From the corner office...

An article in the Washington Business Journal released the results of the Vintage CEO Confidence Index, a quarterly survey of U.S.-based executives' outlooks and habits.

What was the biggest finding?

Well, the executives surveyed said that their biggest business concern is recruiting and retaining talented employees. To solve this problem, these companies have been adjusting their management and corporate culture to meet the needs of Gen X and Gen Y, who collectively make up 58% of the workforce. 

Their reasoning?

These companies feel that by understanding these generations and their work habits, they will better be able to reach them. 

Makes sense to me. What do you think? Are their other ways for employers to recruit and retain employees? 

Your Career Questions, Answered

You told us you needed the answers to these burning questions about your career, so we looked near and far to find you the answers. Click the "answers" label under What We're Talking About (at right) to check back for updates!

Ask us a new question here.

Accounting & Finance
Q: I obtained a bachelor’s degree in accounting 2 years ago. I have been attempting to find a job, but have been unsuccessful due to lack of experience. How can I increase my experience? –Daniel from Delta, Ohio

A: Check it out!

Q: I am getting an M.B.A in finance. I got a job offer at an insurance company where they sell insurance and mutual founds. They job is by commission. Will this job help me towards my financial career? -Miguel, IL

A: Check it out!

Consulting
Q: What is a good way to get into consulting if you don't have a business/economics background? –George from New York City

A: Check it out!

Education
Q: I am considering a career in school conseling, but I am having trouble finding programs in my area. How do I find them and determine which is the best for me? –Kasey from Hull, MA

A: Check it out!

Engineering & Technology
Q: I am 53 years old and due to graduate 12/08. My major is ETIS Industrial Systems and will receive a BS degree. Will my age be a problem finding employment? –Ralph from Smyrna, TN

A: Check it out!

Q: I have two questions: 1. What kind of degree/certification will I need for a career in Computer Security? 2. What program languages would I need experience with to be successful in eCommerce? –Kat from Cincinnati, Ohio

A: Check it out!

Q: I've heard that a quick and easy way to start a career in the high tech. industry is to become a systems engineer and that a six month course that gives a Windows certification can open doors to entry level positions. Positions that offer further training and $30K+/yr, for anyone with a 4 year degree. Is this true? –Michael from Madison, WI

A: Check it out!

Healthcare
Q: I am interested in gaining global health experience. I have an MPH in global health but am having a hard time translating my work in the U.S. to jobs that will provide me with some overseas experience. Any suggestions how I can break out of this catch-22 situation? -Anonymous

A: Check it out!

Q: What are some of the things you can do with a degree in Chinese Medicine? –Stephen from Dallas, TX

A: Check it out!

Job Search
Q: I am a recent graduate (master's degree) without much experience, because I attended grad school a year after undergrad w/o working in between, what should I put on a resume? –Sherra from Dekalb, IL

A: Check it out!

Marketing
Q: How will the job market look for college grads majoring in Management/Marketing in 2009? –Hussain from Chicago, IL

A: Check it out!

Networking
Q: I am an active Rotarian in a very influential local club and wish to use my network therein to search for an executive position. However, I do not want to offend my fellow members and would like to know if you could suggest a format or resource to draft an appropriate letter to those who may have a position or could assist me in discovering an opportunity? –Michael from Elkhard, IN

A: Check it out!

Entertainment
Q: I want to get a job as a broadcast manager on a cruise ship right after graduation. What can you tell me about the application process? -Laura from Peoria, IL

A: Check it out!

Work Abroad
Q: What advice would you offer for those who want to eventually work abroad, specifically in Italy? –Evan from Bloomington, IL

A: Check it out!

Miscellaneous
Q: How much do Industrial Organizational Psychologists earn annually? -Shemeeka from Ocean Township, NJ

A: Typical salaries for Industrial Organization Psychologists vary depending on the type of degree, the type of employer, and location of the job. According to the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychologists (SIOP), a master’s graduate starts out making $38,750, the starting salary for a Ph.D graduate is $55,000, and the media salary in the industry is about $80,000. Within the private sector, they can make up to $100,000 annually. If you are looking for greater job opportunities and higher pay, you will want to consider a master’s degree, and a doctorate degree will provide the highest amount of opportunity and pay. Check out our salaries guide to find out more!

