Marty Nemko

Creating a Strong, Ethical Resume, Fast

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:26:00 +0000

You're dreading writing your resume. My post today on USNews.com and republished on Yahoo!.com: How to create a strong, ethical resume, fast.

I'd Like to Ask a Favor

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:16:00 +0000

Update: I just heard that thanks to you, almost $4,000 was raised during my show's hour. For comparison this was four times as much as the show that preceded mine. Thank you very much. I will continue to work hard to earn your support.

This morning (Sunday, May 19) from 11 am to noon, Pacific time, on my KALW-FM (NPR-San Francisco) radio program, Work with Marty Nemko, on which I try to help people with their worklife, I'll ask listeners to donate money to the radio station.

I get none of the money but the amount I collect during my hour is used as an indicator of how many people listen to my show, the strength of their support for the show and, in turn, whether my show should stay on the air.

As in most public radio donation drives, I offer thank-you gifts for giving during my hour:

If you donate $75, you get an autographed copy of my book, How to Do Life: What they didn't teach you in school.

For $150 or $250 for a couple, you get to come to the studio on June 30 to watch the show and then have brunch with my wife and frequent co-conspirator on the show, Barbara Nemko, as well as with fellow donors. We've done these brunches before and they are a networking opportunity, a chance to offer input on my show, and oh yes, people find it quite fun. A number of people have come more than once. It's limited to just a dozen people.

It is a bit ironic for me to ask you to donate to KALW. After all, the station mainly presents leftist views and I so value diversity of ideology. And I wouldn't choose to listen to most of the music played on the station. But I do care to keep doing my program, soooh, there you go. At least I'm asking in a way that I believe is devoid of the hype that too often characterizes money-raising efforts.

Oh and, of course, most of the show today is not spent asking for money. I'm committed to keeping the requests brief. The hour focuses on Barbara and me talking about how to get cured of excessively interrupting people---one of my many failings.

Whether during or after the show, it's easy to donate. Just call 1-800-525-9917 or go to www.kalw.org. As I said, I get none of the money. It's just a way to help keep my show on the air and more important, to support public radio. Whether you're donating during my show or afterwards, I would appreciate your mentioning that you're donating to support Work with Marty Nemko.

Whether or not you donate, I hope you'll listen this morning from 11 am to noon. You can hear it on 91.7 FM in San Francisco, or anywhere on the world right here on your computer at www.kalw.org from 11 am to noon, Pacific time.

Me Talking Careers on AOL as the "Opening Act" for Sheryl Sandberg?!

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Sat, 18 May 2013 04:42:00 +0000

AOL video-interviewed me today for a half-hour. HERE is the three-minute highlight reel.

The interviewer asked me about resumes, landing a government job, and who should and shouldn't go to college or graduate school.

The video continues with Marlo Thomas asking Sheryl Sandberg about whether college is still a wise choice.I never thought I'd ever be the"opening act" for Sheryl Sandberg!

HERE is the full interview. In the first few minutes, two unemployed college graduates tell their tale. Then I try to help them, after which the interviewer asks me various career-related questions.

Making the Most of a Job Lead

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:12:00 +0000

You get a lead on a job but how do you make the most of it? That's the topic of my AOL article today.

Much of the advice is applicable not only to job hunters but to anyone trying to maximize a lead's value: a sales lead, business development lead, even personal lead.

Tomorrow, I Do Three-Minute Workovers on AOL Live

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:45:00 +0000

It's been a good few days. First, it was being on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Yesterday, it was that I was the sole source for a Business Insider article on work-life balance being overrated.

Now, AOL has selected me to be the career expert whom, on AOL's Lunchtime Live!, will, tomorrow on live video, try to help two B.A. holders who have McJobs to find better work. I'll have just a few minutes with each. We'll see what I can do.

It'll be tomorrow at 12:30 PM Eastern. HERE's the link to more info.

Your Goal Should be Contribution, not Happiness

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:37:00 +0000

This will appear on AOL.com a week from tomorrow but I thought you might like an advance look.

Work-life Balance is Overrated

Your goal should be contribution, not happiness

by Marty Nemko

Most people view life's goal as to be happy. I believe that's misguided.

If the goal is happiness, one could, for example, spend all their time gardening, watching comedies, having sex, etc. Yet if people did that, the planet would be far worse: patients would die, homes wouldn't get built, the Internet wouldn't have been invented, etc.

