Category: career

Keeping Your Search Alive

Staying motivated in the search for a new job, especially during times of unemployment, can be one of the biggest challenges in the process. After all, who wants to hear “no” all the time, or worse – nothing at all? Sending out résumés and cover letters for jobs for which one is perfectly qualified and not getting a reply can wear out even the most resilient job seeker. What can you do to stay engaged and motivated? Here are a few tips.

Make a Plan for your Day. Whether you create tomorrow’s plan in the evening or start early with a planning session, make a list of the things that you need to accomplish. Don’t stop until you have completed your list. This will give you a sense of accomplishment and something to talk about if there is a significant person in your life who wants to know what you have been doing all day (can you say “spouse”?).

Eliminate the Distractions. While it can be tempting to kill time in front of the TV or with social media sites, set a time limit for these activities and stick to it. If 30 minutes a day is your Facebook budget, don’t stretch it to 35.

Get out of the House. Get your exercise, shower, dress and go meet people. Get out to the job fairs, meet colleagues for coffee and stay tuned in to the current events in your field.

Challenge Yourself to Add to your Network. Your network should include recruiters – both recruiting agency people and staff recruiters – as well as people with whom you have worked and those that you don’t know yet. Attend as many live events with other people as possible.

Don’t Stop with LinkedIn Messages. Anyone can build a network on LinkedIn, but if it is nothing more than a list of people and their pictures – a list of people you don’t know – you have not done enough. Pick up the phone. Send a personal note. Make the connection more meaningful and valuable for you and the other person. You will be surprised at how warmly some will welcome the extra effort.

Learn Something New. Public libraries, state departments of labor and other organizations give you the opportunity to learn new skills and meet new people, mostly for free. Explore the opportunities and sign up.

Volunteer. You can add new things to your résumé and meet people while helping others. Don’t discount the value of this activity.

Finally, don’t be too hard on yourself. If you have been doing all of these things and know that you are working as hard as you can to find a job, feel good about your effort. It’s a challenging labor market filled with wary hiring managers and senior leaders trying to chart a course in an uncertain environment. Don’t take it personally and keep at it.

Would You Sleep with the Elephants?

Job Description: Elephant rehabilitation specialist. Must be comfortable working and living with pachyderms, especially young elephants. Job requires constant 24×7 interaction, including sleeping in close quarters with emotionally traumatized animals. Excellent benefits, including full paid medical.

Do you want that job? Can you bed down in the same stall with an elephant prone to night terrors? There are those who do, and they love their work. That is if non-verbal cues and looks of joy mean anything.

During the long week of entertaining our children after the historic Halloween weekend snow storm that rocked Connecticut back into the days before Edison, we ventured down to the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium, a gem of a facility that includes an IMAX theatre. After tears of terror at a 3D movie at Disney in the spring, I didn’t know what to expect from my seven and five year olds, but we took a chance and got tickets to see Born to be Wild. The 2011 movie, featuring narration by Morgan Freeman, depicts the work of Daphne Sheldrick and Dr. Birute Mary Galdikas. Both oversee facilities that rescue young animals from near certain death after their mothers have been killed. For us, the promise of a six story high movie screen filled with baby elephants and orangutans was enough to get us there, but it delivered much more.

It is clear that Dr. Galdikas and Ms. Sheldrick, who work with orangutans in Borneo and elephants in Kenya, respectively, love their work. They have been doing it for decades and have had amazing success, rehabilitating these animals and successfully integrating them back into the wild. What impressed me, at least as much as these women and their work, was the total engagement of the people who serve in the facilities, some living with and sleeping with terror stricken animals. One statement by Ms. Sheldrick that I will paraphrase sticks with me: “Elephants have remarkable memories, and what they remember is terrible.”

