Overcoming Your Weaknesses

Chapter nine of What Color is Your Parachute by Richard N. Bolles discusses ways to overcome your, as he puts it, handicaps. A handicap can be anything from a mental disorder to not having graduated college. It can be that you feel you are too old or to shy or even too inexperienced. Everyone has a weakness. In fact, most of us have many weaknesses. Granted, we are harder on ourselves then others are on us, but we all have something we can improve on. However, just because we may not be the best at something doesn't mean we are incapable. Maybe we never learned a certain skill and all we need is a quick tutorial to understand it. Or maybe we had some type of health issue that prevented us from finishing school. No matter the situation, your weaknesses can only hold you back if you let them.

Bolles mentions several different prejudices that employer's often look at when hiring. The first is the length of time you have been out of work. Employer's tend to not want to hire people who haven't had a job in awhile. They fear that there is a negative reason as to why you have not found a job after so much time. The second prejudice that employer's often look at is age. If you are older, a company may not want to hire you because they know you will cost them more money. Also, if you are younger some companies may fear you do not have the necessary experience to complete the tasks required. Bolles says that the key to overcoming age prejudice is persistence. You just have to keep trying and eventually someone is going to say yes.

One prejudice that seemed shocking at first was the fact that some people were afraid to hire returning war veterans. When I first read that statement I couldn't think of any reason why someone would not hire a veteran. However, Bolles says that some employer's do not want to hire veterans because they fear the repercussions of veterans who have PTSD. The next two prejudice Bolles mentions are against ex-offenders and former patients (psychiatric and mental hospitals). Employer's are afraid of what may happen if they hire these people. Will it tarnish their company name to hire an ex-offender? Will they have to worry about an employee who may have some mental problems? These are all common thoughts that an employer may think of when interviewing either an ex-offender or former patient. Of course this should not be too much of a concern because the employer should be focusing on the candidates skills, not their personal life. Equal opportunity is something highly valued by people trying to find jobs in the United States and most employer's respect this.

The very last handicap that Bolles talks about is shyness. Being too shy can actually hurt your chances of getting a job. You have to jump at any chance you get to become the person you want to be. Of course you do not want to be overly aggressive, but you do want to assert yourself. Employer's should know that you mean business and that you are extremely qualified for the position you want. Confidence is the key to success. If you believe in your self, others will believe in you too.

Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pictoquotes/16679310135/">symphony of love</a> / <a href="http://foter.com/">Foter.com</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC BY-SA</a>
Photo credit: symphony of love / Foter.com / CC BY-SA

Understanding Who You Are

Chapter 7 of What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles gives information on how the reader can better understand themselves. Bolles says that if you understand yourself you will better understand what you want out of a job. Bolles gives the reader an image of a flower that has seven petals. Each petal represents one way that the reader can better understand themselves. The first petal represents your interests. It is important to understand what you like and do not like. If you walk into a job that is sales, and you don't like sales, then you are not going to succeed. If you do succeed, you will most likely not be happy. Doing something you like makes work enjoyable and motivates you to try harder. The second petal represents the people that you interact best with. If you are an outgoing quirky person and you work best with people who are able to collaborate then you should look for a company that offers that. Every company's culture is different, and there is bound to be one that fits your personality. If you are able to work well with the people on your team then you and your team are sure to create great projects.

The third petal represents the skills that you can perform. By understand what skills you have, you will be able to better market your self. Getting into a job that you know nothing about will not be good for you nor for the company.  I'm going to skip to petal five because it brings up a very good point that many people think is not relevant. The fifth petal represents what you want your salary to be and what you want your level of responsibility to be. This is so important. Many people think it is rude to be looking for a certain salary or level of responsibility. However, if you are not ready to be a manager then it will reflect in your work. If you feel that you need to learn a little bit more before you take on more responsibility, there is no shame in admitting it. You should want to succeed and learn. You should not want to overwhelm yourself and end up failing. However, if you feel that you are ready for more responsibility then you should always challenge your self. Again, only if you are ready.

