careers that fit your background. -- mlc
**blogTip**
INATTENTION
E-mails are so easy for most people to write that they can't imagine how anyone could truly blow one. An error here, an error there and your problem surfaces within the details. Then there's the out-to-lunch syndrome.
Joseph Carribis of NextStage Evolution (nextstageevolution.com), a marketing research company, tells the story of a man at a consulting firm who received a request for a quote for services. He routinely included his wife in decisions; so he sent it to her, again, doing what he always did. "He placed at the top of the e-mail 'I love you,'" Carrabis reports.
All went well until he discovered that the e-mail went out to the potential client. "He sent (the client) an apology and admitted he was laughing about it," Carribis says. The discussion ended there.
Inattention and impropriety -- why did he admit to laughing? -- cost him a contract. It's true that he might not have been awarded the work. But he'll never know.
Just goes to show that there's not much point in going public in your e-mails. And the customer? He'll probably find a more attentive vendor.
(E-mail your job-hunting questions to award-winning journalist Dr. Mildred Culp at culp@workwise.net. Copyright 2007 Passage Media.)
