what color is your parachute? 2014 - seven million vacancies - by richard bolles

8/14/2019 What Color is Your Parachute? 2014 - Seven Million Vacancies - by Richard Bolles

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THE 2014TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Its a Whole New World for Job-Hunters 1

Chapter 2 Google Is Your New Resume 21

Chapter 3 There Are Seven Million Vacancies This Month 43

Chapter 4 Sixteen Tips About Interviewing for a Job 51

Chapter 5 The Six Secrets of Salary Negotiation 81

Chapter 6 What to Do When Your Job-Hunt Just Isnt Working 97

Chapter 7 You Need to Understand More Fully Who You Are 111

Chapter 8 You Need to Do Some Informational Interviewing 191

Chapter 9 How to Deal with Any Handicaps You Have 211

Chapter 10 Five Ways to Change Careers 231

Chapter 11 How to Start Your Own Business 247

THE PINK PAGES

Appendix A Finding Your Mission in Life 266

Appendix B A Guide to Dealing with Your FeelingsWhile Out of Work 289

Appendix C A Guide to Choosing a Career Coach or Counselor 298


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The Final Word: Notes from the Author for This Edition 337

About the Author 342

Index 343

Update 2015 352

Recent Foreign Editions of What Color Is Your Parachute? 352

Additional Helpful Resources from the Author 354


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Chapter 3

There Are Seven MillionVacancies This Month

The Good News: The Job-Hunt HasntReally Changed At All Since 2008

Yes, I know this contradicts what I said in the rst chapter. But thereyou have it. Both things are true: the job-hunt has changed dramati-cally since 2008, yet the job-hunt hasnt really changed at all since 2008.

How can they both be true? The answer lies in the distinction between inner essence and surface behavior .

The surface behavior of the job-hunt is always changing, often dra-matically, as we saw in the rst and second chapters. This, because job-hunt behavior at any given time is determined by technology. Andwhen a new technology arisesthink computers, think Internet, thinksmartphone, think digital resumesjob-hunting alters. On the surface.

But beneath all surface change, the essence of the job-hunt neverreally changes. Job-hunting is all about human nature, and in itsessence is most like another human activity that we call dating. Bothshake down to: Do you like me? and Do I like you? If the answerto both is Yes, then its Do you want to try goin steady? In dating.In job-hunting. So, if you focus on essence rather than form, the job-huntremains constant year after year.

First question: Do you like me? In the job-interview that meansHey employer, you are looking for someone who can do this thingth t t d d t l ith d th th l


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44 Chapter 3

Second question: Do I like you? In the job-interview that meansAre you going to give me a work environment that will enable me to be at my most productive and most effective level, where I feel usefuland appreciated, and can make a difference?

Both questions are equally important, and permissible to ask. Butthat second question needs to be emphasized, underlined, and writ-ten in large letters because when we are job-hunting we are so proneto think all power belongs to employers. They have every right to asktheir question. We have no right to ask oursor so street-wisdom

claims.But wait a minute. Meditate on why we have the word quit in our

vocabulary, as in I quit, and you will realize that the job-hunt and job are always a matter of the job-hunter or worker asking themselvesDo I like you? And if you conclude, No I dont really like you, or Ireally hate it here, then eventually you quit.

Your big decision is, do I wait three years to nd out the answer tomy question, or do I try to nd it out now, during the job-hunt in gen-eral, during the job-interview in particular?

The job-hunt is a conversationa two-way conversationwhereinyour opinion matters as much as the employers. That always has beentrue. Always will be.

You Are Not As Powerlessas You Think

If youre currently out of work, and looking for a job, you have everyreason in the world to think you are up against overwhelming forcesand the situation you face is rather hopeless. You may have struck out,again and again. The media is always lled with bad news, about theunemployed, since 2008. But the situation you face is not hopeless. In

the world today, you have more power than you think, even with allthe bad news and these great forces that you are up against since 2008.


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45There Are Seven Million Vacancies This Month

he knew. Her name was Mary. She had been diagnosed with multiple

sclerosis, or MS. She had been to a wide range of medical specialists:neurologist, psychologist, internist, you name it. They all had declaredthere was nothing they could do to help her with the disease. My friendsaid, Would you see her? Sure, I said, but Im not sure theres any-thing I can do.

The next day my friend brought her over. She walked very stifyup the front sidewalk, came in, sat down, and after exchanging a fewpleasantries, I got down to business. Mary, I said, what is multiplesclerosis?