Q: What kinds of jobs are there for history majors? -Terry from Concord, North Carolina

A: There are many diverse opportunities for history majors. The most obvious job would be as an educator, but you can also work in museums, on documentaries, write/edit historical content, or work as an archivist. Another obvious option would be continuing your education into law school, but if that’s not your thing, you can work as a paralegal or find employment at a foundation. This major allows you the opportunity to work in basically any field that interests you. Many people who started out with a specific academic major end up doing something completely different in their careers. Check out our Rising Star profiles of young professionals to find out about possible career paths from people just like you!

Career Question: How Can I Tap Into an Influential Network?

Question: I am an active Rotarian in a very influential local club and wish to use my network therein to search for an executive position. However I do not want to offend my fellow members and would like to know if you could suggest a format or resource to draft an appropriate letter to those who may have a position or could assist me in discovering an opportunity. --Michael, Elkhart, IN

Answer: Dear Michael, I think you will, indeed, offend your fellow Rotary members by writing a letter asking for job leads. Even though Rotary clubs are intended to provide professional networking opportunities to its members (in addition to the #1 goal of community service), I think such a letter would not go over well. Networking is not that overt.

What may be more effective is for you to spread the word that you are looking for an executive position when you attend regular Rotary gatherings. During this period, show up for every meeting and service project, and not just because “the” right person might be there to speak with you and steer you toward your goal. If you want something from the club and its members, you should be willing to give back.

At these regular gatherings, approach fellow members with questions that will allow them to share information and serve as informal mentors: “Can you share some insight on executive jobs in your industry?”; “Would you mind taking a look at my resume sometime and let me know if the language and format are correct for seeking a job in your industry?” “Are there any landmines I should avoid when applying for a job at XYZ company?” In this manner, you are not asking them for a job or even a concrete job lead; you are asking them to share their expertise. And be subtle about bringing up this topic and posing these questions. Wait until a conversation presents an opening for you to go down this road. If you are not subtle, people will begin to avoid you if they think that this topic will be the first thing out of your mouth whenever they greet you.

Good luck!

Nancy R. Mitchell
The Etiquette Advocate

For more advice on job-seeker & employee etiquette, check out Oh, Behave!, Nancy Mitchell's column on the Experience website.

My roommate's first big-girl job

It's true, my roommate got her first job. After graduating last May with a BA in foreign languages and healthcare, she has devoted the last seven months to finding a job that combines her two passions. And she has finally found it!

She accepted a job working in client services at one of the nation's largest health insurance providers. She's been training now for a little over a month and is about halfway done her training program. As a rookie to the corporate world, I thought she could provide some unique insight through a series of Q&A sessions.

Here's what came of our first installment:

Question: What is the biggest challenge you've faced since starting your new job?

Answer: The biggest challenges I’ve faced since starting my new job have been adjusting to the type of work and retaining all the new information. Starting a job at the bottom in a vast field such as health care, in my opinion, is a great opportunity to learn the basics. We get the broadest foundation from the systems and terminology to the company itself. I had also thought that answering phones all day would be a mindless job; however, I quickly learned from day one that it is anything but, and no two calls are the same. Yet on the plus side, the pace and diversity of the job makes the day go by fast and keeps us free from boredom.

Q: How's the training process going?

A: Training is going well so far. After 4 weeks in a classroom learning how to use all our resources so that we can fully and accurately answer questions from our members, we have moved to a training lab. In the lab we are taking real member calls to the extent of the health plans we know thus far. I would have never known that there was so much information to learn when working in a call center and it’s for sure not as easy as I had imagined. The entire training process lasts roughly 12 weeks; so far we have 5 weeks down and counting.

Q: How is this job different from past jobs/internships?

A: This job is much different from anything I’ve ever done in the past. Coming right from a waitressing job where I was on my feet nonstop for 8-14 hours a day, it was quite a change to be sitting in front of a computer for the whole work day. It definitely took some adjusting and I was inundated with the amount of new material we are expected to learn. In comparison to an internship I did with a Department of Interpretive Services at a hospital, this job is similar in that my role is again as a middle-man. Whereas at my internship I shadowed an interpreter who relayed messages between patients and providers, I am now interpreting the questions and concerns of members who call and relating that to their health insurance policies.

