Sometimes those looking for employment can get faulty guidance. The following myths can keep jobseekers from finding a great job after graduation.

Myth #1: I need to take the first job I am offered. Don’t allow those school loans force you to make a hasty career move.

• For each job offer you receive, write out a pro/con list. Carefully evaluate every offer.
• Don’t take a job you have a bad feeling about or with work you don’t want to do. Also think about how the job will fit in with your skillset. If it doesn’t, remember other offers will come along.
• An inflated salary or title can cloud your reasoning. While one job may pay less, you may get more hands-on experience. This will prove more valuable in the future.

Myth #2: My college activities will score me a job. This is one of the most widely-believed myths. While getting involved in activities may boost your experience level, can they really get your foot in the door? They can if you network with the people in the activities. Here are some tips to make the most of your activities:

• Network with your classmates. They may know someone who is hiring. And reciprocate–when you have a hot tip on a job, let your friends know.
• Get to know your professors. Not only can they be a terrific reference, they can give you job leads.
• Be a participant. Don’t just go to meetings and sit there. Volunteer for events, take leadership roles, and be active!

Myth #3: I can temp while I figure out what I want to do. Unless you are faced with an eviction notice, try to avoid temping. While it may temporarily pay the bills and give you something to do, it might muck up your resume. Employers want to see that you’ve been consistently taking jobs that further your career. If your resume is spotted with temp assignments, they may wonder why you aren’t working in your career field. Here are some alternatives:

• Internships. Internships provide a paycheck, steady work environment, great contacts, and help you figure out your career path.
• Volunteer work. It won’t pay the bills, but it will count as “real world” experience.
• Part-time jobs. If you want to work full-time in a certain career field, but aren’t sure if you’ll like it, try going part-time.

Myth #4: I will advance quickly in my first job. While some of your classmates may by lucky enough to be promoted within the first year, most won’t. Here are some advancement tips:

• Accept that entry-level jobs sometimes mean menial work. Everyone has to start somewhere. Smile and do your work cheerfully. Soon you’ll move up the ladder and be able to focus on work that’s meaningful.
• Find a mentor. They can give you the inside scoop on the company and help you navigate the first crucial years of work.
• Volunteer for projects. This does not mean trying to head up every social or volunteer event. Choose projects that show off your strengths.
• Get to work early, stay late. This is one of the easiest keys to success.

Myth #5: I shouldn’t waste my time at a job I don’t like. Even if you don’t like your first job, stick it out for at least a year. When you start looking for a new job, 12 months is your golden number. A potential employer may form an opinion of how good a worker you are by how you treated your prior job. Staying on the job at least a year shows that you can follow through on your commitments. Here are some ways to cope with a difficult job situation:

• Evaluate why you took the job in the first place. Did you believe Myth #1? Were you desperate for a job? While it may seem unfair to have to live with your choice, try and make the best of it.
• Look for jobs online and in your newspaper to get a feeling for what is out there. A few months before your planned departure, start sending out resumes. It will take that long (or longer) to find a job you’ll be happy doing.
• Network with family and friends–let them know what kind of job you are seeking.
• Take on projects at work that will boost your resume.
• Keep doing a good job at work. Remember, your current employer will be a future reference.
• Don’t tell anyone at work you’re thinking of leaving. And who knows, you may change your mind down the road and start to like the job.
• Focus on those things in life that make you happy. A job is just a job. Don’t let it get you down.

The first few years after college are critical to your long-term career success. Now that you know the myths, banish them from your mind and have a happy and successful career life!

Proactive Sales Tools

Experts agree: A well-prepared candidate will use a written interview follow-up to sell themselves to a company. Consider what these three professional recruiters had to say.

• Clayton Glen has worked in human resources for 12 years, and has recruited for hundreds of positions in the United States, South Africa, and Europe. He describes interview follow-up letters as a proactive sales tool, one that says positive things about the writer. Yet most candidates choose not to take this step. “I’ve seen very little of it,” Glen says. “When people have done it, I’ve been very impressed.”
• Colin Williams, who has worked in recruitment for 16 years, likens interviews to sales meetings. “If you go out to meet a client, you better believe you’d follow it up with a letter,” he says. Williams estimates he gets a follow-up letter for less than five percent of the interviews he conducts. Several times, he has seen people actually land the job based on the follow-up letter. “Their follow-up letter swung the whole thing in their favor,” he says.
  

