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Not really. You may get lucky, in the sense you land a great job that pays well, etc, but it didn't just fall into the worker's lap (unless they were politically connected to begin with). You had to make effort to apply for the job, sell yourself in an interview, etc.
My cousin bumped into a random person in an elevator and it turns out he owns a marketing company and that's how she got her job.
People tell me, "Oh why don't you try this career or apply to this job....etc.." Well, I've been doing that for years. When I ask them how they get their job they say, "Well, I knew some guy and that's how I got it".
Even then, I'll ask them to give their company my resume and nothing ever comes about.
Why in the world would a company hire somebody just because they knew someone? If a company has an opening, they are looking for someone who has the skills they need, not someone who knows their receptionist or met a guy in an elevator. Those people had the skills to do the job in the first place, and happened to know someone who was looking for that skillset.
I honestly believe that I have the greatest job in the world. Of course other people believe that too and I'm sure there are better jobs out there too (e.g., professional athlete, travel writer (Rick Steves), wine sommelier, etc. all seem like better jobs).
But I have a regular corporate job at one of the most desired companies in the world and I really do love working here.
I didn't get here through sheer luck (well, yes it was sheer luck to some degree but not in the way that you think) or this job didn't just fall onto my lap. Anyway, here's my long-ish story for anyone who cares...
In fact, just a week or so ago I was having drinks with some friends from elementary school and they were asking how I got this job and what I studied in college, etc. One guy asked another guy what he can do to get a job like mine right now. The conclusion from one of the guys was "You have to go back in time to High School." Mind you, we are all 40+ year old guys now.
I'll start from when I was in elementary school because at least for me, it does go back that far. I was interested in computers. I just thought they were cool. Sure I liked playing video games but I wasn't just interested in the game play, I was interesting in how these games get made. Who programs these games? How do they program these games? I read Compute! magazine cover to cover every month as well as any other computer magazine and book that I could get my hands on. I really liked this stuff. But I didn't own a computer until 6th grade.
We couldn't afford one. But I begged my parents for years and they bought me one. I stayed up day and nigh on that thing learning as much as I could about how it worked. Not just software but also the hardware components. I was scared as heck that I would break it when I took it apart and put it back together again, etc.
As soon as computer classes were available at school, I took them. I aced all of them because I was loved reading about it and studying this stuff. It wasn't school to me. It was like reading your favorite novel or sports magazine.
Same as High School...I took all of the computer classes I could take. I took the most advanced ones out there. I read manuals and tried to teach myself other programming languages.
I went to college and majored in Computer Science. This is when for the first time in my life, I hit a roadblock. I no longer aced these classes. In fact, these classes kicked my ass. I barely passed them. But I was at a top engineering University studying one of the hardest majors out there.
I couldn't get a job out of college at a top computer company because my grades were too low. I found lower tier computer jobs but did them well. I spent 15 years toiling away jumping from company to company trying to find a better job. This was much like a minor league baseball playing jumping around the minor leagues trying over and over again to hit the big leagues. I interviewed and failed multiple times trying to get up to the big leagues including the one company that was my dream company. It broke my heart not to get a job there after 15 years of trying.
After 15 years, I finally got my break...and got my job in the big leagues. It wasn't my dream company but I worked for one of the top computer companies in the world (one all of you have heard about).
Another 2 years later, I interviewed again with my dream company and got the job! This is where I work today.
This wasn't sheer luck. Sure it was luck in that when I was a little kid who loved computers, I didn't know that computers would rule the world and computer guys like Bill Gates would be the richest man in the world. But I knew that computer were the future.
This job didn't just fall into my lap. I toiled and worked for decades to prepare myself and get this job. I only got here on my 2nd try. I didn't quit after the first time they said no.
So have a plan, prepare, set goals, and never give up.
On top of the skills, some people are social with an attitude, your cousin happened not only be in the elevator but to talk to the guy about business and sell her persona (or she is really pretty, lol). Lost of people are not social, so they won't talk to a stranger so there is less chance for this "random" thing to happen for them.
On top of the skills, some people are social with an attitude, your cousin happened not only be in the elevator but to talk to the guy about business and sell her persona (or she is really pretty, lol). Lost of people are not social, so they won't talk to a stranger so there is less chance for this "random" thing to happen for them.
Aka some people know how to network. Riding up the elevator and networking vs standing quietly in the corner
Why in the world would a company hire somebody just because they knew someone? If a company has an opening, they are looking for someone who has the skills they need, not someone who knows their receptionist or met a guy in an elevator. Those people had the skills to do the job in the first place, and happened to know someone who was looking for that skillset.
Naw, incorrect. We are encouraged to bring resumes in of friends and family and random cool people. AND we get a great big bonus if someone we suggested gets hired.
Aka some people know how to network. Riding up the elevator and networking vs standing quietly in the corner
I think this is key. I've gotten much better at selling myself and my service over the years. I'm an introvert at heart, but learning how to network and act outgoing has earned me a good number of clients. It might look like luck, but it's more like mathematics: Schmooze with enough people, and someone's sure to bite at some point!
just running into people is how I've gotten every job I've ever had.
you run into your future employers? with a car?
I like how people blame luck for things they themselves don't have and ignore the efforts that the other person put in before hand. NBA players make shooting baskets look easy, it's almost like "luck" that it goes in so often right?
Not with a car. Pretty much everything I have done in my career is due to luck. I had little to do with it. I've only actually "tried" to get a job once, and failed. Every other job was just given to me by someone I ran into at a conference or a social gathering.
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