If you think you can hand your resume to someone, interview and get a job – you are crazy. Not in this world that we live in. Not in this economy.

The one thing I can say is you NEED to get involved. Jobs just don’t appear. You have to open your own door. We have the internet here so you can start a blog in your field, contribute towards facebook group chats, blogs, even events and you don’t have to be in Buffalo to do it! Get your name out there. Open yourself to doing a lot of FREE work because ultimately, people will see your hard work and hire you permanently. Buffalo is a great place where it doesn’t take that much to OWN something so you should OWN whatever you do. OWN IT. Don’t be afraid to over extend, to volunteer a lot, to get involved in an organization that you like… It will all pay off in the end.

Top Tips:

Here are a couple things that you should do to secure a solid career oriented job. This is for any type of job.

1. Get Involved!

2. Intern/Volunteer as much as possible.

3. Become active in a major organization in your field.

4. Call, email – bug people to follow up on your internship/job request.

5. Don’t stop. Don’t give up. Ask around. Buffalo may take a while but it will be worth it.

Qualities:

Here are some qualities people are looking for when hiring: Passion, enthusiasm, having an open mind, intelligence. You probably hear that all the time but it is very true. I am not always looking for the more experience but someone who can learn, listen and love what they are doing. Young people are the best at this because they can be molded and taught easier than older people – most graduates are at an advantage!

Ideas for Involvement:

For all the urban planners, architects, preservationists, Buffalo lovers, real estate people out there – join Preservation Ready Sites and get on the dialogue, write for Buffalorising, start getting involved with PBN, BYP or ULI or even environmental groups like WAG or WNYSEA. Each connection, each new contact brings you closer to success.

Case Studies/Examples

Just to give you some examples.. It took Chris Hawley five years to pursue his urban planner career at city hall. Many of his contacts were found working at Spot Coffee. Dana Saylor opened her own company to do historic research and her connections and contacts have helped her along quite nicely!  Mike Puma dedicated himself to Preservation Studios and Buffalorising so much that Preservation studios hired him out of the box. Myself, I pushed for an internship at NYSERDA that ultimately gave me my experience for my career. I sent one email to my boss to tell him I was looking and I was hired the next week. Creighton Randall started his own carshare company – Buffalo CarShare!

The list goes on and on… If I can connect you to anyone.. just let me know. berniceradle@gmail.com