by Cynthia Favre, Career Center Director
Federal stimulus money is being used to rebuild the main street of Saint Peter. The engineers and builders are using “design-build” for this project. That means that they have specific goals and a general vision of what the end project will look like, but they not laid out all the specifics and details. Apparently they have found that it is less time and resources if they start the project and make decisions and adjustments as they go about the details.
This “design-build” model my also work well for job seekers.
Having worked with liberal arts graduates for 20 years on job search strategies, I have found that it is not always – in fact, is rarely – helpful to tell them they need to know what they are looking for as they begin a job search. They are like the “design-build” engineers. They have some general goals and ideas, but they do not have an exact picture of what they are looking for because they don’t know what’s out there.
For that reason, I tell them they need to start looking to figure out what they are looking for. Rather than waiting for their dream job to magically appear or to wake up one day and just know what job they want (known here as the “Ah Ha!” Career Development method), I invite them to dive into the job search – to engage in it and use those liberal arts skills to research, analyze, investigate, communicate, problem solve, connect, present, and negotiate. Taking action is much better than being frustrated and angry when the dream job does not magically appear and you don’t wake up just knowing what you want to do with the rest of your life.
To start looking without knowing what you are looking for is basically doing research. Start with job search sites like Indeed and Simply Hired and read job notices based on a search of keywords that interest you. Try the keyword “anything,” for example. Today that would give you 7,766 jobs posted in the U.S. – mostly child care, dog walking and telemarketing. As you zero in on keywords that seem to pop jobs of interest, you’ll find you’re starting to name what you’re seeking.
For right now, don’t worry about the pay, the experience needed, the degree needed. Just look at it if it interests you. Then, examine the positions for patterns in what you’re drawn to. Are there certain job titles? Are there certain types of employers? this will be the beginning of a list of positions to apply for and employers to research. The great thing about this is that it is concrete, real and specific. Liberal arts candidates often ask what they can do or what they are qualified to do. I tell them the good news is they can do whatever they want; the bad news is they have to figure that out!
If you remain open to possibilities and are willing to engage in “design-build,” liberal arts candidates are likely to find opportunities that they have not imagined. I see this every year when candidates return from a statewide job fair saying that they would never have thought of a particular employer but they happened to talk to them at the event – and now they have a job or internship!