Elias

I'm a happy husband, proud father, dog lover, technical recruiter, road-biker, and suspect musician living in Aurora CO.

[eliascobb]

Wolf Center in Divide, CO

We took three of the kids to the Wolf and Wildlife Center in Divide this weekend, and it was incredible! Crystal and I have been there before and it was a terrific experience before, but this time was even better. The kids got to pet a baby wolf - not something that one gets to do very often. This wolf was rescued and they are trying to see if he can be an "ambassador wolf," one who they can take to schools and other gatherings for educational purposes. The information we were given about each wolf's history and about the species in general was fantastic, and our tour guide was very knowledgable. I highly recommend the place, if you like wildlife or wolves, or just want to get out of town and experience something different.

[eliascobb]

New Graduate Advice

I'm seeing a lot of postings out there advising new graduates to, in no particular order:

Ignore their commencement speech

Regret the fact they have a degree as it's useless anyway

Listen to their commencement speech

Follow their dreams

Only do jobs they love

Buckle to corporate America and take a job even if you don't like it

I think you could find any opinion you want supporting your own view, no matter what view that may be.  

Here's my 2 cents: Don't worry about your career so much!!  How many new graduates immediately spring into the job they will do for the rest of their lives?  Or even if you DO go right into your career of choice, I can virtually guarantee the company for whom you go to work won't be your employer 5 years from now.   Who knows what your passion is going to be in 5 years, 10 years, and so on?  The things we loved at age 23 aren't always the same things at age 33.

I say look for a job where you can learn a lot.  Learn a variety of skills.  Try to find a good manager.  Or if you're stuck with a bad manager, learn from that!  Try to branch out within that first job into other areas within the company and experience a lot of different responsibilities.  Maybe you'll stumble onto a passion, something you never even dreamed about during that useless / critical college education.

And perhaps more that all of that, learn how business works.  There's a lot to working in ANY business in ANY job that you can't learn anywhere. How to deal with people, good and bad, helpful and annoying, and how to navigate the politically charged waters of a corporation.  And oh yes, unless you work for a company of 2 people, there will be politics.  That's a lesson you can apply to any career.  

So listen to your commencement, or don't; value that degree, or don't...but treat every job as a golden opportunity to learn something you can apply.  

[eliascobb]

What Got Me My Break Into My Career - not on purpose...

It was being a pizza delivery dude.  Truly.

I've read a lot of posts and fielded questions, tons of them, over my years as a recruiter.  I've given a ton of career advice too, and I was just thinking about my start in my current career - I've been in it since 2000.  Just like a lot of young people now, I bounced around from job to job, not really finding my place, and certainly not using my degree (Chemistry).  

Then I was laid off.  One month after my son was born.  A bit stressful, I'll admit.  I knew I wanted to get into recruiting, having seen a family friend be successful in the field.  But no one would give me the time of day.  I had no experience to get a job, and no job to get experience.  So I started delivering pizzas at night, and looking for a job during the day.  Four months passed, and I lucked into an interview with Alumni Consulting Group.  I had several interviews with them, and tried desperately to convince them to hire me, that I was perfect for the job and would excel at it if given the opportunity.  I got the job...and later found out one of the key reasons I did: I was delivering pizzas.  They felt that anyone willing to work at night and deliver pizzas would be highly motivated.  To top that, the VP I would be working with had delivered pizzas for a time between jobs when he quit practicing law.

I guess the lesson in this is that no job should be below you.  Working while between career positions shows determination and work ethic.  And you never know what thread will connect you with someone in a position to hire.

[eliascobb]

When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.

~Arthur Conan Doyle 

I love that quote - that's the freedom that biking affords all of us!

[awyissnewfies-blog]

[eliascobb]

Love the brown newfs

[eliascobb]

Sumo! He looks innocent but looks can be deceiving! Love our newf!

[eliascobb]

We bought my wife a Specialized Dolce and started training.  Have the Denver Century (we're riding the metric century) and Cystic Fibrosis Cycle for Life (70 miles including Left Hand canyon) coming up this summer.

Buying a bike in Aurora?  I highly recommend Adventure Cycling (adventurecycle.net) - they're great over there.