If you take the time to see the movie – and I recommend that you do – you will witness people doing what they love. One would have to love the work to sleep in the same stall as an elephant, being there throughout the night to provide comfort and risking injury and death in the process. I wonder how many of us are so dedicated to our work that we would face serious risk to get it done. Am I as dedicated to my work as these Kenyans are to theirs? Drop 10 bucks and 40 minutes of your time and see this movie. My guess is that you will be informed and inspired in more ways than one.

Quit It!

“What am I doing?” Have you ever had one of those moments – maybe days or even weeks – of clarity when you realize that what you are doing is not moving you towards your long-term goals? Your actions, your job, your daily routine are taking caring of some immediate need, but are doing nothing to help you fulfill some greater purpose.

Seth Godin tackles this subject in his slim volume, The Dip. He offers a simple idea: maybe we should be quitting, quitting the things that are not moving us towards some purpose, goal or accomplishment. If what you are doing to survive is not moving you towards being the best at something, you should quit the distractions and focus on your purpose.

How about you? When you envision your greater purpose, the thing that you were built to do, how do your current activities move you towards that bright future? Are they? Or are your activities putting you in idle, revving your engine, surviving, but not moving you towards your purpose?

What about the dip the author refers to? Godin shares that getting to be the best at something requires a lot of time and effort in the trenches, working hard, sometimes in anonymity, moving towards that goal. There isn’t a lot of glamour and prestige in the dip, but if you make it to the other side, you can be the best at something, something that truly matters to you.

I was fortunate to stumble upon this book and it challenged me, and even though it is several years old, it is still relevant. I am considering what I need to quit so I can devote my time and energy to those things most valuable to me. How about you? What are you doing, what are your goals, and are you making progress towards them? Or are you just doing what you need to pay the next month’s rent? What will change in your life to move you back onto the right path?

Comments? Share what you are doing, not doing and quitting. Maybe you will inspire someone else.

Energized by Work?

For some people, the idea that one could be excited and enthusiastic about work seems ludicrous. You probably know people like that, those who dread another Monday because it feels like another five day prison sentence. It’s not like that for everyone, and it doesn’t have to be like that for anyone.

During the past week, while working on a freelance writing assignment, I had the opportunity to interview a person working for an organization that does important life-saving work in the pharmaceutical industry. As we discussed his project and the results of the company’s work, he was bubbling with genuine excitement about the past year and what the new one holds. I even commented to him that his excitement was evident and contagious.

Maybe you are fortunate to know someone like that and can draw some inspiration from that person’s story. Maybe you are blessed to be someone in a similar situation. You spring out of bed in the morning, ready to fulfill your plans and grab new opportunities.

It’s also possible that your excitement about your work falls short of what I am describing. Why? What can you change to make it better and find more meaning in your work? Is it time to change jobs or your career path? Go back to school to learn something new? Volunteer to do something fulfilling and lasting?

There is an infinite amount of important work to be done in the world. We all can only contribute the most is we are doing something we truly enjoy. Seek it out. Take a chance. Make a difference.

 

The Right Story at the Right Time

Let me tell you about my greatest success that never happened! I worked on a project for almost two years and in spite of all of my efforts, it never got off the ground. I remember it fondly and consider what could have been, and my hope is that you share the same warm feelings.

What?

There is a time and a place to tell your stories, and knowing when and where to share successes and setbacks is an important part of any job search. Consider that there are two broad categories of communication that all seekers must create and share, as follows.

The Résumé. This is your product brochure. Think about any piece of sales literature you have ever seen. They are all written by people who want to sell you something, and they describe the features of the product or service and the benefits that the buyer will receive. The résumé is your personal sales brochure, and it should be filled with information about the things that make you special and your statistics that are likely to be repeated. It is not the place for full disclosure. That belongs in…

Everything Else. By this, I mean your cover letter and the stories you will tell when interviewed. This would be the place where you may use your story about the one that got away. Many interviewers will ask you about a time you suffered a setback or your greatest weakness. This could be the time to trot this tale around the track, being sure to share what you learned from it. “This happened, and that happened, and I learned that great ideas may never get off the drawing board if every key decision maker is not on board.” Save those stories for this setting. It will sound genuine and you will not have to struggle with one of these negative interview questions.