  Write something that lets the interviewer know you learned something important about them, because it can tilt the balance.

• Melissa Carlin, a recruiter for almost six years, says that while the follow-up won’t make or break the deal, “it’s another way of getting your name back on their desk and [allowing] them to entertain the possibility of giving you the job.” While not every employer will expect a follow-up, Carlin describes it as “another opportunity to sell yourself.”

How to Send Thank You Notes & Follow-Up Letters

There is some disagreement as to the best way to send thank you notes. Ultimately, the candidate will have to decide upon the preferred method of delivery, based on company culture and the relationship with the interviewer.

Some industries, such as high-tech and software, prefer e-mail correspondence. Glen is in charge of people, finance, and administration at an audio recognition firm based in London and Palo Alto, CA. He wants follow-ups by e-mail only. “The company I represent is an extremely electronic organization,” he says, “we don’t have time to have bits of paper hanging around.”

At the other extreme is Carlin, who works for a New York-based firm that recruits for all industries. She adamantly prefers a handwritten note; if one’s handwriting is sloppy, a typed note on personalized stationary will suffice. “I think e-mails and faxes are terribly inappropriate,” she says. She cautions, however, against writing a thank you notes on a candidate’s current employer letterhead. “People will be judging your character and your ethics at every stage of the interview,” she says. “It’s unethical to use company letterhead for anything outside of business.”

Williams, currently the business development manager for a software consultancy based in Reading, England, is happy to receive interview correspondence by either snail mail or e-mail. “I think the main thing is that someone took the time to follow-up,” he says.

Whatever the mode of delivery, the important thing is to send it, preferably within 48 hours of the interview.

What to Write in Thank You Notes

In their correspondence, candidates should mention what about the position interests them, and what qualities they have that make them suitable for the job. Carlin advises thanking the interviewer for their time in four sentences or less, keeping it simple and to the point. She also thinks it is wise to add a few personal touches.

Williams agrees. If you can write a thank you notes that lets the interviewer know you learned something important about them, it can tilt the balance. “If we support the same football team, we like the same band, it’s nice,” he says. He compares the interview process to dating. “Though there are those who like to play hard to get, we tend to like people who like us,” says Williams.

Always double-check for spelling and grammatical errors.

Well Worth the Effort

Why don’t more people follow up? Some are too timid. “People have an expectation that the company owns the channel of recruitment,” says Glen. “They think it might be perceived as forward to do that.” But most just don’t take the time.

Even if second or third interviews are scheduled, the employer always appreciates follow-up letters and thank you notes. “It’s the mark of a true professional,” adds Williams.

A decade ago, “futurism” was barely considered a real occupation. Futurists were likened to soothsayers, crystal ball gazers, and psychics. It was hardly a conventional way to earn a living–but not anymore. Futurism is a respected discipline, and futurists are playing an increasingly important role in industry and government. Universities are teaching courses in “future studies” and even offering full degree programs. The coursework covers how to use a number of predictive tools to make assumptions about the future.

Respect and Recognition

Futurism was legitimized when companies and nonprofit organizations began hiring futurists–also known as “directors of future research” or “ideation specialists” or “marketing specialists.” “Futurists use a set of tools and techniques to assess risks and uncertainties,” explains Ken Hamik, futurist and vice president of marketing and strategy at Triple Aught in Berkeley, CA. “Futurists look at early indicators before anyone else. Their research helps make better decisions, which is an invaluable tool for money managers, securities analysts, and CEOs charting the direction of their companies.”

What are the qualifications? “Most futurists have some or all of the attributes of experienced renaissance managers who excel at strategic planning,” says Hamik. “They have analytical minds and study all the variables before making a decision. They consider the future to be as important as the present.”

Half of the hottest futurist jobs don’t even exist yet, according to Daniel Burrus, author of Technotrends and CEO of Burrus Research Associates. “We’re in the early stages of shifting gears into the e-society,” he says. “Virtually every part of an enterprise will be e-enabled, which includes connectivity, content, commerce, communication, collaboration, and community. Supply chain management, for example, will be taken to new levels.”

A host of new jobs will likely open up, including technical specialists, sales and marketing experts, and experienced managers to pull an organization together.

Language Specialists

Bilingual (English and Spanish) candidates used to have the edge. That’s not going to be enough in the future. Hamik says you’re well positioned if you have multiple language skills. High on the list are English, Chinese, Spanish, and Portuguese. Knowledge of Japanese, German, French, and a few of Indian dialects wouldn’t hurt, either.

