Today, I spoke with Alexandra Levit, who is the author of How’d You Score That Gig?, a columnist for The Huffington Post and the Wall Street Journal and a gen-y expert and speaker. Alexandra shares her worst job advice, how people can reinvent themselves in this economy, challenges recent college graduates will have, and more.
What are the 3 worst pieces of advice you can give a job hunter right now?
- Hold out for the perfect situation.
- Stick to the traditional: online job boards and mailing out 100 resumes with cover letters to HR people
- Be passive (i.e. with your credentials, they should be looking for you).
People who are losing jobs are trying to reinvent themselves. Is this possible? How?
Sometimes, getting laid off or fired is a blessing in disguise. I’ve been hearing from a lot of people who wanted to leave their jobs or fields, but didn’t have the gumption to look for something new. Once they were forced into that situation, suddenly they were free to reinvent themselves. As long as you’re collecting unemployment, I recommend doing a self-assessment to determine what type of work will be most meaningful for you, and then acquiring the required skill set through volunteering or an internship.
What challenges will recent graduates have this year and how can they overcome them?
The biggest challenge they face is a tight job market and tons of competition, as 2009 grads are part of the Millennial generation, the largest in American history. However, it is definitely possible to stand out from the crowd and land a great position through following your personal branding tips and starting before you actually need the job.
Make it your business to take one small step every day to move your job search forward, whether it’s researching an interesting company or making a networking call. And speaking of networking, this is absolutely what separates successful candidates from unsuccessful ones. Aim to meet people in your target field and ask them if they’d be willing to spend 15 minutes telling you about their career. Once you get their attention, ask for information rather than a job, and gradually build the relationship over time.
Is starting a business possible right now? Should everyone try to?
Sure it’s possible, but you know, Dan, I don’t think everyone is cut out for starting a business. Not only is being an entrepreneur costly, nerve-wracking, and incredibly hard work, but because of the way our economy is structured, it’s simply impossible for everyone to be one. When considering employment, new grads should look at an array of options, including those that involve working in the business world. Even if you are a natural born entrepreneur, I think it’s less risky to first develop and hone your business skillset while working for a larger organization.
You wrote a cool book called “How’d You Score that gig.” How did you score your new gig with the WSJ?
The head of my alma mater’s alumni program introduced me to a fellow Northwestern grad who is a careers editor at the Wall Street Journal. We spoke at an event together and began a conversation about the future of news coverage about careers and the workplace. I told her about my book on career change, How’d You Score That Gig?, and when the team over there decided they needed a new column targeting people looking to reinvent themselves professionally, she thought that I could write it. I am very lucky to have this opportunity and I have been having a ton of fun so far!
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Alexandra Levit is a nationally recognized business and workplace author and speaker. A syndicated columnist for the Wall Street Journal and a blogger for HuffingtonPost.com, Alexandra has authored several books, including the popular They Don’t Teach Corporate in College (second edition published in spring 2009 from Career Press), How’d You Score That Gig? (Random House/Ballantine, 2008) and Success for Hire (ASTD Press, 2008). Alexandra’s book on inspirational career change, Change Your Job, Change Your Life, is due out from Random House/Ballantine in early 2010. Alexandra makes frequent national media appearances and has been featured in thousands of outlets including the New York Times, USA Today, National Public Radio, ABC News, Fox News, CNBC, the Associated Press, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and Fortune, and her articles regularly appear on the home pages of CNN, MSN, and Yahoo!.
