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| ‘Whoa, My Boss Is Naked’ |
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| Written by Anthony Williams, The Shorthorn Scene writer | ||||
| Wednesday, 30 April 2008 05:26 PM | ||||
Tips for the Job SearchReady for college to be over but hesitant about entering the workforce? Greene offers this advice.Commit to a sound — “You don’t need to focus exclusively on one skill, nor should you limit your search to one industry. However, if you start cooking with too many ingredients, you run the risk of becoming the human equivalent of a ‘jam band.’ Solidifying your identity now allows you to diversify later.” It’s important to be concise — “One well thought out sentence is better than an MTV-style confessional interview. You want to give answers to questions that make sense.” Resume objectives — “What good does it do for you that your experience doesn’t? Most assume if you’re applying for the job, you want that job. I’ve spoken to many [human resources] people who had negative reactions to the section. If you do it, do it in a concise manner.” Edit everything you write — “When you send e-mails and IMs, that’s your final answer.” Now there’s a career advice book that puts "The Hills" and other pop culture staples to use. Marketing consultant Jake Greene injects trendy references when talking to friends. He wrote Whoa, My Boss Is Naked! A Career Book for People Who Would Never Be Caught Dead Reading a Career Book, hoping to connect with job seekers who have high hopes and low attention spans. “I was aiming for an audience of people who didn’t always go to lectures when they were paying for them in college,” Greene said from his hometown of Minneapolis. “When I was coming out of college, I was vaguely ambitious. I went to a bookstore and a lot of the career books didn’t really appeal to me.” Greene, a Stanford University alumnus, said most career books only turn people into “corporate tools” — “professionals without perspective” — who inflate their job’s importance, display motivational art in the office and have several, often-repeated mottos. In Naked, he writes that corporate tools blindly follow their employers, yet hate their jobs. “If they [did like them], they wouldn’t go on about the material rewards they earn as opposed to the work they do.” Greene’s brief chapters have titles like “ ‘Desperate Housewives’ and the Era of Free Agency” and “White-Collar Comedy Tour.” The book’s title comes from a reference to the popular fairy tale about the emperor’s new clothes, encouraging employees to speak up when things aren’t right. Naked is still a serious book, even with its humor. Greene says students shouldn’t rely on resume templates, and should instead market themselves like a DVD — give your prospective employer the gist quickly, highlight your special features and only publish good reviews. “If your GPA’s terrible, no one will threaten you with bodily harm if you don’t put it on there,” he said. “That’s not really selling yourself well.” Greene said he probably cut 20 chapters that were fully written, a majority of them centered on bits from the 1980s, but some nuggets may still fly over younger readers’ heads. “If nothing else, it could teach you about pop culture references from the ’80s and ’90s ... but you can also laugh at LFO references,” he said, bringing to mind the one-hit wonder band that liked girls from the summer who wear Abercrombie & Fitch. Greene also challenged those who delay their professional lives in fear of remaining lifeless on the couch. “If you’re someone too cool to get in the game,” he said, “you’ve got other problems to work on.” The Shorthorn talked to author Jake Greene about his book from his hometown of Minneapolis, Minn. Q: People like to say that because of reality television, most of our generation just expects or wants to be discovered on the sidewalk. What do you think about that? A: If you look at pop culture heroes, and if you want to be an A-lister, you can’t just have one credit to your name. You have to have a record label, a fragrance … everyone wants to come out of school and be Diddy. If you think about Diddy, he started out as a dancer and producer. He didn’t get into movies and everything until he was already established. Q: What do you say to people who have such expectations? A: You can’t close any doors until you’ve opened some first. Q: What about people who are unhappy with their job, when should they know it’s time to go? A: If you have a diverse crowd of mentors outside the office, they’ll be able to side away your frustrations or confirm them and tell you to leave. And there isn’t a set amount of time to stay. Q: Can graduates really be happy with their future jobs? A: It’s a perspective game. I spent an afternoon backstage at MTV for Total Request Live. Those people are in the trendiest setting, but they’re corporate tools. They’re stressed and not really able to enjoy what’s going on around them. It’s not about the environment you work in, it’s the perspective you maintain. Q: What about graduates who think they’ve done all they can and aren’t getting any job offers? A: Students should be reaching out to people they find interesting – don’t be reactive. With the Internet there’s much better chances to make things happen today. Don’t worry about job banks. If there’s a place you like, find some e-mail addresses and contact people. If you see people speak or have a chance meeting with someone, try to figure out how to make their lives easier and pitch yourself. And don’t fear rejection, it’s part of the game. Views: 2753 | E-mail
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