WANT A JOB??

What you need to know to GET, and KEEP a Job!

For most of us, the world we knew just a decade or so has disappeared; especially when it comes to jobs and the workplace.  Gerald Chertavian was on C-Span the other day touting his new book about a program titled Year Up http://www.yearup.org/.  He said that companies are laying off according to something called ABC, and hiring according to traditional methods which include degrees.  ABC denotes attitudes, behaviors, and communication skills.  Unfortunately for employers, these attributes can only be discovered on the job -- after a person is hired. 

In their employer-sponsored program for disadvantaged youths, they pay the students while in training for the specific skills and attributes an employer is seeking.  This should be a "heads-up" to everyone, regardless of age, race, gender, or other ovarian lottery benefits or deprivations.  The depression-level job market, coupled with the ability of employers to circumvent government regulations such as Affirmative Action, should alert everyone that employers hold the trump hand.  Performance on the job and ability to build the bottom line will trump features listed on resumes.  This calls into question the roles of traditional academia, private education companies, head-hunters, and other old techniques for acquiring employment.  Even traditional family-connection jobs will suffer if the bottom-line is endangered.

Western Governor's University, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Governors_University, was founded in 1997 to take advantage of Distance Learning in remote areas and to certify skills of the students before an employer hires them.  It was known by large corporations, like the one I retired from, that many top academic graduates were poor performers on the job.

Drucker taught us that it was not "who you know", but "who knows you and wants what you can produce" that matters when it comes to getting hired, keeping a job, and getting raises or promotions (things that are scarce or non-existent in today's job market).

So, if you can no longer count on your resume or a head hunter, what do you do?  Network, Network, Network!  You have to find the person who will actually make the hiring selection (usually the person with the budget and hiring authority); find a way to get them to know you, and proceed from there.  It would be wise to ask questions that will let you know whether you "fit" the job, the work environment, and your co-workers; but most people will be so desparate for money they will contort themselves and their personal relationships in ways that cannot last.

Work smarter, not harder; consider turning your talents and skills into an income-producing situation that you control.  Good Luck!

Stay Vigilant!

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