We all want our dream job, or to run our own companies. In reality its a lot easier said then done. In reality we need a job that pays the bills and cant wait out the search for the perfect situation. Which leads to the question, what kind of job should you settle for when you cant or dont have the job you want ?
Not everyones situation is going to be the same, but for the recent graduate, the answer is pretty straightforward, at least I thought it was when I graduated. You continue your education.
Go back to school ? No. Get your MBA ? No.Â
For most recent college grads, you just spent the last 4 or so years paying tuition to get an education. Now that you have graduated, its your chance to get paid to learn.
When I graduated from Indiana, I certainly didnt dream of working for a bank. I wanted a job where I could learn more about computers. So I took a job working for Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh. I helped on systems conversions. Taking old manual systems at small banks and helping them convert to automated systems. I wasnt that good at it. The job was fun for the first couple months because I worked with a lot of fun people. But as the months wore on, I liked it less and less, and I had to tell myself more and more, exactly why I was there. I was getting paid to learn about how computers work, how big companies work, how middle managers work and that was a whole lot better than paying tuition to get a business education.
I lasted all of 9 months at that job. I lasted about 8 months at my next job, working for a company called Tronics 2000. At Tronics 2000, our mission was to try franchise the TV repair industry. The company was supposed to be entrepreneurial. It was supposed to be looking at expanding into franchsing into the computer repair business. (They had me write an analysis of the opportunity in my off time) . As it turns out, it basically was none of the above. But I got paid my 18k per year and I learned a whole lot.
The company sold a total 1 franchises. That I sold . Again, I was far from a great employee. I spent too much time having fun at the expense of doing my job to the best of my ability. Going to work hungover once a week isnt a good career move. So in some respects I cheated them. No excuses on my part.
The job was also frustrating. Calling and calling and calling on TV repair shops trying to explain the value of franchising wasnt an easy cold call. But l learned how to cold call. I learned not to be afraid of picking up a Yellow Pages book and making calls.
I also go to talk to an old industry veteran Larry Menaugh. Larry wrote the very first service contracts in the electronics industry. He was a wise old vet. We didnt talk much about the company or the industry, but after meetings we would sit in, we would talk about how to get the job done. He would give me honest critiques of things I was doing, and coming from Larry, I knew they were right. I wish I could go back and thank him.
I lasted in that job about 9 months as well, and from there took off to Dallas, Tx in search of fun, sun, money and women.
I was 23. I had no money. The 77 FIAT i was driving drank oil faster than I could drink beer and had a huge hole in the floor. I was going to stay on the floor of some friends who had moved from IU to a huge apartment complex in Dallas.
I had no idea what the future would bring, but I knew I had taken a few classes in real world business and got paid for it instead of paying tuition and I had every intention of continuing to do the same thing until things worked out.
21. Mark, your comments are dead-on. However, you seem focused on work after graduation. What about gaining work experience during the summer months in college and perhaps even between the junior and senior years in high school and between high school graduation and starting college? Although it's tough to do and not sacrifice your academics, sometimes work experience can even be gained during the school year. I'm not talking about minimum wage service jobs such as flipping burgers, etc. However, I personally think every teenager would benefit from such an experience, if for no other reason than to give them added incentive to do well in school so they *don't* end up doing that for a living. My best friend from high school worked part time as a stringer for the local paper and parlayed that experience into a full-time job there followed by a full-time job at a metro newspaper, all without a college diploma. I worked countless hours (first as a volunteer and then as paid staff) at my university's campus radio station during the school year and two summers. It was that practical real-world experience that opened doors for radio work after graduation at a time when the job market was very, very tight. Being willing as you were to bounce from one short-term job to another, absorbing all the "real world" knowledge and experience you can along the way, is unquestionably a legitimate if not preferable post-graduation strategy. Combine that with some paid and unpaid work experience in late high school and college and you come up with an impressive resume and excellent odds in favor of success.
Posted at 11:05AM on Aug 28th 2006 by Dave