On Nov. 5, 2015, the University presented a webinar that was hosted by Jason Linkes, namesake of the professional speaking organization “Jason Linkes Speaking.” Mr. Linkes also happens to be a Saint Leo University Alumni.
The webinar was focused on the subject of mastering job interviewing skills and self promotion. Linkes is currently the Vice President of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, as well as the Co-Chairman of the Communications of the Saint Leo University Alumni Association Board of Directors. His presentation, entitled “Leaders in the Industry,” was an hour long talk on various interviewing skills that one can use to get ahead of the game when it comes to landing the career they’re after. This becomes especially useful with the current job economy, which pits graduates against the rest of the working world in the search for employment.
“When I graduated from Saint Leo in 1999 I was competing against other graduates for jobs, not forty-year-olds like you all [current students]have to now,” Jason Linkes said, as he explained his background to the listeners.
A brief look into the history of Linkes shows an ardent passion for performing to the best of his ability in whatever he does. While at Saint Leo, Linkes was a member of the baseball team, a role in which he performed phenomenally, eventually earning an induction into the Saint Leo University Athletic Hall of Fame. His ensuing journey into the working world was an arduous, but worthwhile one.
After he graduated, Linkes plunged head first into the professional world, taking interview after interview. But after he didn’t land a job right away, he wondered what was going wrong. He explained how he would go in, think he did well in the interview, but then figure out that the employer had decided on another candidate for the job.
In this state of confusion Linkes decided to get some advice to overcome this problem. He went over to a recruiter from a job placement agency.
“She told me that I wasn’t selling my resume the right way. That I completely shied away from the fact that I played baseball,” Jason said.
So he tailored his resume to fit that experience and got a job in sales shortly afterwards. The career path that followed would lead him to work for companies such as Simplex Time Recorder, ESPN Cadbury Adams, and AMG Resources. The experience he garnered in these environments became the curriculum for his presentations with Jason Linkes Speaking.
“If you don’t know how to dress, overdress,” Linkes said on the subject of the on-site job interview. This tip was one of many shared to help young graduates compete for jobs in today’s economy.
“Make sure you know the company, the person you’re meeting, the location and time of the interview, the position you’re applying for and what is required of it when you walk in,” Linkes said, citing humorous and surprising incidents of people walking into job interviews in sandals, or t-shirts, or with their mothers.
“And whenever you can, leave the salary block blank,” said Linkes.
He claims that this way one can get their foot in the door to a good job rather than getting hung up on negotiating salary with the hiring manager.
“It’s generally not the hiring manager who decides the salary anyways. It’s HR. You can save the salary negotiation for once you have the job,” Linkes stated.
For more information on Jason Linkes Speaking you can go to his website: www.jasonlinkes-speaking.com.
