Thursday, March 4, 2010

What's the deal?

So, I've never "blogged" before and don't really know what my "blog" should contain. I guess I'll start with my experience in our current job market and my strategy to come out on top or even just make it out alive.
I'm 24 years-old and live in sunny Southern California. Tons of jobs, right? well, to a certain extent, yes, but not really desirable nor room for advancement (aka: a career). Fast food, tourism, retail and "customer service" jobs hold up the bulk of my local job market, with jobs featuring allusive health care benefits and upward mobility are few and far between. So, how's a young guy like me with a Bachelor's degree supposed to do?
The answer is a new job seeking strategy called "fishing". Many people in my position in life scour job seeking websites such as Monster.com and LinkedIn.com, but have trouble sifting through countless junk jobs and scams before they finally find a real employer looking for a real employee only to find that they are either not suitable for the position or it's already been swiped up by another hungry job seeker. This idea of job fishing consists of bundling up all of your work experiences, positive attributes, and educational accolades then bunching them into a proverbial "bait ball" and casting it all over the pond (your local city or county) until someone bites.
This bait ball that you've created needs to be specialized to your city or county and must be perfected in both written form (resume) and verbal form (your pitch to a prospective employer). I have found that sitting on your ass in front of a computer screen does not get you a job, nor does it benefit your interpersonal and social skills that are a necessity in most job markets.
So, grab your tackle box and get fishin', cause the fish don't come to you!