Allow me to share with you a story about an email I received out of the blue from someone I have never met or done business with...but would one day certainly be open to meeting. We all receive copious amounts of email a day, alas much of it is spam or material that in our personal opinions may as well be spam. So, at the end of my days I tend to go through a major delete and purge mode of my inbox and junk mail folder. Just as I was about to delete an email, I thought “ok take a quick scan” from there I found myself actually clicking on the link listed by this individual thinking “is this for real or am I going to end up at one of those websites selling gadgets”. Nope, this was what she had said it would be – a website about her story and journey to secure her “foot in the door” , first employment opportunity in the marketing field.

Her name is Andrea Sacrini, she lives in London England and just completed her Masters Degree in Marketing. Andrea is now experiencing what many are facing, and many of us have faced in our journey’s of breaking into the work world... lack of the “first” opportunity. How many of you remember the “you have great potential, but I am sorry you need more experience under your belt”, or “we see you have volunteering experience in the field, however, not in our industry, once you get more experience in our industry we would love to reconsider you”. The story was the same but stated a zillion different ways – get more experience then come see us. The frustration - WHERE THE HECK are you suppose to GAIN this EXPERIENCE when so few are WILLING to GROW YOU?

I am going to push boundaries and say it is tougher to get your foot in the door today than it was for my parents generation...I can hear the gasps already! But let me put it out there. How many of my parents generation got hired with minimal experience and non-existent educational background? Majority. Yes yes sure fine, they had a High School diploma. There is no denying it, they had to work their way up to achieve the roles they desired, and yes along the way many went and attained post graduate degrees. Some for their own reasons and desires, others so they could remain competitive in today’s economy. Today those same people, basically anyone without a degree (minimally a bachelors) can barely attain a customer service or front desk position. That’s right, I am basically saying for an opportunity to even “work your way up” you must have a degree – oh and some EXPERIENCE too. Don’t believe me, then check out the ongoing discussion board at HRPA: I am currently seeking a position in HR. Is anyone else having as difficult a time as I am?

Back to Andrea, she has been one of the many recent graduates who is struggling to secure her first opportunity. She is even offering “Try me for a Week” trial period just to get the chance to prove herself and her skills. What’s the most interesting part of her journey – she is a walking billboard – well ok – sandwich board ; ) Yes, that’s right. Andrea has risked her comfort zone and put herself out there, literally. She is promoting her skills, education and experience by holding her chin up and presenting herself to the world. What I noticed is that though she gets tired, though there are long hours standing and engaging people, she keeps her chin up. She keeps smiling. Andrea doesn’t take this journey as a joke, there are no jeans and t-shirt attire – she remains professional from the minute her day starts.

For some they might see this as easy journey, for others we wouldn’t dare put ourselves out there like that – why – because you are OUT THERE for people to encourage you along but also for those who will call you crazy or foolish. Taking this road isn’t the easy way, it’s hard and can be burdensome. You may wonder if you are being foolish, or if there will ever be the one person open enough to see that what you really are trying to show - your creativity, enthusiasm, and desire for the opportunity to prove yourself. For this I give Andrea “two fist pumps” up in the air and “hell ya keep going” shout out. I may not have a marketing opportunity to hire Andrea, but I can get her story out there and hope that the right person hears or reads about her. For more on Andrea’s Employment Journey please see her website http://helpandreafindajob.com/the-campaign.html