ASK THE HEADHUNTER®
the insider's edge on job search & hiring |
|
Homework in the real world |
Question
I have a year to go until I graduate from college. I'm not the best student, but I do pretty well. I'm here to learn
-- no doubt
about that -- but there is a lot more to college and I take advantage of it. But now I'm a little worried. My grades could be better.
I could spend a little less time at the pub, and more on academics. However, homework seems like a redundancy to me. I learn what I
learn in lectures, in section classes and in assigned readings. Don't misunderstand, I crank out the papers and I get ready for
tests. But doing homework? It has nothing to do with preparing you for the real world. Even people who work long hours leave the
office behind at the end of the day. I know my school has a good career center, and companies recruit there all the time. The
purpose of the center is to attract good companies and jobs. My "job" is to interview well and get hired.
Get your dose of
Ask The Headhunter
every week!
The Ask The Headhunter Newsletter is normally available only to subscribers
via e-mail. Only
a few editions (like this one) make it onto the web site.
If you'd like to get your own free, weekly Ask The Headhunter Newsletter,
please sign up here!
-- Nick
|
I don't think I'm that different from most students. I just want a good job when I get out of here. But something is nagging at
me, and I'm worried as graduation gets nearer. I'm afraid I'll get lost in the system or the system won't work for me. I'm afraid I
won't get a good job. There, I said it. So what should I do?
Nick's Reply
If you've worked hard in school, you're good at doing homework. If you're not good at it, I can't help you. Life and work require
lots of homework. That's what you were supposed to be learning -- how to do it.
If you were out partying, those boring friends of yours who were cracking the books while you were at the pub are now several
steps ahead of you. If you're going to read further, stop right now and hand-write this on a piece of paper 20 times:
"Finding
and winning a good job is my own challenge. No one will do it for me. I will do all the hard work myself without excuses or I will
fail."
Sign it. Tack it to the wall in front of your desk. The first time you get lazy and make an excuse, stop doing what I'm teaching
you and go surf the Net for a job. Lotsa luck to you and to the person who hires you.
Finding good work requires homework. Getting a good manager's attention requires homework. Preparing something useful to say to
the manager requires homework. Figuring out whether the job is for you requires homework. Deciding whether to accept an offer
requires homework. Showing up Day #1 requires homework. Doing the job well requires homework. Getting better at it requires
homework. Keeping your job requires homework. Being successful requires becoming a master at your work. That requires constant
homework.
In fact, your ability to do homework well -- to study, learn, and make choices -- is the one thing a company is really paying for
when it hires you when you get out of school.
If you wait for a career center or a company recruiter to do the homework for you, you're right -- you'll get lost in the system.
So spend this year honing your homework skills. Start applying them to the job search that you ought to start today. Yes, it will
take that long if you do it right.
How much fun you make it is up to you.
This article will help, no matter what your major is: Making The Liberal Arts Degree Pay Off. Don't
just apply the ideas to a job; apply them to searching for one, too.
Best,
Nick Corcodilos
Ask The Headhunter®
|
|
|
Got a job-hunting
friend?
Give the gift that helps. |
|
|
Ask The Headhunter:
Reinventing the interview to win the job
"I've been in the field of personnel services and recruiting for about 15 years. During this time I have written hundreds of resumes for people, of whom better than 90% are able to get interviews and in the door. The problem is that most blow the interview. Since reading Nick's book I have shared information from it and have directed every one of my customers to Barnes & Noble here in N.Y. to purchase it. It's the best resource I ever read and it has improved my own interview performance 100% plus!"
Anthony Johnson
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What is Ask The Headhunter?
Ask a question
Feedback
Terms of Service
Your subscription: Help
Who is this guy?
Readers' Comments
|
That was a great newsletter on How can my dad get back into management? (3/6/07). I'm pushing 50 years old myself, and the other article you linked to
(Too Old to Rock & Roll?) is very helpful for me in my current transition, too. Your words of wisdom are so helpful to many people in many ways. Thanks for all that you do. |
Steve Harvey
|
Welcome
to the Ask The Headhunter Newsletter, which you can expect to receive weekly in your mailbox.
Does your organization have
members who need great job hunting advice? Does your school want to give students and alumni an edge
on their careers? Does your company want to keep job applicants "close" rather than pay to
recruit them again later?
A custom edition of the Ask The Headhunter
Newsletter will do it!
Just ask how. |
What is Ask The Headhunter?
Since starting ATH in 1995, I have answered over 15,000 questions about job hunting and
hiring... click here to learn more!
Ask A Question
If you have a question, send it to me. I can't answer every question I receive, but each week I'll publish a Q&A that I think everyone will find helpful. (Don't worry;
I won't publish your name if your question is selected. Please note that by submitting a question you agree to make it the property of
North Bridge Group, Inc.)
Feedback
Did you like something you read here? Did my advice bug you? Is there a general topic you'd like to see covered? Have an idea about how to improve this newsletter?
Please
let me know.
Thank you for subscribing!
Nick Corcodilos
Ask The Headhunter®
This newsletter is copyright-protected. Please see notice at bottom of newsletter. Copying, posting on newsgroups, re-distributing, re-printing, and re-publishing are prohibited. However, you can purchase a license to use this content legally.
Just ask.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|