Mother Teresa didn't work in the stench of Calcutta streets, ankles bitten by scorpions, because it made her happy She did so because she realized that helping humankind was far more important than her being happy.* Cardiologists that choose to work nights and weekends to keep more patients alive realize their life is more meaningful than if they had opted for the vaunted work-life balance. Even the supposedly lowly payroll clerk who, after the standard work week, takes work home to ensure that everyone is paid accurately and on-time is living a far worthier life than is someone who diverted that time to recreation.

And as I said in my interview two days ago in Business Insider, contrary to what advocates of work-life balance claim, long work hours do not lead to burnout. Indeed, as long as you're doing work you're good at and believe in, you'll likely be more energized from long work weeks than if you spent the discretionary time playing sports, watching the boob tube, or even the current fad, yoga.

I'll be 63 years old next month and been working 60 to 80 hours a week my entire life, since I was a young teen. I cannot claim to be a happy person. Like my father, I believe I'm constitutionally inclined toward mild sadness. But I know that my life has been more worthwhile for having forgone work-life balance in favor of having helped 4,000 career counseling clients, written seven books, over 2,000 how-to and public-policy articles and blog posts, plus myriad other contributions.

I will continue to work until I drop in the service of things I believe will make the world better. I do want to drop dead at this keyboard. A silly canard is, "No one ever died wishing they spent more time at the office." Indeed, most of the most contributory people I know and I want to spend as much time as possible working. That's the main reason why CEOs continue working long after they've made enough money to last three lifetimes.

As Isaac Asimov, who had written or edited more than 500 books(!) said when asked, "What would you do if you knew you had six months to live?" He said, "Type faster."

* Update: A reader just informed me that Mother Teresa's behavior was often far from saintly. So take the words "Mother Teresa" not as her literally but as a noun: Popularly, we speak of a "Mother Teresa" as a person who is very generous even to her own detriment.

Is Work-Life Balance Overrated?

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:37:00 +0000

Business Insider interviewed me about what I thought about the deified "work-life balance"

The article came out today and I was surprised and, I must admit, flattered to see that my opinion was the only one cited. Perhaps because it is contrary to conventional wisdom.

Update: I'm amazed and delighted that it's gotten 35,000 hits and 1,400 Facebook Likes.

How to Make a Useful Networking Connection Fast

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:53:00 +0000

If your networking efforts have yielded little benefit to you, it's tempting to forgo it. Especially if you're job hunting, you could reasonably fear that by the time networking pays off in a job offer, you'll be homeless

My USNews.com article today presents a way to make networking more likely to pay off fast, perhaps in just a few minutes.

Marty Nemko Talks (and Jokes) on The Daily Show about Alternatives to College

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Fri, 10 May 2013 07:57:00 +0000

Last night, I was on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

What was amazing to me is that they recorded five hours of interview with me about higher education's deceptive practices and about alternatives to college. During those five hours, I made a total of three jokes. All three made it into the segment.

Of course, I don't mind at all. The creators of The Daily Show are masters at making serious messages funny without trivializing them.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Stay Out of School

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Indecision Political Humor

The Daily Show on Facebook

Looking for a Career? Pick Something Already!

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:39:00 +0000

My AOL post today ostensibly is tough-love career advice for Millennials.

Actually, it's far more broadly applicable. It reflects my growing recognition, after a quarter century as a career counselor, that it's foolish to spend too much time trying to pick the perfect career.

After just modest exploration, pick something, commit to becoming expert at it, and then make peace with it, recognizing that career contentment is far more likely to occur from tailoring and accessorizing a given career and then staying with it than from waiting for a more perfect career. Also, all ethically done work is worthy work. I'd go as far as saying that all ethically done work is sacred.

Indeed, some of society's least respected work--for example, ditchdigging--in my mind is more worthy of respect than are the famous entertainers so many people idolize.

I piano-accompany Napa Funny Girl stars Taylor Bartolucci and James Sasser

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Tue, 07 May 2013 03:55:00 +0000

Rarely have I had as much fun on my radio show as yesterday. I got to piano-accompany the two fabulous stars of Funny Girl, which opens this Friday at the Napa Valley Opera House.

HERE is the video of Taylor Bartolucci singing I'm the Greatest Star.

