In college I have become accustomed to reading books that do not have a very good application to the real world; particularly the idea of finding a job upon entering the real world. Yes, I've read Plato and Socrates, and I do value the importance of the ideas of said philosophers. I however, do not know how well I could use that knowledge to land myself a job in my field that I'm interested in as a biology major with a business minor.
The book lists reasons why the book is a good choice, for me the line "If you are trying to figure out what you want to do next, with your life, this book is for you." resonated with me.
Currently, the job hunt is frustrating.As Bolles points out, employers do not hunt for jobs in the same way as they have in the past. Employers have such a large pool of possible employees that they want the perfect dream employee. They may hold out on hiring perfectly competent applicants because are not the mythical unicorn the company is waiting for. Similarly, the length of the job hunt has been increasing while the length of time of a job has been steadily decreasing. Many people are taking part time jobs and short time contracts Job-seekers have also been having more and more trouble finding a middle-class salary. To even be considered for many of this jobs, applicants are expected to have a college degree, or even sometimes an advanced college degree like a masters, PhD, or a doctoral degree.
We are spending more time hunting for jobs in our lifetimes. Maybe it's a blessing, maybe it's a curse, but we are able to hunt on the internet through various job board outlets. As social media becomes more of a norm, they can also be used in the job hunt. The job hunt is different then it was 20 years ago.
Luckily, Bolles argues that "getting hired today is about who knows the most about how to get hired." To be hired, you need to BE CREATIVE. Sure he listed expected suggestions like use contacts, don't rely solely on a resume, but he also made of very interesting points.I think all of these ideas are relevant to me as a prepare for a career post college. Bolles suggests job-seekers search for something that they are passionate about as opposed to a nine to five job that leaves one spending most of the day wishing it was five already. To do this, you need to define who you are and find a job that fits it. Don't research the job market, find out what is important in a job to you. Also, know what skills you want to use, where you want to use them, and in what way.
A suggestion I didn't expect was to avoid HR and aim to connect with a contact who has power over whether or not you get hired, HR department aside. He also suggests asking for the job at the end of the interview. The author argues that it really does work, his readers say so. I think it'd be interesting to survey employers about how they respond if an employee asks for the job at the end of the interview. I'm curious if a study already exists.
My biggest take away from this chapter is that as a soon to be college graduate, I really need to prioritize skills I want to use in my career. They cannot just be skills I have, but hate, but skills I enjoy using. I am excited to continue reading this book as it makes me less anxious about entering the big scary "real world."
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