How to Get Experience When You Can’t Get Hired Without It

By Lori Bumgarner on March 13, 2019 in Career Advice, Career Change/Career Transition

Be careful who you get your career advice from

This post is in response to an article on Medium (“How to Get Your Dream Job Without Experience”) that shared a suggestion for how to overcome the common career catch-22:

Not being able to get your dream job because you lack experience, and not being able to get experience because you can’t get the job.

The suggestion came not from the author of the post Darius Foroux, but instead from another Internet article he referenced, dating all the way back to 2009.

Now, I’ve already written on here about how most of the career advice floating around on the internet is outdated (by as much as 20 years!). So is the advice shared in the article referenced in Foroux’s post.

The post suggested those facing this catch-22 to gain experience by offering to work for free at a company for a short period of time.

If this sounds like a good idea to you, stop for a second and put yourself in the company’s shoes. Think about the legal implications this can cause for the company.

You can’t legally “do free work”

There are labor laws in the US that don’t allow for-profit companies to legally let people work for them for no pay. These laws are designed to protect you, the (potential) employee.

Note: even interns cannot work for free. They either have to earn academic credit (which they pay tuition for), or be paid as an employee for it to be legal.

Furthermore, in an internship the intern must receive a training and/or educational experience.

They can’t come in and just do crap work. If they do, the company has to pay the intern the same amount of money they would pay a regular employee to do the same tasks.

In other words, the internship has to be at the benefit of the intern, NOT the company.

This gets into another example of questionable career advice I’ve heard. Many entrepreneurs tell new entrepreneurs and start-ups:

“If you can’t afford to hire an assistant yet, just get an intern to help you…it’s free labor!”

Um, NO!

(Click here for the US Fair Labor Standards Act rules regarding interns, updated in January 2018.)

Question those who are willing to do what’s illegal

Because of labor laws in place to protect employees, most for-profit companies will not touch your offer to work for free with a 10-foot-pole.

They don’t want to risk getting sued by you down the road. And they don’t want to get in trouble for violating federal law.

And if they do take you up on your offer, you should question either:

1. Their knowledge of federal law.

It could be the person you make the offer to isn’t aware of the laws because he or she leaves this area of expertise up to the company’s HR department or legal department. Be concerned if they don’t want to first consult with HR or legal before saying yes to you.

2. Their ethics.

If they agree to knowingly break the law by letting you work for free under the table, you’ve got to wonder if their lack of ethics is common practice or part of the company-wide culture.

If so, do you really want to work for a company with this kind of reputation? Won’t it make you wonder what other unethical or questionable things the company does?

How to legally overcome the Catch-22

So how do you legally gain experience to land your dream job?

Here are my suggestions based on my combined 20 years of experience as a career coach (at both the university/college level and private practice level) and as someone who tries her best to keep up with the most up-to-date career info available:

1. Do a formal internship.

If you’re still in college or have gone back to college and can therefore sign up for academic credit, do an internship.

Make sure it’s with a company that has had a formal internship program in place for some time. Ask for references and talk to other interns to find out what their internship experience was like.

Go into it equipped with the knowledge of what your rights are as an intern. Understand what kind of experience you’re legally supposed to gain from the internship. (Click here to see the US Fair Labor Standards Act rules.)

Establish expectations before you begin the internship, both with your academic adviser and the on-site internship supervisor.

If those expectations aren’t being met early in your internship, have a conversation with your supervisor.

Include your academic adviser in the conversation if you feel the need for an advocate. Here or she is there to ensure you’re needs are being met.

2. Do a “returnship”

If you’re no longer in school but you’re wanting to change careers to something you have no experience in, there are some opportunities for you to do a “returnship.”

This is basically an internship but for mid-career and late-career professionals. (Think Robert De Niro’s character in the movie The Intern.)

Several companies offer such opportunities. These opportunities are typically paid, and therefore don’t require you to get academic credit.

