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Feb 15

Real World on “The Job”?: Episode 2, Vogue Magazine

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

The JobIn continuing my support of the ideal world of work promoted by CBS and the producers of the Friday night prime-time offering, “The Job”, I again offer some thoughts as to the fact vs. fiction goings-on in Episode 2, where 5 more candidates vie for a job as an Assistant Editor at the prestigious women’s magazine, Vogue.

The producers were smart enough to start the show with all jobs focused in the New York area…for reasons of production costs as well as a big enough metropolitan area where nearly every possible type of work can be found.  I only wonder how much the glitz of skyscraper publishers and high-end dining establishments in New York City can relate to the hiring dilemmas of the mass of American Everymans (and women).  But, after developing my own “reality” show concepts in this TV game for the past 7 years, I simply appreciate that producers with clout like this are at least making an attempt…when so many other job show ideas have been cut before even a sizzle reel was produced.  Networks have been antsy about this kind of content, so kudos to CBS.

Here are some fact vs. fiction as well as educational ideas to consider from Episode 2.  Again, I won’t outline the show’s drama, twists and turns.  You deserve to see it for yourself.  And when you do, keep these things in mind:

1.  Brenda, the twice-their-age contender for this Asst. Manager role, shows gumption after having been an entrepreneur for perhaps the last 10-15 years.  Good for her!  Except she was obviously so out of the job-search (and newly graduated) mode that she forgot to do her homework!  She didn’t even read any recent issues of Vogue to catch the style and flavor of the voice of the magazine?  Every company, whether it’s a publisher, a restaurant, or a saddle-maker, has a style, flavor and voice.  Do your homework!

2.  Give me a break!  5 apparently sharp women competing for a role in publishing who don’t even do a spell-check on their final work?  I would like to think that this was a gimmick put in by the producers to create some gasps of incredulity for the viewers…yet you would be amazed at some of the resumes and emails that come into my office.  Fine, upstanding, highly-experienced professionals with typos and misspellings throughout.  Folks, this is an easy one.  Spell-check your work…and have a few other friends do it too, because you get too close to the forest for the trees!

3.  This is the second show in which the candidates were grilled with common terminology, facts, and trivia surrounding the field…therefore, I suppose this will be a staple in future episodes.  And it points to a glaring fact: if you are really pursuing a field you are passionate about, this is a no-brainer.  And yet, if you simply need a job, you will be stumped.  For a couple episodes now, the candidate who seemingly had the most sincere interest and passion in the field tended to get more answers correct.  The point is: don’t waste your time pursuing jobs of non-interest.  Go for what your passionate about, because it shows more than you know!

4.  The show is built for suspense and drama, and therefore takes the viewer and candidates up and down, up and down.  Just when you think you’re the bees knees, you fall on your face.  And just when you think you’re sunk, the sun also rises.  How much is this like the real world of job search!  Keep moving, don’t give up!  It reminds me of a little piece I use to inspire my clients when they get down and out.  It’s called “Press On” and goes like this:

PRESS ON

Nothing In the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful individuals with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.  Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination are omnipotent

5.  Joanna, the Editor-in-Chief, gives a pre-commercial tip to “not be a braggart in the office” because nobody likes self-promotion and you need friends around you.  I agree…and remember, she’s talking about in the office once you have a job!  One of the things I work on most with people actually competing for jobs is their ability to speak well and highly of themselves…because most are so afraid of being perceived as a braggart that they don’t even sell themselves well.  As I say in my book, Never Apply for a Job Again: Break the Rules, Cut the Line, Beat the Rest, if you’re not tooting your own horn (in order to be known so you can land), then nobody is!

6.  This is the second show where one of the onlooking companies makes an offer to take one of the candidates out of contention, so the main sponsoring company (Vogue in this case) can’t have them.  The joke here is that these candidates or being “offered” a job by the competing company and they have to make a decision as to whether to take it or wait for their chances with the main company without knowing any details of the offer!  Come on producers!  We all know an offer isn’t simply a childhood request “Will you go with me?” “Want to be my girlfriend/boyfriend?”  An offer is made up of a LOT of factors that go into the decision.  Perhaps the offer Diandra would have received from Archetype Me was 50% more than Vogue?  We will never know, as this aspect of the show is simplified to ridiculousness.  How about teaching viewers how to sort out all the pieces of an offer, and to negotiate??

7.  I love the questions the final candidates are asked about their social media presence.  “Anything untoward may we find about you on Facebook or elsewhere?”  It’s real folks.  Don’t think they aren’t Googling you as much as you are them!

8.  Again, the show needs to simplify and spoonfeed the emotions so as to compete with much less educational and even plain dumb shows out there…so they make everyone happy at the end by giving both of the far and away “good guys” (the top contenders) jobs.  Yet, we all know folks, most often, and especially at the higher levels, there’s no room for “Oh, sure, let’s take two”…so what are you doing, right now, today, to stand out from the rest when there is only one position?  Will you be chosen…or the biggest loser?

So glad there’s now a mass venue in which to discuss the very real world of work that the entertainment world has been devoid of addressing.  This has been a personal mission of mine for several years, and I can’t wait until my own offering in this “reality” show genre is ready for unveiling.

More next week on “Real World on ‘The Job’?”

Feb 08

Real World on “The Job”?: Episode 1, The Palms

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

The JobCBS’s mid-season addition to their Friday night line-up, “The Job”, has a lot going for it. It embraces a near-perfect world of hiring in which truly the best person for the job is actually hired and, if there’s a close-enough contender, heck, why not give them a job too? One of the first “reality shows” was called “Real World”…so I want to apply that concept to what “The Job” is offering us.

