Category: work

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.

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.

Prepare to Win

Fair Warning: This is going to sound like a victory lap, or maybe an advertisement. It is not meant that way. There is a lesson to be learned from my experiences with a recent client that can be useful to everyone, and I just can’t let it go by without sharing.

Sam is a very smart and technically oriented guy with a career in a challenging field that requires current skills and continuous learning. Sam has had some interesting experiences, though none were create Facebook, imagine the iPad moments. He has just done a very good job working in his niche and he likes what he does.

Sam also was a pretty poor interviewer, something I know because I conducted Skype-based practice interviews with him. By working through some practice interview sessions guided by the accomplishments that we presented on his résumé, Sam got much better. Today, Sam landed a job, getting him off of the contractor merry-go-round and into a direct position with benefits in a city where he wants to live. He couldn’t be happier.

So what’s the lesson? Preparation pays. Sam recognized that his résumé was lacking and that he needed help to slam-dunk the interview. Then he took action and got help. His preparation and investments in time and effort – along with the self-awareness that drove him to get help – brought him to this happy day.

Good luck, Sam, and congratulations on your wisdom and humility that allowed you to prepare to win.

Your Mistake, My Money

The electronic ink flows faster than a western river after the spring melt as small business owners and entrepreneurs discuss how to grow their businesses. How can we get more customers? How can we sell more? How can we get referrals? Here is an idea: do what you said you were going to do and return calls.

Here is a brief and hopefully not too boring example of what has got me stirred up this morning. My house needs a chimney repair. We called one local contractor who visited our home, scribbled a quote with his pencil on the back of a business card (really!) and told us that he really wanted to do the $1,600 job. We called him back to make the appointment. And called. And called again. Tony, where are you?

As I sit writing this, I am waiting for another contractor who committed to a visit during a time window that ended 30 minutes ago. We called this guy from his colorful – and presumably not free – ad in one of those coupon magazines that fill the mailbox. Tick tock, tick tock.

When I get inquiries from potential clients, I always respond right away. There are simple technology tricks to make this possible, solutions like smartphones to get emails and voice-to-text email alerts of office voicemails. Almost always, these people express delighted surprise that I get back to them so quickly because my competitors don’t. They lose, I win. I get paid, they don’t.

Woody Allen famously commented that success is all about showing up. I think he was right. In business, success can come from something as simple: return the call. Show up and win the business, because others have not yet figured this out.

Get Your Grand Slam Yet?

As summer winds down and Labor Day quickly approaches, many will be heading back to work with vacations a fond memory and the final four months of the year ahead. After a few more holidays, we can all look forward to the least favorite American workplace ritual: the annual review. The darling process of HR and the bane of the rest of us, performance evaluations are a fact of life.

If you work for a company with a solid culture of feedback and frequent check-ins with the boss, this is no big deal. You probably get recognition and criticism throughout the year and you know where you stand. If you work for a different kind of organization, you may have only this one opportunity – as painful as it is – to present yourself and your accomplishments for the year. So what are you doing to get ready?

Review the past eight months and ask yourself this question: If you had to write your self-evaluation today for the year, what would you say? What have you done to deliver more value than your paycheck? What have you done to help your boss and your boss’s boss? Are you struggling with this question?

If you have not done anything special, now is the time to get working. You still have time to do something above and beyond your job description that can define your year. If you have done some great things but can’t remember the details, start making notes. As I write this, I think about the Yankees/Rays game of Saturday 8/13. Jorge Posada came off the bench after a manager-directed time out and went three-for-five with a grand slam. Do you have a similar story? If not, get serious and finish the year strong.

Lay Off? Move. Now!

If you or someone you know has gotten laid off, or expects it soon, get ready to work hard and fast to get back into the workforce right away. If that means working some 12 hours days and weekends during the first days and weeks of unemployment, so be it. A column in Bloomberg Business Week shares some sobering data, including the point that long-term unemployment does not help workers and likely hurts as job skills and professional networks get stale.

What should you do if that pink slip and cardboard box for your personal items comes your way? Here are a few ideas:

Get all of your career marketing materials refreshed. This includes your résumé, LinkedIn profile, executive biography and executive project summary/portfolios, as well as any online presence you may have.

Quickly move to contact people in your network. Let them know that you are available and open to discussing new opportunities. Don’t rely on an email. Pick up the phone and make a call. Buy coffee. Get out there!

Get creative in considering what you will do next. It may be that a less than perfect job now is better than hanging on hoping for just the right thing that may never come. Don’t forget the lessons of the long-term unemployed: it is a downward spiral that can be tough to overcome.

Build a routine to stay sharp. Get out of bed, get some exercise, get dressed and get ready for the opportunity to meet people. What if you pick up the phone – or someone calls you – and you have to get across town in 30 minutes for a cup at Starbucks? Will you be ready?

Plan your day and week like you would on the job. Check off your task list as you complete it. The accomplishments and record of achievement will give you a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day.

