The American dream, in a nutshell, is to graduate from college, get a good job, and own your home. These are great things, but how many people do you know who achieve them in that order, let alone in their entirety? The career development model of the last century is changing, and the increasingly diverse skills required of modern college graduates make focusing solely on GPA obsolete. In other words, good grades won’t get you the job of your dreams. For some, good grades in college earn them as much as a comparable high school diploma. At this point, you’re probably wondering why there seems to be a contradiction between college graduation rates and the national shortage of skilled employees. If more people are going to college than ever before, why aren’t there qualified candidates for the jobs our country needs most? What are we doing that prevents us from pursuing the “American” dream of the same name?
In my experience, I have found three things that can guarantee anyone the opportunity to pursue the American dream:
1. Develop a social network;
2. Provide value for value
3. Being known for something
These three things helped me gain the confidence and experience necessary for a REAL job. I’m not talking about the traditional college job that pays for your textbooks. I am referring to work that helps you finish college and gives you the opportunity to start working in your main field before you finish your degree. Now, I’ll share how I’ve used these three things to give myself a head start on the American dream.
It all started at my first job. I worked on the beach selling chairs for a friend of my grandparents. It was a good job that paid well, but it was far from my dream job. The work was grueling and required long hours in the heat of Florida’s abnormally humid summers. Eventually, I lost some expensive equipment and was fired by the boss for negligence. While that’s not something I volunteer to share with prospective employers during the application process, it was the beginning of my social network. Every job you have requires some social interaction, even if it’s just during the application process. Building a social network starts with making a lasting impression on everyone you meet, and that includes the people who don’t hire you. When you leave a lasting impression, people are more likely to keep you in mind for future opportunities, too.
A year after my failed attempt at a first job, a close friend asked if I could cover his shift as a Statue of Liberty at Liberty Tax Service. As you may know, this job includes dancing on the side of the street dressed as Lady Liberty to promote Liberty Tax Service. Even though I wasn’t on the payroll, I was qualified for the job and did my best. I ended up covering both my friend’s shift and the evening shift, working from 7am to 5pm. My work ethic left a lasting impression and I added value to the valuable opportunity that Liberty Tax Service provided me. Not asking for brochures, under-promising, and over-delivering are just a few of the ways you can add value to your work and leave a lasting impression of your VALUE on prospective employers.
In the years that followed, I continued to work for Liberty Tax Service and took on other jobs, including serving at the Fort Walton Yacht Club, running my church’s weekly TV broadcast, and fixing countless computers for local businesses and individuals. All of these were in addition to earning a high school diploma. When I went to the University of West Florida, I continued to make sure people knew me as a GEEK. My business cards list me as such, and the title has sparked several conversations (also known as networking opportunities), which I then used to build my portfolio.
It may seem like I’ve spent a disproportionate amount of time talking about relatively “unskilled” labor in an article about landing your dream job, but that’s no accident. The fact is, your first few jobs won’t be fun, and providing value often means getting your hands dirty. Until you work on the front lines, it’s almost impossible to be seen by the right people. Even perfect students who get all A’s and lead student organizations will never go anywhere until they get into the real world and build relationships with decision makers in their field. Those relationships come from more places than you might expect, and the first step to finding them is to try. The American dream is yours to pursue. Go get it.