Authentic Crafts/Techniques Specialists

The faster we race into the future, the more historians and anthropologists want to know about the past. Not necessarily facts and data, but in how to create a product, machine, building, or farming technique. These specialists uncover drawings, blueprints, or primitive languages that describe how things were built in detail.

“When constructed, they are not replicas or simulations, but the actual objects,” says Hamik. Imagine building an authentic 18th-century stone house. Once the research is completed, software is written that precisely outlines the exact steps and dimensions for creating virtually anything from the past.

Biotechnology and Nanotechnology

The biotechnology field is going to explode, projects John L. Petersen, president of The Arlington Institute, a Virginia think tank specializing in the future. One of the hottest biotech areas is nanotechnology.

“It didn’t exist 15 years ago,” says Petersen, “but now it’s in its early stages and will be fully developed in two to three years.” Nanotechnology explores the fascinating world of atoms where things are measured in nanometers, a distance one-hundred-thousandth the width of human hair. “Sensors, lasers, and virtually all electronic devices will be extraordinarily small,” says Petersen.

Computer Security Experts

Annual global losses from computer break-ins are approximately $1.6 trillion, says Winn Schwartau, a computer security expert and author of Internet and Computer Ethics for Kids and Cybershock. Schwartau projects that government and industry face dangerous security problems over the next two years. In a good or bad economy, security professionals have little difficulty finding jobs. But the demand for security professionals, technicians, programmers, and network specialists will escalate to critical proportions if these positions aren’t filled. “Our national security is at stake,” warns Schwartau.

Meta-Database Analysts

Knowledge transfer, data-mining, and data analysis will be taken to greater heights in a few years, predicts Watts Wacker, a futurist who heads FirstMatter in Westport, CT. “We’re only a couple of years away from the meta-database, which will produce a higher order of insight, making knowledge more accessible. This leads to faster and better decision-making and new jobs related to creating, developing, and managing these vast storages.”

Does the idea of slaving away indoors make you shudder? Don’t fret– there are many ways to work under the glare of midday sun. So, grab your straw hat and get thee outdoors!

Landscape Architect

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 40 percent of all landscape architects are self-employed (translation: they clock their own schedule). Other landscape architects work for the government or for independent firms that adhere to 40-hour workweeks. A landscape architect will typically spend half his time on site and the other half indoors, working on plans. They create harmonious landscapes, balancing purpose, functionality, and related eco-issues. Landscape architects are the masterminds behind parks, golf courses, playgrounds, and corporate headquarters’ grounds.

• More Info: American Society of Landscape Architects; Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards
• Salary Range: $22,800 to $78,900
• Background: Bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture required for many entry-level positions. Some companies even prefer candidates to have an internship or two under their belt. Furthermore, most states require registration or licensing via the Landscape Architect Registration Examination (L.A.R.E.), which is administered by the Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards.

Lifeguard

Ah, the perennial outdoor lover’s perfect job: lifeguard. While a small percentage of lifeguards actually spend time indoors at hotels and YMCAs, most work near pools, lakes, and seaside resorts. Perks abound (did we mention the tan?), but the pay and consistency of work can be troublesome. Positions often last from Memorial Day thru Labor Day, with only an enviable few grabbing coveted year-round positions.

• More Info: Check out the United States Lifeguard Association and the American Red Cross for career and certification information
• Salary Range: Starting at around $7/hour
• Background: The Red Cross and the United States Lifesaving Association both offer courses to certify lifeguard wannabes.

Enologist

Enologists are known as “winemakers” or “cellar masters” to you and me. This position is perfect for, shall we say, the more sophisticated outdoors person. If wine is your passion, you can make a go of it just about anywhere in the world. Enologists find work from California and Colorado to Africa and Australia. You’ll work with the head winemaker or producer overseeing the cellars, vineyard operations, winemaking procedure and protocol, quality issues, and testing barrel samples for consistency and standards (hiccup). Using descriptive phrases like oaky, buttery, and tinged with a hint of vanilla is a crucial job requirement.

• More Info: Consult the American Society for Enology & Viticulture and the Society of Wine Educators
• Salary Range: According the California Employment Development Department, salary levels of enologists depend on the size of the winery and education and experience of individuals. Those with ample experience may earn more than $5,000 a month in the larger wineries.
• Background: This career requires a wee bit of planning. You’ll need a BS in Enology, Winemaking, or a related field. Most employers are looking for hands-on experience in the two- to five-year range.

