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By Wendy Steele, Founder of BluePrint Resumes & Consulting

Just know that you may have to start at entry-level and work your way up. For some this isn’t a problem, but for others who are at a certain income level in their current career, well… might not be so easy.

That was the case with an Accounting major who came to our office for an in-depth consultation. See, whether we’re doing resumes or career consulting we first conduct a client assessment. If the client isn’t ready (for example if they’re all over the place) then we give them a little homework to do. This client however was extremely focused on accounting. She was about to graduate from a pretty well known college with honors. She had about 15 years of experience in her current role that was unrelated to accounting and try as I might, it was like pulling teeth to get her to tell me of any transferable skills. She was relying solely on the degree.

I’m not sure if it was her college professors, friends, colleagues or who told her that she would be making over $50,000 as soon as she had that diploma in hand and no experience, but she was terribly misinformed. To make matters worse, she hadn’t conducted any research on her own. “No problem” I said (or so I thought). “We’ll just pull up some postings here.” While doing so, I explained that she may have to start with a lower salary, but there were plenty of positions out there. I started with some entry-level ones like Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable Clerk, Staff Accountant and other similar roles to help her get her foot in the door.

As we viewed the postings showing $30,000 she was flabbergasted! We did see more ranging from $40,000 to $50,000, however those were either requiring 1-3 years in a particular industry or they were in other states with generally a higher income starting point due to a higher cost of living. For example, San Francisco, Napa Valley and places like this. Now, you can make a decent living in the South off of $40K-$50K, but out West? In those cities? She might be living in a tent somewhere. Okay, that’s another story in and of itself.  Getting back to her shock…

She immediately said “I have to make at least $50,000!” She went on about how this was her current salary and she needed this to maintain her standard of living. When I advised her to just get her foot in the door and gain as much experience as possible she was not having it. I also advised volunteering somewhere if she could while continuing to work at her current job that did pay $50K. This way she could start building up the experience to meet minimum qualifications. She left the office considering these options, but I could tell she was sorely disappointed in what was out there. She called me later to say that she was just going to keep working at her current job. I tried convincing her not to give up since she did after all, work so hard to obtain her degree.

So, when you’re making a career transition take your time and do it right. Just to recap:

1. Do your research. Join College boards like College Confidential. There are plenty of traditional and non-traditional students on there who discuss what they’ve learned about a particular major or industry. You can also check out the Princeton Review. This is one of my favorites because you can read the Day in the Life of a _________enter any occupation. It’ll tell you salaries from one to five years, five to ten years, what it’s like, etc… and lastly Salary Wizard is another great tool where you can enter the salary for any position, all levels in any state.

• Just know that you may have to take a pay cut or start at the bottom. Especially if you have no experience in the field. Of course networking and that old saying that it’s all about who you know is still prevalent today, but of course you don’t want to just bet on that. Good luck if it works for you though.
• If you can’t find the kinds of positions you’re looking for, or find it difficult to get interviews, let alone hired then do some volunteering. Non-profit organizations or even small businesses looking for some extra help, but can’t afford to pay you right now. I remember once when I had an opening for an in-house resume writer (paid of course) and a real estate agent asked if she could work for three months for free just to learn the business because she was thinking of starting her own resume writing business. She was so hungry and eager to learn she wanted to do it for free!
• Start your own freelance business. Using the accounting client example, there are companies out there always looking for virtual assistants. It may not pay much, but remember you’re just trying to get the experience to make the transition.
• If you’re currently working for a company that has several departments; one of which may have positions and require the degree you just got, don’t worry about not having enough experience. Ask the department manager to shadow the employees in the department. That’s what I did when I went from customer service to IT (Information Technology). I didn’t have any experience. I didn’t even have a technical degree or certifications!
• And lastly, don’t forget to network! Whether it’s in person at career fairs, professional meet and greet groups or social networking. DO IT!

These are just a few tips for making the career transition once you’ve earned your new degree. Don’t stay settled in your old role. Be proud and embark on your new career journey! As always, good luck in your career search!

Well then, it probably is!

