I received this e-mail from a woman who is revising her resume. I'd sent her some suggestions, including putting a list of CORE CAPABILITIES under her PROFILE. In response, she said "I have included below the top section of a friend's resume. Let me know what you think. I am thinking that it may be distracting to have a multitude of expertise items."
My first response was "I don't like it." Keep reading to find out why.
FUNCTIONAL EXPERTISE:
● Global Assignments ● Project Management ● Strategy Development
SUMMARY
Creative and progressive executive with globally-focused expertise acquired in world-class professional services organization. Broad general management experience with proven track record for coordinating high-level operational, strategic, and administrative assignments. Has reported directly to the Global CEO, operating at the most senior levels of organizations interacting with key decision makers and successfully liaising with matrixed teams.
Well developed project management experience, strong analytical skills, and creative problem-solving capabilities, with reputation for getting things done. Superior communicator with excellent interpersonal skills, a team player, high personal integrity, and a solid record for handling complex cultural issues with diplomacy. Legal and business degrees, fluent in English & French with work experience in Canada, France and the US. Selected accomplishments:
* Co-founder of two major global industry practices
* Key player of Global Benchmark Survey that included and assisted 1000 manufacturers in 25+ countries
* Impacting over 100 countries, identified and promoted 130+ recommendations to achieve cross-border operational and logistical improvements
* Developed 3-year business planning process for the North American Region (12 countries)
* Lead person in development and roll-out of 3-year global strategy for world-wide organization
Here is my response:
Re your friend's resume, it's a very corporate style that I don't see very often in the non-profit field. It could be appealing to people who have a very corporate background or who are looking for a corporate type person.
In the CORE CAPABILITIES section, I think that three columns with no more than 3 items is the maximum people can handle reading. Make your own list and then ask two or three trusted people to tell you the skills that jump out at them from your resume. You can then choose what skills you want to highlight. They should be skills you love using and want to use again, and that support your achieving your intention for work.
Many of the points made in your friend's upfront summary can and should be made in a cover letter. I guess my bias is to letting the reader get to the meat of the resume very quickly, which is where you worked in what capacity and for how long. Too long a summary can be frustrating.
Because of this, I don't usually like a core capabilities list. It works really well in some industries, such as IT, because they are looking for such a list of buzz words and care less about where/how long you worked. Most recruiters, however, are looking for substance pretty quickly. They'd rather see an accomplishment in the context of a specific position.
Finally, we can and have and will continue to improve your resume. However, I'm not entirely sure fixing the resume is the entire answer. More important is you becoming more specific about the kind of work you want to do and in what context. Your resume can then be tailored to help you get that kind of work.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Working with Chronic Illness
I just read a great post about someone who has medical issues and also wants to work for pay Almost 50 and Minimal Work Experience. JT & Dale give excellent suggestions including a referral to Rosalind Joffe, a career coach who specializes in helping people with chronic illnesses (cicoach.com).
As someone who’s also dealt with chronic illness, I have to add my two cents worth.
It is essential that you be honest with yourself about how much you can work and what kind of work is best suited to maintaining your optimal health. Perhaps that means part-time work and/or working from home one or two days a week. Maybe it means asking for non-traditional hours so you are commuting during a less crowded time.
Your job needs to enhance, not detract from, your health and life. If you tire yourself out by taking on more than you can handle over the long term, you could be out for long periods of time. That is counter to your goal of success. In addition to causing resentment among your colleagues, prolonged absences probably will result in you being "restructured out of a job" before too long.
You want to succeed. Therefore, lay the groundwork for success. Set appropriate expectations right from the start by being honest with yourself, your potential bosses, and later, your co-workers.
I know from personal experience that most people appreciate such honesty and are then able to pretty quickly appreciate the value you do bring to the team. What they don’t like is feeling misled and then having to adjust their expectations downward. And I don’t like disappointing myself by taking on so much that I can’t deliver on my promises. It makes more sense for me to have modest goals and then exceed them once in a while.
You know your body and its limits better than anyone else. You know what 100% is for you. And you also know what you need to do to do your 100% best. The biggest temptation I've had is trying to perform at someone else's 100%. That is a recipe for disaster, however. Success happens when I operate at my 100% and do what I need to ensure that I can sustain that 100% performance over time.
As someone who’s also dealt with chronic illness, I have to add my two cents worth.
It is essential that you be honest with yourself about how much you can work and what kind of work is best suited to maintaining your optimal health. Perhaps that means part-time work and/or working from home one or two days a week. Maybe it means asking for non-traditional hours so you are commuting during a less crowded time.
Your job needs to enhance, not detract from, your health and life. If you tire yourself out by taking on more than you can handle over the long term, you could be out for long periods of time. That is counter to your goal of success. In addition to causing resentment among your colleagues, prolonged absences probably will result in you being "restructured out of a job" before too long.
You want to succeed. Therefore, lay the groundwork for success. Set appropriate expectations right from the start by being honest with yourself, your potential bosses, and later, your co-workers.
I know from personal experience that most people appreciate such honesty and are then able to pretty quickly appreciate the value you do bring to the team. What they don’t like is feeling misled and then having to adjust their expectations downward. And I don’t like disappointing myself by taking on so much that I can’t deliver on my promises. It makes more sense for me to have modest goals and then exceed them once in a while.
You know your body and its limits better than anyone else. You know what 100% is for you. And you also know what you need to do to do your 100% best. The biggest temptation I've had is trying to perform at someone else's 100%. That is a recipe for disaster, however. Success happens when I operate at my 100% and do what I need to ensure that I can sustain that 100% performance over time.
Get a job, any job??
Yes, you need to pay the bills. In that sense, any job is a good job.
My experience is, however, that the more targeted you are in terms of the kind of job you want, the more likely you are to get it. I have seen people desperate for a job finally get one when they decided exactly what they want to do. It may seem counterintuitive, but here's the cycle I've witnessed time and again:
* You decide what's really in your heart and soul to do for work - most specifically, the skills and talents and abilities you most want to use again. Doing your "must have" list for a job will give you the chance to be really specific; a guide for creating your Must Have List is on my blog following this post.
* You formulate a concise "intention" statement that clearly communicates what you want to do, and you can easily say it to people without any "ums" or uncertainty. It's your 30-second "elevator speech." You can write it in e-mails to people, who then see exactly what you want to do.
* You start talking to people about your intention. The specificity helps people think of CONCRETE possibilities. They hear your sincerity and passion, and it is contagious. They think of people who are connected in the industry. You talk to everyone about what you want to do because who knows? Your dry cleaner may know someone who knows someone.
* You indicate that you are open to doing pro bono or volunteer work. You take on some volunteer work, simply because it keeps you involved in practicing your craft. This goes on your resume, keeping it current. It also puts you in the world of work, raising your spirits and giving you something to talk about with others. You also are now able to network naturally, in the course of doing your volunteer work.
* You update your LinkedIn profile to add the pro bono work, so your network gets an update and you may come to someone's attention who knows someone who knows someone.
* Maybe you also create a brochure advertising your services as a consultant. Every time I've helped create consulting brochures, they get job interviews and in two cases, jobs, within a few weeks. I think it's because they've gotten very specific about the kind of work they are willing to do as a consultant, what kind of value they will add as a consultant, and the kind of clients they want to work for.
The point is that you are IN ACTION, committed fully to getting exactly what you want. Maybe it's the "power of intention" or the Law of Attraction or simply you are energized enough by your decision that things start to fall into place.
* You see a job posting, write a compelling cover letter - because it has passion and intention behind it - and get the interview.
* You meet someone for an informational interview and s/he offers to introduce you to someone higher up in their company or key at another company, or offers you some freelance work as a try-out.
* Someone tells you about the perfect job, you go in and nail the interview because you are passionate about using your skills and adding value to the employer - helping them reach their goals.
In sum, while I support you getting work to pay the bills, you'll probably have to do almost the same amount of work to get anything as you will to get something targeted.
I recommend doing the small additional bit of work to target your search, get your energy up and your momentum going. All your efforts will be toward a specific goal which has to be more effective than spreading them out across a huge spectrum of possible jobs.
If I travel somewhere, I use a map. The same principle applies to job search. Know where you want to go and it will be infinitely easier to get there.
My experience is, however, that the more targeted you are in terms of the kind of job you want, the more likely you are to get it. I have seen people desperate for a job finally get one when they decided exactly what they want to do. It may seem counterintuitive, but here's the cycle I've witnessed time and again:
* You decide what's really in your heart and soul to do for work - most specifically, the skills and talents and abilities you most want to use again. Doing your "must have" list for a job will give you the chance to be really specific; a guide for creating your Must Have List is on my blog following this post.
* You formulate a concise "intention" statement that clearly communicates what you want to do, and you can easily say it to people without any "ums" or uncertainty. It's your 30-second "elevator speech." You can write it in e-mails to people, who then see exactly what you want to do.
* You start talking to people about your intention. The specificity helps people think of CONCRETE possibilities. They hear your sincerity and passion, and it is contagious. They think of people who are connected in the industry. You talk to everyone about what you want to do because who knows? Your dry cleaner may know someone who knows someone.
* You indicate that you are open to doing pro bono or volunteer work. You take on some volunteer work, simply because it keeps you involved in practicing your craft. This goes on your resume, keeping it current. It also puts you in the world of work, raising your spirits and giving you something to talk about with others. You also are now able to network naturally, in the course of doing your volunteer work.
* You update your LinkedIn profile to add the pro bono work, so your network gets an update and you may come to someone's attention who knows someone who knows someone.
* Maybe you also create a brochure advertising your services as a consultant. Every time I've helped create consulting brochures, they get job interviews and in two cases, jobs, within a few weeks. I think it's because they've gotten very specific about the kind of work they are willing to do as a consultant, what kind of value they will add as a consultant, and the kind of clients they want to work for.
The point is that you are IN ACTION, committed fully to getting exactly what you want. Maybe it's the "power of intention" or the Law of Attraction or simply you are energized enough by your decision that things start to fall into place.
* You see a job posting, write a compelling cover letter - because it has passion and intention behind it - and get the interview.
* You meet someone for an informational interview and s/he offers to introduce you to someone higher up in their company or key at another company, or offers you some freelance work as a try-out.
* Someone tells you about the perfect job, you go in and nail the interview because you are passionate about using your skills and adding value to the employer - helping them reach their goals.
In sum, while I support you getting work to pay the bills, you'll probably have to do almost the same amount of work to get anything as you will to get something targeted.
I recommend doing the small additional bit of work to target your search, get your energy up and your momentum going. All your efforts will be toward a specific goal which has to be more effective than spreading them out across a huge spectrum of possible jobs.
If I travel somewhere, I use a map. The same principle applies to job search. Know where you want to go and it will be infinitely easier to get there.
Your Must Have List
This is a list of 5-6 aspects of a job or work that you MUST have. This is not “want to have.” This list is of the things that you must have in order for you to be satisfied and content in your work, the things that will make it possible for you to be excited to start the day when you wake up every morning.
You’ll want to have a “must have” in most or all of these categories:
1) Work you will do
2) Role you will play
3) Impact of your efforts
4) Physical environment
5) Colleagues, culture, emotional environment
6) Compensation
1) Work you will do
What do you like doing? What gives you great satisfaction? What industry or subject area do you love, care about? In what field does your expertise and talent lie? What do you want to occupy yourself doing for work? What are your skills, talents, preferences, likes and dislikes? What brings you joy? What can you lose yourself in so time flies? What are your hobbies?
2) Role you will play
What position will you have in the organization or company? Will you work for someone? For yourself? With others? Be a leader or a follower? Do you like working alone or in a team? Being visible or behind the scenes? Playing the same kind of role consistently, or do you like to move around? Do you prefer to have a single focus or are you happier with a variety of tasks? Do you want to be someone others depend on or free of responsibility for others?
3) Impact of your efforts
Does your work need to matter to anyone other than yourself? Do you want to make a difference? If so, what difference do you want to make? Does it matter what kind of company or organization you work for? If so, what kind of company? And what impact will it have? Is there anything that will make it worth doing drudge work?
4) Physical environment
What do you need to be at your best and do your best work? Do you need privacy, light, quiet, noise, open floor plan, a desk and comfortable chair, no desk and always being outside? There are many variations – only you can decide what kind of physical environment you thrive in. Also can be about location, commuting, hours.
5) Culture and colleagues
What kind of emotional environment do you want? What kind of people? Do your values need to mesh with the values of your workplace and colleagues? What kind of atmosphere helps you do your best? Fast-paced or laid-back? Lots of deadlines or little pressure? Competitive or supportive, or a little of both? Structured or flexible? Formal or casual? 9-5 or varied? Task or mission focused? Start-up or established organization/company? Close supervision or self-direction? How much time do you want to spend working?
6) Compensation
What’s the bottom line dollar pay or salary that you can live with? A figure that covers your basic needs and then some? A figure that makes you feel valued and not resentful? You can have a "want to have" figure that’s higher than your “live with” figure. Are there other ways you can be compensated, such as time off, benefits, recognition, or travel? How much compensation do you need to reflect your value to your employer, or to quit a temporary or maintenance job to work full-time for yourself?
After answering these questions, try to boil down your responses to short phrases of one to five words. You know the intention behind each phrase, and can explain them to people when you tell them what you want.
As you go forward in looking at potential jobs, it is probable that one or two of these items will rise to the top of your list as the most important variables for you to have your best work experience. That will help you decide whether to accept a job or not – if it doesn’t meet those top “must haves,” it’s likely that you won’t last there very long.
