{"id":23476,"date":"2024-11-22T16:25:05","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T21:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/?p=23476"},"modified":"2025-01-21T11:15:15","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T16:15:15","slug":"on-demand-get-your-career-in-gear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/2024\/11\/22\/on-demand-get-your-career-in-gear\/","title":{"rendered":"How to get your career in gear: A plan for young professionals and new graduates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Guest post written by Kim Bilawchuk (Wheelock\u201903), career inspirationalist at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kbcareercoach.com\/\">kbcareercoach.com<\/a> | Published January 2025 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"youtube-video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7pYpII8RONI?si=lr3Fo_5QPoTIb-uz\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>How did you land your current job? Chances are, you probably had some type of connection or referral. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/advice\/job-search-statistics\/\">Zippia<\/a>, 85 percent of jobs are filled through networking. That means if you\u2019re spending 100 percent of your time clicking \u201csubmit\u201d on job boards like Indeed or LinkedIn, you\u2019re missing 85 percent of job opportunities!<\/p>\n<h3>The problem with traditional job applications: Sally\u2019s story<\/h3>\n<p>When Sally came to me, she\u2019d applied to over 300 jobs online and had heard back from less than a handful, most telling her \u201cno thanks.\u201d She was feeling stuck, frustrated, and unsure of what to do next. When I asked if she\u2019d reached out to anyone for an informational interview, she replied that she\u2019d reached out to some people on LinkedIn to let them know she was looking for a new job, but never heard back.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s why: when you ask someone if they have a job for you, the answer is usually \u201cno,\u201d\u2014and that\u2019s not because they don\u2019t want to help you, but because they really don\u2019t have a job for you. End of conversation.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, if you reach out to someone with the goal of simply having a conversation, the interaction becomes less transactional and more about one professional helping another.<\/p>\n<h3>The power of informational interviews<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Networking<\/strong> is the process of cultivating productive relationships for business or employment. We typically meet people at networking events or get introduced through LinkedIn. Perhaps we\u2019re exchanging information (we do this all the time\u2014asking each other questions like, \u201cWhere\u2019s a good place to get coffee?\u201d \u201cWhere do you get your haircut?\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s your favorite vacation spot?\u201d), but we often get stuck when we\u2019re looking for information about a job. Sometimes it feels awkward to ask for information if you have nothing to offer in return. We might send holiday cards or reconnect at the next event, but we\u2019re not really <em>building<\/em> relationships.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Connecting<\/strong> is the first step to building a nurturing relationship. Informational interviews are one way to spark a connection. Rather than focusing on a single touchpoint, informational interviews allow for a structured conversation in which you seek insight about a career field or occupation from a knowledgeable individual who is employed or connected to the field. You can ask questions about what the job or industry is like, what kind of background or experience is required, and what advice they have for getting started (people <em>love<\/em> to give advice). This type of conversation will provide you with a first-hand look at an occupation and can be the greatest source of real information about a career field. Perhaps most importantly, it allows you to make a connection with another person who can evaluate your interest and fit for a role\/organization\/career path, so, if or when they hear about job opportunities or other people for you to talk with, they may be able to refer you. By seeking an informational interview, you\u2019re planting seeds for future potential connections and opportunities.<\/p>\n<h3>How Sally landed the job<\/h3>\n<p>Sally started to reach out to her connections and, instead of asking for a job, she asked for conversations. She became clearer about what kind of job she really wanted and how best to transfer her skills to a new industry\/job that was in alignment with her greatest interests. She asked her connections for referrals to people in their network to grow her own. It\u2019s usually not the people we know, but those that they know who can best help us.<\/p>\n<p>After a few weeks, Sally had created a number of new relationships with people who were willing to share her story with their connections and keep their ears open for new opportunities. Soon she started to get interviews for jobs that she was really interested in doing, and eventually got an offer for her perfect job!<\/p>\n<div class=\"dar-line\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>About the Author:<\/strong> Kim Bilawchuk (Wheelock&#8217;03) is passionate about helping others live in alignment with who they are truly meant to be. The term \u201cCareer Inspirationalist\u201d was invented to describe her unique approach to looking at life, work, and purpose. Whether speaking or coaching, she uses her skills and intuition to provide a tailored experience as unique as a fingerprint to help her clients remain grounded in the present AND get plugged into mind-blowing possibilities for the future. Kim holds an MEd from Boston University, an MBA from Boston College, and a BBA from UMass Amherst. She\u2019s also a certified yoga teacher, Ziva meditator, Reiki healer, and infinite possibilities trainer. She lives in Lowell, Mass. with her husband, son (her daughter just started University in Ontario), and pup. Learn more about Kim at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kbcareercoach.com\/\">www.kbcareercoach.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn how to find the job you really want and gain confidence talking about your experiences in interviews.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20583,"featured_media":23484,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13,12,28,5],"tags":[95,323,1328,1327],"featured_img":"\/alumni\/files\/2024\/11\/get-your-career-in-gear-800x600.png","agg_excerpt":"Learn how to find the job you really want and gain confidence talking about your experiences in interviews.","agg_title":"Young professionals: Get your career in gear","media_icon":"webinar-icon","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23476"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20583"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23476"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23972,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23476\/revisions\/23972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}