Courtesy Jason Kimball
Jason Kimball

OCCC graduate Jason Kimball bought a new suit to wear to interviews until he found his dream job after college.

Now, almost two years later, Kimball has yet to put on the suit even though he’s found his position.

On March 3, he spoke to a class of OCCC journalism students about the changing face of the job market and how people must leverage their skills to find the job they want in today’s world.

Kimball was both witty and clever as he leaned over the podium speaking about the relatively new world of online résumés and telephone interviews.

“It’s rare today to even apply for a job on site … most of it is done online,” he said.

“My job search was 100 percent online.”

Many were stunned to discover that, to this day, Kimball has never met any of the people responsible for hiring him.

He informed students that in today’s era of limited face-to-face contact with potential employers, they must be aggressive in figuring out a way to market themselves.

“The first thing I did to make myself stand out was create a website where employers could find my résumé,” Kimball said.

He said the website he created had brief information about his educational background and about his personal background as well.

“You have to remember that you are competing with 15 million unemployed people … You have to make yourself stand out to employers,” Kimball said.

“The longer they spend on your website, the less competing résumé’s they are getting to.”

Kimball spoke passionately in his message about the changing job market.

He was adamant that there is no special secret to getting a job today.

“You have to develop a strategy and then start your hunt … then modify your strategy as you go along” Kimball said.

He said if a company you applied to doesn’t contact you, don’t be afraid to call them and ask what went wrong during your application process.

“You’d be surprised at how many of these people want to tell you what went wrong.”

Kimball told his attentive audience that they must not give up in their job search.

He said with enough patience and the proper strategy, the job you want will come along.

Kimball now enjoys a work-at-home job as a curriculum developer for VIPdesk, a nationwide company headquartered in Virginia.

Kimball chuckled as he told the audience he has not been affected by the gas prices, since the furthest journey he ever makes is from his home office to the refrigerator.