You’ll want to have a “must have” in most or all of these categories:
1) Work you will do
2) Role you will play
3) Impact of your efforts
4) Physical environment
5) Colleagues, culture, emotional environment
6) Compensation
1) Work you will do
What do you like doing? What gives you great satisfaction? What industry or subject area do you love, care about? In what field does your expertise and talent lie? What do you want to occupy yourself doing for work? What are your skills, talents, preferences, likes and dislikes? What brings you joy? What can you lose yourself in so time flies? What are your hobbies?
2) Role you will play
What position will you have in the organization or company? Will you work for someone? For yourself? With others? Be a leader or a follower? Do you like working alone or in a team? Being visible or behind the scenes? Playing the same kind of role consistently, or do you like to move around? Do you prefer to have a single focus or are you happier with a variety of tasks? Do you want to be someone others depend on or free of responsibility for others?
3) Impact of your efforts
Does your work need to matter to anyone other than yourself? Do you want to make a difference? If so, what difference do you want to make? Does it matter what kind of company or organization you work for? If so, what kind of company? And what impact will it have? Is there anything that will make it worth doing drudge work?
4) Physical environment
What do you need to be at your best and do your best work? Do you need privacy, light, quiet, noise, open floor plan, a desk and comfortable chair, no desk and always being outside? There are many variations – only you can decide what kind of physical environment you thrive in. Also can be about location, commuting, hours.
5) Culture and colleagues
What kind of emotional environment do you want? What kind of people? Do your values need to mesh with the values of your workplace and colleagues? What kind of atmosphere helps you do your best? Fast-paced or laid-back? Lots of deadlines or little pressure? Competitive or supportive, or a little of both? Structured or flexible? Formal or casual? 9-5 or varied? Task or mission focused? Start-up or established organization/company? Close supervision or self-direction? How much time do you want to spend working?
6) Compensation
What’s the bottom line dollar pay or salary that you can live with? A figure that covers your basic needs and then some? A figure that makes you feel valued and not resentful? You can have a "want to have" figure that’s higher than your “live with” figure. Are there other ways you can be compensated, such as time off, benefits, recognition, or travel? How much compensation do you need to reflect your value to your employer, or to quit a temporary or maintenance job to work full-time for yourself?
After answering these questions, try to boil down your responses to short phrases of one to five words. You know the intention behind each phrase, and can explain them to people when you tell them what you want.
As you go forward in looking at potential jobs, it is probable that one or two of these items will rise to the top of your list as the most important variables for you to have your best work experience. That will help you decide whether to accept a job or not – if it doesn’t meet those top “must haves,” it’s likely that you won’t last there very long.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Market Yourself in Thank You Notes
Always send a thank you note after any kind of interview, phone or in person. It's a chance for you to reinforce your skills, your ability to meet the responsibilities of the position for which you're applying.
Use the opportunity to reiterate your interest and amplify some point from the conversation that perhaps you wish you had addressed further, or that the interviewer seemed to pick up on and like. Stress how you are able to use your abilities and skills to resolve some challenge in the new position.
Use the opportunity to reiterate your interest and amplify some point from the conversation that perhaps you wish you had addressed further, or that the interviewer seemed to pick up on and like. Stress how you are able to use your abilities and skills to resolve some challenge in the new position.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Pre-Interview Suggestions
A few people are having interviews in the next couple of days. Here's some of what I suggest as interview preparation:
1. Remember to focus on what you provide of value to solve his problems - that's what he is interested in. I always say "employers care about your past only as it relates to their future, i.e. shows how you can help them achieve their goals." So, when you tell stories about past projects, relate key learnings and skills to potential projects and clients at this firm.
2. Breathe. Before and during the interview. Take your time answering questions. Have a conversation. Repeat the content of the question at the beginning of your answer. This does three things: demonstrates that you are listening to the person, reinforces that you are answering the question asked, and gives your mind time to organize your answer.
3. If you are asked a tough question, you can use the above techniques, as well as saying "that's a great question." It flatters AND buys you time. Always strive for a "charge neutral" response, meaning no indication that you are uncomfortable with the question and its topic. Also, you can give a quick answer and then follow up with a question like, "I actually wondered about XYZ in relation to that. Is that an area your company is investigating?" The principle here is to turn the conversation quickly back to the employer.
4. At the end of every answer, return to discussing the job at hand. You are always directing the conversation toward how interested in, qualified for, excited about, curious about, and committed to the job being discussed. Your past experience is evidence of how well prepared you are to add value and solve the employer's problems.
5. Anticipate questions and rehearse your answers prior to the interview. Think of an actor going into an audition. S/he prepares an audition piece as well as preparing mentally and emotionally. You are going into a similar situation. Common questions are "why are you interested in working for this company?" "Why do you think you can do this position?" "Tell me a difficult situation that came up and how you dealt with it." "Why should we hire you?"
6. Remember you are interviewing the employer. Your goal is to find your "right fit" work - work where you feel useful, valued, and aligned with your talents and purpose in life. Develop your "Must Have List" as I discuss in other posts, and then assess the position and employer using those criteria. Come into any interview with your list of questions to see how well the job matches your must have list.
1. Remember to focus on what you provide of value to solve his problems - that's what he is interested in. I always say "employers care about your past only as it relates to their future, i.e. shows how you can help them achieve their goals." So, when you tell stories about past projects, relate key learnings and skills to potential projects and clients at this firm.
2. Breathe. Before and during the interview. Take your time answering questions. Have a conversation. Repeat the content of the question at the beginning of your answer. This does three things: demonstrates that you are listening to the person, reinforces that you are answering the question asked, and gives your mind time to organize your answer.
3. If you are asked a tough question, you can use the above techniques, as well as saying "that's a great question." It flatters AND buys you time. Always strive for a "charge neutral" response, meaning no indication that you are uncomfortable with the question and its topic. Also, you can give a quick answer and then follow up with a question like, "I actually wondered about XYZ in relation to that. Is that an area your company is investigating?" The principle here is to turn the conversation quickly back to the employer.
4. At the end of every answer, return to discussing the job at hand. You are always directing the conversation toward how interested in, qualified for, excited about, curious about, and committed to the job being discussed. Your past experience is evidence of how well prepared you are to add value and solve the employer's problems.
5. Anticipate questions and rehearse your answers prior to the interview. Think of an actor going into an audition. S/he prepares an audition piece as well as preparing mentally and emotionally. You are going into a similar situation. Common questions are "why are you interested in working for this company?" "Why do you think you can do this position?" "Tell me a difficult situation that came up and how you dealt with it." "Why should we hire you?"
6. Remember you are interviewing the employer. Your goal is to find your "right fit" work - work where you feel useful, valued, and aligned with your talents and purpose in life. Develop your "Must Have List" as I discuss in other posts, and then assess the position and employer using those criteria. Come into any interview with your list of questions to see how well the job matches your must have list.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Real Life Advice for Networking
I had the amazing opportunity to help a former employee from City Harvest, who is now looking for a food service operations job. He has so many skills and abilities, and now has the marketing materials to let others know about them - resume and stories about accomplishments.
Now his task is to get his information in front of the right people. He wants something very specific, and there simply are not many job postings for his specialty (university food service operations). In other words, it's time for NETWORKING! Here's some of what I recommended:
There is what I just heard called "the retail approach to job search." In this approach, you are looking for a fluke opportunity. Identify companies for which you want to work. Find the name of someone fairly high in the company, preferably someone in an operations slot. While HR can be helpful, it's not my recommended first stop. If an operations leader wants to hire someone, HR will make it happen. If HR wants someone hired, it could happen but it probably won't be a very happy supervisory relationship - unless HR is an amazingly loved entity (rare indeed!).
Then draft a letter and introduce yourself to that person. Follow up with an e-mail or call to say “I hope you got my materials” and keep periodically following up, because those positions are fluke positions. The point is to be somewhat known if and when a specific job opens up. Of course, it's MUCH better if you can say "so and so suggested I introduce myself to you." The person may be predisposed to talk to you.
Thus, that's the second thing to identify: who do you know, who do you remember. For example, you started thinking about your old boss. What about past vendors? Food donors from City Harvest food donors. Other old bosses? Those are the people to whom you say, “I’d appreciate your advice and guidance in my job-search. Where could I go, what kind of jobs do you think would be good for me?”
You're not asking them for a job, you're asking them for advice and guidance. That’s easy for someone to give; who doesn't want to give advice?
Put together your natural network. Who are the people you know who would help you immediately? Identify the easy ones first. Then you make concentric rings outward, with the next group being people who might be a little more difficult to reach out, who require a little more courage and preparation. Write them an e-mail that says “I'm writing to you to ask for your advice and guidance in my job-search. I’m looking for blah, blah, blah. I'm hoping you can give me 20 minutes of your time. I'll come to you.” Go to them if at all possible, because in person is better. And then you must say “if I don't hear back from you, I will call you in a couple days to set something up.”
It's very rare for people not to respond, so if they don't get back to you, they’re probably on vacation or very busy. Simply e-mail them again.
The third thing you can do is ask people at the big food service companies for an informational interview. You say “I want to branch out of the side of the food service business that I've been in and learn more about what they do.” They may not be hiring. You'll get into their presence & consciousness, though, and you'll be ‘top of mind’ when/if a job comes up.
Very important: reach out to the muckety-mucks. I can tell you that the bigger they are, the more likely they are to help somebody who has the chutzpah to get in touch with them. I always helped people who got in touch with me, simply because they did. It was impressive. Plus the bigger people are, the more one's ego likes to hear “I'd like your advice and guidance.”
Talking to a lot of people will help you narrow down what you want to do. Part of the process of networking is gathering more information. You have some ideas but you don't know enough yet to narrow it your intention very specifically. You know what skills you want to use which is good.
Because your basic question is "Where can I use these skills?," you will benefit from informational interviews with people who can help you direct those skills. “I'm looking for an opportunity where I can use XYZ skills in an environment where they are growing, that's entrepreneurial. I am very interested in contract food service, catering, special events.” You want to give people a little bit of flavor of where you want to work so they can start thinking of people they know, “I know somebody at so-and-so and I know somebody here and I know somebody there you should talk to.”
Find some reason, piece of news or hook with which to open your communication. For example, you could say “I see so-and-so is no longer there. Hope everything is working out for you. I'd love to come by and just get your feedback on my resume, as I'm looking. I’m not asking for a job, simply your feedback and guidance.”
People like it when you're not asking them for job; it makes them feel free and you’re not putting them on the spot. Obviously, it would be great if you got a job, but that's not the reason you want to make connection. You want to reconnect in order to get feedback on the resume that you have now. And you want to talk a little bit about ideas you have about branching out and expanding, and to talk about the skills that you want to use. Part of what you want to do with these people is remind them what you can do so they’ll feel comfortable referring you on to other people.
Go after both food service and non-profit. If you don't know exactly what your “right fit job” is, go after everything. The right fit will come to you.
In other words, do everything. Leave no stone unturned. I know that the more actions you take, the quicker you get to where you want to be.
Now his task is to get his information in front of the right people. He wants something very specific, and there simply are not many job postings for his specialty (university food service operations). In other words, it's time for NETWORKING! Here's some of what I recommended:
There is what I just heard called "the retail approach to job search." In this approach, you are looking for a fluke opportunity. Identify companies for which you want to work. Find the name of someone fairly high in the company, preferably someone in an operations slot. While HR can be helpful, it's not my recommended first stop. If an operations leader wants to hire someone, HR will make it happen. If HR wants someone hired, it could happen but it probably won't be a very happy supervisory relationship - unless HR is an amazingly loved entity (rare indeed!).
Then draft a letter and introduce yourself to that person. Follow up with an e-mail or call to say “I hope you got my materials” and keep periodically following up, because those positions are fluke positions. The point is to be somewhat known if and when a specific job opens up. Of course, it's MUCH better if you can say "so and so suggested I introduce myself to you." The person may be predisposed to talk to you.
Thus, that's the second thing to identify: who do you know, who do you remember. For example, you started thinking about your old boss. What about past vendors? Food donors from City Harvest food donors. Other old bosses? Those are the people to whom you say, “I’d appreciate your advice and guidance in my job-search. Where could I go, what kind of jobs do you think would be good for me?”
You're not asking them for a job, you're asking them for advice and guidance. That’s easy for someone to give; who doesn't want to give advice?
Put together your natural network. Who are the people you know who would help you immediately? Identify the easy ones first. Then you make concentric rings outward, with the next group being people who might be a little more difficult to reach out, who require a little more courage and preparation. Write them an e-mail that says “I'm writing to you to ask for your advice and guidance in my job-search. I’m looking for blah, blah, blah. I'm hoping you can give me 20 minutes of your time. I'll come to you.” Go to them if at all possible, because in person is better. And then you must say “if I don't hear back from you, I will call you in a couple days to set something up.”
It's very rare for people not to respond, so if they don't get back to you, they’re probably on vacation or very busy. Simply e-mail them again.
The third thing you can do is ask people at the big food service companies for an informational interview. You say “I want to branch out of the side of the food service business that I've been in and learn more about what they do.” They may not be hiring. You'll get into their presence & consciousness, though, and you'll be ‘top of mind’ when/if a job comes up.
Very important: reach out to the muckety-mucks. I can tell you that the bigger they are, the more likely they are to help somebody who has the chutzpah to get in touch with them. I always helped people who got in touch with me, simply because they did. It was impressive. Plus the bigger people are, the more one's ego likes to hear “I'd like your advice and guidance.”
Talking to a lot of people will help you narrow down what you want to do. Part of the process of networking is gathering more information. You have some ideas but you don't know enough yet to narrow it your intention very specifically. You know what skills you want to use which is good.