Q: If you could sum up your experiences at your new job in three words, what would they be?

A: Team-oriented, purposeful, changing


***Stay tuned for more updates on my roommate's new job in the future. And if you have any questions you'd like me to ask my roommate, leave a comment.


Image from www.jfgi.org

Career Question: How Can I Write A Resume If I Don't Have Any Experience?

Question: I am a recent graduate (master's degree) without much experience, because I attended grad school a year after undergrad without working in between. What should I put on a resume? --Sherra, DeKalb, IL

Answer: This is a common dilemma, and some might say it’s a good argument for delaying grad school in favor of gaining some real-world work experience. But you’ve chosen to go pretty much straight from undergrad to grad school, and I have to applaud your stamina. Now, what can you put on your resume?

Presumably, you’ve gained a lot of professional skills over the past several years in school—start thinking about what they include. For instance, writing would be a skill, as would computer programming, as would research, as would “soft” skills like good communication, teamwork, etc. Maybe you know some computer applications? Put those on there too.

Then, you need to think about the things you’ve done that could qualify as professional experience. For instance, did you work as a TA or an assistant to a professor? What did you do with your summers? Ever have an internship or work with an academic mentor? All of this can go on your resume.

Did you attend any conferences, publish any papers, learn to speak any languages? These can all go on there too.

The best thing to do, once you’ve had a chance to brainstorm all the experience you do have, is to make an appointment or set up a phone call with the career services office at the university where you got your master’s degree. They can help you format a resume, decide what to include, and give you some tips on cover letters too. Good luck!

Any additional advice for Sherra? Please leave a comment.

National public service: Harvard Law makes the case

So the good news this week is that Harvard Law School – recognizing the importance of public service to society, is offering a huge tuition break to students willing to commit to public service. The bad news is that you have to get into Harvard Law School to be eligible.

But the case for public service – either on a national level or a more narrowly defined basis – keeps being made. I’m certainly not suggesting a mandatory military-type “draft”. I’m thinking more along the lines of Harvard Law – strong, financial incentives to supplement the emotional rewards.

One version of national public service would put $5,000 in a bond for each baby born in the U.S. If that child grows up and commits to public or military service for a year, the money with interest (probably more than $15,000) would be turned over to be spent on education, housing, or starting a business.

Other versions of public service plans, focusing more on the mission than on the money, could include an Education Corps (for training teachers), a Green Corps (for environmental training), or a Health Corps (for medical training).

Some of the presidential candidates talked about national service earlier in the campaign season, but we haven’t heard much from them lately. Might be interesting to see whether the idea is revived after the nominating conventions.

What Influences Your Employment Decisions?

If I had to guess, I'd probably go with money. But aside from universal factors like salary, benefits, and compensation, several other key criteria influence employment decisions. Some of which depend on your age.

Dave Sanford, executive vice president at a Boston-area staffing firm, claims that where job seekers sit on the generational continuum can affect how they make employment decisions. Sanford's article highlights the differences between what Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964), Generation X (born 1964-1979), and Millennials/Gen Y (born 1980 or later) value in their careers and employers.

The Differences

• Baby Boomers value location, loyalty and work ethic, and financial security and stability.

• Gen X looks for employer stability, a forum for questioning authority, and flexible work arrangements.

• Millennials are interested in socially conscious employers, independent contributions wtihin a team environment, and flexibility in roles and schedules and a comfortable environment.

What do you think? Does this match up with what you value in your career and employers?

Social Responsibility Starts at...Work?

According to Wikipedia, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is "a concept whereby organizations consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment in all aspects of their operations. This obligation is seen to extend beyond the statutory obligation to comply with legislation and sees organizations voluntarily taking further steps to improve..."

As a job-seeker, you might be interested to know whether your employer embraces social responsibility--some say a company who cares about the world at large is more likely to care about its employees too.

