Close your mind!

The term "open-minded" usually makes us think of good things, such as respect for differing viewpoints. It's the kiss of death, however, when it comes to developing an effective job search. What you need in a job search is not an openness to any possible work option but a decisive approach to the work you most want.

This point draws many comments from job-seekers. Here are their arguments for maintaining an open mind as they seek work:

AMY LINDGREN

WORKING STRATEGIES

1. Being open in my goals means I can consider more positions.

2. My openness will impress employers, who will value my work ethic.

3. If I'm less choosy, I can get my foot in the door and move into the work I really want later.

With respect (and an open mind) for these arguments, nope, nope and nope.

First, and most problematically, when people think they are leaving the door open to many work options, they forget the flip side of the equation: For this strategy to work, they actually have to take one of those many options.

People who say they'll take any job almost never do. It's not a lack of willingness to work. In fact, it's usually a desperate desire to have a job that makes them say these things to begin with.

But when they are offered a spot in Uncle Wally's dry cleaning shop, there's almost always a good reason to say "no." In truth, that's usually better than saying "yes" and making everyone involved miserable.

The real problem is that this lack of strategy disguised as "being open" leads to false starts in a job search. Worse, it invites unproductive conversations with contacts and friends, who quickly tire of feeding this job-seeker unappreciated leads.

Equally flawed is the argument that employers are impressed by the job-seeker's work ethic when he or she goes for any job that is open. In reality, eagerness alone isn't much valued in the marketplace. The reason employers are enthusiastic about teenagers and other inexperienced workers who say they'll do anything is that these workers have precious little else to offer. Once they have relevant, marketable experience, however, that's what the employer wants to hear. It's simply better to hire someone who is good at something than someone who is willing to be good at something.

Likewise, employers are not so eager to hire someone who really wants a different position in the company. Getting your foot in the door works best when the worker is so inexperienced or so willing to work for peanuts that he or she truly will "do anything." If you don't fit that mold, this strategy won't work for you.

Does all this tough talk mean that the more experienced, perhaps middle-aged, worker can't try new work or persuade an employer to take a chance? No. It means that the older, more skilled worker can't rely on a teenager's job-search strategy. Recognize the difference between "open-minded" and "unfocused," and appreciate why an employer might shy away from an unfocused job candidate.

In a nutshell: You need to give a convincing reason for why you want a particular job, and "I thought I'd try it out" just isn't that reason.

To be effective in your job search, you really do need a focused goal. It should be a job title, a department or a function. You can apply an open mind to all the different settings where you are willing to do this work but not to the work itself.

Here are examples of focused job-search goals: a job in customer service, bookkeeping, food service, retail management, insurance sales, etc. What makes these effective is that you can search for companies that use these people and then say: "I can do that. Do you need me?"

Examples of unfocused job-search goals: working with people, solving problems, using your liberal arts degree. You know these are poorly focused goals because you cannot identify specific companies that need these skills. Whom are you going to approach, and what are you going to say? "I really like working with people"? Every job in every company involves working with people.

Next week's column will offer ideas to help you develop a job search goal that is precise enough to be meaningful but broad enough to keep at least a few doors open.

- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice. com or at 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.