Sometimes, the Experts are Right
Current jobseekers know the statistics:
.0001% of people find jobs through the classified ads
.0002% of people find jobs online
You have a greater chance of landing on the moon than landing a job in this economy.
Most jobs are found through networking.
You just have to put yourself "out there".
Since hanging up my trenchcoat as a corporate spy and donning an apron as a coffeehouse gal, I have been looking for that so-called real job.
I met with all of my Boston friends' New Jersey pals. I bravely called the woman I met at the bad hair salon and met her for coffee. And, I checked in with my parents' friend who had always offered to hook me up with her VAST corporate network if I ever moved back into the area (all that got me was a voicemail with a misspelled web address from the above mentioned parental friend - thanks, I couldn't have done that on my own).
I scoured Monster.com; CareerBuilder.com, newspaper classifieds, and on-line versions of newspaper classifieds.
On January 14th I saw an ad on www.nj.com/jobs for:
Account Manager
Account Manager is the Primary individual that is responsible for maintaining multiple client accounts. The Account Manager would also be responsible for ensuring the accurate and timely submission of all documentation to client.
Hey, this sounded like it had some potential. And then I read:
Account Manager will provide telephone support to all client inquiries.
Telephone support. NO WAY!! Not interested. Thank you VERY much.
But, then I read the following:
The JK Group manages the philanthropic programs of major corportations.
Now that really sounded interesting. I wanted to find out more about this JK Group. So, I took my corporate spy trenchcoat off of it's hanger and slipped it back on. I did web searches to find the JK Group. I finally found some article that mentioned the president's name, searched more about him, and finally came up with the company's website: www.easymatch.com. I read on-line about them and decided to send in an email requesting an informational interview. I couldn't find the hr person's name on the site, so I called in. I spoke with a really friendly customer service person and when I told her I wanted to write in to the hr department, she gave me a name (let's just call her Ms. Jones). When I asked what her title was, I was expecting to hear Director of HR. The woman on the phone calmly told me that Ms. Jones was the CFO.
Well, OK then. So, I sent Ms. Jones CFO an email with my resume. At the bottom of the email I wrote:
"I am sure you are very busy, but I would truly appreciate it if we could meet for an informational interview. I will call you next week to see if we can schedule a time to meet. Thank you!"
Now, writing the email is easy. Picking up the phone and making the follow-up call, not so easy. I finally got the courage to call on January 24th. With voicemail directories, I was able to dial right in to Ms. Jones' office and, low and behold, she answered.
I blurted out something like "Hi Ms. Jones, my name blah blah blah, not sure you remember me, blah blah blah, sent you a resume blah blah blah..."
Well, it turns out that she did remember me, and we talked for a while on the phone and then she invited me in on Wednesday the 26th. As we were hanging up she said "Now listen, we all wear jeans here, so if you show up in a suit, we're all going to laugh at you."
So, that Wednesday, in my "good" jeans, I drove to a ubiqutious low brown building in a ubiqutious New Jersey office park and spent 2 hours meeting with Ms. Jones. In her oversized, but relatively empty office was a life sized cutout of Elvis, a few plants, and a paper strewn desk. We talked and talked for about 2 hours. She gave me a tour of the joint - from the warehouse to the server room. We walked by lots of cubicles filled with lots of people in jeans and t-shirts.
Now, wearing jeans all the time is fine by me, but it's so interesting how dress codes become uniforms in company cultures. It was very strange to see a woman of grandmotherly age, in grandmotherly hair and make-up, wearing puma sneakers, a lime green t-shirt, and baggy jeans, rushing past us in the hallway.
Anyway, at the end of the tour, Ms. Jones shook my hand, looked me directly in the eye and said "I've got some things to think about, and I'm going to talk to some people. You'll be hearing from us."
That Saturday she called to say that the president wanted to meet with me. So, on Tuesday, in my second best pair of jeans, I met for 2 hours with the president, Mr. Smith. It totally did not feel like an interview, but more like a meeting. At one point he said "So, Ms. Jones told you all about the job we're thinking about for you?" I told him, no, I actually had no idea that you were actually thinking of a specific job.
