By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


Fierce & Ferocious Office Politics...Isn't it time the "good guys" won?

Sometimes the best defense not to throw in the towel or yield but to mount a napalm-laden offense.

Yielding and deciding to quit and find a new position in the face of fierce office politics simply kicks the can down the road, effectively mortgaging your future with the payments coming due when you can least afford them. 

Trust me on this.

This can be solved with the right attitude and training, very quickly. Did you know that in most of these cases, the dirty politicker is standing on a woobly chair, amongst a greased floor with a rope around his or her neck? 

You simply need to distract them so that they lose their balance and do themselves in...or....surface the "opportunity" to another aggrieved party who has no compunction in "bumping" the chair.

By James Santagata
Managing Director, Career OverDrive!

Don't waste your life waiting for the bus to come pick you up. 

Newsflash: It ain't coming!

Well, at least it ain't coming anytime soon or it would have been here by now...

Sometimes, the smart move, sometimes the only move is to make a conscious decision to lace-up your boots and start the long, back breaking journey on foot.

You'll be told by others, perhaps even through your own internal talk, that you aren't ready, that you aren't prepared, that the timing isn't right.

But you need to realize one thing while you ask yourself another.

Life isn't a dress rehearsal and if you aren't ready now, without getting in the arena of life, bench marking your skills, tempering and honing the skills you already have now while developing new ones, when, pray tell, when will you ever be ready?

The answer is NEVER.

And in that case your future is as clear as day and ends with a Death Bed Regret.

Remember, we almost never regret what we do, we regret what we didn't do.

By James Santagata
Principal Consultant, Career OverDrive!


There's been a lot of talk and debate over the last few years as to the value of the "'lowly" Liberal Arts degree. 

A variety of pundits and talking heads have even gone so far as to argue that there's no value to be had in such a degree, especially when one factors in the direct costs incurred during the course of earning the degree as well as the opportunity costs associated with the four years unemployment typically experienced while the student studies for the degree.

To all of these pundits and all of this punditry I have but one word: 

Hogwash!

I'm here to tell you that Liberal Arts degree, in and of itself, is most likely fine. 

Just fine.

"What? James, are you serious or just totally delusional?! "

Yes, I'm serious and no, I'm not delusional. 

There are many reasons why I am certain that the Liberal Arts degree is not a "Death Wish For Careers" which I won't go into at this time, however, it is readily apparent ot me that plenty of value can be extracted from both the pursuit and earning of a Liberal Arts degree. In turn, this acquired and derive value can be used to great positive effect during a Liberal Arts degree-holder's pursuit of  professional employment.

And as an aside, plenty of value can also be extracted and shown to a prospective employer by even non-degree holding job seekers/job applicants as well.

Here's The Real Deal In A Nutshell:
 The Liberal Arts degree itself is fine, provided that you have studied and learned your subject matter to some basic level of competency but more importantly learned HOW to study when acquiring new information in the future and without direction or prodding from your professor or other authority figure.

Now, reports have come back from many if not most Liberal Arts grads saying how tough a time they face looking for meaningful (versus underemployment or unemployment) employment after having graduated.

There is no doubt that with few exceptions Liberal Arts grads have it harder, but what they face is by no means insurmountable, it's more about filling in a few gaps, buffing out a few dings and learning how to use the value they already have created and possess to their advantage.

For instance, most Liberal Arts majors or grads could greatly enhance their job market value and the buying temperature of prospective employers by simply and quickly adding a few skills which may range from basic tech or analytical skills to work facilitation and work environment skills  as well as the job search strategies, tactics and techniques that are needed to wrap around these core or foundational skill sets to land that coveted or desired job.

We've discussed this before but we can never do it enough:
1. Being good at doing the job is not the same as being good at getting a job.
2. It's not the degree you earned that's killing your job search.

What this means is that not all degrees are created equal in terms of the way they are perceived by prospective employers in particular and the job market in general.

This is not good or bad, it is just the way it is. And that's okay. Once we have tuned into reality, we can own it.

Specifically, the less value your degree is perceived to have in the job market or the lower the value that your degree signals or imputes to the job market (and/or the greater the supply of similar candidates in the job market holding the same credential) the greater your skill in understanding and applying the Job Search 4P's* must be.

Specifically, the Job Search 4P's are positioning, packaging, presenting and promoting skills as well as a candidate's ability to communicate and convey value (C&C) to a prospective employer.

Conversely, if you have a "stronger" degree (that is the perceived value of said degree is that stronger or more greatly valued in the job market) or employers clearly understand how to monetize (or have monetized) or they feel they can more readily monetize a particular degree (such as a  computer science or business degrees), all things being equal, you'll need far less proficiency in the application of the Job Search 4P's during your job search. 

Once you know what you're doing it becomes like shooting fish in a barrel.

If you have one of these higher in-demand, easier to map or more readily communicable  degrees and you know how to use the Job Search 4P's like a boss, well, in such a case, you'll quickly find yourself in such high demand that you'll basically lord over and rule the job market.

And that's a very enviable position to be in!

*Just to note, in this case, I use the term Job Search 4P's to describe a set of specialized job search skills as well as one overall job search process. If you are familiar with classical marketing literature there is also the Marketing 4P's which are Product, Place (distribution), Promotion and Price.

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!

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.