Park Ranger

Think Smokey the Bear has a good gig? You could live the high-life just as easily: clean air and natural living. As a park or forest ranger, your duties range from watching out for forest fires to keeping the peace across America’s forestland. In your first few years, you’ll log plenty of outdoor time checking on trees and fauna and ensuring the safety of campers. You’ll work in concert with fire and law enforcement agencies to rescue wayward hikers from steep ravines. As you escalate in responsibility, you may find yourself inside more often, working on schedules and managing new recruits. The veteran park ranger trade-off: more money, less time outdoors.

• More Info: The National Park Service, National Association of State Park Directors, and National Recreation and Park Association
• Salary Range: Not bad these days. Expect anything from unpaid volunteering to nearly $50,000 annually–depending on experience and education.
• Background: Forest folks need at least a bachelor’s degree in forestry or biology, with an emphasis in forest plant and animal life. A related major (environmental science, public administration, archeology, science, or history) will often suffice. However, many can hike up the ladder of ranger success by working their way up from park volunteer. Experience goes a long way in this neck of the career woods.

Other tan-inducing gigs careers to consider: Professional beach volleyball player, civil engineer, cruise ship captain, mailman, or professional sailor (think America’s Cup). With so many options available, how can any self-respecting sun-worshipper afford to stay indoors?

Research Links Volunteerism & Profits

Betty B. Stallings, a San Francisco-based trainer, consultant, and author who specializes in volunteerism, cites a 1993 survey in which more than 50 percent of businesses surveyed acknowledged a link between volunteer programs and profitability. Stallings states that research involving Fortune 500 companies demonstrates “an exponentially increasing number of employee volunteer programs.” These programs bring corporations and communities together as partners, and have been shown to be beneficial in attracting talented employees and in motivating staff.

Stallings points to General Mills, Federal Express, and Intel as examples of companies that have reported enhanced skills among employees who have participated in corporate-sponsored volunteer programs. Specific skills mentioned include leadership, teamwork, decision-making, communication, and time management.

“The employees themselves derive considerable benefits as well,” Stallings writes. “Through their volunteering, they have developed new business contacts, gained experience in strategic planning, [and] become involved with community leaders. There is a decided link, too, between physical and mental health and participation in volunteer activities.”

Volunteers Undervalue Experience

Surprisingly, many volunteers don’t realize that their altruism can result in acquiring highly marketable skills. Anita Collins, a licensed independent clinical social worker and life-planning coach, says people—especially women—tend to undervalue their volunteer experience simply because they don’t get paid for it.

“There is still a strong bias about volunteer work—that we shouldn’t list it on a resume because it’s not considered a real job,” Collins explains. “I encourage my clients to include it because they’ve brought value to an organization with the skills they were using and developing.”

Collins, who practices in Worcester, MA, suggests that one of the best ways to identify those skills is to analyze the volunteer activity as if you were writing a job description. What tasks were performed? What was accomplished? What goals were achieved?

“In my work, I find that women in midlife are really stopping and saying, ‘I have 30 productive years ahead of me, and I want to spend them in a way that makes sense to me and makes me happy,’” Collins says. “The challenge for me is to help them identify why they’re not satisfied now, and how to move to the next phase.

“Many of these women have had wonderful non-paid work histories,” Collins continues. “They run organizations, work on committees, address neighborhood and school issues, and put together major charitable events and fund-raising campaigns. The fact is, they have skills and experience to do just about anything they choose, and that information most definitely belongs on their resumes. I try to help my clients realize the value of their volunteer experience, and connect that with their careers. Without that value piece as an underpinning, they often have a hard time finding satisfaction.”

This writer can attest to the value of showcasing volunteer work on a resume. A few years ago, while in the throes of a career transition, I served as a volunteer board member for a patient-services program of The American Cancer Society. In helping plan a multifaceted event, I co-wrote a video script, helped produce printed materials, and organized a workshop on women’s cancer issues. The event was a success and the video earned a recognition award from a local ad club. Referencing this activity on my resume has led to several lucrative freelance assignments that I would not otherwise have been offered.

Perceptions Are Changing

Collins says it’s gratifying to see that the perception of volunteerism has changed. Unlike 20 or 30 years ago, the value of volunteer contributions is recognized.