Because your basic question is "Where can I use these skills?," you will benefit from informational interviews with people who can help you direct those skills. “I'm looking for an opportunity where I can use XYZ skills in an environment where they are growing, that's entrepreneurial. I am very interested in contract food service, catering, special events.” You want to give people a little bit of flavor of where you want to work so they can start thinking of people they know, “I know somebody at so-and-so and I know somebody here and I know somebody there you should talk to.”
Find some reason, piece of news or hook with which to open your communication. For example, you could say “I see so-and-so is no longer there. Hope everything is working out for you. I'd love to come by and just get your feedback on my resume, as I'm looking. I’m not asking for a job, simply your feedback and guidance.”
People like it when you're not asking them for job; it makes them feel free and you’re not putting them on the spot. Obviously, it would be great if you got a job, but that's not the reason you want to make connection. You want to reconnect in order to get feedback on the resume that you have now. And you want to talk a little bit about ideas you have about branching out and expanding, and to talk about the skills that you want to use. Part of what you want to do with these people is remind them what you can do so they’ll feel comfortable referring you on to other people.
Go after both food service and non-profit. If you don't know exactly what your “right fit job” is, go after everything. The right fit will come to you.
In other words, do everything. Leave no stone unturned. I know that the more actions you take, the quicker you get to where you want to be.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Career Change at the Movies
Linsey Levine, MS is a fabulous CareerCounsel[or] who posted this great article from another Career Coach, Meg Montford. I'll be going to the movie VERY soon (especially since I'm known as Julie and Julia). I love the article because it provides some guidance for identifying what you love to do and then pursuing it.
I saw "Julie and Julia" yesterday and agree with this article by Career Coach and colleague, Meg Montford.
Career Coach Chatter
"Julie & Julia" - A Script for Career Transition
August 10, 2009
"Julie & Julia" appealed to me on many different levels: I love to cook, I love Julia Child's personality, but as a Career Coach, I most love the process of career transition demonstrated in the movie. Seeking a purpose to her life as she felt stuck in a mundane job, modern day Julie set a goal to cook her way through Julia's French cookbook in a year - and blogging about it every step of the way. Her blog took on a life of its own (as blogs can do) and propelled her to job offers from media and publishers. Voila! No more mundane job - hello new career!
Responding to the question every Career Coach asks a hopeful career changer, "What do you really like to do?", Julie Child tells her husband, "Eat!" In a parallel universe we watch Julia Child engineer her own career transition from stay-at-home wife of a diplomat to a professional French chef student that leads to teaching and then to writing her renowned cookbook - half a century ago. With determination and commitment to the process, she keeps pursuing her cookbook dream despite publishers' rejections. She networks (as does Julie) with people who can help her.
The first ingredient required to start any career change process is self-motivation. Julie and Julia did not quit, despite the many obstacles thrown into their way: spouse relocation, unsuccessful cooking attempts, negative comments from others. Instead, they stay focused on their goals, fearlessly trying new things and thriving with the support of those who truly cared.
What really grabbed my attention in the movie was how powerful the blog became as a vehicle for skyrocketing Julie's career transition. Many times a week I discuss blogging with my career coaching clients. Want to get a new job? Start a new career? Then get known on the Internet! That's the first place hiring managers and recruiters look today to learn more about you before scheduling any job interview.
If you don't have a presence on the Internet, you are at a disadvantage - almost as much as if you have a negative presence on the Web. Blogs get indexed quickly so Internet surfers can find them soon after you post. Blog about your career passions spotlighting your knowledge. But if blogging just isn't for you, at least create a professional profile on LinkedIn, the most popular online hot spot for career changers and employers alike.
"Julie & Julia" is a movie everyone who desires a career change must see. Besides its obvious appeal that showcases Meryl Streep's character acting, this movie provides a blueprint for orchestrating your own career change. Watch, listen and enjoy. And take away all its tips to help YOU find the career you really can enjoy.
Bon appetit! (Change your career with confidence!)
Meg Montford
Purpose is the reason you are here on the planet. It's not how you're going to fulfill your purpose - that comes later.
I suggest you write what you think is your purpose using as many words as come out. Then pare down, pare down, pare down to the pith of "I am here on this planet to ..." Aim for fewer than 20 words, preferably 15. It means making choices and understanding what each word means to you very deeply.
I saw "Julie and Julia" yesterday and agree with this article by Career Coach and colleague, Meg Montford.
Career Coach Chatter
"Julie & Julia" - A Script for Career Transition
August 10, 2009
"Julie & Julia" appealed to me on many different levels: I love to cook, I love Julia Child's personality, but as a Career Coach, I most love the process of career transition demonstrated in the movie. Seeking a purpose to her life as she felt stuck in a mundane job, modern day Julie set a goal to cook her way through Julia's French cookbook in a year - and blogging about it every step of the way. Her blog took on a life of its own (as blogs can do) and propelled her to job offers from media and publishers. Voila! No more mundane job - hello new career!
Responding to the question every Career Coach asks a hopeful career changer, "What do you really like to do?", Julie Child tells her husband, "Eat!" In a parallel universe we watch Julia Child engineer her own career transition from stay-at-home wife of a diplomat to a professional French chef student that leads to teaching and then to writing her renowned cookbook - half a century ago. With determination and commitment to the process, she keeps pursuing her cookbook dream despite publishers' rejections. She networks (as does Julie) with people who can help her.
The first ingredient required to start any career change process is self-motivation. Julie and Julia did not quit, despite the many obstacles thrown into their way: spouse relocation, unsuccessful cooking attempts, negative comments from others. Instead, they stay focused on their goals, fearlessly trying new things and thriving with the support of those who truly cared.
What really grabbed my attention in the movie was how powerful the blog became as a vehicle for skyrocketing Julie's career transition. Many times a week I discuss blogging with my career coaching clients. Want to get a new job? Start a new career? Then get known on the Internet! That's the first place hiring managers and recruiters look today to learn more about you before scheduling any job interview.
If you don't have a presence on the Internet, you are at a disadvantage - almost as much as if you have a negative presence on the Web. Blogs get indexed quickly so Internet surfers can find them soon after you post. Blog about your career passions spotlighting your knowledge. But if blogging just isn't for you, at least create a professional profile on LinkedIn, the most popular online hot spot for career changers and employers alike.
"Julie & Julia" is a movie everyone who desires a career change must see. Besides its obvious appeal that showcases Meryl Streep's character acting, this movie provides a blueprint for orchestrating your own career change. Watch, listen and enjoy. And take away all its tips to help YOU find the career you really can enjoy.
Bon appetit! (Change your career with confidence!)
Meg Montford
Purpose is the reason you are here on the planet. It's not how you're going to fulfill your purpose - that comes later.
I suggest you write what you think is your purpose using as many words as come out. Then pare down, pare down, pare down to the pith of "I am here on this planet to ..." Aim for fewer than 20 words, preferably 15. It means making choices and understanding what each word means to you very deeply.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Resumes That Work
Columnist Deborah Wheatman lists Four Reasons You Aren't Getting the Interview and one of them is a boring resume.
Here are some ideas for making your resume an effective marketing document - marketing YOU and your abilities to a prospective employer.
Your resume is a marketing document. Its job is to position you to get your "right fit" work. Thus, its content is crucial. It must convey to potential employers exactly what you have to offer them, as well as the results you are likely to produce for them based on your past record of accomplishments. Here's how to do that.
PROFILE
To begin, I advocate putting a profile at the very start of the resume, just under your name and contact information. A profile is not an objective (of course you want a job), nor is it a litany of your skills (boring!). A profile is a succinct description of who you are in the workplace.
Your profile presents your unique value proposition – what you love to do and are good at doing, the skills you want to use in the future, and the attributes you want to highlight. Your profile also will capture your personality through a judicious use of adjectives. In sum, your profile conveys the substance and flavor of who you are in the workplace.
In some ways, the process of creating the profile is more important than the final product. Developing it gives you the chance to think carefully about your "unique value proposition." In fact, the reader will usually catch the first five or six words of the profile and then move on to Experience. They might come back to it but even if they don't, the profile will make an impression. It says that you've thought about and know who you are.
Everything you say in your profile must be backed up by your accomplishments, which are listed under each employer and job. Essentially, the profile is the thesis that you then go on to prove with concrete examples. It also is useful as a way to ensure that your resume is internally consistent in terms of the message you intend to convey.
BODY OF RESUME
The first thing read by a prospective employer is the name of the company for which you worked. Then they usually will glance at the title and years worked - some will read title first while others read years worked first.
Here's the order of information that I recommend for the basic information:
* Employer's name first, in bold, followed by its location, not in bold. Use the city in which employer is/was located. Only include the state if the city is not immediately recognizable e.g. Wareham, MA, or is easily confused with something else, e.g. Springfield, MO vs. Springfield, IL vs. Springfield, MA. Otherwise, New York or Boston or Chicago or Los Angeles is sufficient.
* Dates of employment, not in bold, on the same text line as the employer's name and location. The dates should be tabbed over so they are on the far right of the page, preferably lined up with the right side of your address block.
If you worked at the company in more than one position, put the complete block of time over the far right. Next to each position title you can put in parentheses the dates you held that position. For example, Vice President, Sales (3/02 to 7/05).
Job titles can either be grouped together if your job responsibilities were substantially the same with the most recent encompassing the previous responsibilities plus more. If the jobs were substantially different, I treat each one as a separate job under the same employer.
* Title of your position, in bold and italics, directly underneath the employer name and location.
My experience is that most readers go through the entire resume once just glancing at employer, years and title. If all seems to be complete and consistent, then they glance at education to see if you have any degrees. So make sure you have no huge holes in time, and no major typos!
Only after that first quick read will they go back to look at individual jobs, starting with your most recent one first. After rereading your employer's name and title, usually readers will move to the body of the entry. Here's what it should contain:
* a brief paragraph describing your job
* bullet points that highlight your accomplishments
JOB DESCRIPTION
In a four to six line paragraph that starts on the line directly underneath the title of your position, briefly describe the company you work for and your job responsibilities. Say "Led all communications and marketing efforts for Fortune 1000 technology firm (STOCK SYMBOL)" or "Oversaw day to day operations for 45 year old non-profit teaching literacy to adult New Yorkers" or "Managed entire recruiting and on-boarding process for 300 person homeless services agency."
Use as many numbers as possible to give readers a good idea of the scope and depth of your responsibilities. For example, say "oversaw $3.5 million advertising budget" or "supervised team of 12, with four direct reports."
Readers' eyes are drawn first to numbers, then to CAPS, then to bold. Italics are rarely an eye-catcher, so use them only to indicate the title of an article or project, not for anything substantive.
BULLETS
Bullets are for accomplishments. I recommend limiting yourself to 5-7 bullets for your most recent job, 4-5 for your next most recent, maximum 2 for the next most recent and none for the oldest ones. Quantifying these bullets is important. Those are the things that will get you the interview. The interview allows you to fill in more detail and also to talk about accomplishments that weren't listed.
Here are my tips for great accomplishment bullets:
* Lead with the results and impact of your work, when writing accomplishments. Use active, directionally positive words like "increased," "improved," "advanced," "optimized," "enhanced" and "expanded."
* Use numbers as much as possible, especially with dollar signs and percentage signs; they are real eye-catchers and speak to many employers' focus on the bottom line.
* Split the accomplishment into "what" and "how": the impact or result, and how you achieved that result. For example, "Increased revenue year over year by 80%, through redeploying sales team."
* Ask “so what” to get to the impact of whatever activity you want to include. If you want to include it, it’s probably important but only if you can somehow tie it to an impact that is somehow measurable – as in “increased” and “improved” and “enhanced” and “expanded” – or gives clear evidence of major responsibility, as in “directed,” “led,” “managed,” “launched,” and “created.”
* Brevity is best. Limit each bullet to one, maximum two lines.
* Give leading information to cause the reader to ask a follow up question. Remember, the point of a resume is to get you an interview. The interview is where the reader can ask you to explain how you redeployed the sales team and why that resulted in 80% revenue increase.
* Only include things you really want to do again – similar or greater scope of responsibility, the type of work or project, specific skills you really want to use again, or attributes you want people to notice.
Here are some ideas for making your resume an effective marketing document - marketing YOU and your abilities to a prospective employer.
Your resume is a marketing document. Its job is to position you to get your "right fit" work. Thus, its content is crucial. It must convey to potential employers exactly what you have to offer them, as well as the results you are likely to produce for them based on your past record of accomplishments. Here's how to do that.
PROFILE
To begin, I advocate putting a profile at the very start of the resume, just under your name and contact information. A profile is not an objective (of course you want a job), nor is it a litany of your skills (boring!). A profile is a succinct description of who you are in the workplace.
Your profile presents your unique value proposition – what you love to do and are good at doing, the skills you want to use in the future, and the attributes you want to highlight. Your profile also will capture your personality through a judicious use of adjectives. In sum, your profile conveys the substance and flavor of who you are in the workplace.
In some ways, the process of creating the profile is more important than the final product. Developing it gives you the chance to think carefully about your "unique value proposition." In fact, the reader will usually catch the first five or six words of the profile and then move on to Experience. They might come back to it but even if they don't, the profile will make an impression. It says that you've thought about and know who you are.
Everything you say in your profile must be backed up by your accomplishments, which are listed under each employer and job. Essentially, the profile is the thesis that you then go on to prove with concrete examples. It also is useful as a way to ensure that your resume is internally consistent in terms of the message you intend to convey.
BODY OF RESUME
The first thing read by a prospective employer is the name of the company for which you worked. Then they usually will glance at the title and years worked - some will read title first while others read years worked first.
