This week I was asked by a professor to teach a class called "skills employers value." Indeed it is an actual seminar that has been offered for many years here at UAB career services and i'm sure at many institutions across the country. At one time or another it has been entitled 'job keeping skills' or 'career development skills.' In reality the title should be 'seriously, do i really need to tell you this stuff'.' Can you imagine if i actually opened with that title. I might actually do it!

The content of said seminar gives such groundbreaking advice; be flexible, offer to help outside of your job description, constantly prove yourself, follow through on your commitments and other illuminating suggestions. I was actually sent an article a couple of days ago that related how a survey found that recent graduates were seen to be more unprofessional than ever before when entering the workforce, that they were not prepared to go the extra yard and seemingly made no effort to stand out from the crowd. So scarily the seminar it would seem is even more relevant now than it has ever been. But still i get embarrassed telling young adults and even established adults in this seminar that it is a good idea to show initiative, to be willing to take on new tasks; i feel like i'm patronising them.

Unfortunately it would seem that about 90% of people are happy just to do the minimum, to do what's on their job description and nothing more. How many times have you heard someone whine, "i'm not paid to do that." Nothing makes me more angry than hearing that. Ask yourself the question, when you're asking for a raise or looking for a promotion do you think that attitude hurts you, you better believe it.

So now we come to hard economic times, (i've barred myself from using the phrase, 'in this economy') people are being let go, companies are looking to get every bit of effort from smaller workforces and so there is even more need to come in early, stay a little late, help a colleague out, learn a new skill that will allow you to meet more needs of your employer. But wait, should we only be doing this now because we have to, now that doing more has become the minimum.

It is true that companies can take advantage of those people who never say no, who are always going the extra mile, but this person will always have options. In good times they will be able to change companies because their ethic and value is so easy to spot, they stand out because they are the minority. In bad times, they are the people companies can least afford to lose, not that they will never be let go, even they may feel the sting of unemployment, but they will be the last person out of the door and it will be an agonizing decision for the employer to let them go, because to let them go is to know the business is really in trouble and beyond simple cost-cutting.

The problem is that apathy and settling into a routine are hard things to break. We can all point to people who have gone stale (some people have never not been stale), and who have real difficulty adapting to change, hence turnover in organizations is so high when a new manager comes in with new ideas. So constantly challenging yourself is a necessity.

So make yourselves as hireable as you can, as unfireable as you can, and if you are ever in my 'skills employers value' seminar and feel like you want to leave, if you can possibly bear to, that would make me glad in a way!

I don't have a Jagger quote at this point.

Better Late than Never

It is about time that i wrote a blog. I claim to be an entertaining writer but i am a better procrastinator, in fact that ranks as one of my main skills, i'd never advise anyone to say that in an interview though.

So the deal is i provide career advice and teach career skills, hoping that my pearls of wisdom can help students achieve some things they otherwise may not have been achieved. I like to think i am good at that, well damn it i am, because i advise people to do something they are good at so i guess i have to say that. I like to use sport analogies and indeed random analogies of various kinds so expect to see plenty of that, if you don't like it, tough. If i was in Northern Ireland, where i was spawned and spent my formative years i would tell you to go do something colorful but i'm in the South so i'll be politically correct on that one. In fact many of my Northern irish friends will tell me to go do something colorful for even writing a blog.

Now that the introduction is over, brief as it was, i'd like to take a minute to discuss why i'm doing this, my mission as it were. I want to make sure that students, indeed anyone might pick up a few things that help them in their quest to get whatever it is they want. Vague i know.

So my first point of discussion is to question those ridiculous statements such as "you should only ever do what you love," "if you do what you love you'll never work a day in your life" and "you should love your job so much you should be willing to do it for free." You better believe i'm getting paid, and not enough thank you very much. We've all heard these statements thrown out by some overpaid keynote speaker, who fails to say just how you make that happen! Depending on my mood my reaction has been to think 'well aren't you lucky' or 'i really want to chin you right now.....as in a lot.' We don't always have the luxury of holding out for that dream job and our situation often dictates that we must do what we have to, not what we want to. I would argue that more people have a job they dislike than the opposite. I doubt working in McDonalds has many dreamlike qualities associated with it.

I will put the disclaimer out there that of course you should aim to have the job you want and that it is entirely possible to get the job you love. I count myself as having those very jobs that i want and love, see value in-but i have been lucky. I had parents who worked to send me to a good school, instilled a sound work ethic, but i have held less glamorous jobs, have sucked it up and did things i would never want to do again to either pay for something or earn the right to do something better. Of course you also have people who are lazy, who complain and don't try to change things but you can never dismiss the fact that people sometimes just don't have the right situation or opportunity before them.

All that to say we don't always get to do what we want to do, but it's usually possible to get something a little better, a little more loveable just by doing a little more, being a little better. And so if we make things a little better each time maybe we can earn the right to do what we love if we make the best out of our situation, those of us who are lucky enough to have that chance should take it and make the best of it. And if that sounds a little too sugary I'll let Mick Jagger say it for me!

"you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need!"

On a final note, if you have any suggestions for a new title let me know!