Here are 10 companies (in no particular order) who've taken the CSR pledge and run with it:

Natural Investing (CA, CO, HI)
Canon Inc. (VA, Japan)
Genentech, Inc. (CA)
Greenbiz.com (CA)
Fair Trade Federation (DC)
SC Johnson (WI, IL)
Ten Thousand Villages (Northeast)
Timberland (NH)
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (VT)
Bergmann Associates Architectural Firm (NY, PA, FL)

Pictured: Experience employees volunteer at the Greater Boston Food Bank.

Future of interviewing: Is it something in your past?

As it turns out, you never can learn enough about what to anticipate in a job interview. As interviewers have become more sophisticated, a candidate must as well.

“Behavioral interviewing” has been catching on, and with good reason. Often referred to as the STAR approach (Situation or Task, Action you took, Results you achieved), it reflects a need to find out more about the soft skills you can bring to the table (and the job).

Instead of merely reciting a bullet list of your skills or accomplishments, these are questions about how you behave, particularly in situations of stress or challenge. If you (and who hasn’t?) have too many things to do under impossible deadlines, how do you, or did you, prioritize your tasks?

Or, talk about a stressful situation you were in, how you dealt with it and what you learned from it? Was there a time when you were given an important job and failed at it? Or needed to make an instantaneous decision – nobody else around to help make it for you?

You get the picture – it’s complex, and it’s demanding. The good news is that, at least for now, it’s a type of interviewing used most commonly only by large, top-notch corporations. If you can prepare yourself to tell stories that create a bridge to the employer’s needs, you’re in great shape.

The even-better news – regardless of whether your career is still in its early stages, you’ll be able to think back and prepare great stories to wow the interviewer.

(Spoiler warning!!!) We’ll be revisiting behavioral interviewing in the future, but in the meantime you can get more information about interviewing.

Photo by PatL

Gates moves tech job-seekers to the front of the line

Noting that qualified IT job seekers with limited experience often find it difficult to connect with potential employers, Bill Gates said he wants to solve this problem.

Testifying before a congressional committee on science and technology this week, Gates discussed both the past and future trends in technology careers.

"Although IT skills are in high demand, it can often be difficult for qualified job seekers with limited experience to connect with potential employers.

“To address this challenge, Microsoft recently launched the Students to Business (S2B) program, which is designed to help companies connect with and hire talented university or post-graduate students for jobs or internships in the technology industry. “

"Through the S2B program, Microsoft collaborates with universities and businesses to provide students with specialized IT training and internship opportunities and helps match qualified job candidates with open positions at thousands of Microsoft partner companies so that students are able to find the right job for their IT capabilities.

“Microsoft S2B also helps match students to internships. Because IT professionals who have had one or more internships as students tend to secure better jobs when they enter the workforce, the S2B program provides IT students with a range of opportunities to build their experience and strengthen their resumes.”

Find out more information on the Microsoft Students to Business portal.

Career Comedy: What Not to Do at Work

Interested in printing our cartoon in your college newspaper
or alumni publication? Find a higher-resolution, print-friendly file here: 11amCartoon

Want to receive free-to-reprint cartoons and career articles to your inbox?
Sign up for Experience's College News Line at
www.cnl.experience.com or call 978-499-9250 x 234.

Career Advice for Women? Take It With a Grain of Salt

Compare this excerpt from a recent column by Brazen Careerist Penelope Trunk to the excerpt from The Feminine Mystique, a 1963 book by Betty Friedan, below it:

Women who want to have children should make it a priority in their twenties to find a partner....[Y]ou have your whole life to get a career. Obviously, that's not true of having a baby. If you are past your early twenties, and you're single and want to have children, you need to find a partner now. Take that career drive and direct it toward mating - your ovaries will not last longer than your career....The good news is that psychology research shows you will gain more happiness anyway by finding a partner than by having a good job. --Penelope Trunk (2008)

Over and over women [in the 1940s and 50s] heard in voices of tradition and of Freudian sophistication that they could desire no greater destiny than to glory in their own femininity. Experts told them how to catch a man and keep him, how to breastfeed children and handle their toilet training...how to dress, look, and act more feminine and make marriage more exciting....They were taught to pity the neurotic, unfeminine, unhappy women who wanted to be poets or physicists or presidents. They learned that truly feminine women do not want careers, higher education, political rights--the independence and the opportunities that the old-fashioned feminists fought for. --Betty Friedan (1963)

In 2008, on the eve of a presidential election that very well may include a female candidate, are we experiencing some sort of backlash against the idea that a woman can find happiness and fulfillment outside the home? Or is Penelope Trunk's mandate to "start mating ASAP" a valuable piece of advice for today's female workers?