Here's the order of information that I recommend for the basic information:
* Employer's name first, in bold, followed by its location, not in bold. Use the city in which employer is/was located. Only include the state if the city is not immediately recognizable e.g. Wareham, MA, or is easily confused with something else, e.g. Springfield, MO vs. Springfield, IL vs. Springfield, MA. Otherwise, New York or Boston or Chicago or Los Angeles is sufficient.
* Dates of employment, not in bold, on the same text line as the employer's name and location. The dates should be tabbed over so they are on the far right of the page, preferably lined up with the right side of your address block.
If you worked at the company in more than one position, put the complete block of time over the far right. Next to each position title you can put in parentheses the dates you held that position. For example, Vice President, Sales (3/02 to 7/05).
Job titles can either be grouped together if your job responsibilities were substantially the same with the most recent encompassing the previous responsibilities plus more. If the jobs were substantially different, I treat each one as a separate job under the same employer.
* Title of your position, in bold and italics, directly underneath the employer name and location.
My experience is that most readers go through the entire resume once just glancing at employer, years and title. If all seems to be complete and consistent, then they glance at education to see if you have any degrees. So make sure you have no huge holes in time, and no major typos!
Only after that first quick read will they go back to look at individual jobs, starting with your most recent one first. After rereading your employer's name and title, usually readers will move to the body of the entry. Here's what it should contain:
* a brief paragraph describing your job
* bullet points that highlight your accomplishments
JOB DESCRIPTION
In a four to six line paragraph that starts on the line directly underneath the title of your position, briefly describe the company you work for and your job responsibilities. Say "Led all communications and marketing efforts for Fortune 1000 technology firm (STOCK SYMBOL)" or "Oversaw day to day operations for 45 year old non-profit teaching literacy to adult New Yorkers" or "Managed entire recruiting and on-boarding process for 300 person homeless services agency."
Use as many numbers as possible to give readers a good idea of the scope and depth of your responsibilities. For example, say "oversaw $3.5 million advertising budget" or "supervised team of 12, with four direct reports."
Readers' eyes are drawn first to numbers, then to CAPS, then to bold. Italics are rarely an eye-catcher, so use them only to indicate the title of an article or project, not for anything substantive.
BULLETS
Bullets are for accomplishments. I recommend limiting yourself to 5-7 bullets for your most recent job, 4-5 for your next most recent, maximum 2 for the next most recent and none for the oldest ones. Quantifying these bullets is important. Those are the things that will get you the interview. The interview allows you to fill in more detail and also to talk about accomplishments that weren't listed.
Here are my tips for great accomplishment bullets:
* Lead with the results and impact of your work, when writing accomplishments. Use active, directionally positive words like "increased," "improved," "advanced," "optimized," "enhanced" and "expanded."
* Use numbers as much as possible, especially with dollar signs and percentage signs; they are real eye-catchers and speak to many employers' focus on the bottom line.
* Split the accomplishment into "what" and "how": the impact or result, and how you achieved that result. For example, "Increased revenue year over year by 80%, through redeploying sales team."
* Ask “so what” to get to the impact of whatever activity you want to include. If you want to include it, it’s probably important but only if you can somehow tie it to an impact that is somehow measurable – as in “increased” and “improved” and “enhanced” and “expanded” – or gives clear evidence of major responsibility, as in “directed,” “led,” “managed,” “launched,” and “created.”
* Brevity is best. Limit each bullet to one, maximum two lines.
* Give leading information to cause the reader to ask a follow up question. Remember, the point of a resume is to get you an interview. The interview is where the reader can ask you to explain how you redeployed the sales team and why that resulted in 80% revenue increase.
* Only include things you really want to do again – similar or greater scope of responsibility, the type of work or project, specific skills you really want to use again, or attributes you want people to notice.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
"Staying positive."
Tweeters, bloggers and columnists are united in emphasizing how important it is for people to develop and maintain a positive attitude during a job search. In fact, the consensus is that you'll be more successful in your job search if you can stay positive.
My gang asks "how do I stay positive?" Several are depressed, and all feel at one point or another that this process of finding a new job is frustrating and seemingly endless. It's really hard to have hope, and to just keep going.
We came up with some really practical suggestions for staying positive.
* Accept that it helps to be positive and to have hope. It's like that experiment where you frown and see how you feel, then smile and see how you feel. It's impossible to really smile and NOT feel happier. So choosing to look at the positive is a huge step.
* Vent your frustration and anger and fear and all your emotions. It's normal to feel all those things. By expressing those feelings, you expel them from your body and take away their power. Your feelings no longer are pushing you around without your consent. And you've rid your body and soul of those toxic sentiments, that will grow stronger and become corrosive to your spirit if they are shoved down and left to fester. When your feelings are expressed and outside of you, you can either cast them away as no longer relevant or you can work with them. By working with them I mean seeing if the feelings indicate that perhaps you need to take a new or different action.
* Take a variety of actions. For me and for many job seekers, having many irons in the fire is a fantastic stress reliever and anxiety reducer. Work on putting together a great resume at the same time you're checking the job boards for openings. Create a list of people with whom you can network and prioritize them, while you're drafting cover letters that market you. Set up and go on networking meetings while you are applying for jobs. Create a great LinkedIn profile. Edit your resume based on new information. Look into consulting work while you are waiting to find the right jobs for you. Go to networking events. Take a walk. Grab your laptop and go to a local cafe that has WiFi so you can check e-mail or go on Twitter.
* Get out of your home! Isolation is the danger of being out of work. It is very seductive to turn on the television or sit at your computer all day. And that is usually what leads to depression. I know folks go to Starbucks and local coffee places at regular times, simply to have a routine. It happens that they then meet people in a similar situation, and networking happens naturally. One man I met is a writer who inspired me to really get into my blogging - in part because he overheard me helping others with their job searches. Because of him, I'm following my passion. The point is to stay part of the world. Seeing other people during the day helps one keep a positive attitude, which helps one persevere - and a job search is all about perseverance.
* Allow yourself to do things you really love to do. While it's "a full-time job to look for work," it's also a rare opportunity to spend time pursuing a dream or exploring things that you thought might interest you but never had time to do. Allowing yourself to do some fun things does two things: 1) you have fun, which is always a good thing for staying positive; and 2) you may actually find that you could turn your hobby or passion into paid employment. One woman I know is now running writing workshops, after being laid off from a senior management consulting firm. She loves writing and decided to help others write, while making a little money. It's a start of something that could grow bigger - or not. The point is she's using her skills and following her passion while she searches for a job.
* Find a confidant. This is someone who can help you reframe things, keep things in perspective, and help you think through your process and any hard decisions. For many people, this is a career coach. For others, it might be a really good friend. The goal is to find someone who is willing to listen to your process and your venting, able to ask questions to help you establish your own priorities, and trustworthy enough to challenge your negativity.
* Be kind to yourself. Some days are just hard. That's OK. Tomorrow you'll feel different. Most of us are able to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start all over again (yes, you can break into song now). Sometimes, all we need is a little break from the grind of looking for a job. That's good, normal, healthy to give ourselves. It's nothing to be afraid of. The danger comes if you find yourself unable to get out of bed or make those phone calls or send those e-mails, no matter how hard you try. Those are signs of depression, and there are great treatments for depression. Doctors and psychiatrists are the people who can help you with those.
* Read about other people's experiences as well as positive blogs, columns and tweets about job search. Reading can give you great ideas about what you can do, provide some perspective about what job search is like and what to expect, and get you outside your own head. It is a way to reduce isolation as well as to gain inspiration for taking that next step that WILL lead you to your next job.
* Trust that you will find a job. Because you will. The guy who wrote that great book What Color Is Your Parachute? (buy it!) says job search is like this: "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO....(on and on for a whole page of NO)...YES." Eventually, you will find the right job for you. And it probably won't be what you expected. You might have to make some major shifts along the way in terms of what you'll accept, how you live, what you want. No matter what, though, you will get a job as long as you keep going, taking the next step.
My gang asks "how do I stay positive?" Several are depressed, and all feel at one point or another that this process of finding a new job is frustrating and seemingly endless. It's really hard to have hope, and to just keep going.
We came up with some really practical suggestions for staying positive.
* Accept that it helps to be positive and to have hope. It's like that experiment where you frown and see how you feel, then smile and see how you feel. It's impossible to really smile and NOT feel happier. So choosing to look at the positive is a huge step.
* Vent your frustration and anger and fear and all your emotions. It's normal to feel all those things. By expressing those feelings, you expel them from your body and take away their power. Your feelings no longer are pushing you around without your consent. And you've rid your body and soul of those toxic sentiments, that will grow stronger and become corrosive to your spirit if they are shoved down and left to fester. When your feelings are expressed and outside of you, you can either cast them away as no longer relevant or you can work with them. By working with them I mean seeing if the feelings indicate that perhaps you need to take a new or different action.
* Take a variety of actions. For me and for many job seekers, having many irons in the fire is a fantastic stress reliever and anxiety reducer. Work on putting together a great resume at the same time you're checking the job boards for openings. Create a list of people with whom you can network and prioritize them, while you're drafting cover letters that market you. Set up and go on networking meetings while you are applying for jobs. Create a great LinkedIn profile. Edit your resume based on new information. Look into consulting work while you are waiting to find the right jobs for you. Go to networking events. Take a walk. Grab your laptop and go to a local cafe that has WiFi so you can check e-mail or go on Twitter.
* Get out of your home! Isolation is the danger of being out of work. It is very seductive to turn on the television or sit at your computer all day. And that is usually what leads to depression. I know folks go to Starbucks and local coffee places at regular times, simply to have a routine. It happens that they then meet people in a similar situation, and networking happens naturally. One man I met is a writer who inspired me to really get into my blogging - in part because he overheard me helping others with their job searches. Because of him, I'm following my passion. The point is to stay part of the world. Seeing other people during the day helps one keep a positive attitude, which helps one persevere - and a job search is all about perseverance.
* Allow yourself to do things you really love to do. While it's "a full-time job to look for work," it's also a rare opportunity to spend time pursuing a dream or exploring things that you thought might interest you but never had time to do. Allowing yourself to do some fun things does two things: 1) you have fun, which is always a good thing for staying positive; and 2) you may actually find that you could turn your hobby or passion into paid employment. One woman I know is now running writing workshops, after being laid off from a senior management consulting firm. She loves writing and decided to help others write, while making a little money. It's a start of something that could grow bigger - or not. The point is she's using her skills and following her passion while she searches for a job.
* Find a confidant. This is someone who can help you reframe things, keep things in perspective, and help you think through your process and any hard decisions. For many people, this is a career coach. For others, it might be a really good friend. The goal is to find someone who is willing to listen to your process and your venting, able to ask questions to help you establish your own priorities, and trustworthy enough to challenge your negativity.
* Be kind to yourself. Some days are just hard. That's OK. Tomorrow you'll feel different. Most of us are able to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start all over again (yes, you can break into song now). Sometimes, all we need is a little break from the grind of looking for a job. That's good, normal, healthy to give ourselves. It's nothing to be afraid of. The danger comes if you find yourself unable to get out of bed or make those phone calls or send those e-mails, no matter how hard you try. Those are signs of depression, and there are great treatments for depression. Doctors and psychiatrists are the people who can help you with those.
* Read about other people's experiences as well as positive blogs, columns and tweets about job search. Reading can give you great ideas about what you can do, provide some perspective about what job search is like and what to expect, and get you outside your own head. It is a way to reduce isolation as well as to gain inspiration for taking that next step that WILL lead you to your next job.
* Trust that you will find a job. Because you will. The guy who wrote that great book What Color Is Your Parachute? (buy it!) says job search is like this: "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO....(on and on for a whole page of NO)...YES." Eventually, you will find the right job for you. And it probably won't be what you expected. You might have to make some major shifts along the way in terms of what you'll accept, how you live, what you want. No matter what, though, you will get a job as long as you keep going, taking the next step.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
What Have You Been Doing to Keep Your Skills Current?
This question is apt to be asked when you've been out of work a few months. And that is the case for many people these days.
While it stinks to not have a job, what an amazing opportunity you have to learn some new things, get into the emerging trends and technology in your field, and build your network! Here are some ways you can keep up and expand your skills during your job search:
1) Use the vast resources of the internet and world-wide web.
Choose a search engine and plug in the name of your field or job or area of interest. Click on a website or news article. Read it. Follow links from that site to the next place. It's like blazing your own trail, following your interest to see what comes up. You may even discover a new area for your job search. Or you'll discover a person at a company you identified as of great interest, and now you have a potential point of contact via LinkedIn.
Look for news about companies and industries you have targeted in your job search. If you know people at those companies, send them e-mails or handwritten notes (preferable) letting them know you noticed them, or saw this article that might be of interest. It's a way to stay in touch and remind them that you are still out there.
2) Find a volunteer opportunity suited to your skills and interests.
There are traditional volunteer opportunities at non-profits, accessed through VolunteerMatch.com, New York Cares and similar Cares organizations in other cities, and by contacting the volunteer office at your charity of choice. Those opportunities may or may not be specifically in your skill area, and some charities are better able to use volunteers than others. Whatever you do, you will be keeping occupied, making connections with other volunteers and with the non-profit's staff, and making a real contribution to a cause. Substantive volunteer work can go on your resume.
Other more traditional volunteer opportunities include serving on your co-op board, organizing a block party, serving on a committee for your town or place of worship, tutoring a child, and serving on the benefit committee for a fundraising event.
