Sex and Your Job Search 2013: A Guide to Scoring Your Dream Job (6 page)

For an employer, the beauty of a temporary worker is that they can call the agency and say, “Please don’t send this person back the next day.” The agency then communicates that to the individual. It’s a quick and clean process, with
no
stress for the employer. So make the right impression to ensure they request you day after day, which increases the chances you’ll be offered full-time employment.

A temp at a local company, who we’ll call Melissa, seemed nice and, in the two months she’d been with the company, seemed like a decent worker. She didn’t know it, but her boss had talked with HR about creating a permanent position for her.

Then, out of the blue, Melissa proceeded to demand a raise because she felt her duties weren’t proportionate with her pay. Otherwise, she would have to quit. Mmmm-kay.

The list of job responsibilities she claimed to be doing were similar to those of an administrator making close to $120,000 a year. They included researching and writing complex reports, completing employee evaluations, researching competitors’ products, managing staff, and creative idea generation.

What she was really doing was filing. All day. With her headphones in both ears. Her boss didn’t know what to say. Everyone could see what she did all day and they didn’t know why she thought she deserved more money. Needless to say, that was her last day.

I have seen temporary employees receive full-time job offers more times than I can count. On the other hand, I’ve also seen people completely screw up this opportunity. How? Let’s think in terms of characters from
The Office
:

• By being a Stanley: Not talking to the employees they are working with

• By being a Ryan: Giving off a pretentious “I’m too good for this job” air

• By being a Dwight: Complaining constantly

• By being a Michael: Procrastinating

• By being a Kelly: Gossiping
way
too much

Here’s my advice: be nice to everyone and strike up conversations. Sincerely compliment someone on something you notice, whether it be the way they dress, something in their cubicle, or something they do well on the job. It’s the decent thing to do, and you never know who knows who at a company. In addition, a large number of corporations use peers as interviewers and decision-makers during the hiring process. But don’t go overboard—keep your chats to under ten minutes (unless they’re giving you job advice).

Ok, I said I had more temp agency success stories than I could count. I feel obliged to include at least one.

A friend of mine, who we’ll call Elizabeth, registered at a temp agency and let them know she was looking for a permanent position. She received two short-term placements and had good reviews from both employers. As a result of this feedback, the temp agency became familiar with her work style, skills, and personality.

On Elizabeth’s next assignment she hit the jackpot! She was placed as a Tech Analyst into a company that helps organizations recycle and go green. The corporate culture was a perfect fit and within two weeks she had a full-time job offer. She’s still working there fifteen years later, with great work life benefits, and hasn’t looked back since.

6. RESPONDING TO ADS ON CAREER WEBSITES & TRADE MAGAZINES

Match, eHarmony, and PlentyofFish. Ring a bell? Stripped bare, these online dating sites are a way for people to advertise themselves. The job-search equivalent of these sites would be SimplyHired, Indeed, CareerBuilder, TheLadders, and Monster. When an employer advertises on one of these sites, they are saying: “These are
my
requirements for
my
perfect match for this position.” If a person meets the qualifications, they may be a fit.

As I mentioned earlier in Chapter 3, these sites are kind of a last resort for employers due to their cost. When employers advertise here, they are looking for someone specific, so make sure to pay attention to the requirements before applying. Then follow up using the advice from later chapters.

A friend of mine named Henry owned a small accounting firm two hours outside of Los Angeles. Frustrated by small town life, he sold the practice and started looking for a job in L.A. He had heard about “family offices” (billionaires like the Rockefellers have their own accounting departments) so he searched for them on CareerBuilder and Monster. By doing so, he came across a headhunter named Larry who advertised one of these jobs. Henry reached out immediately.

Within a week, Henry met with Larry, who said that the family office job had been filled. But he asked Henry if he knew what Business Management was. Henry said he didn’t know and listened to Larry’s explanation. “Well, really rich people, who can’t quite afford their own accountant staff like the Rockefellers, hire firms to pay their bills and take care of their taxes. These firms hire Business Managers. I have a job opening in Beverly Hills, are you interested?”

