The common saying among knowledge base workers is “there are no jobs in Roanoke and that is why I move to larger metro areas”. However, if the place you live is more important than your job or profession, then perhaps one would have seen the demand for skill sets in the region before deciding on a plan of study. Instead of saying there are no jobs in Roanoke, which is a myth and inaccurate, the true response should be, “what are you doing to make yourself employable in the Roanoke labor market?” There are plenty of companies with a lot of jobs to fill, but what skill sets does a job seeker bring to the company? A job of $40,000 a year is not an entitlement for a college graduate. Recent college graduates have been fooled by society that a degree will automatically result in a job, and that is not necessarily the case, especially with degrees in non-billable skills.  

  A couple rules of thumb have been used to estimate the amount of time it will take to find the job you want. One is for every $10k in salary, it will take one month. The other rule of thumb is it will take three months of job searching 40 hours a week to find the job you want. The math equates to 500 hours of job searching. Further if we know about 10% of jobs get filled on the internet, then spend only 50 hours online. If up to 80% of jobs are received through networking, then spend 400 hours establishing, building and nurturing relationships.

  For the local market and most markets as a whole, 80% of all jobs are never advertised. You never know anything about these jobs, but typically these are the good jobs. They are uncovered through personal networking – relationship building. Most recent grads do not search through relationships because their default is the Internet and they do not have established relationship with people who can help them with their careers. Monster.com, Roanoke.com and other talk about the effectiveness of this passive model; however, only 10% of people gets jobs through the internet, and a majority of local firms, aside from their company websites, are not on the big internet job boards.

  To prevent yourself from having to take a job as a server or be forced into the sales profession, you have to do everything you can to differentiate yourself and make yourself unique. Personal networking is the number one way to do this! Perhaps it is in how you apply for the position such as overnight FedEx your application and resume. Maybe it is your personality or rapport you build with your initial point of contact. These tactics are how people get the high demand jobs where competition is stiff. Whatever the tactic, be different, stand out and take a chance. You have nothing to lose.

  So if you do not have a billable skill set and have a business degree, then you probably will be contacted by companies offering sales jobs with little, if any, guaranteed income. Most people are turned off by such positions, but it makes sense if you think about it. They are giving you an opportunity to turn your potential into success. Just because you have a degree does not equate to business success, but the degree does show potential. This entitlement comes in play as folks shy away from sales jobs because they are not comfortable selling or think they deserve more. However, in reality if billable skills are required, and you do not have any, then a sales career is the perfect role in proving your return on investment to the company offering the position. This is your chance to validate yourself.

  So if you do not have a billable skill yet want to stay in Roanoke, where do you work? If in the short-term money is important to you because of student loan repayments, and other cost of living expenses, then a job in food services may be appealing to you. You can earn more money as a server with flexible hours than working for less money with more rigid hours trying to establish a career in your field of study. There is certainly nothing wrong with a career in food service, but most college graduates do not say I am going to college so when I graduate I can be a server at a local restaurant. This UNDERemployment workforce is operating in a short-term mentality and eventually will catch up with them to the point they are cast to a specific industry. The next time you go to a local restaurant and the server is younger ask them if they are a college graduate, you will be surprised.  

Having a management undergraduate degree at 21 years old does not produce immediate billable skills. These college graduates may have good skill sets, but not billable skill sets – and billable skill sets are the primary reason an employer is going to hire a person in the private sector because they want to make a return on their investment. In other words, employers want to make money off their employee’s time and skills. You cannot bill management skills at 21 years old. This statement hurts, but it is reality. If you are young and inexperienced with a degree in communication, political science, management, marketing, psychology, history, philosophy, physical education, art history one will struggle in finding suitable employment in the local economy. It’s not the common refrain, “there are no jobs in Roanoke”, but it is employees do not have the skill sets to become employable in the regional economy. If you are in engineering, health care, information technology, accounting, architecture, trades, then you will have a much easier time finding adequate employment. If you are struggling with one of these degrees, then your job search strategy is flawed or you simply are not trying hard enough. 

Over the next two weeks we will look at a number of tricks of the trade or factors you can use to make yourself more noticed in the regional job market. I would appreciate your feedback and also sharing this to others who may find it useful. Good luck!

Roanoke YP Progress is a document written in response to a recent speech regarding the progress being made in Roanoke on its YP movement. Feedback is encouraged.

Roanoker Cameron Johnson is featured in this Washington Post story on the day of the final episode of Oprah’s Big Give. The story chronicles his accomplishments at an early age growing up in Roanoke to his current accolades as a 23-year-old.

The reason this blog is covering his story is because Cameron is the young professional from our area who is dedicated to our region, and is sincerely interested in helping the region, regardless of his numerous other professional opportunities. He has given back and will continue to do so. We must communicate Roanoke, Virginia is a place that enables this type of entrepreneurship and success for a young professional.  Let’s celebrate all of his accomplishments.