More substantive volunteer assignments are available through the National Executive Service Corps and Taproot Foundation. Both treat you like a consultant, assigning you to a non-profit for a specific project and period of time. You apply and go through an interview process. This is akin to getting a job, and is very valuable resume experience.
3) Reach out in your network to help people with their work projects, pro bono.
This kind of work is great because you can get to know a new field and stretch your mind. It's consulting work, so you can put it on your resume as experience.
I did several research projects while I was in limbo after my last full-time job, where I compiled, condensed and wrote reports on topic ranging from re-engaging out-of-school youth in education and workforce development to terrorist incidents in Arab countries.
There are other things you can do more suited to your experience and background - building a friend's website, writing copy for a local event, helping a friend get her artwork into galleries. One man I know offered to volunteer at a conference he wanted to attend but couldn't afford; by handling registration and guiding people throughout the conference, he was able to attend many sessions and to make valuable connections that he is leveraging now for a potential business start-up.
4) Use social media.
Blogging is a great way to keep up with your field. You can start your own blog and use it as a platform to explore issues related to your occupation and industry. Your blog also is the launching pad for going to other people's blogs in your field and commenting intelligently and pithily on their posts. That's the way to get your blog noticed and start to build a community in your field. Who knows what kind of job opportunities might come through that?
Twitter and LinkedIn are two main social media outlets that allow you to connect with people in your industry and field. For one thing, jobs are posted on both sites. Twitter has many job posters, job search groups, and job/career coaches and advisors. You can get lots of expert help with your job search. LinkedIn has job listings, some of which are exclusive to LinkedIn and its users. You can easily see whether you have 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree connections to people at companies that post jobs there.
It's easy to expand your network and knowledge through Twitter. Through Twitter's search function, you can find people who tweet on topics near to your heart and mind, follow them, and hopefully they will follow you back. By responding nicely or with humor to someone's tweets, you can build a nice casual relationship. Retweeting someone's tweets is a terrific way to build relationship, for retweets are a great mechanism for someone to get more followers. If I tweet something and you retweet it to all of your followers, some of them are likely to follow me, too. When you have nice relationships, all sorts of things become possible. I've met people for lunch, had Skype phone calls, raised money for a non-profit, become a Twitter Advice Project Career Expert, and generally created a wonderful "office water cooler" atmosphere.
5) Take classes on-line, at a local community or 4 year college, or adult learning program. Or teach.
There are many on-line sources of free classes and webinars, such as iVillage, Microsoft, HR.com, and probably sites in every field. Simply enter "free classes [field]" and something will pop up. Local colleges usually let you audit a class for a small fee. There also are many adult education classes that cover topics relevant to many professionals. Libraries often have seminars or workshops that are free.
Consider teaching a class in your community. It's definitely a way to keep your skills honed because you have to know more than your students. Even if you have only three or four people show up, that's enough of a group to make it worth your while to share what you know. The exercise of putting together a curriculum is great for focusing your mind. You can talk to your local library about putting something together for them; they often are looking for programming to offer the community.
While it stinks to not have a job, what an amazing opportunity you have to learn some new things, get into the emerging trends and technology in your field, and build your network! Here are some ways you can keep up and expand your skills during your job search:
1) Use the vast resources of the internet and world-wide web.
Choose a search engine and plug in the name of your field or job or area of interest. Click on a website or news article. Read it. Follow links from that site to the next place. It's like blazing your own trail, following your interest to see what comes up. You may even discover a new area for your job search. Or you'll discover a person at a company you identified as of great interest, and now you have a potential point of contact via LinkedIn.
Look for news about companies and industries you have targeted in your job search. If you know people at those companies, send them e-mails or handwritten notes (preferable) letting them know you noticed them, or saw this article that might be of interest. It's a way to stay in touch and remind them that you are still out there.
2) Find a volunteer opportunity suited to your skills and interests.
There are traditional volunteer opportunities at non-profits, accessed through VolunteerMatch.com, New York Cares and similar Cares organizations in other cities, and by contacting the volunteer office at your charity of choice. Those opportunities may or may not be specifically in your skill area, and some charities are better able to use volunteers than others. Whatever you do, you will be keeping occupied, making connections with other volunteers and with the non-profit's staff, and making a real contribution to a cause. Substantive volunteer work can go on your resume.
Other more traditional volunteer opportunities include serving on your co-op board, organizing a block party, serving on a committee for your town or place of worship, tutoring a child, and serving on the benefit committee for a fundraising event.
More substantive volunteer assignments are available through the National Executive Service Corps and Taproot Foundation. Both treat you like a consultant, assigning you to a non-profit for a specific project and period of time. You apply and go through an interview process. This is akin to getting a job, and is very valuable resume experience.
3) Reach out in your network to help people with their work projects, pro bono.
This kind of work is great because you can get to know a new field and stretch your mind. It's consulting work, so you can put it on your resume as experience.
I did several research projects while I was in limbo after my last full-time job, where I compiled, condensed and wrote reports on topic ranging from re-engaging out-of-school youth in education and workforce development to terrorist incidents in Arab countries.
There are other things you can do more suited to your experience and background - building a friend's website, writing copy for a local event, helping a friend get her artwork into galleries. One man I know offered to volunteer at a conference he wanted to attend but couldn't afford; by handling registration and guiding people throughout the conference, he was able to attend many sessions and to make valuable connections that he is leveraging now for a potential business start-up.
4) Use social media.
Blogging is a great way to keep up with your field. You can start your own blog and use it as a platform to explore issues related to your occupation and industry. Your blog also is the launching pad for going to other people's blogs in your field and commenting intelligently and pithily on their posts. That's the way to get your blog noticed and start to build a community in your field. Who knows what kind of job opportunities might come through that?
Twitter and LinkedIn are two main social media outlets that allow you to connect with people in your industry and field. For one thing, jobs are posted on both sites. Twitter has many job posters, job search groups, and job/career coaches and advisors. You can get lots of expert help with your job search. LinkedIn has job listings, some of which are exclusive to LinkedIn and its users. You can easily see whether you have 1st, 2nd or 3rd degree connections to people at companies that post jobs there.
It's easy to expand your network and knowledge through Twitter. Through Twitter's search function, you can find people who tweet on topics near to your heart and mind, follow them, and hopefully they will follow you back. By responding nicely or with humor to someone's tweets, you can build a nice casual relationship. Retweeting someone's tweets is a terrific way to build relationship, for retweets are a great mechanism for someone to get more followers. If I tweet something and you retweet it to all of your followers, some of them are likely to follow me, too. When you have nice relationships, all sorts of things become possible. I've met people for lunch, had Skype phone calls, raised money for a non-profit, become a Twitter Advice Project Career Expert, and generally created a wonderful "office water cooler" atmosphere.
5) Take classes on-line, at a local community or 4 year college, or adult learning program. Or teach.
There are many on-line sources of free classes and webinars, such as iVillage, Microsoft, HR.com, and probably sites in every field. Simply enter "free classes [field]" and something will pop up. Local colleges usually let you audit a class for a small fee. There also are many adult education classes that cover topics relevant to many professionals. Libraries often have seminars or workshops that are free.
Consider teaching a class in your community. It's definitely a way to keep your skills honed because you have to know more than your students. Even if you have only three or four people show up, that's enough of a group to make it worth your while to share what you know. The exercise of putting together a curriculum is great for focusing your mind. You can talk to your local library about putting something together for them; they often are looking for programming to offer the community.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Use August Wisely
Remember the old saying that "luck favors the prepared" August is the perfect time to prepare to land your "right fit" job!
Have your resume ready to go. While you're working on your resume, employers are finalizing job descriptions and postings that will start to appear right before and right after Labor Day. Many employers want to hire people right away to handle the expected heavy work load from late September to early December. If you're ready with your resume and cover letter, you'll be one of the first applicants to reach the employer.
It does help to be one of the first to cross the transom, especially in this economy. Employers are always looking for people who really want to work for their specific company, in their specific industry. Applying early in the search process indicates that you are motivated, even eager, to do this job.
Early application means that you stand a better chance of getting an interview if employers use a rolling search process - interviewing candidates until they get the right person. My experience is that very few employers actually wait to review resumes and start interviews until the advertised "final date for application." Thus, it's not to your advantage to wait until the very end of the process.
Prepare yourself to excel on interviews. Gather information. Use your computer and look up companies and fields that interest you. Become familiar with the field, its key players and its most recent trends, activities and achievements.
Seek out informational interviews with people in the companies and field you have targeted. This will get you connections as well as information. The reason you cite for wanting a meeting is to learn more about the field (company) and you know s/he is one of the best people to learn from. August is often a month where busy people have some time to give for informational interviews.
Here are some questions to ask:
* How did you get into this field?
* What keeps you interested in the field?
* What do you like best about your work?
* Where would you like to see the field (or your company) go in the future?
* What advice would you have for someone like me who wants to work in this field (at a company like this)?
* Is there anyone else you think I might benefit from talking to? If so, may I say you recommended that I contact them?
That's all I'll recommend now because the month fast approaches. Use it well and wisely!
Have your resume ready to go. While you're working on your resume, employers are finalizing job descriptions and postings that will start to appear right before and right after Labor Day. Many employers want to hire people right away to handle the expected heavy work load from late September to early December. If you're ready with your resume and cover letter, you'll be one of the first applicants to reach the employer.
It does help to be one of the first to cross the transom, especially in this economy. Employers are always looking for people who really want to work for their specific company, in their specific industry. Applying early in the search process indicates that you are motivated, even eager, to do this job.
Early application means that you stand a better chance of getting an interview if employers use a rolling search process - interviewing candidates until they get the right person. My experience is that very few employers actually wait to review resumes and start interviews until the advertised "final date for application." Thus, it's not to your advantage to wait until the very end of the process.
Prepare yourself to excel on interviews. Gather information. Use your computer and look up companies and fields that interest you. Become familiar with the field, its key players and its most recent trends, activities and achievements.
Seek out informational interviews with people in the companies and field you have targeted. This will get you connections as well as information. The reason you cite for wanting a meeting is to learn more about the field (company) and you know s/he is one of the best people to learn from. August is often a month where busy people have some time to give for informational interviews.
Here are some questions to ask:
* How did you get into this field?
* What keeps you interested in the field?
* What do you like best about your work?
* Where would you like to see the field (or your company) go in the future?
* What advice would you have for someone like me who wants to work in this field (at a company like this)?
* Is there anyone else you think I might benefit from talking to? If so, may I say you recommended that I contact them?
That's all I'll recommend now because the month fast approaches. Use it well and wisely!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Concrete Ideas for Reducing Fear of Failure and Rejection
For all of us afraid of "failing," I found this great article by Richard Fenton: Secrets for Turning Failure Into Success. It contains the most useful ideas I've seen on how to recast failure as an asset and a goal instead of something to be avoided. It's the change in attitude I was suggesting as necessary in yesterday's post.
This fits completely into my philosophy of using every experience as a learning opportunity and a chance to help other people. The more I "fail," the more I learn and the closer I am to my own goals. This is what I mean when I say "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing badly." I learn as I take action, and action moves me further along my path, leaving no chance for stagnation, entropy, stuck-ness.
Actually, I have come to believe that there are no mistakes or failures, there are only opportunities to learn and grow. My challenge is how to help others get to that place. Now this article gives me concrete, immediately usable ideas.
I'm going to try some of them, like "Set 'No' Goals" and "Intentionally Increase Your Failure Rate." Pretty radical reformulation of failure, isn't it?
I hope you'll consider reading this article and trying some of Fenton's ideas when you're feeling stuck in your job search and reluctant to risk any more rejection or disappointment. As Richard Nelson Bolles says in Chapter 2 of What Color is Your Parachute* (the granddaddy of all job search guides), a typical job hunt goes like this:
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO YES
In fact, rejection is a normal, natural and to-be-expected and welcomed part of job search. Yes, it's hard to accept that when you're in the middle of the search and have gotten yet another notification that you weren't selected to go on to the next phase or have received absolutely no response from your phone call or e-mail or application. Those "NO" responses are bringing you one step closer to your 'right fit' job or work.
Fenton suggests celebrating your failures. I'll add: Celebrate those rejections. Say "oh, good! One more NO and one step closer to my new job!" or "Thank goodness I got that NO - it means I'm actively out there, engaged in the search and on my path!"
Give it a try. What can you lose, except unhappiness?
* 1999 Edition, Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, CA
This fits completely into my philosophy of using every experience as a learning opportunity and a chance to help other people. The more I "fail," the more I learn and the closer I am to my own goals. This is what I mean when I say "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing badly." I learn as I take action, and action moves me further along my path, leaving no chance for stagnation, entropy, stuck-ness.
Actually, I have come to believe that there are no mistakes or failures, there are only opportunities to learn and grow. My challenge is how to help others get to that place. Now this article gives me concrete, immediately usable ideas.
I'm going to try some of them, like "Set 'No' Goals" and "Intentionally Increase Your Failure Rate." Pretty radical reformulation of failure, isn't it?
I hope you'll consider reading this article and trying some of Fenton's ideas when you're feeling stuck in your job search and reluctant to risk any more rejection or disappointment. As Richard Nelson Bolles says in Chapter 2 of What Color is Your Parachute* (the granddaddy of all job search guides), a typical job hunt goes like this:
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO YES
In fact, rejection is a normal, natural and to-be-expected and welcomed part of job search. Yes, it's hard to accept that when you're in the middle of the search and have gotten yet another notification that you weren't selected to go on to the next phase or have received absolutely no response from your phone call or e-mail or application. Those "NO" responses are bringing you one step closer to your 'right fit' job or work.