Rely on your support system. Friends and family are going to play an important role. Keep talking and sharing your wins and frustrations. Sometimes talking can make a huge difference as others can give you outsiders’ perspectives on your own blind spots.

Engage in professional groups. This can include on-ground physical groups or virtual groups on LinkedIn, Quora or other forums. This will keep you thinking about and staying current on your profession.

Work hard, work fast and get back to work.  

 

A Bright Future in Sales

Have you ever heard someone say, “I never want to work in sales”? While we know what that means – not wanting to have to hit sales quotas and relying on commissions to pay the mortgage – every one of us is selling all the time. Rather than sales, we call it persuasion or influence or woo or something else, but the fact is that we all have at least one thing to sell: ourselves.

Think about the other ways that you need to influence people in your life. You have to get your kids to eat healthful foods. You have to present a project proposal and persuade your boss (and her bosses) to give you the approval and the budget to make it happen. If you are single and looking for a partner, you have to sell yourself in ways I won’t cover here. And if you are looking for a job, you have to sell yourself as a solution to a problem. There is work to be done, profits to be earned and we need the right person who will give the best return on payroll and benefits costs expended. Are you that person?

Understanding some basics of sales can help you understand how to market yourself and close the sale by getting the job offer.

First, understand your skills and experience (Sales Lingo: Product Knowledge) and how they are relevant in the employment marketplace. You need to be the expert on you, so if you can’t describe what you do and what you offer, you need to get to work and become the subject matter expert. Now.

Second, understand the needs of potential employers and understand the challenges that they face (Qualifying). Nobody buys anything that they don’t perceive as meeting some need. You must be able to show how you are the solution to whatever problem or opportunity your next employer faces. Do your homework before the interview so you can speak your interviewer’s internal company language.

Third, be prepared to show your interviewer how you understand their needs and show how your profile is a perfect match (Presentation). You will demonstrate this through your experience, accomplishments, understanding of the employer’s needs and your attitude as displayed in the interview.

Fourth, be ready to ask questions that will demonstrate that you are already visualizing yourself in the organization and that you are engaged in thinking about how you can be a new, valuable part of the team (Trial Close/Transferring Possession).

Finally, be ready to ask for the sale (Close!). Practice a summary statement that conveys this: You need someone who can do X, Y and Z. I have the experience, training and track record that clearly demonstrates that I can do X, Y, and Z. When can I get started helping you solve these problems and maximizing on these opportunities?

Take the time to prepare yourself and have a strategy as you get ready to sell yourself in the jobs marketplace. This time and effort will pay off and place you well above many of your competitors who just will not do the hard work. Now go close the sale!

(And yes, the title is a reference to the Fountains of Wayne song)

Ideas to Action

Getting started on a new project or business venture requires many ingredients, and one of the most important is passion. Also near the top is skill. Have you taken the time to think about your passions and skills and how they could translate into a new business or initiative? Maybe you have thought that you would like to start your own business (who hasn’t?), but you have no idea where to begin.

Start with your talents and interests and allow yourself to get creative. Start with a large piece of paper, a pen, pencil or favorite crayon, and start freewriting. I suggest that you write “My Interests” in the middle of the page. You can get another piece of paper and write “Things I’m Good At.” Start writing quickly and without editing yourself. This exercise could take five minutes or five days. It’s up to you. Keep going and fill the page, scribbling if you have to.  Most importantly, don’t hesitate and don’t avoid writing something because you think it’s silly or of no value.

After you have had a day or two to think about it, review what you have written. What do you see? Any themes? Anything surprising? Is there anything there that spurs ideas for businesses? Here are two stories that may help illustrate my point.

I have always received good feedback and solid grades on my writing. Whether the writing was for work, for school or community activities, I was always told that I wrote well and that my work was engaging and interesting. I also have an interest in career development and have done a lot of recruiting and interviewing. I was always amazed at the inconsistent quality of resumes that I saw. A few were great, but most were boring. More than a few were terrible. I thought, “I can do better than this.” After thinking and researching, I plunked down my $15 for a business certificate, set up a website and started telling people that I write resumes. Almost two years later, my business is growing well and providing some useful income.

A very close friend was helping a friend with her dog grooming business. He spent some time in her shop and overheard customers asking for dog feeding stands, the kind that raise the bowl off the ground so the dog has an easier time eating. Michael is handy in the woodshop and got the idea to tinker around and make a few models (single and dual-bowl, small,
medium and large). Now you can buy these feeders at the shop and at the festivals and fairs where he has a booth. His interests and talents came together with opportunity to create a new business.

No, these aren’t dissed college kids starting Facebook stories, and I’m sure that Wall Street’s next big IPO won’t focus on resumes or dog feeders, but they illustrate the point that your next opportunity can come from a little time invested exploring your own inventory of skills and interests. For more ideas on brainstorming, visit UNC’s website. To help you determine if your dream is for real or just a fantasy, check out John C. Maxwell’s book on the topic. All the best to you in your self-discovery.