Fun night at Mitsubishi Estate's EGG/T21C New Year's Kickoff Party (Shin-nen-kai). in Tokyo.

Heard great presentations from the Country managers of Pinterest, Box, Splunk and Millennial Media. 

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!

One of the major challenges that new or recent graduates face in landing their first professional job is not necessarily determined by what they've studied but rather by what value they can offer to a prospective employer as well as their ability to clearly communicate and convey that to the prospective employer.

It's not just that some degrees are "better" than others, it's that some degrees are either far more in demand (due to a constrained supply) OR certain degrees are
more monetizable by the firm in question.

Holding an easily or readily monetizable degree means that prospective employers don't have to spend time figuring out how to use the degree nor does the student even need to be "good" at conveying their value (of course, this is still very important and I'm speaking on a "relative" basis here).

Conversely, if a degree is not easily or readily monetizable (or it's perceived that way) and/or there is a huge supply of those particular degrees in the marketplace, then the graduate (aka job applicant) needs to turn on or develop some strong "marketing and sales" chops to ensure that they have the proper messaging and are properly packaged and presented to the employer, while clearly communicating and conveying their value.

There's more to it than that on the marketing and sales front, but these are the broad strokes that you should be thinking about and internalizing.

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


On an almost daily basis I'm contacted by or, during the course of the day, I come across individuals who express frustration that they either (a) have the proper credentials to do a particular job or (b) have proven experience at doing a particular job, yet they somehow have great difficulty in finding or landing not just that particular  job but often any job.

There are a number of very granular reasons as to why this is, but for now, takes take a 20,000 foot view of what's going on here:

• Being good at "doing a job" isn't the same as being good at "finding a job". 
  
• Being good at "finding a job" isn't the same as being "good at landing a job" (i.e., receiving an offer and joining the company).
  
• Being good at "landing a job" isn't the same as  "doing the job", let alone "keeping it".
• And even if one is good at all of those, it doesn't follow that one is also automatically good at planning and managing a career.
  

Below are the 5 broad areas in which some level or core competency is necessary for an individual to establish, nurture and enjoy a long vibrant and fruitful career. 

It should also be noted that each of these 5  areas can also be analyzed on a much more granular basis. 

For instance, finding a job and landing a job would together include activities such as job discovery or job creation, resume design and development, locking down interview opportunities, closing down the interview, receiving a written job offer, negotiating a "proper" starting salary and package, onboarding and so on.

Five Broad Areas Of Career Competency:
1. Do a job
2. Find a job
3. Land a job
4. Keep a job
5. Plan and manage a career

Do you agree or disagree with this view? Which areas do you find yourself strongest in? Which areas do you find your skills to be uneven or perhaps in need of a boost if not a tear down and rebuild?

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


The fallacy of learning and knowledge as "the key to success and power" is one of the primary reasons why so many people needlessly struggle, suffer, underperform or even fail at their jobs, job searches, relationships and ultimately in life. 

This is a critical point to understand:

For instance, it’s highly unlikely that a science book in which the world is described as flat will somehow give you a better understanding of the world as it is let alone make you a better geologist. 

It doesn’t matter if the book is dripping with social proof by being authored by Stephen Hawking or published by Harvard University Press. If it’s inaccurate then studying it, believing it and applying it, is not going to help you one iota -- instead it will hinder or hurt you. 

Understand that, in the case of "bad" or "inaccurate" knowledge, the more you learn, the faster you learn, the deeper you absorb the knowledge, the worse you perform.

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!

Here's something you need to know:

Education opens doors while debt often closes them.

Over the years, I've worked with many young to middle-aged clients who've had to forgo their dream job simply because of the low initial salary it offered.

This also hits people very hard who are looking and eager to change industries or transition into another functional area but can't because their lack of expertise and value is reflected in an initially lower salary which is insufficient to cover their loan payments (school, car, home). Yet, if they were able to stick with this new industry or job role they would soon find that their earnings would be sufficient for their needs. 

Often due to heavy school loans or even a burdensome mortgage or car payment people become tied to doing what they dislike or they may be working for a company where they are underpaid (and accepting it) just to keep their "safe" job so that they can service their loan or loans.

Think wisely before you borrow. It's impact can be doubly compounded when we consider opportunity cost involved.

This post  is from our sister site which focuses on corporate training and it gives good insights into what is happening on the hiring side / corporate side during the interview and hiring process. It may not be what you want to hear but it's what you need to know.

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


Happy New Years! 

Time to close that dream job, improve your current job or craft that challenging career that you've always wanted.

The blueprint, the exact skills you need to acquire, temper or hone are all laid out.

For you success...
http://www.careeroverdrive.com/career-solutions.html