If all nations/countries were applying, or competing, for a job, the United States would be the best candidate.
Why? Well, let’s take a look at some famous films…
Captain America over the Red Skull in Captain America: the First Avenger, and the boxer Rocky over Drago in Rocky IV, are examples of the United States prevailing over a well qualified rival.
When these fictional characters “duked” it out, they were well prepared for the hurdles and obstacles that stood in their way. Job searching is similar in the sense that you need to train, express your goals effectively and use your allies to defeat a foe. If you implement the same motivation that they did, you’ll be in total control of the job search process.
I recently attended the San Jacinto College professional job fair, and one thing that employers agreed on was that your skills and abilities need to be up-to-date. The question that comes to my mind is, “what if Rocky didn’t train and just jumped into the ring with his opponent Drago?” He probably would have suffered the same fate as Apollo Creed (and lost the fight).
When building your resume, I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping your skills updated and exercising them every opportunity you get. What you don’t use, you will lose. If you can effectively display these skills on your resume, an employer will be encouraged to call you in for an interview.
The first avenger (Captain America) was puny and weak. However, he had one thing his fellow recruits didn’t, which was passion. His ability to express his passions gave him the opportunity to become the greatest fictional American hero of all time. In terms of looking for work, hiring managers, recruiters and potential bosses want to see that your desires or passions coincide with theirs. They want to see that you will work hard to impact their bottom line and help advance their company.
Another important piece of an effective job search is being able to lean on friends, contacts or “allies” for assistance when needed.
The movie character Rocky had (friends) Paulie, Adrian, Mickey and Apollo who helped him reach his goals. Captain America had the Avengers. In order for these heroes to reign victorious over their opponents, they needed to call on allies for help defeating seemingly invincible antagonists.
When we’re trying to defeat unemployment, it’s crucial to network with our friends, families, neighbors, past colleagues and fellow social club members. By staying connected with these allies and inquiring about jobs, you will gain more intelligence about desirable industries and positions.
If you find yourself trying to beat short-term or long-term unemployment, you will have to train (build your resume), gain allies (network) and express your goals (in an interview) to land a job.
When you do land that next job interview, and you will if you continue to work hard, be like the U.S.A. and take charge. You’ll be pleased with the outcome.
Diego Trevino is a Regional Facilitator for Workforce Solutions in the Houston – Galveston area. Before joining the regional team, he served as a greeter, employment counselor and staffing specialist. Earlier in his career he traveled to South Korea where he taught students English. He uses past teaching experiences and present workforce knowledge to conduct job skills seminars throughout the 13 county Gulf Coast Region.
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