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American Morning
Interview of Barry Lawrence, Career Adviser
Aired January 02, 2002 - 09:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hundreds of thousands of Americans lost their jobs in 2001, and right now, some are doing the leg-work to find a new one. The competition is going to be stiff, and many are probably wondering just how to land a dream job during a recession. That's a good question.
Career adviser Barry Lawrence joins us, we hope he has got some answers for you this morning We is in Washington. Good morning, and happy New Year to you.
BARRY LAWRENCE, CAREER ADVISER, CAREERBUILDER, INC.: Happy New Year.
HARRIS: What do you make of the market? We see that perhaps there is some signs of rebound on the horizon right now. Do things look like they are getting better from where you sit?
LAWRENCE: Yeah, actually, you know, in November, the full month that we last tracked at Careerbuilder, we had record job postings in November. They were 50 percent higher than the month before. Record highs for our company, which an indication that job postings for this year are going to be pretty good.
HARRIS: all right. Then what's the first tip you would give to someone right now who is out looking?
LAWRENCE: Well first of all, be patient. I mean, I think we were a little bit spoiled a couple of years ago. It would take us two or three weeks to get a job. It may take us -- may take you two or three months.
Most importantly, is be flexible. Be flexible about which location you can work in. Be flexible about which industry you work in, for example, health care is really hot right now. If you are in marketing, you might want to look at those sectors.
And then finally, add some skill sets to your core skills, so if you are a programmer, be a fantastic project manager. If you're a web designer, call yourself a brand manager. Those types of things. You probably are doing those things anyhow, so take credit for them, and put yourself above the pack.
HARRIS: You say health care right now is hot. Any particular part of the health care industry? LAWRENCE: Well, yes. Lab technicians are very much in demand. You know, in fact, it's a field that -- where most of us can't expect to get signing bonuses and educational assistance. That's a field that you really can expect to get those things, but lab technicians, home health care, and anybody who is a nurse is in high demand right now.
HARRIS: Let's see about -- you say be flexible about what industry you go into. That's pretty hard to do, isn't it?
LAWRENCE: It can be, but I think it's not as hard as you might think. So, for example, in my area in the Washington, D.C. area, telecom took it on the chin pretty hard in 2001, but at the same time, government jobs are expected to grow 10-20 percent, so if you can transition from a telecom job to a government job, or a telecom job to marketing and health care, those are pretty good strategies right now.
HARRIS: All right, speaking of strategies, what about the actual process of going out and looking for, and then actually trying to impress someone enough to get the job? Any tips there?
LAWRENCE: Well, you know, the key to the job market is -- we should all know by now -- is the resume. Got to have a fantastic resume. So, first of all, keep it short, one or two pages. The longer you are in the marketplace, the longer you work, the longer your resume can be, but one or two pages is maximum.
Two is not just put a history or a list of your jobs on the resume, but also you want to make sure that you're showing you know exactly how you move the ball forward in each of those jobs. So, achievements as well as just the listing of jobs.
HARRIS: Let me ask you about this. You say that people ought to have 30 second commercial about themselves. What do you mean by that?
LAWRENCE: I think an elevator pitch is important. An elevator pitch --
HARRIS: Elevator pitch?
LAWRENCE: An elevator pitch, so in the time that it takes to go up and down an elevator, you should be able to sell yourself, and what I mean by that is, again, be ready with a 30 second commercial about yourself. What is it that you bring to the table? Why are you different? How can help a company move forward, because you know what, you could be at that PTA meeting or a party, you never know when somebody might be impressed with your skills and need to hire you.
HARRIS: Sure helps to be in a long elevator ride, if you are at the Empire State Building have got a good shot there.
Now listen, what about people right now who are already in jobs, and may be thinking of changing to find something that may be more fulfilling? Do you think now is a good time to do that?
LAWRENCE: It's an excellent question. First of all, we found in the Careerbuilder poll that 40 percent of people are going to be changing jobs in 2002. They are still very bullish on their job changes, but in your current job, I actually -- we hear that titles mean nothing. I think titles are back. I think a lot of us aren't getting salary increases or bonuses, but we are getting more duties and more details to our work. Ask for a title increase, because that's something you can sell in the marketplace.
HARRIS: Okay. That's a good one to keep in mind. Well, listen, whatever you do, don't change your job any time soon. Barry Lawrence, you're good at what you do, that's for sure. We sure appreciate your time today, and the advice, and we hope that you have helped some people today. Good luck to you, and happy New Year.
LAWRENCE: Thank you. Happy New Year.
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