No, I attended one of the largest universities in the country, APA accredited and all that.
So far, I've still been stubbornly trying to find or create a position in the therapeutic setting. I've slowly started transitioning to look for jobs in the consulting, talent acquisition, etc., sectors.
All my experience has been in fields without a tangible product. Since I've only worked in therapy/intervention organizations (some non-profits), bringing in money was never something I had to consider, so I'm feeling lost on how to show that I would increase profits in some way. I've been trying to highlight my research background, since the clinical side doesn't focus on that all the time, stating that I could combine both in some way. But I'm clearly not selling myself correctly.
1) Okay, you're out of your field. Not a problem. I'm guessing you don't know much about talent acquisition or business consulting. One is usually done by people with advanced experience in HR, and one is a highly competitive thing for top ten MBA graduates. It's okay to not know that, but that also means that you are applying to positions without knowing about their field. Slow down. The first step in sales is to thoroughly understand the market. It's the same process as applying to grad schools. You spent some time, investigating schools, PIs, labs, funding, stipends, etc. You have to do that for jobs, too. You don't want to be that applicant who doesn't know the difference between social psychology and clinical psychology.
2) You have created a tangible product. It's probably a written report and/or presentations. Think about what you did in those non-profits, and why they wanted you there.
3) You have brought in something to those non-profits. Did you bring in grant funding? Did you provide free labor? Were you so charming that donations increased? Look into that, and you'll find something that people valued. There is no way that they just brought you into that office because you're nice.
4) You can easily learn to sell. Watch a commercial. On a very simple level, you can borrow that plot structure. Bad commercials are less subtle about it. You'll notice that the voiceover person creates a problem (e.g., "Have you ever this problem)?"). Then they offer their product as a solution (e.g., Product makes that a thing of the past by ____!"). If the company is established enough, they will try to define WHO their market is (e.g., "Real men know that____"). And if they are cocky, they induce a false urgency (e.g., "Our labor day sale ends on Monday, so act fast!"). That's what you're trying to do. But not so heavy handed, and a lot more subtly. "Racial discrimination lawsuits cost the average company $50,000 to settle. However, companies that use a social psychologist to train people have a reduced risk of those lawsuits, representing savings of tons of money. Fortune 100 companies have used these services for a decade. Our company makes these services accessible to small businesses at a fraction of the cost. We are offering a one time discount for the next quarter to new customers." Easy.
5) Define what services you are selling. Create a list. Some are going to be good, some not. Figure out who can afford to buy your services (i.e., You can't sell anything to a failing business). Figure out why they would want to buy your services (i.e., How it makes them money). Figure out why they would they want to buy from you, instead of someone else. This is the same thing you'd do for clinical services. You find a town that has enough people to support a practice, ensure that you take the insurance that they have, offer the services they need, and offer it better than the alternatives.
