I was laid off (2001) and decided to change my career field from engineering support to career advising because that’s really where my heart was, and I figured since I was unemployed anyway, and in a new city (Columbus), why not try to go in a new direction?
My networking campaign included joining and becoming active in a non-profit, member-led, job-search support group, 40+ of Central Ohio (the name referring to the age of the average member).
One of the many networking meetings I conducted was with the chairman of the 40+ board.
She recommended I meet with an administrator at The Ohio State University (who was not directly involved with career services).
I met with that gentleman, and across the hall from his office was a career center.
After our meeting, I went across the hall, spoke to the receptionist, and asked if I could speak to the career center director.
The director came out, I introduced myself, explained what I was doing, and asked if we might meet together sometime in the next week or two.
She declined my request, but gave me the name of the Career Director at DeVry University, and said to contact her (I didn’t even know DeVry had a campus in town).
I telephoned the DeVry director, mentioned the OSU career center director, and asked for a meeting. She said she was unable, so I asked if I could send her a resume, just as a way of introducing myself, she said okay, and I did. No mention of a job. (I offered to provide a copy of my resume because I figured this was a dead end. Had the director invited me to come in for an informational meeting, I would NOT have provided a resume in advance.)
About two weeks later the DeVry director telephoned me, said she had some time on her schedule, and wondered if I still wanted to visit and chat, and we scheduled a time. No mention of a job.
I met the director at the school, I asked my questions, we talked, I left. No mention of a job.
About a week later, the director called me, said she was having an all-staff meeting in a couple of days, and wondered if I’d like to join the meeting and give a 15-minute presentation on 40+ and how it assisted job seekers. I accepted. No mention of a job.
I went to the meeting, presented, and left. No mention of a job.
A couple of days later, the director called me, said they were filling a career advisor position, and asked if I would like to come in and discuss it.
I agreed, and on the next Wednesday (or possibly Thursday, it’s been a while) I had a formal job interview.
And here’s where it gets interesting.
The following Sunday, in the newspaper, there was a large ad announcing the position at DeVry (up until that point in time, I had not seen any other advertisements, although I was certainly looking for one) and I thought, “Oh great, there are probably 20 other folks who are more qualified than me who will answer that ad, and I’ll be history.”
That Wednesday, the director telephoned me, said she wanted to offer me the job, and asked if I’d like to come in and discuss it, which I did, and which I accepted.
Thanks for sharing your story Chris. I love how you followed the path the conversations led to and went into each one with a mindset that you were going to help out where you could. As a career advisor, I'm sure you know it's hard for jobseekers to be patient and resist the temptation to talk about jobs in these conversations, but I'm sure you share this story to prove the point.
I was laid off (2001) and decided to change my career field from engineering support to career advising because that’s really where my heart was, and I figured since I was unemployed anyway, and in a new city (Columbus), why not try to go in a new direction?
My networking campaign included joining and becoming active in a non-profit, member-led, job-search support group, 40+ of Central Ohio (the name referring to the age of the average member).
One of the many networking meetings I conducted was with the chairman of the 40+ board.
She recommended I meet with an administrator at The Ohio State University (who was not directly involved with career services).
I met with that gentleman, and across the hall from his office was a career center.
After our meeting, I went across the hall, spoke to the receptionist, and asked if I could speak to the career center director.
The director came out, I introduced myself, explained what I was doing, and asked if we might meet together sometime in the next week or two.
She declined my request, but gave me the name of the Career Director at DeVry University, and said to contact her (I didn’t even know DeVry had a campus in town).
I telephoned the DeVry director, mentioned the OSU career center director, and asked for a meeting. She said she was unable, so I asked if I could send her a resume, just as a way of introducing myself, she said okay, and I did. No mention of a job. (I offered to provide a copy of my resume because I figured this was a dead end. Had the director invited me to come in for an informational meeting, I would NOT have provided a resume in advance.)
About two weeks later the DeVry director telephoned me, said she had some time on her schedule, and wondered if I still wanted to visit and chat, and we scheduled a time. No mention of a job.
I met the director at the school, I asked my questions, we talked, I left. No mention of a job.
About a week later, the director called me, said she was having an all-staff meeting in a couple of days, and wondered if I’d like to join the meeting and give a 15-minute presentation on 40+ and how it assisted job seekers. I accepted. No mention of a job.
I went to the meeting, presented, and left. No mention of a job.
A couple of days later, the director called me, said they were filling a career advisor position, and asked if I would like to come in and discuss it.
I agreed, and on the next Wednesday (or possibly Thursday, it’s been a while) I had a formal job interview.
And here’s where it gets interesting.
The following Sunday, in the newspaper, there was a large ad announcing the position at DeVry (up until that point in time, I had not seen any other advertisements, although I was certainly looking for one) and I thought, “Oh great, there are probably 20 other folks who are more qualified than me who will answer that ad, and I’ll be history.”
That Wednesday, the director telephoned me, said she wanted to offer me the job, and asked if I’d like to come in and discuss it, which I did, and which I accepted.
linkedin.com/in/chrishogg--ohio
Thanks for sharing your story Chris. I love how you followed the path the conversations led to and went into each one with a mindset that you were going to help out where you could. As a career advisor, I'm sure you know it's hard for jobseekers to be patient and resist the temptation to talk about jobs in these conversations, but I'm sure you share this story to prove the point.