Dear J.T. & Dale: I have struggled for years to get a mainstream job, finally taking one where I work from 3 p.m. to midnight. I hate the job, but love the hours. Now I want to look for a job that will better suit my cultural studies degree but that has nighttime hours. Am I looking for a needle in a haystack? — Andy

J.T.: Well, Andy, perhaps you are trying to make too many things work together. Look at the jobs you can do with your degree, and ask yourself, “Do they ever get done between 3 and midnight?” If so, start networking in those fields. When I mentioned your situation to Elaine Basham, a resume expert who runs TheResumeGroup.com, she suggested jobs in community outreach management or adult education (where many activities are after regular working hours). The most important thing is to let people know you are a “night owl” so they’ll think of you the next time they hear about an evening job.

Dale: Cultural studies is one of those degrees that prepares you for everything and nothing, which I guess makes it either the haystack or the needle, depending. But, as for networking, J.T. is right: Your goal is to get your contacts to mentally pair you with jobs. Because cultural studies is vague (at least, for most of us), then the “night owl” match will be the one that predominates. Is that really the right priority? I leave you with one thought, a comment made to me by an accomplished ballet dancer who, when asked if he was sorry to leave a job in a tropical climate for a new role in a wintry city, said, “I’m not going to put a suntan ahead of my career.” If you want people to help you find the right job, you have to decide what’s the most important factor you want to be paired with — your interests, or your hours.

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Jeanine “J.T.” Tanner O’Donnell is a professional development specialist and founder of CAREEREALISM.com. Dale Dauten’s latest book is “(Great) Employees Only: How Gifted Bosses Hire and De-Hire Their Way to Success” (John Wiley & Sons). Please visit them at www.jtanddale.com, where you can send questions via e-mail, or write to them in care of King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019.

© 2009 by King Features Syndicate, Inc.