And HERE is the video of Taylor and James Sasser doing the duet, I Want to Be Seen With You.

Oh, I might mention that my wife Barbara Nemko will be playing the comic relief role in Funny Girl: Sarah Straykosh, a busybody force of nature from Brooklyn.

And for the hour before the show on Friday, Saturday, and the following Saturday, I'll be playing Broadway show medleys on the piano as well as accompanying the winners of the I'm the Greatest Future Star competition.

I've heard reports from rehearsals that the show is going to be wonderful. One insider said, "This is going to be the best show seen in Napa, ever." For tickets and information, click HERE.

Update: The first weekend nearly sold out its 1,500 seats, closing night this Sunday is sold out, and only a few dozen of the 1,000 Friday and Saturday night tickets remain. And the reviews have been fabulous. For example, KCRB said, "Easily one of the best, most memorable shows of the year." The Benicia Herald called it a "stellar production...a hard act to follow." The Napa Register called it "impeccably performed by all 19 actors (and) Bartolucci delivers the consummate Brice."

My radio show focuses on career issues so the bulk of the hour was spent asking Taylor and James as well as Funny Girl's excellent director, Barry Martin about the art of trying to make money in theatre. HERE is the link to the entire show, which is archived on the National Public Radio website.

Finding a Career: A quick but not dirty approach

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Mon, 06 May 2013 15:09:00 +0000

My USNews.com article today is Speedy Career-Finding: a quick but not dirty approach.

Many people spend decades trying to choose a career. I believe this article's approach, though quick, enables you to choose more wisely than do most people.

You May Be Wise to LOWER Your Self-Confidence

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Fri, 03 May 2013 23:04:00 +0000

I am of the belief that self-confidence, beyond a bare minimum, is more likely to abet complacency and even narcissism than to make people more productive.

Most highly productive people often worry they're not good enough--That's part of what drives them to keep striving. From George Washington to Abraham Lincoln to most of the many highly accomplished people I know, they're all driven by moderate insecurity and feelings of unworthiness. I hypothesize that lower achievers are too unintelligent or defended to feel that worry, that insecurity.

I believe that self-esteem programs do more harm than good. Enduring self-esteem comes only from ongoing accomplishment, not by virtue of being human, of a particular background, etc.

When I write and speak, in my professional as well as personal life, I often worry if it's good enough. More broadly, I worry whether, en toto, my life's contributions are valuable enough. I'm not worried into anxiety or depression but just enough that the worry, borne of only moderate self-confidence, does help me be my best self.

"Six Fresh Ideas for a Budding Entrepreneur" named "This Week's Best"

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 07:33:00 +0000

I was browsing the New York Times online tonight when I was surprised and honored to see one of my U.S. News articles, Six Fresh Ideas for a Budding Entrepreneur named This Week's Best. (To see that, scroll to the bottom.)

Hail-Mary Thank You Letters

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:00:00 +0000

Sending a thank-you letter after a job interview is standard operating procedure but rarely helps you stand out from the pack.

My post today on AOL.com, Hail Mary Thank You Letters, offers some risky tactics that could put the final nail in your application coffin or give you a prayer.

Making Colleges Accountable: College Scorecard Version 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 06:27:00 +0000

I continue to try to make the case for requiring college to post a substantive report card on themselves as a condition of receiving federal financial aid. Today, I make that point in the San Francisco Chronicle's Sunday Magazine, Insight.

The article also includes seven questions you should ask a college or graduate admission person before agreeing to attend.

Video of How I Create My Columns and Posts

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 21:04:00 +0000

Last week, I gave a talk to the Napa Valley Writers Association on how I write columns.

Instead of just telling people how I write a column, I actually created a mini-column in 15 minutes, while saying aloud my thought process, in the moment.

Although nearly all the attendees were fiction writers, a number of them came up to me and said that it will greatly improve even their fiction writing.

Afterward, someone who couldn't attend, wrote to ask me if I'd be willing to make a video of that presentation. Here it is below.

Because I'm too busy and/or lazy, I didn't do it carefully. I just sat in front of my webcam and let 'er rip. Although it's unedited and the first few minutes of the demo are not visible, just audible, I'm hoping that you'll find this a useful 1/2-hour writing lesson.