The sales brochure for that new car you have your eye on doesn’t list the product recalls in the model’s history. Nor does it tell about unhappy customers. It stays positive and talks about acceleration, safety and Corinthian leather. Your résumé must do the same thing. You will have your chance to share the other stuff later.

 

Looking Back, Moving Forward

My family and I took a trip into New York City yesterday, where we saw a few minutes of the Columbus Day parade, visited and dropped some cash at the Lego and American Girl stores at Rockefeller Center, and made the trip to the south end of the island to visit the 9/11 Memorial. Anyone who lived through that day will have their own thoughts and emotions about that day and this place, and these are mine.

We all have a purpose towards which we are working. Individually and collectively, we are striving to achieve something in our lives. There are setbacks along the way – some are minor while some are profound and even tragic – but there is no denying that we are all working towards something in our own ways.

We only have a short time to make our contribution. Most of us have careers measured in decades. Those who perished on that day in September likely thought the same thing and could not have anticipated what would unfold in the morning hours. We just do not know how long we have, so we must make every day count. Our time investments may be in family, personal growth, our faith, our relationships or our work, but there is something to be done every day. Don’t take one for granted.

Loss and pain can help us find a goal. In this picture, you are looking at names on the North Tower Memorial, with the flag hanging on the Freedom Tower that is rising to its eventual height of 1,776 feet. New development driven by motivated and purposeful people is springing from that ground where so many died. What can each of us learn from our own losses, and how can we rise and grow from those experiences?

Finally, we must take time to remember. The experience at this memorial is unique as the sound of the perpetual waterfall washes over you and drowns out the din of the surrounding construction site bustle. Look back, learn the lessons that are there for us, and move forward. My guess is that those who died that day would approve.

Three Labor Market Sins

Almost every day I hear concerns from clients and colleagues about the challenges of searching for a new job. Here are three issues that I have been talking with people about just this week.

Age Discrimination. Everybody 50 and older has the same concern. “How can I create a résumé that is honest and that also conceals my age?” These people all share the suspicion that once they are identified as older candidates, employers run away. The notion of ignoring an entire class of experienced, knowledgeable and wise people seems foolish. I wonder what company is going to take a leadership position by actively seeking older candidates who can balance their work force and increase internal diversity of thought. Will anyone do it? Come on, decision makers! Give everyone a chance and drop your stereotypes about older workers.

Bias Against the Unemployed. Congress and President Obama are talking about regulations to protect the unemployed as there have been some employers accused of specifically declining to consider unemployed candidates. The leaders of all organizations concerned about public relations and those wishing to do what is right need to consider the decision to systematically refuse to consider otherwise qualified people.

Preying on the Unemployed. Those who have been laid off and have been searching for work are under enough stress already. This stress manifests itself physically and emotionally and has some job seekers at the breaking point. There should be a special punishment for those who take advantage of these people. I am talking about people offering themselves as résumé writers, career coaches and experts who have one interest only: extracting as much cash from the desperate and hopeful as they can while doing as little work as possible.

If you are in a position to improve on these conditions, step out and do it. If you are a job seeker, be aware and be on guard. If we all work together, our small quiet changes can add up to create real change.

Much More than Baseball Cards

When I was growing up in Dobbs Ferry (NY), an important activity for almost every boy I knew was collecting, trading and competing for baseball cards. Topps was all we knew, and every new season offered a new quest for collecting the whole set. We would trade our doubles, search hard for the best players, and sometimes risk it all with flipping and scaling cards. The scaling option, in which players compete to scale cards to be closest to the wall, was usually a bad one. It was a game of skill and there were a few guys who couldn’t be beat. If you were going against Joe Giuliano, you could save everyone lots of time by just handing him your cards and moving along to your next class. He was that good. Watching him play was like watching a machine. Scale, grunt defeat, watch Joe take the cards, repeat.

