I got an intriguing question email today from the career service office of a university where I’m speaking next month.

Below is the question and my answer. This should interest you if you’re a recent college grad looking for your first job. It may also give you clarity if you find yourself in your 30s and 40s and not sure what you want to do with your life …

QUESTION: My big concern is for the student job seeker who has skills, is eager to work, but doesn’t have a clear idea of what they really want to do. These are the students who, in a better economy, would be employed, but in this one won’t until they discover what they really care about. How do you help this kind of student without dampening their spirits? How willing are professionals to help this person gain clarity? Or do they need to do soul-searching on their own?
 

ANSWER: The student needs to do the hard thinking and soul searching before ever venturing into the job market. Students need to pick the 3 skills the most want to use (good) or the title of the job they most want (better) before ever speaking to a potential employer or high-value networking contact.

Reason? Once you are branded as unclear, unfocused, and not particularly valuable, it’s nearly impossible to change that impression later.

When the average employer interviews the average college grad, they usually expect to talk to an unfocused 22-year-old who hasn’t done a lot of research on the company/clients/industry in question, and doesn’t know what they want to do with their lives.

Imagine, then, how a more-motivated college grad would impress employers by saying something like, “I’ve researched your firm, Ms. McGillicuddy, and I really admire how quickly you went from $1M to $10M in revenue in 18 months (that’s what the article in Crain’s Detroit Business said). I’ve also researched your 3 biggest competitors by posing as a customer and going through their buying process. Would you like to see the report I came up with? I can also show you a PowerPoint slide that one of their sales reps used last month — I found it on Google using the Advanced Search function and some sleuthing. Could we meet for coffee this Thursday morning?”

Even if Ms. McGillicuddy isn’t hiring, she’s going to meet with this motivated college grad, which will either lead to a job or a highly valuable referral.

So, to sum up, professionals expect to help young persons gain clarity, but won’t necessarily want to. By contrast, they do not expect to speak to a young person who has clarity, but will be eager to meet, hire, or refer them. 

The only failure in my view is in not picking a direction. I know several people in their 40s who still have no idea what they want to do. They hate their current jobs but have no dream jobs to look forward to. The have lacked direction since leaving school and have been too afraid to pick a defined route because it would have forced them to say “No” to every other route. 

If you take a sub-optimal job on the way to a clearly defined dream job, you have not failed and you have not settled. Because you are progressively realizing your goal every day you go to work and making yourself ready for that ideal job. You are a success. 

Having said that, there’s no shame in picking a skill set or job title you end up hating in 3 months … or 3 years. What you learn in school is called education. What you learn after that is called experience. As long as you find the lessons and people to recommend you in every job, you can’t help but become more valuable and “referable” to others.

Resource: Free Job Search Audio CD.

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The other day, I was reading an article over at ABC News about how to recession-proof your job.

There were some good points, like this one:

In a challenging economic climate, you might not be able to recession-proof your specific job, but you can definitely recession-proof your career. That means if you’re a mortgage lender and your company is in trouble, that job is likely impossible to save at this time, but that doesn’t mean your career is in the gutter …. Don’t panic; just get prepared.

But there was one glaring error, when the author offered examples of “resume templates that can help you to showcase your skills, abilities and accomplishments.” The link opened to show a functional resume format. You can view it here.

Yes, you can showcase your accomplishments by using a functional resume. You can also showcase your Italians suits or Rolex watches by selling them off the back of a truck. But, in either case, you’ll have trouble making the sale.

Why?

No competent recruiter or hiring manager I’ve met since 1996 will buy into the claims you make in a functional resume, because functional resumes are used by job seekers with something to hide. It’s like selling stuff from the back of a truck — smart people will know something’s wrong.

Functional resumes are used by job seekers who want to downplay a potential negative, like a firing, frequent job changes, gaps in employment or the like.

So, what’s the alternative? Actually, there are two …

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