FORTY PLUS EDITORIAL FEBRUARY 22, 2006

Finding that new job...in 2006

Let’s not Play Pretend. Finding a job today is...a Challenge.

First...the Good News: There ARE jobs out there. Good jobs.
Good...as in Good Paying jobs. With Good Benefits, still.
But...try to find the one that’s right for YOU.
Ah...now THAT’S a challenge!

If you go into the world naked...your chances sink to low percentages.
If you go in with a head start..your odds zoom upwards.

How do you get an edge?

(Again...this is not Rosy Scenario time)...it pays to be named Bush.
If you are the son of wealthy parents...oh, my, what a difference that makes. Not only will you leave school debt-free...you will have Mom’s Christmas card list to use for calls and introductions. Or good old Dad might drop a hint to a long-tiime Skull & Bones buddy, and presto! You've got a job offer.

On the other hand, if you are a Middle Class American, you'll be climbing uphill most of the way. You will most likely start off owing a bundle. Which you’ll need to work that off in the years ahead.

As for what today’s employers are looking for:

• It pays to be smart, attractive, and buttoned-up.
  
• It pays to have a major in a growth industry.
  
• It pays to feel upbeat and bullish; not down-at-the-mouth or negative.
• Slackers need not apply.
  
• It pays to be a high-energy person; sluggards don’t cut it in today’s
  race-horse workplace.
  

Most of us do not look like Cary Grant. Or Gwyneth Paltrow. So most of us won’t get hired just to decorate the place.

Most of us will pass the screening tests and get a shot because we provide skills an employer is willing to pay good money for.

After that, it is up to each of us to prove ourselves in the real world of long hours, highly competitive associates, game-playing colleagues, and all the rest of it. Welcome to the Real World.

Now cut to the commercial.

At Forty Plus New York, we’ve seen it all. Founded in 1939...smack in the Great Depression...we’ve survived wars and disasters and corporate cave-ins...we’ve lived through boom times and recessions.

We’ve learned how to help people find new careers...quite often after they've been fired from their jobs. That has not changed; if anything, job tenure is even LESS certain today than in previous decades.

We are a genuine non-profit...one of the few left on the planet that believes in the success of our members, and in collaborative efforts to pool our talents and skills and help each and every one of us to find new jobs.

It's our mutually collaborative efforts that keep our costs so reasonable.

Recently, we had a Member who'd lost his job several months ago.
He has highly specialized skills and prefers to remain in that niche occupation. He worked diligently to mine through the online job listings. He was indefatigable. He helped others learn how to crack the code online, and how to track their results.

Since his niche is narrow...there were by no means thousands...or even hundreds of jobs poping up on Monster, to name one major job board.
In fact, very few situations showed up.

Then, suddenly, not one but TWO jobs...both excellent...turned up on the very same day! Our Member got immediate interviews...and took the best offer. Done. Finished. But it was not an overnight effort by any means.

Some new Members arrive, get their resumes spiffed up, and land
their new job inside a month. Others take gigs to tide them over as they wait out the right job.

It all depends. It depends on you. On your niche or job description.
Or on the trend lines of the overall economy...up, down, sideways.

If it’s a new job you want, for your very best shot, come in and talk to us at Forty Plus.

Richard Calderhead    
Forty Plus New York
Feb. 22, 2006

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