Today’s post is kind of piggy-backing on my last one about being stuck in a rut. I’ve had several clients (three just this morning) say they recently found another job; however it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve heard all kinds of things from politics on the job (this was from a school principal) to the actual role being nothing like the job description entailed, nor what was discussed during the interview. The good thing is these particular clients know their worth and once they found out the real deal they got out… fast! Or, at least they’re working on it.

Here are a few scenarios I’ve noticed through the years, and some ways you can avoid the potential nightmare of accepting the wrong job.

1. Small startup company needs an IT Manager, Executive Administrative Assistant, or any other position that requires just one person in charge. The job description seems like any other one you would see for a large Fortune 500 company, but with a little more pay. Maybe a lot more pay and benefits. The interview goes well and you accept. One month into the job and you realize why you’re being paid more. It’s because you’re doing about 50 times more work than you would for a large company. In fact, you’re actually not being paid enough! Jobs that would normally be split into different roles are all in one for YOU. Not only that, but this small company is trying to cut expenses in other areas such as building maintenance, so although your role might be in information security, the HVAC system went out once, you fixed it so now that’s a new addition to your responsibilities.
2. Large law firm (or enter other large company) seems desperate to fill a vacant role. The firm seems very prestigious and again they’re offering what seems to you to be a lot of money. You don’t have their “preferred” amount of experience, but enough they say, so this seems like a great opportunity. The recruiter who interviewed you discussed everything except the fact that they haven’t been able to keep anyone in the role for more than two months. Also, five people have left the firm in a year.
3. A company (large or small) promises you big things that speak directly to your short and long-term goals such as: your own territory (for sales), great commission incentives (due to low salary), opportunity for management within a year, partnership, huge stock options or anything else that would normally take some time to work up to, additional training or going back to school. But… because you’re just the person they’ve been looking for they’re going to hand all of this to you on a silver platter tomorrow! You get into the job and a week later the company name changes. Instead of doing whatever you were mainly hired to do, you’re helping with an office migration. You find out the company has filed for bankruptcy or being acquired by another company.

How do you avoid these things? ASK QUESTIONS!

Small startups and even small companies that have been in business for years have a history for hiring a Jack or Jill-of-all trades and working that person like they’re in a sweatshop. Make sure you’re asking pertinent questions during the interview regarding your exact role.

Today, many large companies are doing the same thing. Many will work you to death in a contractor role with no intention of ever hiring you permanently. I have a friend who worked for a very well-known Fortune 100 company for nearly five years as a temp. before she was hired and they didn’t even give her a pay increase! If you’re ever in a situation like this, keep looking! Don’t hold your breath on their promises. Okay back to asking questions. You may be wondering, well what kinds of questions.

I remember when my daughter interviewed with several companies after she graduated from college. On one, she asked “What’s the worst part about this position?” In which the interviewer replied “The attorneys!” And this would be her main role. Working with 250 attorneys everyday. In fact, she found out that the interviewer was just recovering from some stress related illnesses. My daughter was interviewing for her position. Needless to say she didn’t take it. Good thing she asked that question!

Here’s one I like to ask for public companies “How’s your stock doing?” And I don’t mean how are the stock options either. I mean is their stock price up or down. This will give you an idea of how the company is doing. You can also ask other questions such as: How long has this position been vacant and why? What’s the overall turnover or employee retention rate here? Are there any other job requirements that weren’t mentioned in the job posting or that I should be aware of? Oh, and here’s one more I just thought of from my own experience. If it’s a creative role such as writing, marketing, PR, graphic design, etc…ask how creative you can be. I had a writer once show awesome samples during his interview. I hired him and somewhere around his second project his work started to look very basic and bland. His reasoning was the company prior to ours did not let him be creative. They just used the same ole manufactured templates. I told him to create away!

Lastly, ask questions not just during the interview, but ask the coworkers or friends, or…friends of friends! Go to Glassdoor (glassdoor.com) where you can find employee reviews on tons of companies. These people tell the truth!

In any case, if a job offer sounds too good to be true do your homework. Don’t let an employer hook line and sink you into something you’ll have a problem swimming your way out of.

