I’m 100% behind Maggie’s frustration. It’s not entirely her fault; most old (wink wink) people I know are actually quite savvy. It’s just the ones that aren’t savvy but claim that they are, are so friggin vocal and inches away from actually being mentally deficient. When they label themselves gurus, I’m amazed they have a grasp of the necessary sentence structure. They then proceed to spell doom for other old (wink wink) people.

There’s a -real- difference between using social media tools to market and surfing Facebook ad infinitum or even having a Twitter account; it’s marketing that separates the people who know what the hell they’re talking about from the people who claim to be all-knowing.

I graduated with a dual degree in Computer Information Systems and Marketing… and I’ve seen the worst of the worst when it comes to job listings: for the record, marketing is not cold calling or phone sales. I’ve seen job listings for “10 years experience” in programming languages that have only been around for 2. I see a lot of social media job listings with the same requirement (ie, 10 years experience on Twitter… yeah. #FAIL).  And people wonder why I work for myself.

Then again, I work for myself because I couldn’t be trusted to get up at 8AM unless there is some sort of fire alarm going off, and even then it’s a gamble… but I’m with Maggie – screw this myth that only young people know where it’s at.  Some of my age-peers are clueless as the walking dead when it comes to blogs or social media tools (particularly the ones who claim to get it). There’s no reason Maggie, with a little under two more decades of wisdom on her belt, couldn’t do just as good a job as I could whipping up a social media marketing plan.

What’s more, “social media” as most people refer to it is just a collection of tools and (hopefully) a mindset to actually listen to your customers where they’re talking. And are there gurus?  Swamis sent from above, blessed by the gods who just get it?  Hell no.

Are there any telephone gurus in the house? Try saying that out loud with a straight face.

I’ve learned -a lot- from people who are twice my age or more, particularly in the realm of social media and marketing. But I’ve also had to sift through so much crap from so-called gurus that I’m surprised there are any car salesmen, lawyers, or Made-for-TV personalities left.

Social Media is such an inbred field… the A-Lister “gurus” have spent so long pandering to the masses and tooting their own horns that words that actually should mean something, like transparency and authenticity, are now buzz-words for “things you should be doing, and by the way, where’s my check for being awesome?”

More alarming than discriminating against the gray and dusty is the reverse – discrimination against the value of youth, as if young people’s opinions don’t matter or count or that they shouldn’t even have opinions because they haven’t formed the body of experience yet. I think that’s all relative – everyone has something valuable to contribute; trust your wobbly legs and stand up, Bambi!

This boils down to stupid businesses cloning stupidity to new fields.  If they’re that stupid in public forums, such as recruiting, then you can only imagine the drool-inducing sort of conversations occurring in the board room.  Flee as far and as fast as you can and don’t look back.

I wanted to tell you, I’m still here. I’ve had one of those “Ah-Ha” moments where I feel like if I don’t put this stuff in the right context, I’m helping aid your transformation into cogs. I want to do this right, I want to help you; not hurt you. Not all jobs are created equal. My goal is to help you find the (unfortunately rare) job that will appreciate you for who you are.

I’m also going to shift my… erm… radical business ideas to a different blog so that I can return the focus of this one to job searching.

Stay tuned. A new look and new content is on its way.

The topic: the importance of inspiration on your job search! This will soon also be available as a podcast.

A lot of millennials are in the same situation she is, I’d like to share my response publicly.

You might not have any work references, but you most certainly have academic references or people who can speak to your character.

You might have a favorite professor (college) or teacher (high school) whose class you excelled in, consistently performed well, and so on.  To this day, my best references come from my favorite marketing professor.  I graduated in 2007.  Think about teammates on sports teams you might have been a part of or classmates who worked with you on projects, anyone who can speak well of you and isn’t directly related to you.

If you are still coming up short – find a mentor, volunteer position, open source project, or something else you can work on for a length of time. Pick something interesting – like habitat for humanity or volunteering at a local Better Business Bureau. Over time you will gain someone who can speak as a reference, whether it’s a volunteer co-worker or the coordinator or even the recipient of the volunteer work.

No Work Experience wasn’t always this scary, but the economy that we’re facing at the moment is rife with peril for new entrants. My advice? Do as much networking as you can – get involved on MeetUp with a professional organization, do an Ignite speech – hell, start up an Ignite group if your town doesn’t have one.

Do anything and everything you can – claw for every inch.  Collaborate, connect, and dream – but most importantly, DO SOMETHING.

A BarCamp is based around the idea that the coffee breaks are much more valuable than the actual sessions… and so the “sessions” consist of self-organized coffee breaks to talk about specific subjects.  There are no highly-paid presenters, there are no hoity-toity sales pitches, and there isn’t a lot of free, but useless, swag.

