Measuring Your Job Confidence (and Gender?) Gap

A few weeks ago I came across an article by Max Nisen in Quartz with the headline ‘Job requirements are mostly fiction and you should ignore them‘ so, of course, I had to read it. He offers insight into some of what’s really between the words of a job’s requirements, for instance:

Hiring managers get overexcited and list too many things, even though only a few parts of the description are truly core. But the term “requirement” gets read very literally, and scares people off from jobs they could well get.

Reading it should restore the will and confidence of some of you job seekers out there (and I’m calling out the ladies here) to go after a job posting that you might take a pass on, otherwise.

When professionals were asked why they didn’t apply for jobs they felt unqualified for, in a survey written up this week at the Harvard Business Review, few said they felt they couldn’t do the job well. The reasons had more to do with our propensity to take intimidating job postings at face value. In other words, the problem isn’t a lack of confidence, but a lack of information about how the hiring process really works.

While the article sends an encouraging message to the reader it is also realistic about the chill of rejection. So I really liked how it ends with some actionable, common sense, advice to reach out to ones own network to try to get some additional insight or perspective before sending in your credentials.

Applying to College vs. Applying for Your First Job

A few years ago, you were applying to college. Now, you’re applying for your first real job. I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. Here’s the good news: the processes are very similar. Here’s the bad news: the processes are very similar.

Luckily, there are people around to give you a little pep talk. Like Frank Bruni of the New York Times, for example. Okay fine: he’s talking to applicants who didn’t get into their ideal college. Still, even for me, someone years past his first job and even more years out of school, his words scratch a very particular itch.

Here’s the gist: you don’t always get what you want. You also don’t always get what you deserve, but this doesn’t necessarily say anything about you. A lot of the times it says more about someone else. For example, in the job search, someone might come from a family with connections to the industry you want to work in. Or someone might have gotten special training you don’t have access to.

Luckily, though, you’re not looking a job in the same way you look for a college. Sure, people transfer around, but for a lot of us, the word “college” evokes memories of a single place. On the other hand, the first job you take is just that: a first job, one of many. And getting the exact right first job matters a lot less than you think.

In fact, I will even be as bold to say that you shouldn’t get your dream job on your first try. The various aches and pains that come along with fitting your circular college self into the square shaped hole of the working world might taint what could otherwise be an amazing experience when you’re a little bit more settled in.

I’ve talked about my career trajectory before. I took some weird jobs that didn’t necessarily relate fully to what I wanted to do in life, but just getting out and working helped me get in the right mindset. Had I not taken those jobs, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today: doing what I love in a cool city.

So, just like Frank Bruni says to the college applicants who didn’t get into the school of their choice: it’s okay, don’t let this one thing define you. Keep your head up and keep working hard. Stuff will fall into place as long as you keep pushing forward.

(photo by Flickr user Andrew Schwegler, used under a Creative Commons License).

Liberal Arts: Au Contraire!

 

Remember when we talked about liberal arts last week? Here’s some more!

Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan University, isn’t just in it for the title. A graduate of Wesleyan himself, he feels deeply about the liberal arts and their ability to turn out well-rounded, creative graduates who make great additions to the workforce. In his article for the Boston Globe, he discusses just that while also giving a nice, deserved kick to the behind of pundits who, having benefited from a college education themselves, say kids these days don’t need to go to college. Personally, as someone who hates the recent push to promote narrow educational paths that may be more immediately useful but not as beneficial in the long run, I found his takedown to be very satisfying.

But Roth isn’t all about takedowns. In fact, in this opinion piece for the New York Times, he discusses the dangers of the tear-it-down mindset that often develops in students of the liberal arts. These students show their intelligence not by embracing interesting ideas, but by picking them apart and exposing their flaws. Is there some value in this? Sure. Does it bring some satisfaction? Yes. But, as Roth says, people who do too much of this:

“…contribute to a cultural climate that has little tolerance for finding or making meaning — a culture whose intellectuals and cultural commentators get “liked” by showing that somebody else just can’t be believed. But this cynicism is no achievement.”

So, how is this important to your job search? Because you, the liberal arts educated job seeker, need to a) feel confident in your ability to contribute to a workplace even if your knowledge is broader and less focused than some of your peers (or perhaps BECAUSE your knowledge is broader and less focused than some of your peers), and b) you need to avoid ‘contrarianism’ as much as possible. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t point out flaws for improvement as you see them. But there will always be flaws, and if you’re the person at work who nit-picks every single one of them without ever proposing a solution, you won’t make many friends. Nor are you really helping.

Immersing yourself in something, as Roth suggests, provides a better course of action. If you’re working on a project and you really dive into it, you won’t see flaws as flaws; you’ll see them as opportunities for iterative improvements, things that can be tweaked to make the experience richer or a solution better for the user or client.

So, read up on what Roth has to say and think about how you can really invest successfully your liberal learning  in your work.

(photo by Flickr user Andrew Schwegler, used under a Creative Commons License).

One Page – Single Sided

You guys need to read this guest post from Undercover Recruiter, One Page – Single Sided for what must be within the 4 corners of your resume.

What you’ll find is well-focused and clear advice for developing résumés that are well-focused and clear. And these aren’t just tips for career newbs, either. These are basically the fundamental values that all good resumes are built on.

So the real question now is, do you WANT to write a good résumé? Just kidding. Of course you do. So check it out.