gag and a punch line in a three-panel
cartoon strip."r
Artists work on a variety of company
products including calendars, posters,
T shirts and coffee mugs. Hallmark
employs about 600 artists, American
Greetings, 300 and Gibson, 50. Artists
like Gibson's Carolyn Tagel, 23, don't
feel they're selling out by working for
card companies. Marty Roelandt, a
senior art director for Gibson, agrees.
"It's all problem solving in one way or
another. It's never boring." Roelandt
says the most unusual aspect of the job is
the mix of business with pleasure: "Where
else can you have business meetings about
rainbows and teddy bears?"
BRUCE MEYERSON
An Inside View
What's your worst nightmare about
interviewing for ajob? Arriving late
for your appointment? Forgetting
to shake hands with the recruiter? Well,
check out "The Inside Secrets of Inter-
viewing" (Random House Home Video,
$19.95), and you'll really get sweaty
palms. Produced by Xsell Team, a person-
nel consulting firm, the 30-minute video
shows what snafus look like from the other
side of the desk. One job seeker told his
interviewer that he didn't want his job to
interfere with his nudist lifestyle. Another
hapless candidate launched into a well-pre-
pared spiel during his interview. "He knew
a lot about the company," the recruiter
recalled. "Only it wasn't our company."
These touches of humor lighten the vid-
eo's otherwise straightforward approach.
Xsell Team, which was founded by former
recruiters for such Fortune 500 companies
as Xerox, offers practical advice. Job seek-
ers are warned to avoid personnel depart-
ments, if possible, and get in touch with
executives who do the actual hiring. Xsell
also recommends an "informational" in-
terview strategy: meeting with a prospec-
tive employer to talk generally about his
company, following up later with a request
for an actual job interview. Another tip:
getting a friend to help you rehearse.
Some of Xsell's suggestions seem slightly
off the mark, however. For instance, view-
ers are told to keep calling a company until
a job opens up-advice that can easily turn
you into a pest. (Letter writing might be
more appropriate.) And Xsell's dress tips
are highly conservative, more appropriate
to companies like IBM than, say, an ad
agency. Still, the video is a useful aid to
beginners, as long as they remember that
there are few real secrets to job hunting.
It's mainly hard work.
Inside tips o:
how to find t
right job."
Name: Lance W.
Hill
Age: 32
Occupation: Veteri-
narian; Leeds,
Ala.
Education: Under-
graduate, Au-
burn, 1973-77;
' -D.V.M., Auburn,
1981
Q How does your work break down?
A. Everything from cleaning the
cages and cutting the grass to
negotiating finances with my
banker and handling all the busi-
ness aspects to practicing medi-
cine and doing the surgery.
Q. How does the veterinary profession
differ from other professions?
A. To really have much finan-
cial return, you pretty much
have to open up your own prac-
tice. You have to build a hospital
and then sit and wait for people
to walk in the door. You have to
hire a staff and order supplies,
and do things you wouldn't have
to do otherwise.
Q. What part of practicing veterinary
medicine did school least prepare youfor?
A. The business aspect and the
fact that most people think,
"That guy must really like ani-
mals," and that it's the charita-
ble thing to do. In reality, you
are out to make money, and you
are just as well trained as any
physician is.
Q. What's the toughest part of your job?
A. From a diagnostic stand-
point, it's difficult to get a good
medical history on an animal.
You can't ask a dog, "How
many rocks have you swal-
lowed today?"
Q. What advice would you give to stu-
dents who are interested in becoming
veterinarians?
A. Get some practical experi-
ence with a local veterinarian.
And you've got to make the
grades. The average undergrad-
uate grade-point average on a
four-point scale in my graduat-
ing class [in veterinary col-
lege] was 3.69.
Q. How is the job market?
A. I recently hired a graduate,
and I think there are a lot
of jobs available. Their average
starting pay is from $18,000
to $20,000.
L
by V
Chai
Dra
Inc.
S
I
#2 i
Car
tion
sea
give
and
you
from
tory
illiam J. Morin
rman,
ke Beam Morin,
(DBM)
--7
n
;he'
and
m.
from
'evolu-
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art of
ilable
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n a series of tips drawr
eer Navigator," DBM's r
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s you techniques, inside
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r job search. It is ava
m DBM at a special int
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While you can't control the chemistry
so crucial to any hiring decision, you
can present yourself effectively if you
prepare and rehearse answers to typi-
cal interviewer questions:
Tell me about yourself. This is so
open-ended that it's a stumper. "I've al-
ways wanted to be banker" is exciting
and relevant; where you were born
isn't. Be concise. Talk about achieve-
ments.
* What are your strengths? Don't be
afraid to speak on your own behalf.
Show self-confidence: talk about spe-
cific accomplishments and skills that
are transferable to the job.
E What are your weak points? Of
course you have some: to say "I have
none" shows a lack of reality. But give
just one example that won't materially
effect your ability to do the job.
* _Why should we hire you? "I have a
passion for this field" is a great start.
Also, "I want to be part of a company
project...work with state-of-the-art
techniques, etc."
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Drake Beam Morin, Inc. is the
world's largest career counseling
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offices, DBM has helped more peo-
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l
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'Ib order, call 1-800-345-JOBS, or for in-
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I
U
NOVEMBER 1987