When you think about what’s involved in, for instance, organizing a charity golf tournament, “you realize that it takes organizational, management, marketing, and public relations skills, as well as dedication, stamina and a willingness to work very hard,” says Collins. “Those attributes are attractive to potential employers. And they can open up entire new career avenues that you might not have considered.”

Ms. Ulmer, 56, signed on to be an intern at consulting firm Triad Communication in Washington, working alongside a college student who listens to hip-hop and frets about life after graduation. Laid off and looking for something to do, she jumped at the grunt-work opportunity. “It’s all fun money for me.”

This summer, the regular crop of interns has some interlopers in its midst: the over-30 crowd. From small businesses and restaurants to large health-care companies and public-relations firms, eager workplace veterans are lining up for a shot at the bottom rung of the ladder for little or no pay, just like those college kids. And companies are happy to let them in the door. While only 5% of internships were open to folks past their college years in 1995, that number has climbed to 20% today, according to career-information company Vault Inc.

Some of these aging interns don’t have much choice, with jobs scarce in a down economy. Others say they’re using internships as a convenient way to try something different, take a break from the job track or just dabble. In New York, there’s a 35-year-old ex-VP playing pastry chef at an upscale restaurant. A Chicago TV station had a lawyer running errands for the boss.

But not all of these graying apprentices are winning friends, of course. For out-of-work veterans, the notion of companies beefing up their ranks with experienced workers in short-term internships can be infuriating. Then there are the young interns forced to work side-by-side with condescending boomers. Jonathan Krause, a 22-year-old law student, found himself teamed with an older intern at a government office. The woman not only patronized him, but snorted whenever she heard him making after-work plans to meet his friends at a bar. “At first I was irritated, then I tried to provoke her,” he says.

Internships used to be just for kids, of course. Then came the dot-com boom of the late ’90s, when jobs were plentiful and labor was scarce, and some employers were forced to go outside the traditional intern mold to fill their slots. Now that the economy has slowed, companies from public relations giant Fleishman-Hillard to law firm Cleary Gottlieb are welcoming older interns. And why not? It’s a way to get better help for less, and without a long-term commitment. McKesson Corp., a health-care information company, has five over-30 interns out of a total of 40 at one of its units.

Thrill of the Kitchen

That’s all just fine with dabblers like Marissa Rothkopf Bates, who is starting a six-week internship as a pastry chef’s apprentice at a tony New York seafood restaurant. When she was laid off from her job as a vice president at Oxygen Media, she quickly signed up for cooking school and a follow-up “externship.” After following a chef around for a day and whipping up chocolate treats, she exalted in the “adrenaline thrill” of the kitchen. But once she’s done garnishing desserts, she figures she’ll look for another media job: “I don’t actually see myself becoming a chef.”

Michael Feldman, a 34-year-old former software entrepreneur, actually converted his internship into a cushy new job. After seeing his business go down the tubes last year, Mr. Feldman talked a friend into bringing him on as an intern at his online food-delivery service, arguing there was no downside since he would only get paid on commission. He then negotiated flexible hours to accommodate his morning triathlon-training schedule. “Sometimes I’ll roll in the door at noon,” he says.

While nobody’s expecting a gigantic rush of middle-aged interns, the summer workplace may well continue to get more mature. For starters, rules about workplace equality make it tougher for employers to consider age when hiring. Earlier this year, one Massachusetts company was forced to revisit its internship policy after rejecting an applicant for being too old (the would-be intern complained to state authorities). Plus, many employers like having older interns around. At McKesson’s information solutions unit, senior vice president Terry Geraghty says it’s a no-brainer to bring summer help with years of experience into the fold.

‘Stop the World’

Still, these May-September internships can have drawbacks for both sides. Experts say some boomers are more likely to worry about what comes next rather than the internship itself. Others may think it’s fun to try something new, but should make sure they aren’t just trying to avoid the commitment of a real job. Says Lynn Friedman, a clinical psychologist and workplace consultant in Bethesda, Md.: “I see a lot of ‘Stop the world, I want to get off.’”

Even if interns are excited going in, they may find the glamour fades quickly when they see just how little money they are getting. Alex Livingston moved to Los Angeles to serve as the unpaid producer for “Wide Awake in Nothing,” a film-student friend’s movie about a group of rebellious factory workers. He had a blast working 15-hour days for seven weeks straight, but then he jumped at a paying job — as a software engineer.