Student loans sideswiped by the economy

Finances are generally a straightforward topic – you always need money, and getting the education you want means you work or borrow the money. Most of the time, when you hear things like subprime mortgage crisis, you tend to ignore it.

Truth is, everything in the economy affects everything else. Now the inability of people to pay back some loans has had a drastic effect on mortgage lenders and banks.

For students looking for loans, or alumni trying to refinance existing loans, this means being smarter about finding loan sources. State agencies in Pennsylvania, Michigan and New Hampshire and several other states have scaled back available funds, but most other states are continuing with funding. And even where the states have cut back, private loans are still available. According to FinAid.org, loan issues need to be watched – don’t take anything for granted.

In addition to checking with your school or current lender, other sources of information include NellieMae, the federal Direct Loans site, and numerous other private loan providers. For an update on the status of your existing loans, try the National Student Load Data System. You can learn more about the basics of student loans or ways to deal with student debt.

You’re definitely not alone here, with many U.S. legislators looking for ways to ease the crunch in a hurry to reflect the changes in the economy. Help is definitely on the way.

Google Ranks Number 1... Again!

Fortune released its annual 100 best companies to work for list, and Google took the top prize for the second year running. Closing out the top 10 were:

2. Quicken Loans

3. Wegmans Food Markets

4. Edward Jones

5. Genetech

6. Cisco Systems

7. Starbucks

8. Qualcomm

9. Goldman Sachs

10. Methodist Hospital System

Check out the Fortune rankings and learn what makes Google so great, find the best employers in your state and search the profiles of the 25 top-paying companies. I have to admit, it's pretty interesting!

Please, just let me sleep a little later

As some of you have heard by now, we turn the clocks ahead this weekend, moving over to Daylight Savings Time pretty early this year. There are some historic reasons, some alleged energy-savings reasons, and a lot of sick-of-winter psychological reasons for doing this.

The problem is, some of us have to deal with internal clocks that make a good night’s sleep pretty difficult as is. Now there’s this additional wrinkle, compounded by the fact that a lot of areas of the country are still so cold that you can’t do much with that extra hour anyway.

So I side with anyone who accepts the fact that DST means losing an hour’s sleep. Which in turn means it’s going to have an effect on everybody at work – trying to stay focused and cheery when you’re actually tired and grumpy.

What do the experts say? They suggest we use the remainder of the weekend to readjust to the new time schedule. Exercise more, don’t take naps, avoid caffeine, and make gradual sleep adjustments,

Pardon me, but if we could do that anyway, eight hours of sleep in only ONE night wouldn’t seem like such an unattainable goal.

What about you, does the switchover to Daylight Time mean a lot of extra coffee at work on Monday?

Career Comedy: Keep a Close Watch on Your Supplies

Interested in printing our cartoon in your college newspaper
or alumni publication? Find a higher-resolution, print-friendly file here: cactuscartoon

Want to receive free-to-reprint cartoons and career articles to your inbox?
Sign up for Experience's College News Line at
www.cnl.experience.com or call 978-499-9250 x 234.

My Fifth Spring Break...

Next week will mark my fifth Spring Break, and my first as a grad student. As a veteran of this week-long break, you'd think I'd know everything there is to know about it (options, hot spots, etc.). Well... I don't. And you probably don't either.

Experience just launched a Spring Break Special, which chronicles ways to make the most of your break. Whether you spend your week volunteering or job shadowing, there are several ways to use your break to put you ahead in terms of career development. Several ways that I didn't even know about.

My fifth Spring Break will be spent with my family up in Maine. While I do plan on relaxing (A LOT), I am not going to waste the week doing nothing. I plan to use my time off to research potential career paths and specific companies.

What are your plans for Spring Break?

A Creative Approach to the Job Search

I'm on a quest to find out whether Erin got hired.

What creative job-search antics have you heard about? And have they worked?