To find a plethora of these type of internships, Google the following key phrases:

“adult internships”
“internships for mid-career professionals”
“internships for middle aged”

You’ll also want to check out the resources listed in the appendix of Chip Conley’s book Wisdom @ Work (published 2018).

3. Volunteer at a non-profit

While you can’t legally work for free at a for-profit company, you can always volunteer with a non-profit organization.

Do a little research to see if there are any non-profits relevant to the industry you’re interested in going into.

Or, determine which non-profits have a need for a specific job function relevant to your dream job. Seek opportunities that will allow you to develop one or several necessary skillsets.

For example, if a non-profit needs someone to do their social media and you’re wanting to develop social media marketing skills, offer to help with their social media promotion.

4. Job shadow

If you can’t get access to hands-on resume-building experience, the next best thing is to shadow someone already in the job/field you’re interested in.

Research to find companies offering formal job shadowing programs. Also, ask companies without formal programs if they will allow you to shadow one of their employees.

A job shadowing request is less legally intimidating to companies than a request for you to work for free.

5. Find a mentor

While trying the above suggestions, you may want to pinpoint some people who could potentially become good mentors in your career.

You do this by building and fostering the relationships you made even after your hands-on experience is over.

Mentors can help you find additional ways to gain experience and can tell you what skills you need to develop.

6. Do the first thing Darius Foroux suggested

While I don’t agree with the second suggestion Foroux made in his post on how to get your dream job without experience, I do agree with his first suggestion:

“Be the person you would hire.”

What he means by this is, no matter what work you’re currently doing, always show professionalism.

You do this by having the right attitude and taking your career seriously.

It’s showing up early, asking questions, not wasting company time playing on your phone or gossiping with your co-workers, volunteering for new projects outside your current job description, serving on committees, staying late when needed to get the job done, etc.

When you do these things, you’ll develop more skills. Then when you find a company who hires more for skills than they do for experience, you’ll have those skills in your repertoire.

Final words

This post is not meant to slam Darius Foroux. I’ve liked several of his past articles and have shared them with my readers.

Instead it’s meant to teach you how to be more discerning and how to ask questions when it comes to all the different career advice available on the Internet.

No one, myself included, has any way of knowing all the legalities when it comes to every law for every industry. Nor can anyone know every company’s own policy regarding the suggestions outlined above.

When working with my clients, I always preface anything I’m not 100% sure about with,

“Double check that with your industry and the company’s policies.”

Ultimately, it is your responsibility to know as much as possible about your chosen industry.

This includes asking those who have the specialized knowledge about your specific industry’s hiring practices and company’s policies.

And don’t always rely on your first point of contact to know this info since it may not be their area of expertise. Ask them to check with their HR or legal department to verify any legalities or policies.

Follow the suggestions above and you’ll be able to gain the experience you need to make a smoother transition into your dream job!

How to Write a Resume: Make it About THEM, Not You

By Lori Bumgarner on March 5, 2019 in Career Etiquette, Resume Tips

Below is an answer I provided to a Quora question that has nearly 200,000 views so far.

Shock is the reaction I usually get when I say what I’m about to say. Your resume is not about you. Thinking it is, is one of the biggest mistakes you can make on your resume. Here’s what I mean:

A few weeks ago, I was working with two different people to help them polish up their resumes. One was a client seeking a pay raise and promotion.

The other was one looking for a new job following a layoff.

Resumes for both clients had the same common mistake: they were void of any results or accomplishments from their past jobs or positions.

This is a HUGE mistake because it’s the one thing people reviewing resumes are looking for the most!

When I first suggested to each client we add in some results of their past work so their resume doesn’t read like a generic job ad, one said, “I was just there to do a good job, I wasn’t seeking any kind of glory.”

While this is a noble approach to good work, job seekers have to understand that including accomplishments on their resume is not about them.

The moment you say, “I don’t want/like to brag,” is the moment you’ve made it all about you.

Resume Truth Bomb: It’s About Them!

Including results of your past work on your resume and talking about those results in an interview or a performance review IS NOT ABOUT YOU!

