Ski Team Reunites After 29 Years

Members of the 1974-1978 CSM ski team were reunited on Feb. 23, 2007, in Whistler, British Columbia. Three days of skiing and trips down memory lane rounded out a fantastic time together. Miles Barrett ’78, Murph Hannon ’78, Tim Stouffer ’78 and Rick Williams ’78 traveled from Louisiana, Alberta, Texas and Massachusetts, respectively, for the much-anticipated gathering. While maintaining contact over the years, all four had not been together since graduating. “Because the ski team, sponsored by Dr. Bob Witters (Chemistry), was the introductory factor at school, having a team reunion seemed a natural choice,” wrote Stouffer. The snow cooperated rather spectacularly, and the four spent each day proving to the others that they could still ski like 20 year olds, no matter how much graying or hair loss had occurred in the meantime. In fact, each could pick the others out of crowds of skiers because their skiing style was the same as in years past. Unanimous agreement was reached that the next gathering would be sooner than 29 years!

Life Members

The Alumni Association gratefully acknowledges its new Life Members welcomed between Oct. 10, 2006 and May 20, 2007.

Daniel G. Anderson ’85
Donna S. Anderson ’97
Irving F. Avery ’68
David W. Baker ’80
Mark E. Bush ’82
Joseph G. Ceurvorst ’85
Shelly R. Ceurvorst ’88
David D. Ciemnoczolowski ’96
Erin K. Conlon ’91
Jennifer L. Crisi ’90
Peter A. Crisi ’86
D. Wilson Culp ’99
Peter R. Dawson ’88
Carol L. Ferrera ’74
Kenneth P. Ferrera ’72
Hoy E. Frakes, Jr. ’75
Katja Freitag ’00
Bruce T. Garrett ’81
Bruce E. Grewcock ’76
Stephen W. Grigel ’01
Forrest F. Guest ’02
Todd R. Habliston ’83
Maia C. Hunt ’96
Lianne S. Hill ’03
Kirk L. Johnson ’97
Regina M. Johnson ’97
Jody E. Kamrath ’88
Kirk L. Ketcherside ’85
Eric T. Kingham ’98
Phillip A. Kriz ’83
Dale R. Loveland, Jr. ’90
Elizabeth A. Loveland ’91
Javier Luengo Delgado ’85
Aaron M. Martinsen ’99
David F. Mayer ’80
Kathleen M. McDermott ’83
Alan J. Mencin ’79
Catherine A. Mencin ’83
T. Gregory Merrion ’80
Jack W. Musser ’72
Leah K. Oberley ’91
Com Mark J. Oberley ’89
Cassandra M. Owen ’97
Leslie V. Pagels ’79
Nathan R. Perkins ’92
James A. Plutt ’99
Louise J. Plutt ’00
Scott J. Reasoner ’84
David K. Roberts ’92
Veronica P. Rovero ’79
Jeffrey S. Samuels ’83
Martin W. Sharps ’81
Daniel W. Shupp ’95
Chelsey L. Thompson ’03
Christopher Michael Thompson ’04
David N. Wilson ’84
Jean R. Wilson ’86
Ryan E. Zorn ’96

The fee for Life Membership to the Alumni Association is $1,000, payable over five years if preferred. To apply for Life Membership, click here.

The Career Column
By Richard Hewitt ’82, MSc ’89, MSc, PhD ’92

The Only Reason Anyone Will Ever Hire You

Over the years, I’ve made an observation that still amazes me. No one, and I mean no one, knows why they’ve been hired for any job they’ve ever had. I’ve talked to CEOs and entry-level managers, career coaches, professional recruiters and even HR executives and no one has a clue.

Oh, they all think they know. They tell me they were hired because they had the right background; meaning they went to the right school or they earned the right grades.
Some tell me they had the right experience; meaning they’ve been doing geology in the gulf coast for 20 years and the company that hired them was looking for someone with exactly that experience.

Others tell me that when it came to the interview, they really connected with the interviewer and they didn’t embarrass themselves. I call this the cultural fit. Cultural fit means that if you interviewed over lunch, you didn’t spill soup on yourself and you knew which fork to use for your salad.

Everyone tells me they got hired for one of those three reasons: they had the right background, the right experience, or they were the right cultural fit.

And I tell them (politely) that they haven’t got a clue. Then I tell them that there’s only one reason anyone has ever been hired, in any industry, at any point in history: a decision maker had a problem they thought the job seeker could solve, and the job seeker cost less than the problem did.

It’s pretty simple, but not so obvious until it’s laid out that way. Unless you meet all four conditions—#1 decision maker, #2 has a problem, #3 they think you can solve, and #4 you cost less than the problem does—you’re not getting a job offer.

Let’s quickly break down the four conditions. #1: You’ve got to be in front of the person who can make the decision. Unless you’re looking for a job in human resources, HR can’t hire you. #2: The decision maker has to have a problem. Jobs exist because problems exist. #3: The decision maker has to believe that you can solve the problem.

It’s not enough to be a motivated, self-starter. And finally, #4: You have to cost less than the problem does. No one is going to pay you $100,000 to solve a $2 problem. It comes down to basic economics. (Professor Stermole was right all along, but you already knew that.)

Next time we’ll discuss the “Three Questions Every Job Seeker Must Answer BEFORE They Begin a Job Search.” Until then, focus on identifying problems and developing ideas to solve them. In the end, that’s the only reason you’ll ever get hired and solving problems is what your Mines education was all about anyway.

Richard Hewitt, founder of High Impact Career Products, has spent the past five years developing and testing America’s only patent-pending job finding system, www.impactcareer.com, which alumni gain free access to with their CSMAA membership. Questions and comments can be emailed to Richard Hewitt at richard@impactcareer.com.