I wonder how many people who stack up contacts using LinkedIn view the process much like the search for the missing players, with the difference being that the roster of players counts in the millions, rather than less than a thousand each year. I wonder if the quality of the connections is about as high. For those who have amassed 950 LinkedIn contacts, have they ever thought, “Would MaryJo in Seattle take my call?”

Networking activities need to be a lot more than a few clicks in the latest social media tool. Like anything else in life, your networking activities will only be as good as the effort that you put into them. Find common interests and make meaningful connections. Try making a phone call or sending a personal note, something much more than, “I would like to add you to my professional network.”

Think about your efforts. Have they been meaningful and have they led to important professional connections, creating a web of colleagues who might actually care about the relationship with you? Or have your activities been more focused on body count? If your networking is similar to that of a bunch of 12 year olds flipping Reggie Jacksons, you have some work to do.

Yeah, But What’s the Score?

The New York Yankees took the field yesterday ready to win. Their energy and enthusiasm was on display from the first moments as they ran out and took the field, hosting the Baltimore Orioles in what turned out to be an electrifying game. Derek Jeter was at his best, turning plays, connecting for convincing run-producing base hits and leading his team. He and the rest of the team were motivated to win, self-starters from beginning to end.

Yeah, but what’s the score? Did the Yankees win or lose? By how much?

We live in a world where we own our numbers, and people want to know them. Whether you are discussing your job performance with your boss, selling your company’s products and services to potential clients, or selling yourself to a potential employer in a job interview, the numbers count. No numbers means lots of uncertainty and frustration, just like the sports report above.

Know your numbers. Keep tracking them, understanding how they define your performance and how you can make them better. Specific performance described with metrics is more believable and useful to buyers (bosses, customer and interviewers) than a truckload of self-anointed adjectives like can-do, self motivated, go-getter and other happy talk that everyone uses to describe themselves. Stand out from the crowd with performance. Back it up with the score sheet.

Plan It & Work It

“Hi. My name is Ralph, and I am wondering if you are hiring.” Ralph, in spite of his weak introduction, has stumbled upon a desperate potential employer, a company looking for a sales person and lacking good candidates. Ralph is told to take a seat and the receptionist whispers into the phone, while holding back an eye-roll, that Ralph is here. The sales manager, caught in a moment of boredom, steps into the lobby, greets Ralph, and shows him in to the conference room. The sales manager says, “So, Ralph, tell me about yourself and why you want to work here.” Ralph stutters and stammers, trying to come up with something in the moment that will sound good. A few minutes later, Ralph is back on the street wondering what went wrong.

Ralph failed to plan, missing his big chance to present himself and make a good first impression. Everything that happened could have been anticipated, but Ralph failed to plan.

I am working with a client who is looking for a sales position, and part of his plan is to cold call employers in his target industry. He is going to knock on doors, make introductions and ask to meet the sales managers at these organizations. If he plans it well and executes, he just might get somewhere with this strategy. Here are a few pointers that we discussed:

  • Plan and practice an introduction. He knows that he is going to have to introduce himself, so he should have a great opening ready.
  • Plan and practice his presentation for the manager. If he gets lucky and meets with a sales manager or hiring authority, he should know exactly what he is going to say when given the chance. No surprises.
  • Gather names and contact information. Everyone he meets is a future recipient of a thank you note, an email or some other follow up communication.
  • Dress for success and have the marketing material ready. This should be obvious, but it doesn’t hurt to mention that clean, professionally printed documents carried in a portfolio will add to his image. Bring plenty.
  • Follow up immediately. I hope that my client already has his thank you cards and postage stamps ready to go. Those cards should be in the mail before the end of the day.

I don’t know how this will work, but I will let you know. What I do know is that having a well-developed plan and working it will be a lot better than what Ralph did. I will let you know how it goes.