Fenton suggests celebrating your failures. I'll add: Celebrate those rejections. Say "oh, good! One more NO and one step closer to my new job!" or "Thank goodness I got that NO - it means I'm actively out there, engaged in the search and on my path!"
Give it a try. What can you lose, except unhappiness?
* 1999 Edition, Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, CA
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Radical Change
Today, a client expressed in the baldest terms what I have heard over the past two weeks from a number of people: "There is nothing positive going on." What's funny is that she HAS a job. Others are looking for one and think it will make them happy. She is evidence that this is not true. She's not happy because it's not the job she wants - even though she has not fully articulated what job she does want.
She was the most honest of everyone. Other folks are depressed and discouraged and feel like there's nothing else they can try. My responses are couched in terms like "let's try a different approach if what you're doing now isn't working." For example, one woman was reluctant to send "yet another e-mail" following up on a job, so I suggested sending a handwritten note. To another, I suggested "if you're getting nowhere submitting resumes, try identifying places you want to work and work on getting connected to and in front of someone in that company. That way, you'll be top of mind when a job does come up." Think differently so you have some hope. Be determined to have hope, and figure out a way to grasp it.
This client was different. She expressed a desire to make a radical change - to just abandon everything and take off somewhere. Some folks call that a geographical change, and the problem is that you take yourself wherever you go. The point is that things outside are never going to make you happy. Happiness is a choice.
Anyway, because she was so blunt, I decided to be equally blunt. Here's what I wrote:
Perhaps you do need to make a radical change. Consider some of the possible radical changes you could make, and weigh the options. Just a reminder: radical change can involve actions, attitudes and situations. Everything is a choice and I've found that I feel less "at the mercy of" when I actively make a choice instead of feeling like I'm powerless and just have to submit.
I hear a lot of powerlessness in your venting, and I'm hopeful that by venting, you release some of that powerlessness and see that you are making choices. Yes, your choices are limited by circumstance. And yes, that sucks.
So what are you going to do about it? Choose how you want to feel. Choose how you want to talk about your life. Choose how you're going to approach your circumstances. Choose the goal toward which you're working. That means to articulate it - what ARE you working toward? Financial independence is not enough. What is your PURPOSE for being here on earth? And how are you fulfilling it?
My work is geared toward helping people articulate what kind of work they really want to do, work that fits them extremely well, work that fulfills them, work that draws out of them their absolute best. The process of articulating this is the process of making choices. I observe happiness emerging out of this process, for it's a process of getting to know yourself very well and becoming your own friend - a friend who wants the very best for you.
I wonder if this makes sense to people. It may sound simplistic and "easy for YOU to say..." My experience is that if I even entertain the idea that I can choose how I respond to circumstances, I am on my way to feeling more powerful and better about myself and my life. If I even consider that how I respond to circumstances affects my mood and future attitude, then I am closer to wanting to DECIDE how I respond. When I respond with grumpiness, I stay grumpy - unless I'm just venting and am conscious that I am doing so in order to clear an emotional blockage. When I respond with acceptance and hope, then I feel hopeful and accepting.
I'll be continuing to work with my client to help her get to that point. It takes what it takes, and she continues to show up, which is awesome.
She was the most honest of everyone. Other folks are depressed and discouraged and feel like there's nothing else they can try. My responses are couched in terms like "let's try a different approach if what you're doing now isn't working." For example, one woman was reluctant to send "yet another e-mail" following up on a job, so I suggested sending a handwritten note. To another, I suggested "if you're getting nowhere submitting resumes, try identifying places you want to work and work on getting connected to and in front of someone in that company. That way, you'll be top of mind when a job does come up." Think differently so you have some hope. Be determined to have hope, and figure out a way to grasp it.
This client was different. She expressed a desire to make a radical change - to just abandon everything and take off somewhere. Some folks call that a geographical change, and the problem is that you take yourself wherever you go. The point is that things outside are never going to make you happy. Happiness is a choice.
Anyway, because she was so blunt, I decided to be equally blunt. Here's what I wrote:
Perhaps you do need to make a radical change. Consider some of the possible radical changes you could make, and weigh the options. Just a reminder: radical change can involve actions, attitudes and situations. Everything is a choice and I've found that I feel less "at the mercy of" when I actively make a choice instead of feeling like I'm powerless and just have to submit.
I hear a lot of powerlessness in your venting, and I'm hopeful that by venting, you release some of that powerlessness and see that you are making choices. Yes, your choices are limited by circumstance. And yes, that sucks.
So what are you going to do about it? Choose how you want to feel. Choose how you want to talk about your life. Choose how you're going to approach your circumstances. Choose the goal toward which you're working. That means to articulate it - what ARE you working toward? Financial independence is not enough. What is your PURPOSE for being here on earth? And how are you fulfilling it?
My work is geared toward helping people articulate what kind of work they really want to do, work that fits them extremely well, work that fulfills them, work that draws out of them their absolute best. The process of articulating this is the process of making choices. I observe happiness emerging out of this process, for it's a process of getting to know yourself very well and becoming your own friend - a friend who wants the very best for you.
I wonder if this makes sense to people. It may sound simplistic and "easy for YOU to say..." My experience is that if I even entertain the idea that I can choose how I respond to circumstances, I am on my way to feeling more powerful and better about myself and my life. If I even consider that how I respond to circumstances affects my mood and future attitude, then I am closer to wanting to DECIDE how I respond. When I respond with grumpiness, I stay grumpy - unless I'm just venting and am conscious that I am doing so in order to clear an emotional blockage. When I respond with acceptance and hope, then I feel hopeful and accepting.
I'll be continuing to work with my client to help her get to that point. It takes what it takes, and she continues to show up, which is awesome.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Feeling Stuck and Growing Hope
Yesterday was the day of "stuckness" for several people. The primary theme was "I've done everything I can think of and I STILL don't have a job." The secondary theme was "I'll never get a job." And the tertiary theme was "I don't know what else to do." (Aren't you impressed that I knew the word "tertiary?")
What they're really saying is "I've done everything I think is reasonable to do and I don't want to have to do anything else. I should already have a job and since I don't, I'm going on strike. This is too hard. I don't wanna have to try something else. I know it won't work anyway, so what's the point. And I don't think any of your suggestions will help. You don't know it will work either, so why bother."
Of course, they wouldn't have called me if they didn't want suggestions...so that is just despair talking and I refuse to give into anyone's despair - because it lies. There is always hope. And suggestions of something else to try give hope. Hope fuels action. Action gives us a feeling of power and self-esteem, so necessary to keep going.
For me, this provides a great opportunity to help them move from being stuck into taking a new type of action. And actually I succeeded with each of them - a credit to them and to the tools I've learned to use as a coach. This stuff really works!
First they simply wanted and needed to vent, to hear themselves speak out loud about their frustration and fear and despair. How difficult, depressing, and demoralizing the search is.
They were more open to suggestions once all that was expressed and validated. I said "Yes, it is difficult. Yes, you have done a lot. Yes, I can understand your frustration." Validating their feelings is really important to moving them into a new spot. Once they know it's OK to feel the way they feel, they no longer have to hold onto them so tightly and can let them go. This leaves room for new information and new hope. We have to wipe away some of the despair in order to make room for hope that their difficult journey will come to a positive end.
I then reassured them that they would get a great job. It will happen. I cite my own 2 year job search that ultimately landed me in the job of my dreams, and give them examples of other people's successful searches after long struggle. That's the first component of building up some hope.
Next we went back to the Must Have List that each of them put together, to look again at the things they said they must have to be happy in work. And we went back to some of the questions and answers from a questionnaire I developed called "The Puzzle Piece Called You" in which we uncovered the issues, values and activities that really energize and excite them. This reminded them of what they love and what excites them, and their energy level instantly rose.
From that basis, I suggested a few areas of inquiry and networking they hadn't yet tried. Of course, they all resisted and had reasons it wouldn't work - mainly that they "knew" it wouldn't work even without trying it. When I pointed that out, they all sheepishly admitted that they didn't know it wouldn't work, they just didn't want to do it. That's a different story!
I believe in the "leave no stone unturned" school of job search - as long as there is a new idea or task or area to explore and act on, I am not defeated. I am not done. There is hope, because there's something else to do. I don't know where it will lead, so let me take the action and see what happens.
* In one woman's case, we looked at her volunteer activities and I suggested that she look for work in those areas. She hadn't been willing to do that before - I'm not sure why but she was adamant about it. Now she's looking in that area - she sent me a job posting this morning.
* Another woman and I reviewed jobs for which she'd applied and narrowed down her areas of interest into three main categories. I suggested she target some organizations and companies in those fields and start making appointments for informational interviews. Maybe there are no jobs yet, but who knows when there will be? This way, she'll be a known quantity and stand a better chance of being interviewed.
* A third person was upset that a job interview process had been prolonged yet again, and despaired of ever getting to realize her dream of relocating. She used the phrase "defer my dream" which I jumped on as essentially hopeful. She can get work in her home town and continue working toward her dream. Her dream is not dead, it's simply deferred. As one of my Twitter Tweeps says, "there are no unrealistic dreams, there are only unrealistic time frames." And now she can focus a new round of action on getting work where she now lives.
* One woman doesn't know very many people in the city to which she relocated and felt at a loss to network in her field. She wondered if she should just abandon looking in her field. I suggested that perhaps her contacts in other cities will know people in her new hometown. Also, if she feels there's no future in her current field, perhaps she wants to explore new areas in which to work. She can look for volunteer opportunities to get experience in the new field, and see whether she likes it or not.
There were a few other people with whom I worked on exactly this topic. Maybe it's the fact that it's summer and a slow hiring season in the best of times. Maybe people don't see the market opening up as hoped. I only know that there is always something else to do.
You don't have to think of all the ideas yourself. This week, I realized how useful it is to have a coach - we're able to detach ourselves from the emotions, draw on the experiences of so many other people, and provide inspiration, ideas, perspective and hope to job seekers.
What they're really saying is "I've done everything I think is reasonable to do and I don't want to have to do anything else. I should already have a job and since I don't, I'm going on strike. This is too hard. I don't wanna have to try something else. I know it won't work anyway, so what's the point. And I don't think any of your suggestions will help. You don't know it will work either, so why bother."
Of course, they wouldn't have called me if they didn't want suggestions...so that is just despair talking and I refuse to give into anyone's despair - because it lies. There is always hope. And suggestions of something else to try give hope. Hope fuels action. Action gives us a feeling of power and self-esteem, so necessary to keep going.
For me, this provides a great opportunity to help them move from being stuck into taking a new type of action. And actually I succeeded with each of them - a credit to them and to the tools I've learned to use as a coach. This stuff really works!
First they simply wanted and needed to vent, to hear themselves speak out loud about their frustration and fear and despair. How difficult, depressing, and demoralizing the search is.
They were more open to suggestions once all that was expressed and validated. I said "Yes, it is difficult. Yes, you have done a lot. Yes, I can understand your frustration." Validating their feelings is really important to moving them into a new spot. Once they know it's OK to feel the way they feel, they no longer have to hold onto them so tightly and can let them go. This leaves room for new information and new hope. We have to wipe away some of the despair in order to make room for hope that their difficult journey will come to a positive end.
I then reassured them that they would get a great job. It will happen. I cite my own 2 year job search that ultimately landed me in the job of my dreams, and give them examples of other people's successful searches after long struggle. That's the first component of building up some hope.
Next we went back to the Must Have List that each of them put together, to look again at the things they said they must have to be happy in work. And we went back to some of the questions and answers from a questionnaire I developed called "The Puzzle Piece Called You" in which we uncovered the issues, values and activities that really energize and excite them. This reminded them of what they love and what excites them, and their energy level instantly rose.
From that basis, I suggested a few areas of inquiry and networking they hadn't yet tried. Of course, they all resisted and had reasons it wouldn't work - mainly that they "knew" it wouldn't work even without trying it. When I pointed that out, they all sheepishly admitted that they didn't know it wouldn't work, they just didn't want to do it. That's a different story!
I believe in the "leave no stone unturned" school of job search - as long as there is a new idea or task or area to explore and act on, I am not defeated. I am not done. There is hope, because there's something else to do. I don't know where it will lead, so let me take the action and see what happens.
* In one woman's case, we looked at her volunteer activities and I suggested that she look for work in those areas. She hadn't been willing to do that before - I'm not sure why but she was adamant about it. Now she's looking in that area - she sent me a job posting this morning.
* Another woman and I reviewed jobs for which she'd applied and narrowed down her areas of interest into three main categories. I suggested she target some organizations and companies in those fields and start making appointments for informational interviews. Maybe there are no jobs yet, but who knows when there will be? This way, she'll be a known quantity and stand a better chance of being interviewed.
* A third person was upset that a job interview process had been prolonged yet again, and despaired of ever getting to realize her dream of relocating. She used the phrase "defer my dream" which I jumped on as essentially hopeful. She can get work in her home town and continue working toward her dream. Her dream is not dead, it's simply deferred. As one of my Twitter Tweeps says, "there are no unrealistic dreams, there are only unrealistic time frames." And now she can focus a new round of action on getting work where she now lives.
* One woman doesn't know very many people in the city to which she relocated and felt at a loss to network in her field. She wondered if she should just abandon looking in her field. I suggested that perhaps her contacts in other cities will know people in her new hometown. Also, if she feels there's no future in her current field, perhaps she wants to explore new areas in which to work. She can look for volunteer opportunities to get experience in the new field, and see whether she likes it or not.
There were a few other people with whom I worked on exactly this topic. Maybe it's the fact that it's summer and a slow hiring season in the best of times. Maybe people don't see the market opening up as hoped. I only know that there is always something else to do.
