The Ascendence Group

“Going to a career fair is like looking for a soulmate at a singles bar.” ~ Seth Godin

Seth’s writing is 100% brilliance. Today’s post is no exception…

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Career fairs…

are neither.

Of course they don’t exist to help you plan or execute a career. Most of the organizations with booths are bottom fishing, looking for enough willing and able employees to fill established gaps in their companies. This is hiring on the hoof, wholesale filling of average jobs with people trying to be average. Planning a career at a career fair is a little like looking for a soulmate at a singles’ bar.

And fair? Hardly. Because there are no average people, right? There are average jobs, certainly, average in that they require people to fit in, do what they’re told and follow the manual. I’ll grant you that those jobs need to get done, but I’m not sure they have to get done by you.

By the time a job opening hits the career fair, it’s a job you don’t want. And by the time a job seeker is walking down the aisles, standardized resume in hand, it might be too late for her to find a job that’s worthy of her.

Here’s to a new, better sort of career fair, one that’s selective, interactive, long-term and both career and fair.

Authored by Seth Godin.

Pure genius, distilled down to stick figures.

In an earlier post, I mentioned the vicious cycle.  This idea is also mentioned on my website.  And I mention it every time I speak about TAG.  Why is the concept of the vicious cycle so important to me?

Because I know someone – someone very close to me – that is caught up in the vicious cycle right now.  Let me tell you a story about my brother…

My brother was the kind of guy that never had a career plan.  He was always much more focused on enjoying the moment – he was perfectly happy “just getting by”.  Until graduation day came. …