It’s about what you can do for the company’s bottom line, which is all the hiring manager really cares about (typically and mostly).

Your resume should always speak to your audience’s pain points by showing how you can solve their problem.

The way you show this is including the results and accomplishments you’ve had when solving similar problems in your previous jobs.

The reader knows past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior.

They’ll want to learn more about you if you can show how you’ve excelled in the past in problem solving.

But you have to speak their language.

And you must connect the dots between your past experience and your audience’s current needs.

How to Make It All About Them

In order to do this, you must know something about your reader.

This is why you must research the company you’re applying to.

This is also why you can’t rely on one blanket resume for each job.

It’s important to really analyze the job ad to figure out what the company needs from the new person in the role.

Start by looking at what are the top 3–5 skills listed in the requirements for the job.

Can you think of a specific time when you’ve demonstrated each skill? What was the result? Can you quantify the result? How did it impact the company’s bottom line?

Did it increase profit or revenue? By how much?
Did it decrease spending? By what percentage?
Did it save man hours? How does this translate to dollars saved?
Did it increase customer satisfaction or decrease customer complaints? By what percentage?
Did it make processes more efficient? How much time did this save?
Did it boost staff morale? How much did productivity increase with this boost?

By showing the byproducts of your good work, the hiring manager can infer that you can and will produce similar results for them.

Not sharing those results will leave the manager wondering if you’ll be a productive and valuable addition to the payroll.

Don’t keep your reader guessing!

The Result of Including Results on Your Resume

Defining your results and being able to articulate them tactfully is one of the biggest challenges of a job search or promotion negotiation, but there is help.

I work in depth with my clients on how to properly word their results and accomplishments for both their resumes and their responses to interview questions.

By doing this, my clients gain a better understanding of their skillset and greater confidence in their net worth, resulting in successful salary negotiations, higher salary offers, and better promotions.

Are you looking to get hired, earn more, or advance in your career?

If so, now’s the time to learn how to do it with a little paNASH! Click here to get started.

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Sunday Inspiration: Prepare Yourself

By Lori Bumgarner on March 3, 2019 in Inspirational/Motivational

Welcome to “Sunday Inspiration,” a bi-weekly devotional for those seeking spiritual encouragement in the pursuit of their passions. Each post comes from an outside resource (as referenced). I hope these posts will inspire and motivate you in your life and career in addition to our weekly original blog posts. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: the nature of this post and its wording is not intended to support any political views or agendas. Instead, it is intended to reiterate the importance of career preparation as outlined in my most recent blog post, “How to Know When It’s Time to Get Career Help.”

In fact, this post isn’t about politics at all. It’s only about helping you achieve your life and career goals.

Any similarities or timeliness to current political events is purely coincidental.

Besides, it was written by someone else a couple of years ago, so I can’t take credit for it. I’m just thinking its deeper message might speak to someone who currently finds themselves working hard on their goals and in need of a word of encouragement to keep going. Whoever you are, enjoy and be encouraged!

“We rebuilt the wall…for the people worked with all their heart.” Nehemiah 4:6 NIV

To succeed, Nehemiah needed favor with his boss, the king. So he prayed that this heathen potentate would finance the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. It was a bold prayer, and it wasn’t answered overnight. But Nehemiah didn’t sit around waiting.

In the meantime he put together a plan, assembled a team, and scheduled a date to begin the work. That way when the king said yes, he was ready to move.

Some folks think if God’s going to do something, why should we do anything?

Then there are those who think they don’t need God at all, so they try to do it on their own.

But both extremes are wrong.

Sometimes God has to balance what He’s doing in your life with what He’s doing in somebody else’s life, so that “all things work together for good” (Ro 8:28).

In Nehemiah’s case, waiting for a letter of authorization from the king and funding for the project was like waiting for a government grant—it can take a while. But the Bible says, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes” (Pr 21:1 NAS).