You don't have to think of all the ideas yourself. This week, I realized how useful it is to have a coach - we're able to detach ourselves from the emotions, draw on the experiences of so many other people, and provide inspiration, ideas, perspective and hope to job seekers.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Research to Make Your Resume a Powerful Marketing Document
Once you've finalized your resume, start to get feedback on it. This is the "market research" portion of your job search to ensure that your resume effectively positions you to get interviews for jobs you really want.
Why do this research? Getting "market feedback" before finalizing your resume is a low-risk way to ensure you are presenting yourself effectively BEFORE you enter the job market. If you don't do this preliminary research, you will still get market feedback. Only that feedback will be in the form of not getting interviews for jobs you want, or not getting good referrals from people with whom you network.
Here's how to do this research:
STEP ONE: Create a "focus group"
Identify a few people you respect and with whom you've worked, who are somewhat objective - 4 to 5 is a manageable number. Preferably some of these people will be in your target field (aka "market"). These people will give you particularly relevant feedback because they know the structure of your field or industry and how people fit. If you have a specialized niche, find people in that niche.
It's also good to talk to one or two people who know very little about your field. They can give you a great sense of whether your resume generally communicates well.
STEP TWO: Test your resume with your focus group
Ask each "focus group" member to read your resume with this specific question in mind: "What kind of position do you think is appropriate for a person with this resume?" Follow up questions are "Where would you place someone with this resume?" and "When you read this resume, what kind of positions start to come to your mind?" and "Can you summarize the candidate presented in this resume? Type of role? Strengths? Abilities? Value-added?"
It's always wise to say you're not interested right now in word-smithing - just the specific feedback about how they see you based on the resume.
Although I call it a "focus group," don't try to assemble a group. First, it will be next-to-impossible to arrange. Second, you'll probably be more comfortable asking people one on one.
STEP THREE: Use the feedback to improve your resume's effectiveness.
Since the resume is a marketing document, it needs to market you to the kind of opportunities you want. If it doesn't, then you have work to do on reshaping the resume to better present you for the opportunities you've targeted.
Basically, ANY feedback they give you will be useful. If the feedback is that your resume positions you for exactly the jobs you want - terrific! You've created a great marketing document. If your group give you feedback that you don't like, that's great! You can use that information to fix your resume before you apply for jobs you really want.
So step back and detach yourself from your resume. Your resume is not YOU. It's only a piece of paper. View it as a communication piece. Is it communicating what you want to communicate? If not, then you get to change it.
Why do this research? Getting "market feedback" before finalizing your resume is a low-risk way to ensure you are presenting yourself effectively BEFORE you enter the job market. If you don't do this preliminary research, you will still get market feedback. Only that feedback will be in the form of not getting interviews for jobs you want, or not getting good referrals from people with whom you network.
Here's how to do this research:
STEP ONE: Create a "focus group"
Identify a few people you respect and with whom you've worked, who are somewhat objective - 4 to 5 is a manageable number. Preferably some of these people will be in your target field (aka "market"). These people will give you particularly relevant feedback because they know the structure of your field or industry and how people fit. If you have a specialized niche, find people in that niche.
It's also good to talk to one or two people who know very little about your field. They can give you a great sense of whether your resume generally communicates well.
STEP TWO: Test your resume with your focus group
Ask each "focus group" member to read your resume with this specific question in mind: "What kind of position do you think is appropriate for a person with this resume?" Follow up questions are "Where would you place someone with this resume?" and "When you read this resume, what kind of positions start to come to your mind?" and "Can you summarize the candidate presented in this resume? Type of role? Strengths? Abilities? Value-added?"
It's always wise to say you're not interested right now in word-smithing - just the specific feedback about how they see you based on the resume.
Although I call it a "focus group," don't try to assemble a group. First, it will be next-to-impossible to arrange. Second, you'll probably be more comfortable asking people one on one.
STEP THREE: Use the feedback to improve your resume's effectiveness.
Since the resume is a marketing document, it needs to market you to the kind of opportunities you want. If it doesn't, then you have work to do on reshaping the resume to better present you for the opportunities you've targeted.
Basically, ANY feedback they give you will be useful. If the feedback is that your resume positions you for exactly the jobs you want - terrific! You've created a great marketing document. If your group give you feedback that you don't like, that's great! You can use that information to fix your resume before you apply for jobs you really want.
So step back and detach yourself from your resume. Your resume is not YOU. It's only a piece of paper. View it as a communication piece. Is it communicating what you want to communicate? If not, then you get to change it.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Interviewing the Employer
I know you feel desperate. I know you think you have to get a job, any job. And I know you think getting a job will make you happy.
I simply want to remind you that the job has to be a good fit for you if you are to be successful in the long run. Here's the thing: it's hard work getting a job. And I'll bet you don't want to have to do the job search again any time soon. So why not structure your job search so you get a job you'll be happy in over a substantial period of time.
Interviewing the employer is the best strategy for you to ensure your own job satisfaction. Every encounter with a potential employer is a chance to learn something about the company, its culture and its values - as well as about the particular job for which you applied.
Pull out your must have list and generate a list of questions you can ask the interviewer that could get you information about the kind of company it is. Some questions you can ask in the first interview while others may have to wait until you're at a second or third interview.
For example, if you want to know if a company respects its employees, ask the interviewer how long he or she has been with the company and what keeps them there. You can also ask directly "what is the culture here?" If they seem not to understand the question, that's a bad sign: clearly, culture is not a concern and it's likely that employees are undervalued. If they can answer, then at least they talk about culture.
If you want to know whether the organization values employee work contributions, ask how this particular job will contribute to the overall goals of the organization. If the interviewer can't tie the job to a larger purpose, chances are employees aren't aware of how their work contributes to the whole and the higher-ups may not fully appreciate the value of every employee.
Think of what you would want to know if you were interviewing someone to work at your organization or company. Then ask the interviewers that question. It can come up in conversation, or you can ask it at an appropriate time. Questions show you are thoughtful, engaged, and interested in the job, the company, and your potential colleagues. They also show that you are not so desperate to get a job that you'll forgo any due diligence in your own behalf.
Any time is a good time to ask questions regarding the specific job. Ask what success will look like for the person in this job. It is a great question to get at the scope of position and the kind of impact you'll be expected to have. If you have a chance to talk with prospective colleagues or subordinates, one powerful question you can ask is what the interviewer expects a person in this position to deliver. You can learn a lot from asking that question.
Several years ago, I was up for a job in California that I thought I really wanted. When I asked the staff what they wanted from an Executive Director, they were shocked because no one had ever asked them such a question. I realized that the culture was probably not as mutually respectful as I initially thought, and my enthusiasm for the job cooled. I expressed some concern about moving across country, yet went on to a group interview with the full Board. That further demonstrated to me that the organization was pretty stratified and not very collegial. I made a presentation and had difficulty getting Board members to engage with me.
By then, it was clear that it wasn't the right fit for me, something reinforced by the too-low compensation figure they were considering. I was not surprised nor unhappy when they decided to go with someone local. In fact, it was a relief not to have to turn them down. The first sign of a poor fit, however, came after I asked staff what they wanted to see in an Executive Director.
Ask questions, pay attention to the answers, and trust that you will find your right fit job when you are clear about what you need to do your best work.
I simply want to remind you that the job has to be a good fit for you if you are to be successful in the long run. Here's the thing: it's hard work getting a job. And I'll bet you don't want to have to do the job search again any time soon. So why not structure your job search so you get a job you'll be happy in over a substantial period of time.
Interviewing the employer is the best strategy for you to ensure your own job satisfaction. Every encounter with a potential employer is a chance to learn something about the company, its culture and its values - as well as about the particular job for which you applied.
Pull out your must have list and generate a list of questions you can ask the interviewer that could get you information about the kind of company it is. Some questions you can ask in the first interview while others may have to wait until you're at a second or third interview.
For example, if you want to know if a company respects its employees, ask the interviewer how long he or she has been with the company and what keeps them there. You can also ask directly "what is the culture here?" If they seem not to understand the question, that's a bad sign: clearly, culture is not a concern and it's likely that employees are undervalued. If they can answer, then at least they talk about culture.
If you want to know whether the organization values employee work contributions, ask how this particular job will contribute to the overall goals of the organization. If the interviewer can't tie the job to a larger purpose, chances are employees aren't aware of how their work contributes to the whole and the higher-ups may not fully appreciate the value of every employee.
Think of what you would want to know if you were interviewing someone to work at your organization or company. Then ask the interviewers that question. It can come up in conversation, or you can ask it at an appropriate time. Questions show you are thoughtful, engaged, and interested in the job, the company, and your potential colleagues. They also show that you are not so desperate to get a job that you'll forgo any due diligence in your own behalf.
Any time is a good time to ask questions regarding the specific job. Ask what success will look like for the person in this job. It is a great question to get at the scope of position and the kind of impact you'll be expected to have. If you have a chance to talk with prospective colleagues or subordinates, one powerful question you can ask is what the interviewer expects a person in this position to deliver. You can learn a lot from asking that question.
Several years ago, I was up for a job in California that I thought I really wanted. When I asked the staff what they wanted from an Executive Director, they were shocked because no one had ever asked them such a question. I realized that the culture was probably not as mutually respectful as I initially thought, and my enthusiasm for the job cooled. I expressed some concern about moving across country, yet went on to a group interview with the full Board. That further demonstrated to me that the organization was pretty stratified and not very collegial. I made a presentation and had difficulty getting Board members to engage with me.
By then, it was clear that it wasn't the right fit for me, something reinforced by the too-low compensation figure they were considering. I was not surprised nor unhappy when they decided to go with someone local. In fact, it was a relief not to have to turn them down. The first sign of a poor fit, however, came after I asked staff what they wanted to see in an Executive Director.
Ask questions, pay attention to the answers, and trust that you will find your right fit job when you are clear about what you need to do your best work.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Market Research
In a successful job search, you are marketing yourself to the right audience. This presumes two things:
* you've identified the right audience or market - employers who have jobs that require your specific combination of skills and expertise
* you know yourself - the "product" - well enough to point out all your advantages and how you will solve the employer's (market's) problem.
In previous posts, I describe how you can get to know yourself, and how to target jobs that are the "right fit" for you. What happens once you have identified your "must have list" and some jobs that appeal to you? It's time to do some market testing. With feedback from others, you can revise your resume and cover letter to more accurately and effectively represent you.
Market testing in a job search occurs in several ways.
First, you'll create a resume that captures your "unique value proposition," the skills you want to use, and the work you want to do. This is your "marketing document" that instantly and accurately describes you - the "product" - to the employer or "consumer."
To find out if your resume does in fact accurately represent you, send it to a few people you trust to give you honest feedback. Ask them "what jobs do you think I can do based on this resume?" and "what message does this resume send about me?"
Example: One woman had "high integrity" in her profile. Feedback indicated this could be a double-edged sword, as some might infer that she felt superior to them or even that she thought many people didn't have integrity. Because she wants to communicate how much she values people, we took it out. Integrity is something she values greatly and so she will look for jobs where she is able to exercise her integrity. She doesn't need to hit people over the head with it, though.
Second, you'll begin to apply for jobs. Market feedback is pretty direct at this stage. Either you get contacted for interviews or you don't. If you don't, then it's time to revise your cover letter, resume or both.
Generally speaking, people don't get interviews when:
* their cover letter fails to make a compelling case for how their past accomplishments will help the employer meet their future goals. It is ESSENTIAL to describe specifically how your qualifications and experience directly match the employer's needs.
* their resume lacks measurable and directional accomplishments that indicate the impact they had on the business and employer. It is ESSENTIAL to tell potential employers what difference you made to your company and industry, how your activities yielded quantifiable or high-impact results.
Be ruthlessly honest with yourself. Ask yourself: "Would I hire this person based on their materials?" Ask those trusted people what they think. Do they think you made a good case for yourself? Did you present your strengths? Did you spell out acronyms and eliminate industry jargon? Or did you assume that people could read between the lines? The quick initial read most reviewers give a resume means that everything pertinent needs to be made explicit. There is no room for assumption and inference.
An axiom of communication is that if readers don't understand what I am trying to say, it is my responsibility. There is nothing wrong with the reader; there is something unclear, incomplete or muddy about what I have said. It's my job to be simple, direct, crystal clear in what I say. Dr. Seuss's Horton the Elephant said it best: "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant."
Third, you'll have some interviews. Interviews are perhaps the best market research mechanism. Click on the title of this post to go to an article about "Turning a Job Interview Into a Job Offer." I don't know if these tips will actually accomplish that in and of themselves, but they sure are great ideas for getting market feedback.
When you're being interviewed, you have a chance to see how someone responds to you, as well as to find out whether the job is as good a match as you thought it might be. Remember, an interview is the continuation of the conversation between you and the company that began when they published a job posting and you applied. Now is the chance for both parties to see whether in fact you and the job are the "right fit." There is a lot of information available in an interview.
For example, watch the interviewer's body language. People leaning into a table are engaged. People leaning back into their chairs are usually disengaged, possibly bored, possibly put off by you. You can reengage people by shifting how you respond to a question:
* Wrap it up if you've been talking for a while.
* Ask "have I answered your question?" or "Does that make sense?" or "I'm not sure I've answered your question?" or "Is there anything more you'd like to know about this topic?" People love it when you show you're paying attention to them.
* Ask the interviewer a question about the position or company that somehow relates to their prior question. "Your question makes me wonder about this aspect of the job. Could you describe that a little more?" or "I was curious as to how that job responsibility supports the company's goals. I have some idea, but could you describe how this job relates to the overall company goals?" People usually like talking about something they know, and you appear engaged and aware.
