DEAR J.T. & DALE: I am currently a freshman in college. I had a part-time job but, due to conflicts with classes, had to quit. My school is very small, so there are no on-campus jobs available, and the school’s career service posts only full-time openings. Any tips for finding a part-time job? – Kevina
J.T.: Great question! First, identify exactly how many hours you can work each week, and what days and times – you must be able to tell an employer your availability. Next, take a walk or a drive, and find all the places that would be commutable for you. Bring a notebook or start snapping pics on your phone of every business that looks interesting or fun. Your goal is to create a bucket list of 10 companies where you’d be excited to work. Don’t worry if they’re hiring or not – just build your list. Then do your homework online and learn as much as you can about each company. Now it’s time to call or email these companies and ask if they have any internships or part-time jobs for local college students. You’ll be surprised how many will be interested. For those that aren’t, ask if they know of any companies that are hiring. This approach will help you unearth opportunities.
DALE: Great advice. I especially like the part about getting out and taking pictures – if you’re friendly and chatty, you might end up meeting employees and accelerating the process. Also, your timing is perfect: Employers are still reluctant to hire new full-time employees, so the questionable economy will work in your favor. I bet you’ll find plenty of small businesses that would welcome interns but that haven’t gone to the trouble of putting together a program. If things go as well as we think they will, you might help your school’s career office start posting part-time jobs. If they are smart, they’ll be the ones to hire you and keep you doing it.
DEAR J.T. & DALE: My best friend worked for 10 years in IT at a local hospital. During that time, she completed her accounting degree and got a job in accounting. Five weeks into her employment, she was fired as “a bad fit.” Now she is using the state’s unemployment website, with no success. I’ve been advocating going outside that system to other websites, or using a recruiter. She feels she doesn’t really have a good résumé since she’s looking for work in a field in which she’s got a whopping five weeks of experience. Suggestions? – Nadine
J.T.: Because your friend is considered entry-level in accounting, she will struggle to find a recruiter to work with. However, there are accounting temp agencies. She should start there.
DALE: Yes, and she also should start over with career services at the university where she got her degree.
J.T.: In the meantime, she might need to return to IT as a way to get back to work on making the transition to accounting – changing careers often takes a year or two.
DALE: However, it’s way too soon to turn pessimistic about an accounting position. Your friend isn’t just some generic recent grad. If she were a product and you were her advertising agency, you would immediately spot her PoD, her Point of Difference. In this case, she’s got two: her IT background, and her hospital experience. Someone would love to hire her. Who? Probably someone in the accounting department of a hospital or medical center, where they will be thrilled to get someone who understands medical jargon. Or it could be a CPA firm that needs IT help. I was just talking with a family friend, a CPA, who was bemoaning the fact that the firm just lost a junior accountant who was its internal computer maven. Chaos ensued.
J.T.: While I’d still start with temp agencies, I agree that your friend should be contacting medical facilities and accounting firms, plus getting involved in as many accounting groups and associations as she can. Tell her this for us: There are people who’d love to hire you, but they won’t know it till they meet you.
Jeanine “J.T.” Tanner O’Donnell is a professional development specialist and the founder of the consulting firm jtodonnell. Dale Dauten resolves employment and other business disputes as a mediator with AgreementHouse.com. Please visit them at jtanddale.com, where you can send questions via email, or write to them in care of King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019.