Make Conscious Your Deciding to Interrupt or Not

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 01:22:00 +0000

In conversation, you pay a price every time you interrupt:

It makes the person feel invalidated and thus more likely closed to what you have to say.
It makes the person feel you're rude and thus less likely to support you in anything.
You are making your point when their mind is still focused on what they were saying. As a result, the person may not fully hear what you're saying.

We rationalize the value of interrupting:

We think it saves time---After all, we're confident we know what they're going to say. We often are right but, for the reasons above, we're less likely to obtain the desired result than if we let the person finish talking. True, you can cram more ideas into a conversation by interrupting but that's a poor metric for assessing the conversation's value. What counts is the amount of benefit that the convo yields and on that metric, you may save time by not interrupting.
We think that interrupting shows we're motivated, that we care. It may, instead, be interpreted as rudeness, inability to control ourselves, even narcissism.
We think that interrupting shows we're smart. It may but the value of that is often outweighed by the above negatives.

If you truly care about being effective and perceived positively, be conscious in deciding whether to interrupt. Decide, consciously, whether the benefits of interrupting outweigh the liabilities. Indeed, sometimes you'll decide interrupting is worth it. Other times, you'll decide to, when someone finishes talking, wait a full second before speaking. The latter makes the person feel you really were listening rather than just waiting for them to finish so you could offer your pearls. It also allows their mind to clear so it's available to truly process what you're going to say. Plus, it gives you time to craft a more thoughtful response.

The no-interrupt/wait-a-second principle also applies to meetings. Often, the person who hangs back until the end of a discussion and then, carefully, tactfully, comments or asks a question, will be taken more seriously and liked more than the person who has peppered the discussion with comments, especially if s/he interrupted others.

Of course, if you're an inveterate interrupter, changing is much easier said than done. I believe your best chances of succeeding are:

Trying a zero-tolerance policy at least for a while: No interrupting, under any circumstance. It's more likely that you'll make progress with that all-or-nothing policy than if you try to ease off. Having to decide, in the moment, whether to interrupt, is just too difficult. You can later back off, replacing the no-interrupt rule with a rule of staying conscious to interrupt only when it will yield net benefit.
Tell someone close to you that you're trying to develop a new habit: interrupting less and that you'd appreciate it if, every time you interrupt, s/he not complain but simply raise one finger. That's a quick, minimally threatening way to give you feedback.
In business meetings, if you're afraid you'll forget what you want to say, simply jot it down.

Learning to control a tendency to overinterrupt is crucial but difficult. I speak from personal experience. Candidly, despite knowing all of the above, I still interrupt too much. Especially when it's something I'm passionate about, I just can restrain myself.

The good news is that you needn't be perfect. If you interrupt inappropriately, forgive yourself but get back on that wagon. You will reap significant professional and personal benefits.

Video: College is Overrated

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 01:02:00 +0000

I was on Huffington Post Live again today. This time, we discussed whether going to a university is as wise a decision as it used to be. Especially if you were a weak student in high school, the opportunity cost of attending a university is so high that for many students it's a worse choice than entering an apprenticeship, a short-term community college program, the military, or working at the elbow of a master guitarmaker, an ethical entrepreneur, etc. I enter the discussion at around the 5-minute mark. Here's the video:

Jobs Fighting Terrorism

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 19:16:00 +0000

My AOL contribution today: jobs fighting terrorism. I list lots of options.

America the Tootiful: We brag even when we're not very good

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 03:30:00 +0000

Here's an advance look at my next The Life Well-Led column in the Mensa publication, The Intelligencer.

America the Tootiful

America loves to toot its own horn, even when we're not very good. For example, after the Boston Bombing, President Obama crowed about how great America is:

The terrorists failed because, as Americans, we refused to be terrorized...That American spirit includes staying true to the unity and diversity that makes us strong -- like no other nation in the world.

Huh?! The terrorists didn't fail: Despite America having spent billions on anti-terrorism, the terrorists accomplished just what they wanted: They disrupted that iconic American sporting event The Boston Marathon, killing three, wounding hundreds, and spawning a manhunt and aftermath that has already cost all of us billions of dollars. And did we truly react "like no other nation in the world?" Does Obama really believe that not one of the world's 196 nations could even match our unsuccessful effort?