Marys and my discussion was a philosophical one. We both knewhow the disease is generally described: a disease that attacks the cen-tral nervous system. My question to her was deeper, and I knew sheunderstood what I was getting at: What causes MS? How much controldo we have over its progression? What hastens or slows its rise and fallin the individual? Etc.

I dont know, she said, in a dull, emotionless voice. Well then, Isaid, that makes us even; because I dont know, either. But heres whatI propose. Im sure that a huge proportion of whatever MS is, is out ofyour control. Theres nothing you can do about it. But that proportioncant be 100%. Theres got to be some proportionlets say its even just2%, or 5%that is within your control. We could work on that. Do youwant to begin that journey? She said yes. Over the next few weeks sheimproved, and nally was free of all symptoms (typical of the diseasefor a spell, but this lasted for a very long time), and nowfree of allstiffnessshe became a model on 57th Street in New York City.

So it is, that in any situation you nd yourself, no matter how over-whelmed you may feel, no matter how much you may feel youre atthe mercy of huge forces that are beyond your control, some part ofit is within your control: maybe 2%, 5%, who knows? There is alwayssomething you can work on. Something that is within your power. And

often, changing that little bit results in changing a whole lot. Maybenot as dramatic a change as with Mary; but change nonetheless.


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46 Chapter 3

Of course, you will object, Well, that may be true during normaltimes, but these aint normal times. I cannot afford to be picky. Thereare very few vacancies out there.

Where did we get that idea? From the media, thats where. Tworeports come out each month in the U.S., about the state of the job-market. One of those reports is usually hopeful. One of them is usuallydepressing. Both of them are put out by the federal government. Themedia choose to emphasize one of those reports, but not the other.

The rst report comes out on the rst Friday of each month, with rare

exception. It is typically called news about the unemployment rate,though it is more accurate to think of it as the monthly measure of thenet change in the size of the working workforce in the U.S. Its technicalname is the Current Population Survey. 1 It said that in the month of Feb-ruary, 2013, only 236,000 jobs were added to the economy. With twelvemillion looking for work that month, that was not good news.

But, there was that other report. It comes out about two months

later. Its called JOLT, which stands for Job Openings and Labor Turnover.2

It said that during that month of February 2013, 4,418,000 people foundwork, and even so, 3,925,000 vacancies remained unlled by the end ofthat month. You do the math. Thats a total of 8,343,000 jobs available inthe U.S. during the month of February. And this is typical, in the U.S.,month in and month out.

Whats going on, here? Well, let me give you a parallel situation.Suppose I own a dress shop. You come in to visit me, and for fun

you count the number of dresses I have in the shop. It turns out I have100. You leave that day, and you dont return for a month. You count,again for fun, how many dresses I have in the shop one month later.I have 95. So you say to me, Oh, I see you only sold 5 dresses thismonth. Poor you.

No, I reply, I added to the inventory during the month. Howmany, you ask. 50, I say.

You stop, and calculate: Oh, so you actually sold 55 dresses thispast month I say Right


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47There Are Seven Million Vacancies This Month

5 vs. 55. You get the one gure, as the net change in the size of the

inventory in my shop, with visits a month apart; you get the other gureas the actual change in the number of dresses sold, during the month.

Its the same with the two government reports. Not 5 vs. 55, but236,000 vs. 8,343,000.

Of course, the question for us when were out of work is, If thereare typically seven or eight million jobs available each month, whydidnt I get one of them?

More importantly, this wipes out the impression that things are so bad, it doesnt matter what you want. Nonsense!The job-hunt is always a two-way conversation. That never changes.

What the employer wants, matters. But also what you want, matters.Certain other facts about the job-hunt in this country never change.

Here are ten of them, that have remained the same since the rst edi-tion of this book was published, and throughout the forty-two yearlyeditions since.

1. You must take charge of your own job-hunt, and determine notto conduct a traditional job-hunt (this is the way it has always been done and must be done), but rather, a creative one.

2. To do a creative job-hunt, there are three questions you mustnd out the answer to: they are What, Where and How. WHATare your skills that you most love to use? WHERE would you

most love to use these skills? (In terms of eld, purpose of thecompany or organization, location, style of working, kinds ofpeople you work with, etc.) And nally, HOW do you go aboutnding such places?

3. You must devote as much time to your job-hunt as you possiblycan. If you want to devote as little time to your job-hunt as pos-sible, then ne; try it. But if that doesnt lead to a job, then you

are going to have to devote more time to it.4. If your job-hunt isnt working, then you must take the time to


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48 Chapter 3

5. If your job-hunt isnt working, then you must take the time to do

a thorough survey of yourself before you do a survey of the job-market (like, nding out what are the hot jobs).