Days later Henry had an interview in Beverly Hills, and within a week he had an offer. Now he has an office with floor-to-ceiling windows and a view of the Hollywood sign. His six-figure starting salary was nice too. Henry went to a small Christian university in the Midwest and never expected to be working with A-list celebrities. But he knew that exploring career websites and networking were the keys to success.

Career websites are good starting points. Use what you find and follow up accordingly.

7. CRAIGSLIST AND NEWSPAPER ADS

Depending on the type of position and salary, Craigslist and newspapers can be effective. Generally these methods are cost-effective ways of advertising a position for a startup or mid-sized company. Some great jobs and employers can definitely be found there.

Watch out for spam job postings, though. If the job posting lists a lot of specific job responsibilities
and
benefits, it is most likely legit. If it suggests you can become a millionaire with little training or by building your own “brand,” you are most likely going to be selling stuff door-to-door or making a ton of phone calls selling BS services.

An acquaintance of mine answered a vague Craigslist ad a few years ago that advertised the potential to make hundreds of dollars a day. When he showed up to the warehouse, he and several others were loaded into a van and driven an hour away. Once they arrived in a not so good residential neighborhood, the group leader instructed them to sell tickets for a large county fair and to not come back until they were all sold. The group was told in a threatening manner that if they did not sell all the tickets, they would not get a ride back home.

Worried for his safety, my acquaintance called a friend to ask for directions to the closest bus stop. He dumped the county fair tickets on the bus bench right before boarding the bus.

8. VOLUNTEERING

Volunteering at the company of your dreams should not be this far down the list! It can be
very
effective. But, unfortunately very few people have the time to volunteer in this economy.

“You mean, like, work for free?” you may be thinking. Yes.

If you can make the time, showcasing your skills for free can be very effective. Many organizations will allow free labor. Especially in healthcare. My employer’s health system has over two thousand active volunteers, a lot of whom are retired.

By volunteering you can showcase your work ethic, enthusiasm, and skills. You can also meet, network with, and befriend employees, so that when a job becomes available, you can be one of the
first
to be considered. To an employer, you would be a known quantity and would have already shown that you fit within their corporate culture. This is taking networking and making it work for you.

If you are a superstar volunteer, people will be happy to vouch for you, and it will only be a formality to get you into the job of your dreams. Ask the employer of your dreams if they allow volunteers in your desired area. Here’s an example of how someone volunteered and was hired into a job paying over $50,000 a year.

A Note For High School and College Students

If you are not sure what you want to do in life, consider volunteering or interning. Try a doctor’s office, business office, or sales office. Or try a combination. That way, you are exposed to the sciences, management, marketing, creative idea generation, and communication. Volunteering also exposes you to successful people and helps you get a sense for the line of work you truly enjoy.

Could it suck? Yes. Will it be boring sometimes? Sure. Are there times you will wish you were sitting on the beach instead? Absolutely. But by getting some career-related experience, you will be a hell of a lot closer to that beach in the long run. With a successful career, you’ll be better able to afford that beach house and time off to visit it. And in the process of volunteering, you may find a lifelong mentor in a boss who will provide guidance and letters of recommendation in critical moments (think college applications, LinkedIn, and your portfolio), putting you one step ahead of the competition. I’ve seen it work well for many people.

When people sign up to volunteer in our hospital, they can ask for a specific department or field. If the requested area is not available, they can ask for the next closest thing. My advice? Be willing to do anything.

I suggested this to an applicant, let’s call him Joe, who applied for a job working with computers, but was rejected due to lack of experience. He was a recent graduate from an information technology program at a technical school and was in his early twenties. He was sincere on the phone and told me he had a family to support, but didn’t lay it on too thick, which was nice. When he said he “would be willing to do anything,” I suggested he volunteer in a computer related department. As we got off the phone he said, “Maybe I will volunteer,” as if trying to convince himself.

About a year and half later, I had an internal applicant apply for a computer-related supervisor position. When he called to follow up on his application, he said, “I don’t know if you remember me, but you helped me get a job here because you told me to volunteer. Thanks man, it worked out for real!”