There is a saying on Madison Avenue, that street in New York City, which is famous for its many big advertising agencies: “When times are good, you should advertise, when times are bad, you must advertise.”  Given how much research they put into buying trends and the ups and downs of the many markets they work to promote, this saying is probably an eternal truth.  In this week’s Blog, I apply this maxim to individuals in need of a way to market themselves whether they are a recent graduate or an older adult seeking a secure path to a career change and a more prosperous future.

So, let’s apply this advertising maxim to an individual’s job prospects: “When the job market is good, you should apply to a lot of jobs, when it is bad, you must retrain and rebrand yourself.”  Why must one retrain and rebrand?  Because whatever he or she may have been doing to get ahead is not working.

Many college graduates and young adults return to live with their parents or other family members while they figure all this out, often working part time in dead-end jobs with few or no benefits and with the burden of student loans hanging over their heads.  This situation can make them feel as if life were on eternal hold.  Hopes of marriage, or at least of having a family, may be on hold.  Plans to travel and see the world have to be set aside for “someday.”  Under these circumstances, it is no wonder that so many young people, in particular, feel as if they were circling an airport while they watch other planes land.

It is normal that in any economy, recent college graduates, and even many somewhat older adults in search of a career change struggle with how to market themselves and get hired in a dream job that will lead to a long and lucrative career, or at least land a good paying job with benefits while they continue looking.  Most people probably are aware that they need to step back and view their talents, interests, experience and formal education and figure out how to monetize them.  However, in bad economic times, being in the bewildering and often depressing work of finding a job, they absolutely must think of themselves as a commodity and figure out how to actually rebrand themselves by identifying what makes them unique and then articulating themselves to potential employers.

People often spend a lot of time studying just as hard as they did in college about how to produce that perfect résumé and cover letter that will make them stand out among a sea of other applicants.  That this must be so is proven by the dozens of books on these subjects that promise job seekers (potential buyers of the books) that there are quasi magic formulae for résumés and cover letters, and often offer overwhelming lists of key words and model letters for an equally overwhelming number of job types.  And yet, each person is unique.  How can the uniqueness of each person be made to matter enough to be marketable, especially without having to go back to college and major in something else?

If these circumstances describe your current situation and you are a bilingual speaker of English and Spanish, the answer truly is within you and within your reach, if you are ready to work and become an Analytic Linguist.  Translation Skills Training™ (TST) consists of six (6) courses, taken over six (6) weeks and is here for you to open the door to an exciting, lucrative career that is in demand.  The US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected the need for 17,500 new hires in this employment category (27-3091) between 2014-2024, an increase of 28.7% over the previous reporting period.  This category includes all professions broadly defined as translators and interpreters, and the same government source reports average yearly income for them at around $46,120.  However, Analytic Linguists are a subset of that category; those who work full time in English and Spanish can earn as much as $70,000, depending on location.

From these statistics alone, it should be clear that tour bilingualism truly is a talent in your head that, regardless of your major, can be made marketable and lucrative in a relatively short time and at much lower cost than going to graduate school or going back to study a different major, after which you would face more debt and possibly, the same uncertain job market.  No, it is not free, but it is very affordable and the retraining is 100% online and accredited.  Yes, it does require that you have a college degree (of any kind) and are ready and able to devote the time, effort and discipline.  You also must have a clean record and be a US citizen.

I invite you to go to the TST homepage and explore this exciting career.  Our contact information is there for you to contact us via phone or email.