6. You must approach organizations, companies, or institutionsthat interest you, whether or not they have a known vacancy. Goafter smaller, newer companies in particular. Sometimes vacan-cies develop in a day and a night, and do not immediately getadvertised or published.

7. Job-hunting is not a science; it is an art. Some job-hunters knowinstinctively how to do it; in some cases, they were born know-ing how to do it. Others of us sometimes have a harder timewith it, but fortunately for us in the U.S. and elsewhere in theworld, there is help, coaching, counseling, and adviceonlineand off.

8. Job-hunting is always mysterious. Sometimes mind-bogglinglymysterious. You may never understand why things sometimeswork, and sometimes do not.

9. There is no always wrong way to hunt for a job or to changecareers. Anything may work under certain circumstances, or atcertain times, or with certain employers. There are only degreesof likelihood of certain job-hunting techniques working or notworking. But it is crucial to know that likelihood (see chapter 6).

10. There is no always right way to hunt for a job or to changecareers. Anything may fail to work under certain circumstances,or at certain times, or with certain employers. There are onlydegrees of likelihood of certain job-hunting techniques workingor not working. But it is crucial to know that likelihood, as we just saw. Job-hunting always depends on some amount of luck.Luck, pure luck. Having advanced job-hunting skills doesnt

mean absolutely, positively, you will always be able to nd a job.It does mean that you can get good at reducing the amount that


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T H E T E N G R EA T ES T M IS TA K ES

M A D E I N JO B I N T E R V I E WS

W he re b y Yo u r C ha nces o f F i nd i n

g a Jo b A re G rea t l y Dec reased

I . Go i ng a f te r la rge o rga n i za t io n

s o n l y (s uc h as

t he Fo r t u ne 5 0 0 ).

I I . H u n t i ng a l l b y yo u rse l f f

o r p laces to v is i t.

I I I . Do i ng no ho me wo r k o n a

n o rga n i za t io n be fo re

go i ng t he re.

I V . A l lo w i ng t he H u ma n Reso u rc

es de pa r t me n t

to i n te r v ie w yo u ( t he i r p r i ma r y f

u nc t io n is to loo k

fo r reaso ns to sc ree n yo u O U T ).

V . Se t t i ng no t i me l i m i t w he n yo u rs t beg i n t he

i n te r v ie w , a nd t he n o ve rs ta y i ng y

o u r we lco me.

V I . Le t t i ng yo u r res u me be

t he o n l y age nda

d isc ussed d u r i ng t he jo b- i n te r v i

e w.

V I I . Ta l k i ng p r i ma r i l y a bo u t yo u r

se l f t h ro ug ho u t t he

i n te r v ie w , a nd w ha t be ne t t he jo

b w i l l be fo r yo u.

V I I I . Fa i l i ng to g i ve e

xa m p les o f t he s k i l ls yo u c la i m

yo u ha ve.

I X . Bas ica l l y a p p roac h i ng t h

e e m p lo ye r as i f yo u

we re a jo b- begga r , ho p i ng t he y w

i l l o f fe r yo u

a n y k i nd o f a jo b , ho we ve r h u m b

le.

X . No t se nd i ng a t ha n k - yo u no te

r ig h t a f te r

t he i n te r v ie w.


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This is an annual. That is to say, it is revised each year, often substantial ly, with the newedition appearing in the early fall. Counselors and others wishing to submit additions,corrections, or suggestions for the 2015 edition must submit them prior to February 1, 2014using the form provided in the back of this book, or by e-mail ([email protected]).Forms reaching us after that date will, unfortunately, have to wait for the 2016 edition.

PUBLISHERS NOTEThis publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regardto the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not

engaged in rendering professional career services. If expert assistance is required, theservice of the appropriate professional should be sought.

Copyright 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001,2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986,1985, 1984, 1983, 1982, 1981, 1980, 1979, 1978, 1977, 1976, 1975, 1972, 1970by Richard Nelson Bolles.

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of theCrown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. www.crownpublishing.com www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarksof Random House, Inc.

Jacket illustration copyright iStockphoto.com/alexm73.The drawings on pages 141, 143, and 211 are by Steven M. Johnson, author of

What the World Needs Now .Illustration on page 20 by Beverly Anderson.

Trade Paperback ISBN: 978-1-60774-362-0Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-60774-363-7eBook ISBN: 978-1-60774-364-4ISSN: 8755-4658

Printed in the United States of America

Cover design by Katy BrownBack cover design by Colleen CainInterior design by Colleen Cain


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what color is your parachute? 2014 - seven million vacancies - by richard bolles

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