Finding a job | Kontrary by Rebecca Thorman – Careers, Business, and Life Advice

Can you have any job you want?

by Rebecca Thorman on January 2528 Comments

Alexandra Levit has just published the book, New Job, New You: A Guide to Reinventing Yourself in a Bright New Career, which is a great resource if you’re looking for a job or trying to find more happiness in your career. And it got me thinking, one of the myths I see over and over is that job-seekers or those looking to switch careers don’t think they have the skills or experience they need.

What a cop-out.

Of course, any career has a set of knowledge specific to that field. As an architect you probably have some technical knowledge about the size of a door jamb as well as general education about your specialization, like hospitals.

Who hires in a recession?

by Rebecca Thorman on May 0524 Comments

Career Entrepreneurship Finding a job Get the free newsletter: sign up

Qvisory reports that nearly one in five young adults are unemployed or looking for work, and Harvard’s Jeff Frankel says the recession crisis is now tied for longest since the depression.

No worries though. Optimism is strangely abundant. “There is a newly forming society of people who are making the best of being laid off,” the Boston Globe reports.

So if you’re being a curmudgeon, stop it. The recession is a great time to advance your career. It’s a myth that there aren’t any jobs. Here are three places to discover your next position:

1) Companies that save consumers money.

Generation Y doesn’t need a reference

by Rebecca Thorman on April 0855 Comments

Career Finding a job Generation Y Videos Get the free newsletter: sign up

This post contains video. If you’re reading via email or RSS, please click through.

This video is a response to the comments I received on my post, ‘Don’t Burn Bridges’ is Bad Career Advice, that was also featured on Brazen Careerist.

One frequent comment talked about the idea that you will someday need a reference from a previous employer to get a job. I argue that you may not need that type of reference, especially for “cool jobs.”

‘Don’t burn bridges’ is bad career advice

by Rebecca Thorman on April 0666 Comments

Career Finding a job Work politics Get the free newsletter: sign up

This post isn’t about if you like your job. So please don’t write in the comments that you love your job and your boss so you would never burn bridges. Obviously.

People burn bridges when they don’t like their jobs and their bosses. Or work with totally lame people or are completely bored. So you get fired, or laid off, or there comes a time when your job just isn’t what it used to be so you leave.

You shouldn’t just walk out. You should give notice and finish your projects and be polite (if for no other reason than your own sense of pride and accomplishment).

Four ways to find a job without a specific degree or experience

by Rebecca Thorman on January 2634 Comments

Career Finding a job Networking Get the free newsletter: sign up

Consider getting an online Associate Business Degree to start building your business network and learn the basics of entrepreneurship.

Marketing jobs are all the rage despite the fact that marketing departments are one of the first to be cut in a recession. And I’ve always liked marketing, but I didn’t major it in college, and none of my experience has ever directly related to the topic. But my new job? It’s all about marketing.

Here’s how to transition into a field that you have no specific education or direct experience in:

1. Ignore your last job title. Titles don’t matter.

Why Generation Y should job-hop, even in the recession

by Rebecca Thorman on January 0759 Comments

Finding a job Generation Y Workplace Get the free newsletter: sign up

There’s buzz in the media that Generation Y is finally being put in our place. The recession won’t play favorites and Gen Y will see just what Gen X and the Boomers have been talking about. Besides this being ridiculously sad – honestly, are we really a society that beats down optimism? – it’s also completely erroneous.

The Economist reports that “the touchy-feely management fads that always spring up in years of plenty (remember the guff about ‘the search for meaning’ and ‘the importance of brand me’) are being ditched in favor of more brutal command-and-control methods.” (h/t The Schiff Report)

Except companies that operate according to the latest trend and resort to command-and-control methods are neither Gen Y-friendly, nor anyone-friendly.

Back Off: Gen Y’s helicopter parents are a good thing

by Rebecca Thorman on March 1040 Comments

Career Finding a job Generation Y Workplace Get the free newsletter: sign up

On the third round of interviews for my current job, my interviewer was a Boomer whose opinion as the head of a similar and larger organization was valuable to my future Board.

After talking about Gen Y leadership, in which I blatantly quoted my blog to close the deal, she asked me what I would do if I witnessed unethical behavior.

“I would investigate to see if it was really unethical behavior,” I said, “or if I was misunderstanding the situation.”

It was the perfect answer for a business that loves gossip, but doesn’t like to make waves.

Then out of nowhere I felt compelled to add, “And I would probably call my mom and ask her advice.”

My interviewer smiled.

How I got my dream job (and survived)

by Rebecca Thorman on February 2717 Comments

Career Finding a job Knowing yourself Work/life balance Get the free newsletter: sign up

This post about going from bottom to top was inspired by this comment. Thanks, Milena!

I walked in and almost everyone was sitting down, and the speakers were close, shoulder to shoulder. It was so hot and sticky outside, I went to the bathroom to freshen before sitting down near the door, lest the presentation be boring and I should want to leave in the middle.

Big Brother was the moderator of the panel, and I had seen him in the press, but never in person. After the event, we somehow managed to walk out at the same time.

How young job seekers can use their workplace advantage for more

by Rebecca Thorman on July 085 Comments

Career Finding a job Generation Y Get the free newsletter: sign up

Penelope Trunk argues that In today’s workplace, young job seekers hold the advantage. I wonder if this even matters when work no longer holds much meaning to Gen X and Gen Y. Having an advantage in a game that doesn’t challenge is useless.

Since the advantage is ours, however, let’s use it, and to negotiate more than extra vacation time:

1. Create a 3-position work week. Many of us complain that we aren’t challenged or don’t have enough to do during our 40 hours. Why work a full-time job in only one position? We already engage in extra-curricular jobs (blogging, bartending, volunteering, etc.) outside of normal work hours, but let’s take the idea further.