The last petal I will discuss is the seventh petal which represents your goals or your sense of purpose. This is also very important. You need to define what your goals are and see if they align with the company you plan to work for goals. Often, if your goals align with the company's goals then you will find it easier to work for your company. If you feel that what a company is doing goes against your morals then it may not be something you can commit too. Having a job is hard work, finding a job you love is even harder. However, by understanding who you are you will be able to better find a job that meets your needs.

Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/amaynez/2145618222/">Armando Maynez</a> / <a href="http://foter.com/">Foter.com</a> / <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">CC BY</a>
Photo credit: Armando Maynez / Foter.com / CC BY

Best and Worst Ways to Find a Job

Chapter 6 in What Color is your Parachute by Richard N. Bolles talks about twelve different ways to find a job. Bolles discusses the best and worst ways to find a job and explains a little bit about each way. I was surprised that there were actually twelve different avenues to take when job searching. I always thought there were only a few basic ways, such as performing an online search, or getting a promotion, or having a connection. One important statement Bolles makes in this chapter is that you should never give up, no matter how many different ways or times you have tried to find a job you should always keep looking.

The first way to find a job that Bolles talks about is performing an online job search. I was extremely shocked when he said that online job searches only work 4% of the time. I thought that was the best way to job search because it seems so convenient for both employer and potential employee. The second way to find a job, that Bolles mentioned, was to send out your resume via the mail directly to the employer or post your resume online. Bolles says that this approach only works 7% of the time, which again was very shocking too me. Everyone always says that you need to get your resume out there, yet it does not seem that putting a resume out is very effective. Answering newspaper ads or going to an employment agency only works 5%-25% of the time. This was not quite as shocking in my opinion because I feel that we are really moving away from newspaper job postings especially with the increasing use of technology.

One approach that seems to work a little better than others is asking friends, family, and coworkers for possible job leads. Bolles says that this method works about 33% of the time. I find this statistic very believable because asking people is something that you do from your first part time job through to your very last career. It seems that the way to be most successful is to find what you are really interested in and contact those business in person to see if anything is open. If you are invested in what you do and the company you contact is just as invested you may be a perfect fit for each other.

Job hunting is never easy but with the tips that Bolles suggest, it can be a lot less stressful then you would think.

Book Credit:  Bolles, Richard. "The Six Secrets of Salary Negotiation." What Color Is Your Parachute? 2016 ed. Ten Speed, 2016. Print.

Salary Negotiation

Chapter 5 of What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles discusses salary negotiation. The author lists six different tips to help you negotiate your salary properly. Most people don't know how to ask for a certain salary or if they should even bring up salary. However, talking about your salary is very important because we obviously all need a certain amount of money to live. It's interesting to see that this is a common problem among people interviewing for a job because I know I have felt this way before. When I had to fill out applications for part time jobs a few years ago I remember the application asked me what I expected my wage per hour to be. Now obviously this was just a part time job but I still got nervous when the interviewer asked me what I thought I should get paid. I did not want to seem like I was being pushy but I also wanted to make sure I was getting paid a fair wage. As this post continues we will look at some of the six tips Bolles recommends for negotiating salaries.

The first tip Bolles suggest is to wait until you know you are going to get the job or the interviewer says they have to have you on their team. If you ask too early it may seem rude and if you ask too late then they may have something in mind that they are not willing to negotiate. The best time to ask is when you know everything about what the job requires and you feel comfortable with accepting the position. Bolles says to have a few responses prepared for when the interviewer asks about salary.

Another tip worth mentioning is that when salary negotiation is finally brought up you should always let the employer make the first offer. Bolles says their is no real reason as to why the employer should go first, rather it is just an unspoken rule. Presenting the interviewer with a range your willing to work with may make sense because then you know you are not presenting them with the highest or lowest number that they are willing to go too. If you suggest a salary that is low they may take you right off the bat, but that also means they may have been willing to pay you more. If you ask to high of a salary the interviewer may think you want too much and they will no longer want to hire you.

Bolles recommends researching the average salary for a position similar to the one you want before going into an interview. This will give you an advantage because you have information on what the market is currently willing to pay someone similar to you. This will also help you from asking for a salary that is too or high or too low, as we previously discussed.