Our undeserved horn-tooting descends from there. Examples:

In the most recent presidential election, both candidates fell over themselves to genuflect before the altar of American exceptionalism despite, for example, the U.S.'s child poverty rate ranking 34th among the most advanced 35 countries, edging out only Romania. But don't worry, we rank #2 in beer consumption. Politico reported, "The President took American exceptionalism to a whole new level Wednesday by suggesting that not only is the United States the greatest nation on Earth, but every other country wants to be us." But even that pales in comparison with Romney's view, which the Huffington Post summarized as, "God chose the U.S. above all the nations of the Earth to bring light, hope, and freedom to all humankind."

Of course, politicians far from monopolize the gasconade.

According to a panel of experts convened at Columbia College (IL), Michael Jackson is widely referred to as a genius. Michael Jackson, a consensus genius??!

As a career counselor, I can attest that the amount of puffery in job seekers' resumes, cover letters, and interviews could fill a dirigible: "I'm uniquely qualified for the job. I'm a self-starter yet also a team player who delights in exceeding customer expectations, and I spearheaded initiatives that saved the company $10 million." If you added up all the savings job seekers claimed, it would exceed the Gross Domestic Product.

Of course, product marketers know absolutely no bounds. For example, Here's how Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice has been promoted: "This 'antioxidant superpower' is straight-up 'health in a bottle' that’ll help you cheat death with beneficial effects on everything from prostate cancer to cardiovascular health to impotence." In fact, Time reported, "The FTC says there is no science to back up the claims. The results of studies that have been done show that Pom products show no more efficacy than a placebo."

"Wonderful" is downright modest compared with, for example, a kitchen cleaner named Fantastik! not to mention the makeup, Super Orgasm.

Even the world of theatre, where stage plays relentlessly assault capitalism, can't resist its unwarranted horn-tooting when it comes to lining their pockets. For example, Berkeley's very non-proletarian-priced Aurora Theatre's current play is The Arsonists. Its promo: "See what everyone's talking about!" I live heavily in the Bay Area theatre scene. Not one person has mentioned The Arsonists.

A decade ago, the company that made the two-wheel Segway promised it would revolutionize travel. When was the last time you saw a Segway? Perhaps the revolution was impeded because its CEO James Heselden died when his Segway accidentally rolled off a cliff.

From whence stems America's bloviation? One likely suspect is America's obsession with building people's self-esteem. We praise them or certainly don't criticize them for bragging about attributes they've acquired without effort: "Black is Beautiful," I'm Italian and I'm Proud," Girls Rock." Such phrases are no mere sideshows: A Google search on "Girls rock" revealed 3.4 million hits (and only 0.9 million for "Boys Rock" but I'll leave the reasons for the disparity for another column.) Ironically, studies find that Asians have the lowest average self-esteem and the highest achievement while Blacks have the highest self-esteem and the lowest achievement. That makes sense: If you think you're already wonderful, you're less likely to feel the need to work hard.

Sure, when it's exigent, we may feign modesty. After all, humility is core to America's New Testament roots: "I accept this honor not just on behalf of myself but of my colleagues, friends, and family without whom this wouldn't be possible. It truly was a team effort." Not withstanding such calculated understatement, we are America the Tootiful.

I cannot claim that every word that has emerged from my lips or fingers rises to sainthood but I write this column in hopes it might encourage all of us to pull on ropes of restraint and become a little less tootiful. It is key to the life well-led.

The Hail Mary Cover Letter: For when you're a longshot job applicant

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:46:00 +0000

If you're a longshot job applicant it may be worth a Hail Mary resume and, the topic of my post today on USNews.com, a Hail Mary cover letter.

What's New in Finding a Job

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:12:00 +0000

My AOL post today is on some relatively new angles on using the internet in finding a job.

What's New in Finding a Career, Landing a Job, and Starting a Business

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:51:00 +0000

I was on KGO Radio's Ronn Owens Program today. In preparing for the show, I made notes. Lest they go to waste, I've adapted them into this post.

Likely source of new jobs: Comprehensive immigration reform/mass legalization. It will create jobs preparing immigrants for the citizenship exam. Illegals are high users of the health care, legal and social service systems, so just these should burgeon: bureaucrats, translators, health care providers, lawyers, court clerks, bailiffs, etc. In the private sector, supermarket chains such as Mi Pueblo should burgeon and nightclubs, radio, and TV shows, etc. will be repurposed to accommodate the change in audience tastes. And this amnesty, if it's like the previous ones, will trigger new waves of immigrants, ensuring that the job market in these areas will be strong. Learn Spanish.