Starting Over

Companies and organizations vary widely regarding their approach to employing older interns. Below, a sampling of some of the programs:

Perks just keep getting harder to find. However, there are jobs for which perks are a part of the compensation package.

In healthy, happy mid-20^th century America, when the executive level was the career ideal to strive for, the key to the senior washroom stood as the symbol of success — the magical instrument that unlocked a secret door, behind which a select, beknighted few undertook decisions that moved and shook America. Gaining entrance to that chamber was a rite of passage signifying one’s advancement to elite status.

By the go-go 1980s, perks had become more diverse, more expansive and a little more fun. Condos in Vail, membership in exclusive country clubs, catered lunches, chauffeured limos, fully stocked bars, helicopters to the Hamptons, villas in Mexico — these were the goodies at the top of the corporate heap, the trickle-up blessings of Reaganomics. In time, those perks took on a life of their own. What began as symbols of success and as motivation on the climb up the corporate ladder, became benefits to be expected of the potential employer. What, no luxury box for the local professional football team? No corporate health club? No personal assistant? Sorry, I’ll take my career elsewhere.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the top — the recession of the early 1990s. Now the economy is once again prompting another wave of corporate belt-tightening. And, there are other factors that come into play, such as the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS is increasingly looking at perks and taxing the recipients, not to mention putting pressure on the companies to treat them as part of a taxable-income package.

Even freebies, the access to which employees see as normal and necessary to the work environment, can be recast as a perk by scrupulous financial officers. Writing implements may not seem like an amenity to an office worker, but one well-known company that places temporary computer operators charges its employees for extra pens if they lose the one they’re given. Similarly, most professionals view a telephone as an indispensable piece of business equipment — but does that mean employees must, or should, have unlimited access to it? Indeed, for many cost-conscious companies, access codes for each employee to the company’s long-distance service are becoming increasingly popular as a means of preventing abuse of phone privileges. Just print up a list of who called where, and a boss can track whether a call was made for business or personal purposes.

The perk isn’t dead, but it is being viewed in a new light — the light of reason in the cost-conscious, post-New Economy era. As Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman pointed out years ago, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. The money going toward perks has to come from somewhere. Might that money be better spent on something that more directly influences the bottom line?

Even the beneficiaries of presumed perks may start to see them differently. It’s common for sports teams to provide journalists with complimentary food and beverages at games, but most often the bounty isn’t of the healthiest variety — hot dogs, fried chicken, pizza. To someone watching his or her weight, the complimentary buffet isn’t a perk any longer. Employees of a company or nonprofit organization that seems to spend an inordinate amount of its funds on baubles to keep the workers happy may begin to question the direction of the company or the mission of the organization. And in the new hands-on corporate environment, some top executives are moving out of their plush, wood-paneled corner offices and back into cubicles out on the floor to become more involved in the everyday workings of the business and its employees.

As people re-evaluate their place in the world — both in their careers and in life outside the job — they may also begin to re-evaluate the worth and necessity of the freebies that have become part and parcel of the commercial environment. Whereas once it may have been common to accept gifts from potential clients or customers, the new business climate has begun to call some of that palm-greasing into question. We hold our elected representatives to high standards in terms of receiving gifts as a way to influence decisions. Should the decision-makers in the business world be held similarly accountable? You may be trying to decide between two companies with similar products or services. Is the value of those products or services truly reflected in the size of a company’s vacation retreat or corporate jet? Maybe the young, hungry company that hasn’t yet established itself enough to indulge in such perquisites is the one you’d rather work at.

Still, perks, amenities and benefits will continue to be a drawing card for professionals deciding on new careers or evaluating job offers. Our advice? Don’t let the glitter of those attractive baubles sway you from your prime concern, which should be: Is the job right for you? Will you enjoy doing this job day in and day out? Will you be personally rewarded — not just financially, not just with advancement, and not just with certain amenities and privileges, but with a feeling of self-fulfillment? That, ultimately, is the best perk of all.

Want a job that will wow them at parties? Then study the sciences.

That’s the message from the Harris Poll’s annual survey of attitudes toward a cross section of occupations. Of 1,011 adults surveyed nationwide, 51% said scientist was a job with “very great prestige.” Doctors were right behind with 50%, followed by military officers and teachers, each with 47%, and police officers, with 40%.

