2009 is here . . . so let’s find the great jobs!

One of the cool things about my job is that I get to learn from so many talented people – both in the academic world and the business world. I was reminded of that when Mary Kay and I were in Anaheim at the USASBE (United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship) Conference on January 10th. About 500 professors were there and I had a chance to be on a couple of panels. Valpak’s College Recruiter, Eric Hipps, also had a chance to join us for the event and see what academia is doing for entrepreneurship.

The L.A. Times headline that day read, “Jobs Losses Highest Since 1945”. As the conference began, Dr. Kuratko from the E-center at Indiana University gave one of the most inspirational speeches I have ever heard. He told how Entrepreneurship solved the economic crisis of the 1980’s when the prime rate was 18%, the S & L crisis of 1986, the junk bond market collapse in 1989 and the implosion of the dot.com world in 2000.

The wise Dr. reminded us that when Wall Street closed the day after 9/11 that Main Street stayed open – and that the current financial crisis would, once again, be solved by small business and entrepreneurship.

Last week Valpak hosted the University Sales Education Foundation (USEF) (www.SalesEducationFoundation.org) board meeting. Members of the board include Neil Rackham, the author of “Spin Selling” which is the premier reference for many collegiate sales and marketing courses and Howard Stevens, the Chairman and CEO of The HR Chally Group – who has authored such books as “Achieve Sales Excellence” and “Selling the Wheel”.

Also attending the board meeting were Dr. Rob Peterson of William Paterson University, Dr. Pete Peterson of UCONN, and Dick Canada, Executive Director, Center for Global Sales Leadership at Indiana University. Mary Delany, President of CareerBuilder’s Personified Division serves on the board as well as Valpak’s President, Joe Bourdow and Jack Pickard, the retired CEO of Fed Ex Custom Critical.

The overall mission of the USEF is to promote the profession of sales and its role as the driving force to the economy. The goal is to increase the number of schools that offer USEF-approved professional sales education by 10% every year. We sat around the table brainstorming strategy and tactics to begin to make that happen. Mary told us that there are 114,000 sales jobs on CareerBuilder. Interestingly, more graduating students will enter the world of sales than all other degreed programs combined. Our vision is to make sure they are prepared for that challenge.

Amazing.

What does all of this mean to the person about to graduate or the young graduate looking for a paycheck/job/career?

First of all the answer is inside of you. The tough job market can go away if you make it go away. How? Make the decision to find a career that can reward you the rest of your life. I said career – not company.

Choose sales. Choose entrepreneurship.

Go to www.brazencareerist.com - a community of top Gen Y thought leaders, forward-thinking organizations and everyone else who realizes that the way they define themselves in both work and in life needs to change. Penelope, the two Ryans, Kathleen, Photis and Dan brave the frozen tundra of Wisconsin as young entrepreneurs who can change your world!

Check out my friend Jen Kushell’s www.ysn.com. She is called the Career Doctor by Cosmo. Jennifer is recognized as a global expert on Millennials and advises leading corporations, thousands of small businesses, major non-profits and youth organizations.

Next, make sure you are using www.collegerecruiter.com for your job search. Steven Rothberg and his staff can show you over 55,816 sales jobs. Pick up Neil Rackam's Spin Selling and become proficient at one of the greatest careers possible.

Aha . . . there are jobs in 2009!

Next time . . . once you identify the job you want, what you need to do to get it.