What's Your Career IQ?

Being smart about your career aspirations will help you to conduct an effective and efficient job search campaign. Your objective as a student should be to constantly seek ways to increase your Career IQ in parallel with your Academic IQ. As a student, you will always have academic evaluations in the form of test scores, peer evaluations, and professor ratings. But who is responsible for evaluating and testing your career education? How will you measure your career-readiness and preparation? The first step is to recognize what you know, and what you don’t know:

1.     Know which companies hire students/graduates with your academic background.

2.     Know your KSA’s (knowledge, skills, and abilities) that are relevant to the companies/industries/jobs/countries you desire.

3.     Know what resources are available to assist you in achieving your career goals.

Achieving A High Career IQ

Research. Learn. Do. That is the secret to obtaining a high Career IQ. There is no other substitute. Out-read your job seeking competition. Research yourself. Research companies of interest. Research job descriptions. Research industries. Research target countries. Learn how to get the skills you need to be competitive. Learn who you need to speak with to get career information. Learn how to effectively communicate your value proposition during an interview or informal conversation. Do the things that will set you apart from the competition. Do the internships. Do the exchange programs. Do the thesis with business value. Do the case competition.

Who will judge your Career IQ? Recruiters and Hiring Managers for starters. What metrics will be used to measure and evaluate it? Below is a short-list of ways you can monitor the growth of your Career IQ:

1.     X number of Networking Contacts that refer you to a Hiring Manager at your target companies.

2.     X number of Hours per day/week spent reading about your target companies/industries/job functions/countries.

3.     X number of Hours per day/week spent meeting new contacts that can aid your job search.

4.     X number of Hours per day/week spent practicing interview strategies and project pitches.

5.     X number of Career/Professional Development Workshops attended as a student/graduate.

6.     X number of relevant Contacts and Professional Groups on your LinkedIn profile.

7.     X number of followers on your Blog/Twitter feeds for content you produce/share that is related to your professional interests.

8.     X number of Job Interviews obtained from jobs to which you apply.

9.     X number of Job Interviews converted into job offers.

10. X amount of Salary/Compensation you negotiate for a fulltime job.

More Problems, Fewer Solutions!

We live in a world full of problems and maladies that are just itching for a solution. However, we also live in a world where more people are trained (and encouraged) to be "job-seeking" employees versus "solutions-providing" entrepreneurs. You don't always have to be one or the other, but rather, something of a hybrid: be the entrepreneur within a company! Don't search for jobs, search for problems for which you can provide solutions. 

Traditional job searching is soooo 1990's. It's an exercise in futility for the majority of people and basically is no different than walking the cyber streets of the world wide web with a big sign on your forehead saying, "Please Hire Me". The error of the traditional job searcher is to wait until an employer posts a proverbial "Help Wanted" sign. But what most job searchers don't realize is that it is not always their help that is wanted! Even though companies are working with skeleton crews and overloading their staff, many job seekers still can't seem to catch a break.

Each day a new swarm of job seekers hits the job boards looking for companies to post their problems. But that is the wrong approach. In effect, they are waiting for the employers to come to them, rather than the other way around. Most companies would go out of business if they just sat around waiting for customers. Why do you think companies spend so much on advertising? They are constantly in your face with a range of solutions to solve a range of your problems. Shouldn't you be the virtual door-to-door salesman knocking at your target companies' doors? Shouldn't you pitch solutions to problems you know they have instead of waiting for them to publish a job posting that you may or may not fit? 

What are you waiting for? Get out there and solve some problems! 

The Jobless Graduate

If a job seeking student graduates and is unable to secure paid employment within 3 months of an active search, who is to blame? Is it the University that bestowed said graduate with a stamp of approval (also known as a degree)? Or is it the fault of the student due to his/her own personal or professional failings? It's the million dollar question that academics and career pundits spend countless hours debating.

In reality, there must be some blame assigned. So let's look at the major stakeholders in the "Jobless Graduate's" career aspirations and see if we can spread some of the blame around:

The University

The Jobless Graduate was not promised a job by the University. The University merely offered an environment in which said graduate could pursue his/her academic goals. Students are rewarded for their ability to earn a good grade, instead of their ability to earn a good living. Better stated, universities give more weight to a student's ability to learn, rather than their ability to earn. The average university graduate is dependent on being hired by someone else, versus being able to create a job for themselves. 

The Employer

The Jobless Graduate was not promised a job by any Employer for merely being a degree-holding graduate. Employers will post jobs online and visit university career centers, but that will not translate into an employment offer for most. With few exceptions, employers don't hire the degree, they hire the person. And employers are not in the business of fulfilling the career needs of jobless graduates. Employers are not socially responsible institutions charged with making charitable hires in order to reduce the unemployment rate. And most employers have very "obscure" hiring practices that make it virtually impossible for most graduates to even get a foot in the door.

The Jobless Graduate

Woe be unto the Jobless Graduate who spent the majority of his/her university years studying cases and cramming for exams, instead of networking with professionals and creating employable value. In a perfect world, there would not exist any jobless graduates. Why? Because  universities would not allow students to graduate unless they can demonstrate that they are able to earn money using applied academics and professional practice. It is up to the jobless graduate to decide if being jobless in the pursuit of finding a job is worth more than creating a job for himself.

Can You Afford To Lose Your Job?

That is the question. So what's your answer? It's probably no, unless you're the offspring of a wealthy magnate or the beneficiary of a trust fund. Yet, while you can't afford to lose your job, what are you doing to mitigate the risk? The longer you work, the greater the probability that you will experience job loss whether it is voluntary or involuntary. But no one wants to think of this eventuality. It's much easier to assume that "your" office space belongs to you, and that you will decide the length of your employment tenure. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we no longer live in that world.

Being an employee in today's world means you have to think strategically about your income sources. Every employee should be an expert in risk management because it is essential to protecting your livelihood. Sadly, most employees wait for the axe to fall before they are forced to take action. Not a wise move. Why would you wait until you are fired before you start seeking another source of income? That's like a company waiting until customers stop buying its products before it designs new ones. In this new economic order of job loss and job gain, it's everyone for himself. There will be no bailout fund to help you transition through your economic crisis should you find yourself unexpectedly jobless.

What should you do? Start looking for a job today! See how long it takes for you to get an interview. See how long it takes for you to get extended an employment offer. You might be surprised to find how much has changed in the job search process and how long it takes to get even an initial interview. Do you really think it's wise to get fired first, and then start a job search based on desperation? You don't want to go down that road. Nobody is saying that you have to leave your current job; however, you should at least have some viable backups in the pipeline. And nothing is stopping you from working an extra part-time job (unless you really can afford to lose  your job).

Don't Be The Job Search "Fool"

In some parts of the world, the first day of April is considered April Fool's Day. Some of your closest friends will undoubtedly pull a prank or two on you. And of course, you might just pull a few yourself. Of course, someone always takes a joke too far, but usually it's just harmless fun. While you prepare to fool your unsuspecting friends today, let me remind you that every day is April Fool's Day for the average job seeker who dutifully applies online.

If you want to stop being a job search fool who is constantly being fooled by corporate recruiters, then I suggest you learn how the game is really played - the corporate recruitment game.

My new book, "The Corporate Recruitment Game" is now available!
e-Book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006HASVEE
Paperback: https://www.createspace.com/3725722