Not Everyone has to start at the bottom. After all, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know! While this may be true in general, in today’s job market you need to be willing to start from the bottom… the VERY bottom. It’s not a test of whether you can operate at a higher level, it’s a test of whether you can bring the great attitude you have to make the job something more than it currently is.
Take the example of a young women with a Masters degree who ended up in a sales support role which required little to no schooling. Her job is to enter 200 names per month into a database. She could collect her salary and go home after 200 names, which would result in no upward movement. Instead, she worked everyday, coming up with new ideas to build her employers business. She entered 400 names per month, developed a webinar program for the company (which saved them a ton of money on conferences), developed a sales training program, and is now competing for a role as an Account Executive (with a pay raise!).
So I have to ask- What if she never took the job because she was “overqualified” for it? What if she wasn’t willing to start at the bottom?
The Harsh Reality
The harsh reality is that if you want a job in today’s market, you are competing against a global workforce who likely gets paid less than you and is expected to work harder than you want to. Even within your own market, employers have the pick of the litter when it comes to hiring who they want. There’s lots of skilled people to fill that Entry-Level manager position- and guess what he did… Started At The Bottom as a Customer Service Rep!
1 in 2 Graduates are Un/Underemployed- This isn’t going away. The Baby Boomers aren’t going to retire because they haven’t saved enough money and their portfolios have been decimated. The graduates are making it worse by getting educations in skills that aren’t commercially viable.
Entry Level Is No Longer Entry Level- Academic inflation is quickly changing the dynamics of what an “entry level” job out of college or university looks like. When everyone has a college degree, yours isn’t worth very much. Jobs that used to require highschool now require a degree because they CAN. One option is to take more school, but at a certain point, you will never get your return on investment.
People Will Work For Free- One of the largest trends in recent years are unpaid internships and volunteer positions. Smart students (who can afford it) are offering to work at companies for free just so they can have experience on their resume. When your competition is offering to do entry level work for free, how can you possibly be asking for money!?
You Would Be LUCKY To Start At The Bottom- I have talked to over 10 people in the last month who would do almost anything just so that they wouldn’t have to sit at home and apply for jobs. In 6 months, would you be better off working for minimum wage (gaining experience and filling a gap in a resume) or would you be better off having passed on that minimum wage job so that you could “wait for something better”?
Use Your Positive Attitude To Embrace Starting At The Bottom
I spent a whole post talking about why you need to check your attitude at the door and embrace optimism into your life. I wanted to make sure we are in touch with our attitudes, because your attitude is what allows you to start at the bottom and consistently outperform your competition every. single. time. Even if you have the WORST job in the world, if you do it better than anyone else, people will notice and respect you for it. Here’s what to do to keep positive and land that job at the bottom:
Remember That You Are NOT Entitled To Anything- I don’t care what your parents/teachers/guidance counsellor/friend/therapist/dog said, no one owes you anything. In this world, you have to go out and make a career and a future for yourself. If you are already there- GREAT! If you need help, email me and I gladly give it to you straight.
Volunteer- Volunteering is not only a great way to get experience for your resume, it will also connect you with like-minded people and allow you to give back to your community. Organizations will almost never refuse volunteers, so pick companies or non-profits that you are interested in and call them up to see if they need help!
Take Pride In Everything You Do- Extra effort in your personal life will show employers that you will give that extra effort in your work life. Whether it’s babysitting your nieces, doing repairs on your parents home, writing a thoughtful Facebook post, or even creating a piece of art- do it with 110% of your passion behind it. When you tell employers about your interests, this passion will undoubted shine through.
It’s tough out there. I know this. Just remember that it’s tough for everyone and if you aren’t willing to start from the bottom and work your way up, someone else will!
MAY
Very relevant article in sync with today’s times..only those who keep moving reach somewhere!
Gary- Thanks for sharing. You are the FIRST commenter ever on SBN and I’m really glad you liked the post!
Hi Josh. Contracting is certainly an opiotn. And you might find, in the face of losing your job, that you actually have the time to try working for yourself, while also looking for other work to keep opiotns open. That’s what I did tried starting a freelance business after I was laid off. Even though ultimately I was hired for a full-time job in a company, I still do some freelancing on the side. For me it’s a good backup plan!Nice to find this blog.
Will definitely tweet this out via Bad Pitch Blog’s twitter account. Great, relevant content.
Kevin,
I really appreciate it! This is my first professional blog and I am always looking for feedback on the content. A lot of cool stuff is in the works so I appreciate you taking the time to share!
It’s true that we all must be prepared for chnage of all kinds in our work lives. Even while employed, one can take steps to learn what kinds of skills and expertise are called upon for contract jobs, and then develop a plan for gaining and retaining those skills.
Peter mentioned above part-time cntoracnitg. If it’s something that can be after regular work hours, then a good way to get started is to test the waters by doing some contract work part-time. I can see that you’d develop some skills and a :portfolio of experience, while still using the regular pay check to pay the rent and bills. Very important to keep the two separate however!
Nice article — I think young people need to be told that it is going to be difficult to land a job your dream job fresh out of college and you gotta put up with a lot of crap and what seems like meaningless jobs till you prove yourself… Nobody starts at the top after all!
It was pretty disheartening for me when I graduated, because I think I thought things would happen a lot faster. It was very difficult for me to find a job in the field I wanted to work in after graduation (took about 7 months to land my first full-time PAID PR position). I had to intern a lot myself and volunteer and a tip of advice I can give for people looking to work in marketing, PR, advertising or any other creative field is read as much as you can on the industry you want to get into. When you land job interviews you can show those smarts and interests and likely connect with the interviewer on a more personal level!
Just keep swimming!
Amber, I really appreciate you taking the time to read our post and share your story! I personally was very lucky to land a good job right out of school (I think it was timing more than anything) and I was still frustrated with how long it took me to build credibility in my role. I had this dream that within 12 months I would have all of my debt paid off and I’d be rolling in the dough! Good news is that I have since learned that life is a marathon, not a sprint.
My hope is that we can provide swim trunks and water wings for those who are trying to keep afloat.
its true, I worked for my the falimy business and even my own dad sacked me. The truth is just like everything there is no such thing as forever, those who depended on certain institutions that are supposed to be prestigious are now beggars. Even wall street can crumble.
what have you got to lose if your current hob isn’t secrue . Ad your comment, Sunny, is that even Wall Street can crumble . So, in reality, none of our jobs are secrue; we accept that and live with it. And, as this blog post suggests, it is important to take steps to cushion ourselves from the possible loss of a main job. Such as considering a small part-time side business.
All- Thank you for the great comments and discussion. This is currently our most commented post!