Of that top five, though, only the uniformed professions saw gains from the prior year. Military officers rose seven percentage points, while police climbed three points, moves that Harris attributed to the effects of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the war in Afghanistan.

Scientists fell two points from last year, while doctors dropped 11 percentage points. Teachers saw esteem for their positions fall seven percentage points, Harris said.

Amid the corporate accounting scandals, at the bottom of this year’s list were accountants. Only 13% of those surveyed said they felt the profession carried “very great prestige,” down two percentage points.

Here are more highlights from the latest survey.

* * *

“For each of the following, would you tell me if you feel it is an occupation of very great prestige, considerable prestige, some prestige or hardly any prestige at all?”

** In earlier surveys Harris used the words “policeman” (now changed to “police officer”) and businessman (now changed to “business executive”) which may account for the changes from 2001 to 2002.

* * *

Trend for “very great prestige” from 1977 to 2002

NA not asked

** Questions contain reference to “man” in these profession titles reflecting how they were originally asked. They remain the same in order not to disrupt the trending of the data related to these professions.

* * *

Methodology: This poll was conducted via telephone between Aug. 15 and 19, among a nationwide cross section of 1,011 adults. Figures for age, sex, race, education, number of adults and number of voice/telephone lines in the household were weighted where necessary to align with population proportions. Harris Interactive estimates the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus three percentage points compared to results if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy.

Smart college students know their career futures won’t be stable. Most new graduates will work in several fields or jobs over their lifetimes and will be continually adapting to ever-faster technical developments.

But you can take steps to be ready for an uncertain work world. First, accept that your education doesn’t stop with college or graduate school. To be successful and rise up through the ranks, you’ll need to be a lifelong learner. Second, be ready for change. View new systems and processes as opportunities and volunteer to get involved with them.

“Students should get ahead of the technology curve and look at leading-edge fields, like augmented or virtual reality or nanotechnology,” says Glen Hiemstra, a futurist in Kirkland, Wash.

Despite all the flux, there will be plenty of jobs. Through 2012 U.S. employment is expected to increase 14% and the supply of workers will grow 12%. Jobs will be plentiful, especially for professionals. Due to shortages, employers will seek out women, minorities, welfare recipients, retired seniors and even prisoners to fill openings.

Currently, the economy is so strong that some students assume they’ll land jobs easily via the Internet and are neglecting college job fairs and other college recruiting events, says Craig Mosurinjohn, director of career services at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

“Student registrations at career fairs are suffering a little because they want to do it on their own,” he says.

For managers, skills in an industry will likely be less important than functional skills, such as leadership or communications, says Roger Herman, a management consultant and futurist with the Herman Group in Greensboro, N.C. “Employers are more willing to let people move from industry to industry,” he says. “Partly, it’s because they don’t have any choice.”

Five Tips for a Successful Future

Nonetheless, employment in some fields will be red-hot. Services businesses, such as personnel or health-care supply agencies or computer training and repair businesses, will account for virtually all job growth through 2012, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. The nation also will become more dependent on technology. Between 2002 and 2012, employment in computer and data processing services will swell by 117%, faster than any other industry.

Public relations is an industry where employment is expected to grow 45% by 2012. This is good news for Cedric Bass, a master’s of business administration student at Florida International University in Miami. He wants to work in corporate PR after completing his degree by the end of 2009. While he didn’t choose the field because of its hot forecast, “my career prospects seem very promising,” he says. “The job market in the different regions is booming.”

While students shouldn’t pursue a career solely because employment is booming in that field, it doesn’t hurt to consider employers in fast-growing industries.

Five Tips for Young Professionals

When making forecasts about your career future, one thing is sure: it’s going to be buffeted by change. As a young professional, you can take steps to be ready for some likely twists and turns, says Glen Heimstra, founder of futurist.com in Kirkland, Wash.:

Get on a learning curve. Identify what you need to learn in the next six months and create a plan for accomplishing this goal. Continue to set learning agendas for yourself. As the world keeps changing, successful professionals will stay up with new developments.

Be technically knowledgeable. Virtually all work in the future will require technical competence. You don’t have to be a programmer, but you should be competent on basic computer systems and software programs and aware of how technology can be applied.

Improve your personal-interaction skills. More routine work will be automated, leaving employees to do what’s left. Young professionals will stand out if they can interact with and manage people effectively.

