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This is the latest in the Tough Problems series. In each installment, I present two composite questions that my clients face and my response to each.
Dear Dr. Nemko: I was sure that with the unemployment rate near a 50-year low that when I graduated from college, I’d get a cool job. Well, I must be some kind of 'loser' because although I’ve applied for dozens of jobs I seem qualified for, I have gotten no offers and only one interview, a measly by-phone screening interview.
To get out of the house—and yes I’m back living with my parents—I’m driving for Lyft even though when I calculate my car expenses, I could make as much money flipping burgers at Mickey D’s. I’m thinking of applying to graduate school, I don't know in what— I don’t have some undying passion. I just want a real job, a real career. I’m scared of the cost of grad school. Any advice?
Marty Nemko: Well, my tea leaves say that graduate degrees likely to lead to decent employment include health care administration, public sector management, law school, physician assisting school, and social work. But I know nothing about you: Does your intuition suggest you’d likely be successful and happy in any of those?
More important, even if you had good undergraduate grades, because you don’t have professional-level job experience, you’d likely only be admissible to a second- or third-tier program. The education there could be fine but the name on the diploma won’t open as many career doors. And those institutions usually don't give generous cash financial aid. Loans are usually available but those must be paid back with interest, and student loans are among the few that cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. So if you’re worried about the money, such schools may give you plenty to worry about.
Before going the grad school route, perhaps you need to sharpen your approach to landing a job: Have you been persuasive enough in pitching your network for leads—Just because they like you doesn’t mean they’ll go to the mat for you. They need to be convinced that you’re bright, motivated, and skilled enough to risk their reputation, to tell a prospective employer, “You should talk with Johnny. He’s great.” And have your applications been compelling? A customized cover letter and resume and LinkedIn profile plus a piece of collateral material such as a two-page white paper that demonstrates your current knowledge in the field? After a year or two of professional experience, you’ll decide your career is proceeding well without another degree or be able to get into a program that's more desirable.
Dear Dr. Nemko: I’ve been “laid off” or explicitly fired four times in the last six years, and if I’m honest about it, it's been for good reason. For example, I was the editor at a local publication and my replacement much improved it. If I don't lie, my resume will show all the job-hopping and if somehow I get an interview and they ask me why I left so many jobs, my choice will be to lie or to talk my way out of contention. I'm scared that I’m unhireable.
Marty Nemko: Might it help to think harder about the sort of job in which you'd likely succeed? Also, at least for now, if you apply for jobs that are step or two below your previous employment, in comparison with other applicants, you’ll look better. Then, on the job, with all your terminations in mind, you'll be motivated to do your best to be at least an average performer. Possible examples: Get clear about and work harder to meet the boss’s expectations. Do more to upgrade your skills. Improve your attitude.
Bouncing back from multiple terminations isn’t easy but many people have done it. I hope that one or more of these ideas will help you become one of them.
I read this aloud on YouTube.
