Help Wanted: Finding a Job in a Down Economy

So, you’re a senior, eager to leave those books behind and enter the “real world.” Or maybe you’re a junior or a sophomore planning ahead. Your résumé is polished. You’ve bought some fashionable new interview attire. But now the headlines are all about recession, plummeting corporate earnings and consumer spending, budget shortfalls, and an economy that is shedding more jobs every month. Last month, for instance, another 63,000 jobs disappeared nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. What now?

Don’t panic, says Fred Foulkes, director of the School of Management’s Human Resources Policy Institute and an SMG professor of management and organizational behavior. The downturn simply means that you may need to be a little more strategic and patient than job seekers who were lucky enough to graduate into a booming economy. We asked Foulkes if he had other advice for how to get hired and cultivate a career in the midst of a shaky job market.

BU Today: We’ve been hearing months of not-so-great news on the economy. How is this affecting the job market for recent college grads?
Foulkes: I think people are going to find it very challenging, frankly. Some companies are cutting back considerably. Some are laying people off. I think there’ll also be fewer internships available. In certain industries, such as financial services, things will be particularly difficult. In fact, I’ve been telling some of my students that if they were thinking of graduate school, they might want to go sooner rather than later and try to sit this recession out.

Given the grim outlook, what job-hunting advice do you have for college students?
Look for industries where there are real shortages, where there’s growth, and where there’s hiring. That’s true in health care and that’s true in energy. Students also have to be more willing to recognize that the job they want may not be available in Boston. They have to be more willing to consider other locations, even overseas. In fact, I have some students who want to go and work for a company in India. It would be terrific to get some international experience.

As for once you’re hired, I think new people joining a company should work as hard as they can early on to understand the company’s culture, norms, and values. That way, as quickly as possible, you’ll fit in and your boss will see you as valuable. For instance, if the office opens at 9 a.m., but you notice most people are there at 8 a.m., don’t keep showing up at 9.

More than ever, it seems that the fastest growing careers are in high-tech and scientific fields. So, the perennial question: is there hope for the English major?
Well, we’re always going to need people who can communicate effectively. In some ways, it’s a trade-off, because in the short run, the person educated in accounting or business, say, is more valuable than the liberal arts major. But 10 years out, the liberal arts major might be able to think differently and ask the questions that nobody else has asked, which can be very valuable for a company. Still, in the short run, companies will want to hire people who require less training. So, I think that if some of those English majors could take some courses in accounting or business, it might help them become more marketable. I think degrees are sometimes a false credential, meaning that you don’t need the degree to do the job, but you need the degree to get the job.

Obviously, some job-search wisdom is tried-and-true, but is there any new advice or some that’s particularly relevant to recent job market or workplace trends?
I don’t I have any advice that’s really revolutionary. But, if you’re going to rely just on job boards and help wanted ads, you’ll be one of 200 résumés. And for a lot of companies these days, a large percentage of the résumés they receive are never seen by a human being; they’re scanned for keywords by computer software. The better approach is through networking and personal contacts. Our students should try to use the BU network and alums in various parts of the world. Students should seek out people in the industries that interest them who would be willing to grant an informational interview. Sometimes that will lead to other opportunities.

How should this first postcollege position fit into career expectations?
What you’re looking for is a quality work experience immediately after college. That means a challenging job and, most importantly, a good boss and a chance to continue learning. The reality is that over time you’re going to work for several employers. The big change is that in the past people felt that if they got hired and did good work, then the company would be responsible for their career development and advancement. But the reality is that the individual is responsible for his or her own career development.

So, if there aren’t good learning opportunities on the job, you have to be looking elsewhere. Mostly, you’re going to spend two or three years at your first job and then you’re going to move on. You’re not looking for someplace that’s going to be a good home for the next 25 years.

The truth is, you’ll never know when your number is up. You can join a company thinking that it has a great future, and then suddenly the company is acquired by someone else. These companies change a lot, particularly with globalization and competition. That’s a mistake a lot of people make — they’re so concentrated on pleasing their boss and doing a good job that they forget that they need to be constantly networking and going to professional meetings. You’re responsible for your own career, and you have to be responsible for maintaining and managing it. Part of that is renewing and refreshing contacts in your field, outside your company.

What’s the number-one mistake people make when seeking their first job after college?
Some of them, I think, concentrate too much on starting salary and don’t recognize what the real opportunities could be. The highest pay is not necessarily the best career experience.

And the other is not having realistic expectations. I think some recent college graduates view themselves as ready to make big contributions early on. And when they’re given some tasks that they think are beneath them, they get infuriated. I know a recent graduate who joined a human resources department and was really insulted when his boss wanted him to plan the company picnic. This is just stuff that needs to be done, and it’s a great way to grow and learn. Just tolerate it. You’ve got to earn your stripes.

Chris Berdik can be reached at cberdik@bu.edu.