An interview does give you a great opportunity to fine tune your message and approach. It also is a chance to develop a relationship with the interviewer that could bear fruit in the future. If you don't get the job, you could go back to the person and ask what didn't work for them and how you might improve your approach or message.
Sometimes in an interview you can just sense it going south, and no matter what you do, you can't salvage it. In that case, you've gotten some valuable market information - that this place is NOT your "right fit" and probably it's not a cultural or personality fit. Remember that you are looking at the employer at the same time they are looking at you. So being rejected is probably a good thing in the long run, even if it doesn't feel great (and it never does!).
As the above article says, however, if you really do/did want the job, call the employer two or so months down the line to say you just wanted to check in, see if everything's going well with their new hire, and if there are any other opportunities. That's far easier if you've established some rapport in the interview, and are gracious afterward. Send a thank you note after the interview re-expressing your interest and thanking them for their time.
If you don't get the job and want to create a relationship, send a note after a rejection that reaffirms how interested you were in the position, thanking them for the chance to interview, wishing them and the company the best of luck, and hoping they'll keep you in mind if something opens up in the future.
* you've identified the right audience or market - employers who have jobs that require your specific combination of skills and expertise
* you know yourself - the "product" - well enough to point out all your advantages and how you will solve the employer's (market's) problem.
In previous posts, I describe how you can get to know yourself, and how to target jobs that are the "right fit" for you. What happens once you have identified your "must have list" and some jobs that appeal to you? It's time to do some market testing. With feedback from others, you can revise your resume and cover letter to more accurately and effectively represent you.
Market testing in a job search occurs in several ways.
First, you'll create a resume that captures your "unique value proposition," the skills you want to use, and the work you want to do. This is your "marketing document" that instantly and accurately describes you - the "product" - to the employer or "consumer."
To find out if your resume does in fact accurately represent you, send it to a few people you trust to give you honest feedback. Ask them "what jobs do you think I can do based on this resume?" and "what message does this resume send about me?"
Example: One woman had "high integrity" in her profile. Feedback indicated this could be a double-edged sword, as some might infer that she felt superior to them or even that she thought many people didn't have integrity. Because she wants to communicate how much she values people, we took it out. Integrity is something she values greatly and so she will look for jobs where she is able to exercise her integrity. She doesn't need to hit people over the head with it, though.
Second, you'll begin to apply for jobs. Market feedback is pretty direct at this stage. Either you get contacted for interviews or you don't. If you don't, then it's time to revise your cover letter, resume or both.
Generally speaking, people don't get interviews when:
* their cover letter fails to make a compelling case for how their past accomplishments will help the employer meet their future goals. It is ESSENTIAL to describe specifically how your qualifications and experience directly match the employer's needs.
* their resume lacks measurable and directional accomplishments that indicate the impact they had on the business and employer. It is ESSENTIAL to tell potential employers what difference you made to your company and industry, how your activities yielded quantifiable or high-impact results.
Be ruthlessly honest with yourself. Ask yourself: "Would I hire this person based on their materials?" Ask those trusted people what they think. Do they think you made a good case for yourself? Did you present your strengths? Did you spell out acronyms and eliminate industry jargon? Or did you assume that people could read between the lines? The quick initial read most reviewers give a resume means that everything pertinent needs to be made explicit. There is no room for assumption and inference.
An axiom of communication is that if readers don't understand what I am trying to say, it is my responsibility. There is nothing wrong with the reader; there is something unclear, incomplete or muddy about what I have said. It's my job to be simple, direct, crystal clear in what I say. Dr. Seuss's Horton the Elephant said it best: "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant."
Third, you'll have some interviews. Interviews are perhaps the best market research mechanism. Click on the title of this post to go to an article about "Turning a Job Interview Into a Job Offer." I don't know if these tips will actually accomplish that in and of themselves, but they sure are great ideas for getting market feedback.
When you're being interviewed, you have a chance to see how someone responds to you, as well as to find out whether the job is as good a match as you thought it might be. Remember, an interview is the continuation of the conversation between you and the company that began when they published a job posting and you applied. Now is the chance for both parties to see whether in fact you and the job are the "right fit." There is a lot of information available in an interview.
For example, watch the interviewer's body language. People leaning into a table are engaged. People leaning back into their chairs are usually disengaged, possibly bored, possibly put off by you. You can reengage people by shifting how you respond to a question:
* Wrap it up if you've been talking for a while.
* Ask "have I answered your question?" or "Does that make sense?" or "I'm not sure I've answered your question?" or "Is there anything more you'd like to know about this topic?" People love it when you show you're paying attention to them.
* Ask the interviewer a question about the position or company that somehow relates to their prior question. "Your question makes me wonder about this aspect of the job. Could you describe that a little more?" or "I was curious as to how that job responsibility supports the company's goals. I have some idea, but could you describe how this job relates to the overall company goals?" People usually like talking about something they know, and you appear engaged and aware.
An interview does give you a great opportunity to fine tune your message and approach. It also is a chance to develop a relationship with the interviewer that could bear fruit in the future. If you don't get the job, you could go back to the person and ask what didn't work for them and how you might improve your approach or message.
Sometimes in an interview you can just sense it going south, and no matter what you do, you can't salvage it. In that case, you've gotten some valuable market information - that this place is NOT your "right fit" and probably it's not a cultural or personality fit. Remember that you are looking at the employer at the same time they are looking at you. So being rejected is probably a good thing in the long run, even if it doesn't feel great (and it never does!).
As the above article says, however, if you really do/did want the job, call the employer two or so months down the line to say you just wanted to check in, see if everything's going well with their new hire, and if there are any other opportunities. That's far easier if you've established some rapport in the interview, and are gracious afterward. Send a thank you note after the interview re-expressing your interest and thanking them for their time.
If you don't get the job and want to create a relationship, send a note after a rejection that reaffirms how interested you were in the position, thanking them for the chance to interview, wishing them and the company the best of luck, and hoping they'll keep you in mind if something opens up in the future.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Successful Job Search Strategies
Today, I heard from someone I briefly helped with social media aspects of job search, in response to my asking how his search was going. His answer:
I've actually gotten one offer, and in multiple rounds of interviews for three more positions. So I think I am close to the end of my search.
In this market, he's gotten great results in just three months of searching after being laid off. He's a PR and marketing professional, which certainly is not a high demand field right now. So I asked if he would share with me the one or two things that were most useful and productive in his search.
Here's what he said:
I had someone professionally rewrite my resume and cover letter template to make sure I was presenting myself in the best way. I also used LinkedIn to hunt down contacts for open positions. That helped me in a number of ways. But basically, I worked my butt off for 4-6 hours a day to track down leads. And I was fortunate to have gotten calls back in this market.
My takeaways are:
1) Resumes and cover letters are about putting your best foot forward, and you may not see yourself as clearly as a career professional. Even if you are uncomfortable with some language and think it "exaggerates" things, no reputable professional will stretch the truth. What we will do is use more powerful language that casts you in the strongest possible terms without misleading the reader.
2) Social media contacts definitely work, especially LinkedIn. It provides an invaluable service in giving you the ability to network with people currently working at places you want to work. Work your network to make sure you get a personal reference INSIDE every company to which you apply. That may not always be possible, yet it is a goal worth aiming toward.
Historically, 65-70% of jobs are gotten through networking. Today, that percent is probably much higher as employers are reluctant to spend time and money interviewing people who are complete unknowns to them. Employers want to know that you are likely to be the right fit with their culture and work ethic. Chances are higher that you are if an "insider" recommends you.
3) Looking for work requires a lot of time, discipline and persistence. I call it "leave no stone unturned" job search. Others say looking for work is a full-time job. Put together your job search plan and then implement it. Set measurable targets for yourself, especially regarding your contacts with people who could help you or know of someone who could (otherwise known as networking).
I've actually gotten one offer, and in multiple rounds of interviews for three more positions. So I think I am close to the end of my search.
In this market, he's gotten great results in just three months of searching after being laid off. He's a PR and marketing professional, which certainly is not a high demand field right now. So I asked if he would share with me the one or two things that were most useful and productive in his search.
Here's what he said:
I had someone professionally rewrite my resume and cover letter template to make sure I was presenting myself in the best way. I also used LinkedIn to hunt down contacts for open positions. That helped me in a number of ways. But basically, I worked my butt off for 4-6 hours a day to track down leads. And I was fortunate to have gotten calls back in this market.
My takeaways are:
1) Resumes and cover letters are about putting your best foot forward, and you may not see yourself as clearly as a career professional. Even if you are uncomfortable with some language and think it "exaggerates" things, no reputable professional will stretch the truth. What we will do is use more powerful language that casts you in the strongest possible terms without misleading the reader.
2) Social media contacts definitely work, especially LinkedIn. It provides an invaluable service in giving you the ability to network with people currently working at places you want to work. Work your network to make sure you get a personal reference INSIDE every company to which you apply. That may not always be possible, yet it is a goal worth aiming toward.
Historically, 65-70% of jobs are gotten through networking. Today, that percent is probably much higher as employers are reluctant to spend time and money interviewing people who are complete unknowns to them. Employers want to know that you are likely to be the right fit with their culture and work ethic. Chances are higher that you are if an "insider" recommends you.
3) Looking for work requires a lot of time, discipline and persistence. I call it "leave no stone unturned" job search. Others say looking for work is a full-time job. Put together your job search plan and then implement it. Set measurable targets for yourself, especially regarding your contacts with people who could help you or know of someone who could (otherwise known as networking).
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Random Thoughts re Job Search
Are you having a hard time networking? Run out of people to meet? Here's an idea that will help you recharge your networking effort:
host 4-5 friends from different spheres to brainstorm with you about jobs and fields for which you are suited based on your resume. This is not to rewrite your resume, simply to use it as a tool to spark brainstorming. Out of such talk should also come a list of potential people to whom you can connect. Usually, people remember people and things more easily when they are in a group talking freely, than when they are talking one-on-one and perhaps feel put on the spot.
Still having a hard time figuring out what you want to do next? Follow your interests to find work. Several people have realized that hobbies and things they see as fun could potentially lead to pay. This is especially important for people returning to the labor force after a period away.
One person said: "food, music, art is the stuff I love - I see it as fun. Other people get paid to do these things, so it could also be a job possibility for me...oh, I get it now!"
Another person wants to create a training and personal development company. Yet she has struggled to narrow her focus. Today it occurred to her that she could look at the advice, help, support and suggestions she gives to her friends and colleagues as the basis for a training program. Clearly, she loves helping people. Also, her guidance has really helped people. If she writes up those "case studies" she'll be on her way to developing a training curriculum. She doesn't have to be the world's best at helping people lead a balanced life (her focus), she just has to do it pretty well and better than anyone who might pay her for her help.
Have you decided NOT to apply for a job based on something you read in the job description? Or are you conflicted about whether or not to apply for something?
Think it through. Do you really know enough to reject the job? If it looks like it won't meet three of your "must have" items, then it's a good idea not to apply. Unless...you think you might get more information if you get an interview. Job descriptions are simply "small talk" in terms of letting you know what a workplace or job is REALLY like. Your application is your "small talk" response, an indication that you would be willing to continue the conversation.
Remember the goal of an application/resume is to get an interview. It is NOT to get the job. Take one step at a time. You need to find out whether the job and role is all it seems, if the people are "your kind of people" and the culture to your liking, whether the compensation will meet your "live with" number, and whether you like it well enough to move forward in the interview process. Of course, the employer is doing the same thing. Perhaps you'll decide together to move forward, perhaps one of you will end the process after one interview. At least you'll be doing it based on facts, not feelings.
host 4-5 friends from different spheres to brainstorm with you about jobs and fields for which you are suited based on your resume. This is not to rewrite your resume, simply to use it as a tool to spark brainstorming. Out of such talk should also come a list of potential people to whom you can connect. Usually, people remember people and things more easily when they are in a group talking freely, than when they are talking one-on-one and perhaps feel put on the spot.
Still having a hard time figuring out what you want to do next? Follow your interests to find work. Several people have realized that hobbies and things they see as fun could potentially lead to pay. This is especially important for people returning to the labor force after a period away.
One person said: "food, music, art is the stuff I love - I see it as fun. Other people get paid to do these things, so it could also be a job possibility for me...oh, I get it now!"
Another person wants to create a training and personal development company. Yet she has struggled to narrow her focus. Today it occurred to her that she could look at the advice, help, support and suggestions she gives to her friends and colleagues as the basis for a training program. Clearly, she loves helping people. Also, her guidance has really helped people. If she writes up those "case studies" she'll be on her way to developing a training curriculum. She doesn't have to be the world's best at helping people lead a balanced life (her focus), she just has to do it pretty well and better than anyone who might pay her for her help.
Have you decided NOT to apply for a job based on something you read in the job description? Or are you conflicted about whether or not to apply for something?
Think it through. Do you really know enough to reject the job? If it looks like it won't meet three of your "must have" items, then it's a good idea not to apply. Unless...you think you might get more information if you get an interview. Job descriptions are simply "small talk" in terms of letting you know what a workplace or job is REALLY like. Your application is your "small talk" response, an indication that you would be willing to continue the conversation.
Remember the goal of an application/resume is to get an interview. It is NOT to get the job. Take one step at a time. You need to find out whether the job and role is all it seems, if the people are "your kind of people" and the culture to your liking, whether the compensation will meet your "live with" number, and whether you like it well enough to move forward in the interview process. Of course, the employer is doing the same thing. Perhaps you'll decide together to move forward, perhaps one of you will end the process after one interview. At least you'll be doing it based on facts, not feelings.
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