Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 13, 1994 TAG: 9403150163
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``I've got no skills, just a degree,'' he said.
The 23-year-old Roanoke County man graduated from Virginia Tech in May 1992, taking a business degree with emphasis in marketing.
``My goal is to work in the marketing end of the music business,'' he said.
Instead, he spends afternoons and evenings selling service agreements for a lawn-care company in the Roanoke Valley. He's at Virginia Western Community College in the mornings, taking classes in radio and television production.
This summer, he'll begin computer classes there.
``That's always a plus on your resume,'' Cortsen said.
He sends out resumes ``consistently,'' and recently went high-tech in his job search by appearing in a ``Video Classified.''
``Video Classifieds'' are a free service of Roanoke-based Blue Ridge Public Television. The 30-second spots are produced in cooperation with the Virginia Employment Commission as a tool to help connect job-seekers - usually but not always white-collar job-seekers - with potential employers. Each spot features the job-seeker's photograph along with text and voice-over information about his or her qualifications, experience and job preferences.
The service has paid off for eight or 10 people, according to VEC Roanoke job service manager Marjorie Skidmore, but Anders Cortsen so far is not among them.
Like many young people, Cortsen believes he may have to leave the Roanoke Valley to find the job he wants. But first he wants to achieve a couple of other goals.
One is to build the marketable skills that didn't come with his college degree. The other is `'to get more stable financially.'' That's where the job with the lawn-care company comes in.
``Sales is probably about the only thing I could do,'' Cortsen said. ``But the stability is week-to-week. If you don't meet your quota ... ''
``It's a rough market,'' he said. ``But I enjoy it. Sales is fun if you do it right. I just don't see myself selling lawn care for the rest of my life.''
by CNB