I’m convinced that the idea of attending people-created BarCamps, TweetUps, going to MeetUp.com and finding local business events, and attending unemployed-centric events is the most effective way to network.  Not only do you get to showcase your skills or share ideas with a highly-energetic and tuned-in audience, but you get to rub elbows with people you never even knew existed!

How do you succeed at a BarCamp?  Well – you take business cards… or set up a free Contxts account so you can share them via SMS text message.  Then, you think about things you are knowledgeable about as they relate to the theme of the conference.  At a WineCamp and know something about vintage port?  Write your idea up on the whiteboard and if people like it, they’ll attend.  Having a creative or funny name for your “discussion” is a big help!

Attend other people’s discussions – listen and pitch in! Ask questions, participate!  Don’t go into a BarCamp with the expectation that it’s all about you – it’s about you SHARING your knowledge with other people. It’s true that what you put in will dictate what you get out of it – the more you share, the more people are going to want to talk to you (as long as you’re not a raving idiot).

Most of all, network! Introduce yourself to anyone and everyone who looks or sounds interesting – write down memorable questions and ask if you can e-mail people later.

You never know, you might just be hobnobbing your way to your next job!

Times are tough and jobs are sparse.

There seems to be two distinct lines of thought about what the unemployed should do.

One line of thought says, “The Spice Must Flow” – in other words, go out and get any job you can that will keep the roof over your head and food on the table.

Another line of thought says, “Every Person Has A Calling” – that is, you should get a job you like since that’s the job you’ll be best at.

My personal thought on this is that if you take on a job you don’t like, even if it pays well, you’re going to bring yourself and the company a whole lot of hurt.

First, the company has to pay to establish your benefits – and they have to pay for a month after you leave.  More than that, if you qualify and participate in COBRA (a program to continue your benefits after you’ve been laid off/leave the company) the company will pay for a portion of those benefits or at least partially share in the cost increase for any healthcare you receive (in later years).

Second, the company has to pay the costs to train you.  This is time and productivity lost on their part – especially if you don’t like the job or take longer to train for a position that could have been better acclimated to than someone else.

Finally, lets say you are completely bored with your job and end up working only 90% as hard as you could have.  The company is losing that productivity from you – you’re, in essence, cheating the company because you chose poorly.  Even if you swear that you’re going to do the job, do your best, give 100% – you’re eventually going to slip.

Not to mention, if you’re dissatisfied with the main task you’re responsible for, you’re more likely to make mistakes and less likely to correct mistakes when you make them.  Middle school dance lessons, anyone?  We’re not a nation of ballroom or square dancers.

You might feel differently when you have to buy ramen noodles rather than the spaghetti noodles at the grocery store, but you will most definitely like your job and be happier with your life.

Last night the news told me that gold is selling for around $900 an ounce.  People are resorting to panning for gold to pay the bills.

That’s when it struck me.  We’ve come full circle to the time of the Wild West.

The big banks somewhere off in the East keep on doing their thing, but it’s the local, littler banks we all trust now.  Robberies are getting more common and the thieves are more desperate – and what’s more, we can identify with the people doin’ the theivin’!  Honest, hard-working people who hit a low spot and just want to keep food on the table and a house over their heads.  The best we can hope for is an undisturbed spot on the river and a fire to cook our beans with.

The situation in America is pretty damn bad.  A new study showed that less than 20% of 2009 grads are getting jobs they’ve applied for.  A whopping 65% are moving back in with Mom and Dad.  It’s not all doom and gloom, but if only 20% of new grads are getting hired and the boomers just ain’t retiring, the job market seems to be in mighty slim pickins.

Don’t let that get you down.  There’s always grad school – more education can only help you here.  You can even go the route of the entrepreneur – just don’t become a snake oil salesman (though if ya do, Twitter is a great platform).  Be smart and conserve your resources – pay for necessities and skip the niceties if you can go without.

The best you can do is to carve out your own living as best you can.  Hold on to a job you might not enjoy as much as you might like.  Express yourself in your off-time as much as possible if your work doesn’t bring you satisfaction.  Do as much as you can to become a digital gunslinger – make your opinions count and your voice heard.

Remember that in tough times good people tend to face situations that aim to make them bad people.  Don’t let it happen to you.  Keep your head up and keep moving forward as best you can – and look to anyone you can trust to help you.

I’ll help as best I can – free resume reviewing, all the free info and tutorials on the website, and so on.  If you have questions, all you need to do is ask!

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Here’s the show notes for today’s show: 4/10/2009

Millennials – Be Prepared!

- Be prepared for disappointment while searching and applying for jobs
- Be prepared to do some things you don’t wanna do (taking on part-time jobs, taking on lesser assignments, waiting longer than you’d like)
- Be prepared to do battle – ageism is rampant. Millennials are always under attack. Work hard, make your contributions count.
- Teddy bears, bunnies, and stoners.  ‘Nuff said.

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