Nehemiah exercised bold confidence in God’s willingness to provide. He also understood that while he was waiting, it was his responsibility to prepare and set things in place so that when God gave him the green light he was ready to move.

He exercised faith—and wisdom. He knew he couldn’t do God’s part, and that God wouldn’t do his part.

So the word for you today is: “Prepare yourself!”

Source: https://www.jentezenfranklin.org/daily-devotions/prepare-yourself-2

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How to Know When It’s Time to Get Career Help

By Lori Bumgarner on February 26, 2019 in Career Advice, Interview Prep, On-demand Video Courses, Resume Tips

My freshman year of college I found myself struggling in my college algebra class. In fact, my entire class was struggling.

That’s because our professor always let us out of class 20 minutes early and never assigned us any homework. At first we all thought this was great! What college freshman wouldn’t?

But when it came time for final exams, it wasn’t so great. None of us were prepared for the common final.

I was falling behind in my understanding of the material due to the professor’s teaching methods. But it was also my fault because I didn’t demand he spend more time going over sample problems.

And I didn’t seek tutoring, at least not right away.

I was embarrassed to get tutoring and put it off until it was almost too late.

Once I got help, I realized there was no way I could expect a tutor to teach me 12-15 weeks worth of college algebra in just three sessions to prepare me for the final.

I also couldn’t expect to crash study and do well on the exam.

By some miracle, the common final wasn’t as challenging as expected, and I squeaked by with a passing grade. But my GPA that semester was the lowest of my entire college career.

When I later became a college career adviser and professor, I noticed two different groups of students who took advantage of tutoring services.

The students who waited until right before an exam to seek tutoring.
The ones who attended tutoring sessions all semester in preparation for the big day of finals.

One group consisted of A students. The other consisted of D and F students. (You rarely saw any B or C students getting tutored.) Can you guess which group was the A students?

You Can’t Afford Not to Seek Career Help

I was reminded of this scenario in a recent conversation with a new client. She commented on how much she’s learning from our career coaching sessions. And how it’s something she should’ve done a long time ago.

Now she sees the mistakes she’s been making in networking and interviewing. She concludes this is what’s cost her some important potential connections and even some job offers.

She also commented on how much time it takes to learn and apply what we’ve been covering.

In other words, it’s not something you can wait to do until right before a job interview. Or right before you have to send off a resume.

Yet, I have so many people who wait to contact me after they see a job posted or have an interview scheduled.

In the case where they see a job posted, usually by the time they do all the things necessary to get their resume up to par, the posting has already closed.

You can’t write a resume in an hour, a day, or even a week. It requires numerous revisions which take time.

Once you have an interview scheduled, you shouldn’t spend your time learning how to prepare for an interview. You should already know how so you can spend your time applying what you’ve learned.

It’s too overwhelming to try to learn so much information in a short amount of time, while trying to also do your research on the company, prepare for your questions, and shop for something to wear.

Don’t Risk Making Bad Career Decisions

All of this is especially true for those of you who are feeling a desperate need to leave a bad job situation.

So many people come to me after they’ve reached their breaking point in their job or their business. They’re so ready for a much-needed change.

But it’s at this point they run the risk of making bad career decisions, even with the help of a career coach. It’s because they’re making these decisions while emotional and before putting a strategic plan in place.

I know people who were on the fence as to whether they should invest in career coaching or not. Then they were forced to make a decision because they got a call for a job interview the next day and now needed to know how to improve their interview skills. While I could give them some tips, I couldn’t cram all the info I had to share in one session.

They’re no different than me when I finally sought tutoring. But unlike my final exam, the grade for an interview is always pass/fail, and only one candidate passes.

You Can’t Just Wing It!

Interviewing is a skill you should already have in your back pocket. You should be so schooled in it you’ll be ready for a job interview at a moment’s notice.

And don’t think you can just go in and wing it. This approach may have worked for you in your high school jobs or entry-level jobs you’ve gotten in the past. But the further along you are in your career, the more is going to be expected of you in an interview.

