2018 HBCU Careers Magazine

HBCU Careers Magazine

Don't Wait, Initiate! By: Alexandra Arrington, LPCA, NCC, DCC Career Counselor, Consultant and Coach

Invariably, I will have an initial meeting with a client and they will share some variation of "I have applied and applied for jobs, but I just haven't heard anything back." In my 12 years of career development work, when I hear that statement it's a clarion call that the client is in dire need of job search strategy. Let's clarify a fewthings about the assumptions in that "...haven't heard anything..." statement and then look at how to eliminate that phrase while job searching:

Assumption #1: I'm supposed to sit and wait after submitting a job application.

No. Think hide-and-go-seek (hint: you're the seeker). People say "if I only knew then what I know now." For this topic, anyone who has ever played hide-and-go-seek as a child, did know then what should be known and applied in present day. In this game, the objective is to find friends that have hidden and make them "it." Job searching, much like being the seeker in hide-and-go- seek, is anything but a passive venture. Job seekers must constantly and actively be looking for the target, until it is acquired, and the means doing some research and follow-up once the job application is submitted. No, again. The employer's primary responsibility is not to make sure you have all the available information about the process. While it's certainly good procedure and helpful for the process, the employer is not first and foremost looking to let applicants know what's happening with the process for job openings. Their first and most pressing concern is hiring the ideal candidate for the role. It is more important to them in terms of communication and follow up when one is on the list of those being considered. Assumption #2: It's the employer's job to inform me about the hiring process.

Assumption #3: I'm the person they want to hire.

Maybe, but maybe not. There are any number of factors that go into how or why employers choose the individuals they hire for a position. Some of the factors are mysterious, others are purely based on facts, pressing employer needs or quality of the applicant pool. Applicants should focus on presenting their strengths, connection to the work, knowledge about the work, and

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