As always good luck in your job search!

I’ll Quit…Tomorrow

This is All I Know

I Can’t Take a Pay Cut

I’m Lucky to Have a Job

But I Don’t Have a Degree

Where Else Will I Get Stock Options?

Who Will Hire Me At This Age?

I Don’t Have Enough Experience To Leave

Just yesterday, I was telling my son about my days in Corporate America. I explained the differences in our generations (80s for me woop woop!), how we were raised to get a good job (go to college if you must) with good benefits, including a pension and retire by 65. For the millennials today, building up seniority on a job has been replaced by downsizing , mergers, lay-offs or ____ just fill in the blank. Pensions have been replaced by stock options (maybe) and retirement is around 70 or 75 (maybe).

So, the conversation moved on to how I never ever thought I would become an author or a business owner. All I ever wanted was to get married, have a family and get a good job. Oh, I had other aspirations like singing and acting which I also pursued, but family came first… and I needed that good job because that singing and acting was taking too long to pay the bills. I mean after all, with that good job you eat on a regular basis, buy a house, brand new car and so on. Once I had the hubby and kids, next I set out for that good job. Like many of my friends, I did go to college first, in fact that led to my first good job, but that’s another story for another blog, book or… something.

In 1993 I had my heart set on one of the largest Fortune 500 companies in the country (actually the world) and I made it in! As a Customer Service Representative. I was making $11 an hour which was good money at the time and once I learned how to use a computer and a mouse (I didn’t even know what a mouse was when I started!), I was set!

My job was scheduling reservations. For three years I thought of nothing else. The job was fairly easy, I was being paid well, my income combined with my husband’s at the time made for a decent living and what more could I want? In 16 more years I could retire! That’s all I cared about and complacency didn’t matter.

Until one day, a colleague of mine made a joke saying that I would be 80 years old still in the same position, same department, and saying the same greeting to our customers when I answer the phone. She actually did a little role-playing mimicking me. It was light-hearted fun for her and I laughed along light-heartedly.

Then one day I got mad about something at work…what was that? Oh! We couldn’t get a pay grade increase. Remember that $11 I mentioned? Well, according to the market at the time we should have been paid $2.00 more per hour! We formed a committee, went to Human Resources, and fought hard, but still we didn’t get it. We did succeed the second time around though. By this time I didn’t care because that comment my colleague made about my not progressing in life was weighing heavily on my mind. By the way, she was back in college moving on with her life. She eventually found another job.

By the fourth year, I couldn’t stand my position anymore, the department I was in, the people I worked with, the customers… I was miserable! I tried to get a promotion within the department, but that failed. I kept getting good raises and outstanding performance reviews though. I started to realize that I was so good at my job that management had no intentions of ever letting me move up. I thought about going back to school, in fact I tried, but with two kids and a husband I couldn’t seem to focus. I just couldn’t figure it out.  I was stuck in a rut.

So I posted out. People ask how I got into IT, well that’s how. I finally figured things out, decided I wanted more for my career, and the IT field is ever-changing. I went to the department I was interested in, asked the manager how to qualify and apply. I shadowed for a while, enrolled in some classes and in no time was promoted to this new department! From there I kept moving up and eventually became a Senior Network Operations Specialist. So, the young lady who didn’t even know how to use a mouse rose through the ranks and changed her career.

If you’re stuck in a rut don’t lose hope! If you think oh, I don’t have enough education, I’m too old, or any of the excuses shown in my little image (see the picture above), that is all they are, excuses! You can do anything you put your mind to. If you can’t move up within your company then apply somewhere else. If you need to go back to school and you’re worried about the expenses find a company to work for that will pay some tuition costs or reimburse you. Seek out the available grants and scholarships. There are a lot of opportunities out there for those who want to go back to school.

Just remember, first you have to change your mindset, then have a goal and plan how you will achieve that goal. And this is how you get unstuck and out of a rut.

Have you experienced this before? Do share! And as always…

Good luck with your career search!

Wendy D. Steele