It’s never too early to learn how to interview well. The skill comes in handy not just for sporadic interviews but also for impromptu performance reviews, promotion opportunities, salary negotiations, etc.

It’s Never Too Early to Start Perfecting Your Job Search Skills

While it may not always be the right time to leave a desperate situation, it’s always the right time to prepare for your exit. Knowing how to update your resume and interview well are the first steps in doing so. Being armed with this knowledge will help you get out of a bad job sooner than later.

When you do have to pull the trigger, make sure you always aim before firing.

Some signs it’s time to get career help before it’s too late include:

You’re already entertaining the idea of leaving your current job for something else.
You’re experiencing the beginning of physical illness due to a stressful or toxic work environment.
It just became clear there’s no longer room for you to grow or advance.
You can’t picture yourself in the same job or same company in the next 1-3 years.
Rumors about a downsize are circulating at your company.

You don’t wait until you’re in a car accident to buy auto insurance. And you don’t wait until you’re dead to see a doctor. So why would you wait until your career is collapsing to consult a career coach?

You can get career help today!

If you know your resume or interview skills are way too rusty and you need to be ready if you got a call requesting your resume or an interview tomorrow, you can start improving your skills today with paNASH’s on-demand courses.

These courses include Resumes That Get You The Interview and Steps to Acing the Interview and Reducing Your Interview Anxiety. They’re available 24/7 for you to work at your own pace.

You can also get one-on-one career help now instead of waiting until the last minute. Complete the paNASH intake form to get started.

There’s no need to feel embarrassed about any past career mistakes or interview failures. Instead, you can focus on learning how to not just improve your job search skills, but also land better job offers and negotiate a better salary.

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Are You Stuck In a Nightmare Job? Share It Here!

By Lori Bumgarner on February 20, 2019 in Career Change/Career Transition

Some of my clients hire me to help them find their dream job. Others hire me just to help them get out of their nightmare job.

I’ve heard some stories about nightmare jobs that are real doozies. But none of them beat my dad’s story of his first job out of high school.

A Real Nightmare Job

My awesome and wonderful dad will be 82 in a few months. He still remembers his nightmare job working in a funeral home in 1955 right after his high school graduation. Back then, new and inexperienced employees were allowed and expected to perform some duties now requiring certain licenses or certifications.

There was one particular incident where the funeral director was working on a body that hand just undergone an autopsy. After the funeral director had finished embalming the body, he told my dad to finish cleaning it up. My dad says he remembers the visual of a body following an autopsy and how it nearly made him sick.

As my dad made his way toward one end of the table to finish the clean-up, he suddenly felt the body’s right arm hit him in the butt! It turns out he either bumped the table or did something to cause the right arm to fall off the table and hit him.

As soon as my dad felt the arm on his butt he fled the embalming room so fast he probably left a dad-shaped hole in the door. He said to himself, “Forget this! I’m joining the Marines instead.” And a week later he did.

Luckily being a Marine turned out to be my dad’s dream job. He spent 20 years in the military, retiring as a captain. Despite experiencing the horrors of Vietnam and now dealing with disabilities associated with his military career, he’s said to me a few times recently he’d go back and do it all over again.

I can confirm he’s never said the same thing about the funeral home job.

How to Escape Your Nightmare Job

You too may have a nightmare job you’re dying to leave. But you don’t have to run off and join the military to do so. (Although it might be a great option for some people.)

I’ve written several posts to help people like you create an escape…oops, I mean an exit strategy…from their nightmare jobs, in financially responsible ways. Feel free to check out any or all of these posts:

What’s Your Nightmare Job?

In the meantime, I’d like to hear from you.

What’s your nightmare job, past or present? Tell me about it and I’ll make sure to feature the worst, funniest, and most interesting stories in upcoming posts on this blog.

Click here to submit your story for publication, using the subject line “nightmare job.” Or enter it in the comment box below. I can’t wait to read it!

If you need help getting out of your nightmare job, fill out the paNASH intake form and we’ll set up a complimentary initial consultation.

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