"Getting out of the business" resource thread

[toomanycookies]

My father actually made the jump from journalism to being an investigator with the public defender's office almost 30 years ago. He had a journalism degree, was in that economic downturn, and was lucky enough to get a job with the public defender's office. But he's not a paralegal.

I don't know if that type of certification would be needed now, but I don't see why, other than the paper certificate. It's the same skills. You go out interview witnesses, come back and write reports. You also serve supboenas, which can be a harrowing experience.

Actually, he was visiting in the area recently and had a client in another jursidiction that once lived here. He needed info, so I filled him in on a related case and we went to the local cop shop to talk to the authorities further. He asked the cop the same questions I do every day, just got better answers because he isn't the media.

It's a good gig and very interesting. I imagine if there was such a job open and you showed them your skill set, you'd have a good chance at getting the job without paralegal school, which seem like scams in a lot of cases, truthfully.

 

[likhary]

what's a good thing to put under "objective" that could be used for several different careers that could use the skills I currently have?

 

[BB Bobcat]

what's a good thing to put under "objective" that could be used for several different careers that could use the skills I currently have?

I don't think you need "objective" on there at all. If you are sending a resume to a company, your obvious objective is to get the job. That's one of those space-fillers that college kids put on their resumes because they don't have enough other stuff yet to fill up the page IMO.

 

[Cadet]

General question: Do recruiters still exist? If I were interested in working in a specific industry or with a specific organization (like state government or Target) are there still recruiters I could speak with to get an idea of what jobs are available and what skills they're looking for? Or has everything gone the way of monster.com?

 

[franticscribe]

Recruiters or headhunters definitely still exist. I think they're more active in some industries than others. I know that for legal jobs attorneys at big firms are constantly getting cold calls from headhunters looking for talent. A buddy of mine worked briefly as a headhunter focused on business management a couple of years ago.

A search for "headhunters" on google popped up a few directories where you can search by industry. I don't know how reliable those are.

 

[Flash]

I saw someone earlier had posted the PRSA site. You can also check out the IABC (International Association of Business Communicators). I suspect I'll be going to conference in NYC next June.

www.iabc.com

As well, I know how much blogs and Twitter and the like are derided on the site.

A note to anyone looking to get into marketing and communications: Embrace social media. Learn about it. Love it. Know how to use it.

My institution is investing $10,000 in making me its social media expert. If a company or institution doesn't have one, it needs one.

 

[Flash]

To wit, Oregon State has just created a position called Social Media Specialist. See the Nov. 5 post on biggloriousmess.wordpress.com

If it wasn't for that damn green card thing, I'd be all over this.

 

[Flash]

This might help for the interview portion of your job search:

http://dev.fyicenter.com/Interview-Questions/Sixty-Four/index.html

 

[agateguy]

Is there any more life in setting up a discussion of the Richard Bolles book What Color Is Your Parachute?

I still believe it would be extremely helpful to many posters here, and I would be willing to participate.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Recruiters or headhunters definitely still exist. I think they're more active in some industries than others. I know that for legal jobs attorneys at big firms are constantly getting cold calls from headhunters looking for talent. A buddy of mine worked briefly as a headhunter focused on business management a couple of years ago.

A search for "headhunters" on google popped up a few directories where you can search by industry. I don't know how reliable those are.

Just beware of the places that want you to pay them. If it's not a company that is getting paid by the company that hires you, it's a colossal waste of your time.

 

[Cadet]

I've posted a <a href="http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/63834/">new poll</a> on Anything Goes about emergency savings. Hopefully it will spawn some good discussion about creating an emergency fund and how to use it if you find yourself without income.

 

[NDub]

I just read through this and there's a lot of good stuff. Thank you everyone for what you've shared.