“One might ask what is the point of repeating these banalities. The answer is that it is important to keep on repeating them, again and again, because these are banalities we often find it convenient to forget; and if we forget them, and they fall into oblivion, we will be condemning our culture, that is to say ourselves, to ultimate and irrevocable ruin.” – Leszek Kolakowski
Awhile ago I was coaching a friend on her job search. After giving her some advice she thanked me. I noted it was basic advice, and thus thanking me was no big deal, and she said it may be but no one told her.
That issue has haunted me – how can such basic advice be something people miss? How is it people don’t know even the basics of the job search and career? Excuse me, but who the hell is teaching them and ignoring the job basics?
The more I examined this, the more I saw such ignorance cutting across lines of gender, ethnicity, education and region. Wether we get no advice, or overspecialized advice, or bad advice, it seems far too many people just don’t know how the job search and the career works. This has a severe impact on what people can do – on top of all the other economic problems they face.
Who was teaching them? Apparently no one, or not the right people.
I’m now understanding why my ranting about “all these job books say the same thing” was ignorant. Those who write on job search advice have to repeat the basics since there’s a good chance people haven’t heard of the basics. Having written a few job books, I’m realizing this “repeating the basics” is a miserable truth of giving advice.
I feel like i owe some authors of books I haven’t read an apology. Sorry folks.
Anyway, my previous ranting aside, I realized what I had to do.
It’s time to talk the basics of the job search – getting ideas, career planning, searching, etc. I’m going to detail the essentials to help people, get them to think, give me something to show others, and do something.
Of course it’s skewed to the readers of this site – members of the geekosphere – but it fits most anyone.
It’s time let’s gear up over the days and weeks to come and talk basics. Let’s get your feedback as well, because I want to make something I can hand other people and help them out.
So I can write about something else. For now.
Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach. He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.