Book Credit: Bolles, Richard. "The Six Secrets of Salary Negotiation." What Color Is Your Parachute? 2016 ed. Ten Speed, 2016. Print.

Google is Your Resume

In Chapter 2 of "What Color Is Your Parachute? 2016" by Richard Bolles you learn about how everything you put online becomes permanent and your potential employers will find it and they will look at it. It is so common for teenagers and young adults to post stuff on social media without thinking. Everyone seems to have pictures of themselves, in a shall we say not so great state of mind, plastered all over their Facebook pages or Instagram's. People tweet without thinking about what they are saying and this can be just as dangerous as posting an inappropriate photo on the internet. When you are young you do not think that one day you'll need to get a job and your potential employer will be looking at everything you've posted online. However, we have all come to learn that unfortunately as much as you may not like your part time job you cannot go posting about it online. Or as much as you want to post all those pictures from that crazy frat party you went to, you're better off saving those for yourself to look back on and laugh at. Employers do not want to hire some wild child that does not have a filter and may talk bad about their company. Of course the book is not saying that you don't post anything on the internet but rather to be careful with what you put up.

What this book suggests is creating pages where you can show off your successes and all the good you do. The most obvious website that you can do this on is LinkedIn. With LinkedIn you want to make sure you are presenting your best self. The book says to make sure that your LinkedIn page is accurate and that you fill in as much detail as you can. No employer wants to go through a boring list of your responsibilities. They want to see what you can do and how you can apply all those lessons you learned in school to the real world. Another suggestion the author provides is to edit anything you have on the internet. Don't take down your social media sites when you are job searching, instead, change your profiles to represent you in the best way possible. If you are a strong writer and enjoy volunteering make sure that all your social media sites show that side of you. You can change the way Google sees you and thus the way your employer will see you. Obviously, you do not want to lie to your potential new employer because that will be evident the minute they meet you. Employers understand that you are human and you like to go out every now and then and have fun and talk about your opinions, but if thats all you're showing online then your employer will only see you in that way. 

This image is from an article on CNN that talked about how college students were changing their names on Facebook in hopes that while job hunting their employers wouldn't see their pages. 

Picture Citation

Goldberg, Stephanie. "Young Job-seekers Hiding Their Facebook Pages." CNN. Cable News Network, 29 Mar.2010. Web.16 Sept. 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/29/facebook.job-seekers

Job Hunting

Chapter 1 of the "What Color Is Your Parachute 2016?" book by Richard N. Bolles talks a lot about what is going on currently in the job market. The first chapter starts out by describing what happened that made jobs so hard to find, and this happening was the Great Recession in 2008. It is very strange to think that the recession was the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. At 21 years old you do not expect to have lived through the second worst financial crisis ever and not even know how bad it truly was.

The author begins by discussing what has changed since 2008 and how we, as job seekers, need to notice these changes in order to be successful. One point he brings up is that employers have a hard time filling jobs when the economy is good but when the economy is bad companies change the way they seek employees so it makes it seem almost impossible to find a job even though there are tons. Bolles says that job seekers need to really learn what it is employers are doing to hire employees at that specific time because just turning in a resume will not cut it anymore.

Another point Bolles brings up is that it is much harder to get a decent paying salary today versus 7 years ago. By this he means that to get an average salary you need to go to at least four years of school, if not more. You cannot expect to get any good paying job without a degree. He also put a list of high paying jobs that require a degree and one of them, number two, was a food scientist. I never knew that food science was something you could study nor did I ever think it would be a job you could pursue. I looked a little more into the field and it actually is not as exciting as I initially thought it was going to be. Food Scientists basically make sure that food is stored properly and look for quality assurance in food preparation and storage.

This picture shows what a food scienist does, how much they make, and what education is required. This was one of the examples Bolles had in the list of the 19 least stressful, but well paying jobs. 

Picture Citation: 

Jacquelyn Smith, "19 High-Paying Jobs for People Who Don't Like Stress." Business Insider. March 26, 2015, http://www.businessinsider.com/high-paying-jobs-that-arent-too-stressful-2015-3?op=1