Be good at balancing work and life. As work spills over into life, and vice versa, professionals must know when work starts and stops and help other employees to set those boundaries as well.

Take time to look over the horizon. Be a futurist. Cultivate the ability to forecast what’s just around the corner, so you can prepare for it, says Mr. Hiemstra.

As a baby-boomer parent, I know too well the importance of landing a good job after graduation. And I certainly could open plenty of doors for my firstborn. But I hesitate to help him too much. A conflict of interest looms if I ask my news sources to consider him for employment. More importantly, cushioning my fledgling adult’s attempted leap into the job market could deny him the chance to soar on his own. On the other hand, I worry: Am I a parental failure unless I make sure my son succeeds? It’s a dilemma countless parents face.

Some go too far in trying to shape their children’s occupational choices. Certain Dartmouth students must pay for humanities courses themselves because Mom and Dad believe those subjects don’t prepare them for, say, an investment-banking career. “I can’t tell you how many kids I’ve met whose parents have pushed them into [the wrong] field,” reports Kate Wendleton, a New York career coach and founder of The Five O’Clock Club, a job-search strategy group. The result can be burnout by age 30.

Making Choices

Manipulative boomer parents often tout what they did when they started their careers. “They’re 30 years behind the times,” complains Marilyn Moats Kennedy, owner of consultants Career Strategies in Wilmette, Ill.

In July, a midlevel manufacturing executive demanded that Ms. Kennedy persuade her son, a fresh Ivy League college graduate, to accept a $45,000-a-year post with a major management-consulting firm. The young man preferred “to go to California and hang out with his girlfriend,” the career adviser recalls. She refused his request, feeling the son should make his own choices. The youth turned down the job.

When University of Colorado graduation loomed last spring, the anxious parents of environmental biology major Jordan McClelland repeatedly offered to introduce her to their pharmaceutical-industry friends. However, the Westfield, N.J., student wasn’t ready to job hunt — much less don a white lab coat. “I really like the outside. I’d rather not spend my time in an office or a lab,” the 22-year-old explains. “A job may pay $75,000 a year, but what good is it if you’re unhappy?”

Her stubborn resistance frustrated her parents. “I want her to put that degree to use,” insists her mother, Susan, a teacher of gifted elementary-school pupils.

For now, the biology-degree holder is living at home and working as a waitress. She intends to save money while exploring internships and outdoor-education graduate programs. “I don’t see any harm in that,” Jordan McClelland says. “But it [was] hard to get that across to my parents.”

Her mother, 50, agrees. “Pushing her into something won’t help,” she says. “It was a learning experience for all of us.”

Career counselors suggest parents should walk a fine line between doing too much and too little. Introduce your son or daughter to your fellow alums from college, for instance, rather than suppliers and customers, to avoid conflicts of interest. You might also offer reciprocity, agreeing to meet your friends’ job-hunting progeny if they meet with yours.

Just Enough Help

You can encourage your new grad’s initiative by recommending him to an acquaintance only after he makes the first call. Being a good parent “doesn’t mean you get him the job,” cautions Adele Scheele, career-center director of California State University, Northridge.

Ron Crompton, a Dayton, Ohio, Internet marketing executive and a 13-year veteran of Lexis Nexis, tried to strike a balance in assisting his daughter Kristin, 23.

He asked a former Lexis Nexis co-worker to talk with her after 100 resumes she sent seeking human-resources jobs elsewhere had generated few responses by the time she finished her Ohio University degree last November. His ex-colleague, an HR official, met with the young woman to discuss opportunities at the database unit of Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier NV.

Because Ms. Crompton lacked HR experience, the official forwarded her resume to the company’s customer-support department. In June, she started work as a customer-service representative there. Despite the six-month delay, Mr. Crompton avoided troubleshooting on his daughter’s behalf at Lexis Nexis. “I wanted to get her started off in a nice company so her outlook on life would be upbeat from the get-go,” the 51-year-old executive says. Once she became a serious candidate, he adds, “I was no longer in the picture.”

So what have I done for my confused college senior? I unsuccessfully attempted to arrange a get-together between him and a former boss of mine. I supplied the name of a prominent political consultant I know in Washington. (Our family link won’t be apparent because my son uses my husband’s surname.)

In coming months, Dan says he mainly will seek my help revising his resume and cover letters. “I would consider it a blow to my self-confidence if I was getting a [job] interview just because I’m your son,” he explains. “I want to be hired because of my skills.”