Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?: A Crash Course in Finding, Landing, and Keeping Your First Real Job Read Online Free PDF

People can’t help you if you don’t give them any direction. But if you say, “I’m interested in fashion; do you know anyone in the field?” you’ll be much more likely to get a name out of it. If they say no, prompt with more specifics: “I’m looking into sportswear marketing, children’s clothes lines, and anything to do with accessories for women …” and see if that yields anything.
    Keep in mind that once you have a job, you have it. You won’t necessarily be able to stay up late, read a book just for fun, window-shop, run, or see a movie in the middle of the day.
    So make the most of your hunting time—and your downtime, too.

chapter 2
Working Your Network
    FINDING AND MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR CONNECTIONS
    A man walks into a bar …
    I know what you’re thinking. “I need a job, and you’re telling jokes?”
    This is not a joke.
    A man walks into a bar—an Irish bar, to be exact—and walks out with a job for his daughter.
    This is a true story. I asked one hundred recent college grads to talk about how they had gotten their last jobs, internships, or job leads, and one of them said, “My dad was in an Irish bar and started talking to the bartender; his son worked in the field I wanted to get into. He told my dad to have me call him. I did, and I got a job.”
    You’ll hear story after story like this if you start asking people. For good reason. You tell your parents you’re thinking aboutexploring the real estate world in California and your mom says, “My hairdresser’s son’s mother-in-law works for an agency in L.A.; you should call her if you go out there.” You might make a face and ignore her, but if you do, the joke is on you. The truth is, you need to get in touch with this woman—because this is how people get jobs, or at least learn about jobs. Certainly, many people do find work through traditional job-hunting channels like the “Help Wanted” or “Employment Opportunities” section of the newspaper, Internet job-hunting sites, company websites, recruitment sessions, job fairs, alumni career networks, or, for certain jobs and levels of experience, headhunters. These are all valid resources. But surveys estimate that 80 percent of all jobs fall into what’s known as the “hidden job market”—an area in which jobs are not publicly advertised and are filled by word of mouth.
    That hidden resource should be Job, Inc.’s focus. What you’re going to be doing is finding people to talk to, people who can help get you inside a company or organization and steer you to these “hidden” jobs.
Looking for a Person
    “I looked on the website of the company I’m interested in, and they don’t have openings”—that’s a line I’ve heard over and over in my job-counseling sessions.
    The website may not list anything, but that doesn’t worry me. Most websites do not have the real story about job openings. Ask someone inside a company what’s really going on, and you’ll be amazed at what you hear. Someone is pregnant and about to take maternity leave. Someone is about to get fired but doesn’t know it. Someone is getting married and relocating. The company is being bought and reorganized. There is a posting but there are strong internal candidates for the job. A job is about to be posted but must first be advertised internally to conform to union or other regulations.
    The possibilities are endless. So when you look at a corporate website and see few or no openings, don’t write off a company you’re interested in. Conversely, if you see an opening that looks good, apply for it—but realize that you must still try to connect with someone on the inside.
    In our “six degrees of separation” world, tapping into a network is the most effective way to get a job. It will enable you to meet interesting people and to learn more about the industry or company to which you’re applying.You may make some friends in the process, and you may even meet someone who becomes a mentor