I love the idyllic world presented by the producers, and agree that this is the way life should be. And, as part of the whole educational purpose that the show positions itself to fulfill–besides the heart-warming entertainment–I want to assist that education by pointing out the so-called “truths” about being a candidate in this job market vs. the idealism of the show. Through educating the job seeker as well as the hiring manager, perhaps the more ideal world of work can arise.

The season opener on Friday, Feb. 8, pitted 5 candidates in a hiring contest to become the Assistant Manager at a long-time New York landmark restaurant, The Palms: a blonde Caucasian woman (Maggie); a couple of Hispanic men (Anthony, overweight, and Alex); a black woman (Jann); and a Caucasian male (Ryan). They each took their blows throughout the show, as is the case in all reality shows, because the juice is in the up-and-down drama. And yet, eventually, one was hired (Jann) by The Palms management…who happened to also find a role for the close contender in another location (Ryan).

I won’t recount the show. You deserve to watch it yourself. Yet, for the purposes of furthering your education toward a more ideal world of work (whether you be a job seeker or an employer), I will point out some valuable take-aways from the episode:

1. Though perhaps standard knowledge for some, the little commercial-break tips from the employers on such things as dress, communication during an interview, not asking for vacation right away, and not bad-talking former employers are little gems. I like that the producers included these because, even at the highest level of executive candidates out there, it’s amazing what some folks should know but apparently don’t. And for new folks to the job market, like my 18-year-old son, this is all fresh news.

2. Ryan shows early on that he is a serious contender by demonstrating the amount of research he had done on The Palms, thereby impressing the management on the initial hello portion of the show. The point: you can’t do too much research before an interview folks! Short of being a stalker, when you demonstrate that you are so interested in the other party (like on a date) by knowing about them and what is important to them, you gain points in what I call “relationship equity.” Relationship equity has a long arm of reach…which eventually pays off when Ryan gets a second job that they just happen to find for him.

3. Who’s kidding who? Was Maggie really “shocked” when she was eliminated as the first to be dropped? She showed neither any good sense nor understanding of the job. Unfortunately, outside of idyllic reality shows, those types still tend to know somebody who knows somebody…which can land them as your boss! I’m a huge proponent of not what you know but who you know, and because of her looks and eventual knowing the right person, she’ll land somewhere for sure. I’m glad the looks didn’t win the day in the idyllic world of “The Job.”

4. The whole idea of “protecting” a candidate and having other companies taking their pot-shots by making offers from the sidelines is a fun one to put in a show needing tension and make-or-break decisions. Bruce, the General Manager of The Palms, “protects” Ryan as the onlooking companies pull Anthony from contention by giving him a job offer. Good choice Anthony! You were looking weak on style alignment with The Palms, my friend! Anthony demonstrates that what may look unkempt and frumpy in one environment can be a perfect fit in another. The point: know the employer’s environment, and look like you just stepped out of it.

5. The very personal interest aspects involved in each candidate’s life story–a single-mom with 6 kids, a cancer survivor, a man who wants to make his dad proud–adds a touching flavor and demonstrates the very real impact that your personal story can have in a hiring presentation. You are a person getting hired by other persons…and if you play your personal cards right, they can enhance (and, in some cases, make up for) the necessary skills required to be hired. It’s not all about your story or personality, and yet politics and PR are as strong in hiring as they are anywhere else.

6. Jann, a beautifully smile-laden, southern, black single-mom with 6 kids is chosen as the winner of the Assistant Manager role over Ryan, the close runner up. How idyllic is that, when she is compared to a single, unattached Caucasian man who could drop everything and move to New York on a dime? Hello?? Schools for the kids? Worries that a single mom must deal with as a sole caretaker and breadwinner for a family of 7? After-school involvements for 6 kids? Again, I’m admiring of the producers wanting to show us a perfect world where the obviously best skilled candidate wins out…and, unfortunately, I don’t know that the hiring world sees things the way these producers do. But, good on ‘ya, they inject a bit of real reality when The Palms management just happens to find another role in their Boston location for Ryan.

In the process of producing my own “reality” show around the world of work and people pursuing their dreams, I’ve become intimately aware of the elements necessary to make a show fly. Therefore, I don’t critique the sweetness nor simplicity of the worldview “The Job” promotes. I only emphasize the contrasts between this TV reality and the one most candidates see day-to-day so that perhaps we can all get more clarity on the way it really “should” be.

More next week on “Real World on ‘The Job’?”

Feb 05

Top 10 New Year Career Resolutions: Resolution #10 “I Will Never Consider Myself Simply an Employee Again”

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

Video #16, the FINAL VIDEO in the “The Top 10 New Year Career Resolutions” series…and wouldn’t you know the camera stopped! Nonetheless, this is still a resolution that you deserve to declare for yourself in 2013. Here I cover how critical it is for you to treat yourSELF like a business. Download the full PDF from the homepage at www.CareerGuy.com. Please like and comment on YouTube, share and repost so everyone can benefit!

Jan 23

Top 10 New Year Career Resolutions: Resolution #5 “I’ll Connect With Everyone in My World to Meet, Greet & Find the Treat”

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

Video #11 in the “The Top 10 New Year Career Resolutions” series, resolutions that you deserve to declare for yourself in 2013. Here we cover the amazing connections surrounding you in the world of people, where your job is to meet, greet and find the treat. Please like and comment on YouTube, share and repost so everyone can benefit!

Jan 14

Top 10 New Year Career Resolutions: Resolution #3 “I’ll Be Shamelessly QuestionAble in Pursuit of Information and Relationships”

By Darrell Gurney | Blog

Video #9 in the “The Top 10 New Year Career Resolutions” series, resolutions that you deserve to declare for yourself in 2013. Here I cover Resolution #3, declaring your right to be “question-able” in exploring your real interests and passions. Please like and comment on YouTube, share and repost so everyone can benefit!

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