Growing areas in tech. there's a decent chance that mobile and social media, currently hot, will soon peak. I'm more bullish on:

computer security
digital forensics: prosecute hackers, spouses hiding money, employee theft.
and especially Big Data: data warehousing, architecture, and mining. I'm bullish because the massive data is already close to enabling marketers to predict what you'll buy, when and why. In the health care space, the data will be used to identify more cost-effective diagnoses and treatments. Credit card companies will use Big Data to more accurately predict if a transaction is likely to be fraudulent. Stock pickers will use Big Data to develop more predictive models of what to buy and sell.

Some careers that many people would find fun: pyrotechnician, store merchandiser, hairstylist, garden designer or coach, beer brewer, sports announcer. Alas, it's not easy to land a good job in most of these fields.

What's new and working in landing a job?

· Writing a business plan: what you could do in the first 90 days.

· Including a portfolio of your work products with your applications

· Cleaning up your Google results: If you've posted things you wouldn't want your employer to see, consider taking them down.

· A great LinkedIn profile including an engaging headshot,

· Twesume: A 140-character resume on Twitter. e.g., Tech PR pro, experience both in-house and agency: [link].

· CareerSonar ranks all jobs available online by the strength of your connections on Facebook and LinkedIn. That makes it easy for you to know when to try to get a connection to try to help you.

Job-search Hail Marys

The resume as an Amazon page, infographic, or Monopoly board.
Walk in. If there's a security guard, arrive when lots of employees are and try to get one to say, "He's with me."
Take control of part of the interview, for example, ask if you might go to the white board and explain.
Ask probing questions: "Would you tell me something about working here that wouldn't appear in the employee handbook?" or "Why should and shouldn't I want to work for you?"

Advice for people who get frustrated with coworkers. It's tough to change people so after a brief effort, minimize interaction with them, get them to leave, or you leave.

Self-employment ideas

Match.com ad coach
High-quality coin-operated laundry: with a kid center, coffeehouse/concerts/videos/internet access, big-screen TV.
Videoscribe/Whiteboard Animation (using Powtoon or Sparkol.)

Semi-retirement jobs. Interim executive, healthcare advocate, inn sitter, tour guide, advisor to returning college students, teach classes in adult school or as guest speaker in university classes.

Advice for new college grads that are stuck: Circle a date on your calendar a month or two out by which date you will have picked something. Most people who are happy with their careers wouldn't have known it going in. They end up loving their career only when they've become the go-to guy/gal. Then look for a launchpad job--an entry-level position that will put you at the elbow of people who can teach you and get you promoted.

What's New in Landing a Job

noreply@blogger.com (Marty Nemko) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 03:23:00 +0000

Sometimes it feels that job searching hasn't changed in eons: Write a resume, network, answer ads, interview.

There are new factors, all internet-based:

Employers will google you. If there's something you've posted that you don't want prospective employes to see, take it down. If someone else has written something unfairly negative about you, see if you can get him to take that down.
Be sure your LinkedIn profile is complete, including an engaging headshot.
CareerSonar ranks all jobs available online by the strength of your connections on Facebook and LinkedIn. That makes it easy for you to know when to try to get a connection to try to help you.
Glassdoor.com makes it easy to dig up the straight scoop on what it's like to interview with and work for a specific employer.
It can't hurt to make some smart posts on a blog, Twitter, or LinkedIn forum.
You might create a website containing a portfolio of your work
If you're camera-friendly, post a YouTube resume or you explaining something you're expert in.
You might try posting a Twesume: a 140-character resume on Twitter. Employers like to screen fast and many are looking for social-media-friendly applicants. Sample: Tech PR pro. 16+ years experience both in-house & agency. Looking in LA.
You can also use Twitter to try to get leads, for example, Looking for a job in X field, and would greatly appreciate feedback on my online portfolio! [link]
In answering job ads or making unsolicited queries to prospective employers, include a portfolio of your work products and/or a business plan explaining what you could do if hired.
What's working less well is asking for informational interviews. People are sick of being asked. Replace that by being a savvy googler and searcher of LinkedIn groups.