Ready to Start Working? Then Start Focusing On This One Skill

Have you ever read a job description and thought, “Ugh, I don’t think I’m qualified for that position.” Or maybe you read the required skills section and thought, ‘I’m going to need more education so I can add that skill to my resume.’

I recognize it feels frustrating to look for a job when you are limited to applying online. I understand it seems almost impossible to get face to face time with hiring managers and I can see that over 500 people are applying for the same job that you want. 

The truth is, hiring is taking place and you are more than qualified for these positions. Seventy percent of jobs are not posted online. But if you believe that Covid has paralyzed us all and the best thing for you to do is wait for this storm to pass, then I’d like to challenge your thinking. Right now is the best time for you to take action and get ahead of all the others who are choosing to wait on the sidelines.

These thoughts to pause and not take action are normal. They are referred to as fear or self-doubt and at one time they protected our ancestors who were exposed to physical threats. But that external world, where we were once chased by predators, no longer exists. Fear has shifted from protecting us on the outside to protecting us on the inside. We now fear what people will think about us. We fear being rejected. It’s normal and natural to fear and those that pretend they are not afraid often suffer the most.  

“Everything you want is on the opposite side of fear.”

Changing My Career 

My undergraduate was in Interdisciplinary Studies and I took a job as a school teacher. After three years of teaching, I had a desire to earn more money. A lot more money, if I’m being honest. 

Now, I could have thought, “My degree is in teaching, what company is going to hire me? Guess I need to go back to college and get a degree in business.” But that was not an option for me. I was solely responsible for putting myself through college and spending more money was something I was not willing to do. 

The fear of being broke and not enjoying the things I valued in life far outweighed what people thought of my desire to move from teaching to Corporate America. 

I took a look at my teaching skills and I wrote my resume to capitalize on those capabilities. Then, I created a vision of what I truly desired from my career. 

Don’t let the title written across your degree define what you are capable of handling.

I went to school in a small country town in Texas, but I had big dreams. I wanted to work in Corporate America as some type of trainer, live in Washington, D.C., ride the Metro to work, meet people all over the world, make lots of money and teach others.

Trust Yourself, You've Got This 

My sister was in the Navy, living in Maryland, and when the summer came, I left Texas and moved in with her. 

One afternoon, my sister and I were attending a lecture and during the break she looked at me and said, “If we’re going to apply for jobs in the corporate world, we have to be willing to start as an intern and we probably won't make a lot of money at first.” 

I remember looking at her and saying, “I'm not willing to do that.” I loved teaching, it is what I was born to do. I just wanted to teach in the corporate world and I believed I had the skills and ability to make it happen. 

I just needed that hiring manager to see and hear my passion. I was not going to let my lack of corporate work, my previous career or anything define what I wanted for my future. 

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt

70%- 80% of Jobs Are Not Published

The conversation between my sister and I became my fuel to prove my sister wrong (typical sibling behavior). I applied for jobs and I started networking with people who had titles such as sales trainer and product trainer.

I knew I had a lot to learn about Corporate America and I needed to learn fast. I did not know anyone in Washington D.C. So, I sent emails to strangers and asked if I could have 15 minutes of their time to learn about their career choices, regrets and dreams. 

One afternoon, I happened to join a stranger sitting on a park bench. Our conversation began with small talk, but quickly evolved into a conversation about his career and how much he enjoyed working for the company. 

Our conversation was brief, but very thought provoking. I had not given much thought to reviewing a company based on the culture and how it treated its employees. At the end of our talk, I thanked him for helping me broaden my scope and he handed me his business card and asked me to send him my resume. Turns out, he was the Vice President of Technology for EDS. 

In all transparency, I had no idea what EDS did. I had absolutely no knowledge about the technology they used. To say I was unqualified is an understatement, I was definitely the least qualified of all candidates. But, I had a foot in the door, I had met someone that would speak on my behalf. I knew my responsibility was to do my research and prepare for the interview. 

Within a week I had an offer from EDS to help them build a training curriculum, travel all over the country and work with some of the smartest people in the world (but that is just my opinion). 

"At least 70%, if not 80%, of jobs are not published, " Matt Youngquist, president of Career Horizons told NPR. "And yet most people – they are spending 70% or 80% of their time surfing the net versus getting out there, talking to employers, taking some chances [and] realizing that the vast majority of hiring is friends and acquaintances hiring other trusted friends and acquaintances."

The Best Skill for Finding a Job

What if you decided you were going to stop believing the story that no one is hiring or that you need more skills to get hired, but instead you put all of your energy into sharpening your networking skills. If 70-80% of jobs are not listed online, then does it really make sense to continually submit your resume to a button that reads APPLY HERE? 

If you’re not afraid to give online networking a try, then I want you to make a list of companies that align with your values and are located in areas where you want to work. Then, use LinkedIn to find people who work at each of the organizations, in your field of study, and send them a Request to Connect.

The professionals on LinkedIn want to network and they often enjoy helping. Don't be afraid to ask them for 15 minutes of their time, just make sure you are prepared with a list of questions that will move you forward in your career journey. TIP #1: Don't ask for a job! 

Grace is a student who plans to attend law school. Her focus is on building a network of people working in Law Firms. Every day she receives responses like the one below and you can too.

If you’re a college graduate and you are not sure how to use LinkedIn for networking, no problem, we’ve got you covered. Sign up for our upcoming FREE Masterclass and learn how to turn your LinkedIn profile into a job finding machine.

Author: Donna McCurley. My career has transformed from school teacher to sales trainer to working for some of the top Global Sales and Marketing Consulting Firms in the US.  

Over the past fifteen years, I have been working with sales professionals, entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 businesses showing them how they can use the power of LinkedIn to network and grow their business. 

Today, more than ever, social networking is essential, not just for businesses to grow, but for college graduates searching for jobs. My goal is to share these advanced techniques and provide our students with customized LinkedIn Playbooks so they can build online networks that are personalized to their career aspirations.