Here's how one expert observer, Florence Brand of Columbia's placement service, describes the five categories into which most of her interviewees fall.
- Got-it-together people. "There is a substantial percentage," Brand says, "who are objective, intelligent, and capable of planning an effective job hunt. A typical person in this group will come in and say, 'I'm graduating next spring. I'll have a B.A. with a major in English and creative writing. What should I start to do now that will help me find a job?'"
- Passive-dependent people. Of these, Brand says, "They are mildly neurotic and hope to be given specific directions in every phase of the job hunt. Usually their view of what is involved is unrealistic. Even if they have skills or qualifications that can be sold on the job market, they are either unaware of the fact or don't know how to capitalize on their assets."
This category can be especially helped by the placement services offering a range of assistance-for example, in resume writing, or suggesting how to strengthen training or experience by study that will enhance key skill or knowledge areas.
- Railroad-track people. "These are the easiest ones to work with," Florence Brand says. "They have built a straight road from school to employment." Typical of this group are the prelaw or premed people looking for secure jobs, often in civil service. An average job market usually can absorb these individuals readily. On their part, they are looking for an organization that will take them on, help develop their careers, and in which they will stay until retirement.
- Side-road wanderers. Brand says, "These are individuals who are more interested in living than in working. They are not career-minded and consider work merely as an opportunity to earn enough money to take care of their needs. Generally they don't object to travel and will change their line of work readily if a good opportunity arises."
- The walking wounded. Most placement offices and employment agencies are familiar with people who are only marginally employable. They may have emotional problems and need emotional support as much as they need practical help. Some in this group seek another person to depend on; others come into a service or agency office just to be heard. They are eager to talk about themselves, their experiences, their interests-including highly personal reminiscences.
Since the average person in this group is not in a position to follow through on a job quest, agencies seldom offer practical aid for a job-finding program. But their needs seem to be satisfied when they are listened to and encouraged in whatever kind of action they decide on.
Most of the people fall into the first two categories. While some of the points covered apply to the third category-railroad-track people-most do not. The railroad-trackers do not constitute a large group. They are a select few who have known exactly what they wanted to be since age five, and have never departed from this path. Most people, uncertain about the right career, do far more meandering.
For many people, the crux of the decision boils down to this: Should they go with the hard facts, or the dream?
"I studied art and I'm good at it. But I've got to earn my living. Do I try to make it as an artist, or do I teach?"
"I love archaeology, I'm right in tune with Leakey and Aarons and people who devote their lives to trying to decipher the past. But my father has a good business-and he wants me to go in with him."
It's a basic dichotomy that lurks for many, and making a choice is not only an internal struggle. There are plenty of well-wishers in the wings who are positive they know "what is best for you."
Remember the scene in the film The Graduate, in which Dustin Hoffman in the title role is cornered at his graduation party by a doting uncle who whispers fiercely, "Plastics!"
That was a key word in an earlier time. But there are others pushed on you today. Recently, 900 high-school students listened to a mass recommendation: "Energy!" A day's program was sponsored by the National Energy Foundation, whose members include U.S. Steel, Brooklyn Union Gas, and Ebasco Services, which builds power plants.
Career goals summed up in single words abound. Which one you hear depends on who your relatives, friends, and parents are. Don't be surprised if it's computers, oil, biological engineering, or the hotel business. Employment hot spots keep changing. Your children will be put on to a good thing in lunar real estate.
The fact is, the future is enigmatic. No matter what your choice, it seems right-at first-and ten years later may come the dismal realization that the other one probably would have been better. Or, you soon know you've made the wrong choice, and you either feel there is no turning back or you try to and there are obstacles-the previous opportunity has disappeared. Resign yourself: Every choice has its risks. And there are few situations for few people in which initiative and enlightened opportunism won't suggest a next step, or a new direction.
It is the hidden elements of motivation that intensify the crucial aspects of job hunting. Feelings become clear when you ask job hunters, "What is your real concern? What are you really worried about in looking for a job?" Some answers:
"No one may want me"-from someone who is concerned with acceptability and fears rejection.
"I'm not sure I can hold a job"-from a person with low self-esteem.
"I want to get married." This is from a young man who sees a job as the economic foundation for starting a family. If the job is poor, marriage becomes less practical, and not finding a job at all holds a threat of interference with a deeply rooted social and biological desire.
Members of the pre-worker group reveal behavior that reflects underlying feelings about themselves, and their ways of handling these feelings. Their approaches to job seeking provide some interesting insights.
