In December, national unemployment dropped from 9.8% to 9.4%. Some are really pleased with the downtick, and others claim that the statistic is not so straightforward.



According to the website, CoBE has placement statistics above 85% in all reporting departments. So out of every 10 people that graduate from CoBE, 8 (and a half) are employed.

But be warned that these statistics do NOT indicate whether the job was related to the graduates major area of study, or if it was the graduate’s job of choice. Whatever you make of the data, this much is safe to assume: the job market is becoming increasingly competitive.

To battle the competition, the past few years have brought many different ways to increase one’s hire appeal: internships, leadership experience, and social media leverage all come to mind.

The latest tactic, job creation, is entirely different. It’s based in the idea that a prospective employee has a distinct set of abilities, skills, and personal qualities that can be channeled into a value proposition that ultimately translates to an increase in the target firm’s bottom line. This value proposition can be a job description or a specific project, but it allows individuals to pitch a concrete answer to the “Why me” question.

Job application, on the other hand, on the other hand is the process of filling a vacancy in a firm.

I recently read (and participated in) a discussion about the pros and cons of job application and job creation.

The original question reads:

The craze in career advice is that the job market is all about job CREATION– job postings are a thing of the past. Then why have my networking and info interview efforts led to dead ends, while responding to job postings have led to dozens of interviews and a job offer? Am I doing something wrong– or is it that job creation has worked for a minority of people, but isn’t the way of the future?

I highly recommend reading the thread here. It hosts answers by professionals and job seekers alike.