It turns out that the JK Group has a new product that will help major coporations manage their volunteer programs. And, to quote Mr. Smith "We need someone to champion the product." We brainstormed for a while and then Ms. Jones came in. The two were quite chummy with each other and there was a lot of laughing and smiling.
That Saturday Ms. Jones emailed me a complete job description, of which parts seemed to be pulled right from my resume. She did tell me they had to post the job internally, but that I would hear from her at the end of the week. That call told me that they were out of the office until Monday and she would call me then.
Monday came, she called, and offered me the job. Yippeee. I am the new Product Specialist for the JK Group. I get to wear jeans everyday, be creative with marketing, product development, and client and internal staff training. I will work directly with Mr. Smith. I even get an office instead of a cube. It also turns out that Mr. Smith the President, and Ms. Jones the CFO are married.
I start on Feb 28th.
Aside from the normal fears of:
1. I will be a big failure
2. I will mess up the whole company
3. People will be mean to me
I do have a few red flags up about:
1. The fact that Ms. Jones called me from the office, on Saturdays
2. Working for a married couple could be fascinating
I am thrilled about:
1. Working in a for-profit company again
2. Working in a for-profit company that does good in the world
3. Getting a chance to meet new people here in New Jersey
4. Getting a change to really use my brain again
5. NOT having to manage people
So, this one time, I tip my hat to those experts who say that the way to get the job is by putting yourself "out there". And, I am confident in the knowledge that if this job sucks, I can always get hired at Starbucks.
Wish me luck.
Oh, and probably the most exciting part is that I promised myself that when I got a "real job" I could get my hair highlighted. I bet you can't wait for the next hair update.
.0001% of people find jobs through the classified ads
.0002% of people find jobs online
You have a greater chance of landing on the moon than landing a job in this economy.
Most jobs are found through networking.
You just have to put yourself "out there".
Since hanging up my trenchcoat as a corporate spy and donning an apron as a coffeehouse gal, I have been looking for that so-called real job.
I met with all of my Boston friends' New Jersey pals. I bravely called the woman I met at the bad hair salon and met her for coffee. And, I checked in with my parents' friend who had always offered to hook me up with her VAST corporate network if I ever moved back into the area (all that got me was a voicemail with a misspelled web address from the above mentioned parental friend - thanks, I couldn't have done that on my own).
I scoured Monster.com; CareerBuilder.com, newspaper classifieds, and on-line versions of newspaper classifieds.
On January 14th I saw an ad on www.nj.com/jobs for:
Account Manager
Account Manager is the Primary individual that is responsible for maintaining multiple client accounts. The Account Manager would also be responsible for ensuring the accurate and timely submission of all documentation to client.
Hey, this sounded like it had some potential. And then I read:
Account Manager will provide telephone support to all client inquiries.
Telephone support. NO WAY!! Not interested. Thank you VERY much.
But, then I read the following:
The JK Group manages the philanthropic programs of major corportations.
Now that really sounded interesting. I wanted to find out more about this JK Group. So, I took my corporate spy trenchcoat off of it's hanger and slipped it back on. I did web searches to find the JK Group. I finally found some article that mentioned the president's name, searched more about him, and finally came up with the company's website: www.easymatch.com. I read on-line about them and decided to send in an email requesting an informational interview. I couldn't find the hr person's name on the site, so I called in. I spoke with a really friendly customer service person and when I told her I wanted to write in to the hr department, she gave me a name (let's just call her Ms. Jones). When I asked what her title was, I was expecting to hear Director of HR. The woman on the phone calmly told me that Ms. Jones was the CFO.
Well, OK then. So, I sent Ms. Jones CFO an email with my resume. At the bottom of the email I wrote:
"I am sure you are very busy, but I would truly appreciate it if we could meet for an informational interview. I will call you next week to see if we can schedule a time to meet. Thank you!"
Now, writing the email is easy. Picking up the phone and making the follow-up call, not so easy. I finally got the courage to call on January 24th. With voicemail directories, I was able to dial right in to Ms. Jones' office and, low and behold, she answered.
I blurted out something like "Hi Ms. Jones, my name blah blah blah, not sure you remember me, blah blah blah, sent you a resume blah blah blah..."
Well, it turns out that she did remember me, and we talked for a while on the phone and then she invited me in on Wednesday the 26th. As we were hanging up she said "Now listen, we all wear jeans here, so if you show up in a suit, we're all going to laugh at you."
So, that Wednesday, in my "good" jeans, I drove to a ubiqutious low brown building in a ubiqutious New Jersey office park and spent 2 hours meeting with Ms. Jones. In her oversized, but relatively empty office was a life sized cutout of Elvis, a few plants, and a paper strewn desk. We talked and talked for about 2 hours. She gave me a tour of the joint - from the warehouse to the server room. We walked by lots of cubicles filled with lots of people in jeans and t-shirts.
Now, wearing jeans all the time is fine by me, but it's so interesting how dress codes become uniforms in company cultures. It was very strange to see a woman of grandmotherly age, in grandmotherly hair and make-up, wearing puma sneakers, a lime green t-shirt, and baggy jeans, rushing past us in the hallway.
Anyway, at the end of the tour, Ms. Jones shook my hand, looked me directly in the eye and said "I've got some things to think about, and I'm going to talk to some people. You'll be hearing from us."
That Saturday she called to say that the president wanted to meet with me. So, on Tuesday, in my second best pair of jeans, I met for 2 hours with the president, Mr. Smith. It totally did not feel like an interview, but more like a meeting. At one point he said "So, Ms. Jones told you all about the job we're thinking about for you?" I told him, no, I actually had no idea that you were actually thinking of a specific job.
It turns out that the JK Group has a new product that will help major coporations manage their volunteer programs. And, to quote Mr. Smith "We need someone to champion the product." We brainstormed for a while and then Ms. Jones came in. The two were quite chummy with each other and there was a lot of laughing and smiling.
That Saturday Ms. Jones emailed me a complete job description, of which parts seemed to be pulled right from my resume. She did tell me they had to post the job internally, but that I would hear from her at the end of the week. That call told me that they were out of the office until Monday and she would call me then.
Monday came, she called, and offered me the job. Yippeee. I am the new Product Specialist for the JK Group. I get to wear jeans everyday, be creative with marketing, product development, and client and internal staff training. I will work directly with Mr. Smith. I even get an office instead of a cube. It also turns out that Mr. Smith the President, and Ms. Jones the CFO are married.
I start on Feb 28th.
Aside from the normal fears of:
1. I will be a big failure
2. I will mess up the whole company
3. People will be mean to me
I do have a few red flags up about:
1. The fact that Ms. Jones called me from the office, on Saturdays
2. Working for a married couple could be fascinating
I am thrilled about:
1. Working in a for-profit company again
2. Working in a for-profit company that does good in the world
3. Getting a chance to meet new people here in New Jersey
4. Getting a change to really use my brain again
5. NOT having to manage people
So, this one time, I tip my hat to those experts who say that the way to get the job is by putting yourself "out there". And, I am confident in the knowledge that if this job sucks, I can always get hired at Starbucks.
Wish me luck.
Oh, and probably the most exciting part is that I promised myself that when I got a "real job" I could get my hair highlighted. I bet you can't wait for the next hair update.
posted by Susan P. at 9:01 AM
2 Comments:
Well just fumbled on your blog, read this one and thoroughly enjoyed it. You have a great style of writing. Very light and captivating. Keep it up.
Hooray for Susanp! And yes, it IS a great entry. Don't stop blogging with your re-entry into busy corporate life (even if you do get to wear bluejeans). :)
We'll miss you at bookclub.
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