This is my favorite time of year to send out greetings to everyone I know. My mood is elevated by connecting to people I know and enjoy, even if it is only digitally. I like that I am reminded of how I know them, the encounters of the past year and the sincere warm greetings I extend.
What I don’t like is that email is a corrupted, unpredictable tool. Today I sent six “practice” emails to myself to ascertain the aesthetics of my message. Only three were delivered to me. It wasn’t that they were delayed, it was that they disappeared into that great digital ether.
How many times, I ask myself, do emails vanish with no warning or notice to the sender? I suspect many more times than we would like to think. Because the mailer daemon frequently alerts us to failed emails, we assume we are warned every time; a false hope.
As a job search coach, I frequently use email as IM for immediate and collaborative resume or elevator pitch creation. In every case, at least one email is lost, sometimes more. It is not unusual to resend three or four times before the email is delivered.
My personal experience tells me to warn all email users: Never assume an email is delivered simply because you did not recieve a failure notice.
Every bit of job search advice to executives and technology leaders tells the six figure income candidate to network. You know the statistics say 87 percent of jobs are landed through some form of networking, yet you just can’t seem to pick up the phone and ask for what you need.
The simple truth is, networking is very hard; even some successful sales executives find it difficult to ask for help with their job search. Often, when someone does overcome their fear of networking, they still don’t get what they need.
Wendy Gelberg, in her very readable book, The Successful Introvert, recognizes the problem and offers sound advice. She states, “The purpose of this book is to present strategies used by successful people – including numerous celebrities – in managing their introversion or shyness while becoming successful in professional endeavors.”
Gelberg includes solutions for meetings, interviews and telephone outreach. She recommends an approach that reminds the reader networking is all about sharing information. I especially like her advice to people reluctant to ask for help to ask for advice instead.
She also reminds the reader that an interview is not an interrogation, it is a conversation where you are the consultant asked to help determine if you are the person to hire. And her best advice, for shy folks as well as extroverts, “Ask not what the company can do for you, but what you can do for the company.”
I couldn’t agree more with Gelberg when she reminds the reader, shyness is neither good nor bad; it is simply another way to be. Once you acknowledge you are an introvert, it is a straight path to managing your style to succeed with networking.
My best advice to anyone reluctant to network for what ever reason is to understand, people want to help, they just need to know what help looks like. Read Gelberg’s book for details on how to overcome your shyness.
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The new year usually begins with national optimism. This year, due to layoffs and financial crisis, that optimism is as scarce as a George Cluny marriage proposal.
- Help someone. Nothing helps us value ourselves more than when we do something for another person. Make it a daily event.
- Listen to your favorite music.
- Use Netflix instant view to laugh out loud at season 1 of Thirty Rock
- Be good to yourself. For me, that is excellent tea from friends and a few hours of reading.
- Take care of yourself. Take your vitamins and get your exercise.
- Play with the dog. Dogs are joyous creatures and more than willing to share.
- Give yourself permission to play hooky from job search for half a day. Do something creative.
- Call a friend to tell a joke.
- Keep careful records of your accomplishments; read them before bedding down.
- Clean the closet or the pantry. Most people find getting rid of excess belongings uplifting.
- Eat spicy food. Chemicals released are mood elevators.
- Read to a child. They always appreciate the attention. Borrow a neighbor child if you have to.
- Write a letter by hand to a loved one.
- Watch a silly movie.
- Bake or cook something you have never baked/cooked before.
- Visit JobMob for the latest in employment humor.
Above all, stop complaining. And when others complain, shut them up with a joke or a tale of your most recent accomplishment. Complaining solves nothing and it ruins your attitude.
And if you really want to make a dent in the job search confidence issue, hire a job search coach.
Please share your own antidotes to the blues in the comments section.
Happy New Year
Rita Ashley, Job Search Coach
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Career advice, INTERVIEW ADVICE, Job Search Tools, Recruiters, Resume Advice, Six Figure Jobs, Uncategorized, coaching, resume
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Career advice, executive jobs, lay off, layoffs
Job opportunities have always come your way. Lately, you interview but offers don’t materialize. You want to know why. Consider these possibilities.
1. You Talk Too Much. Whether you are seeking a job or the job is seeking you, the tension and pressure can make you talk too much. If you want people to listen to you, you must be brief, answer the questions asked and include the listener in your response.
To prevent motor-mouth:
- Practice interviews and phone interviews. Record them and revise until your answers are only three sentences long. End with a question where possible.
- Watch the listener’s eyes for interest. When they wander, ask a question.
- Practice responding to difficult questions in three sentences.
- Become familiar with your vocational assets and accomplishments as they apply to the job so you can answer any question with confidence.
- Focus on the objective for the interview. The interviewer hopes to establish a bond, not hear an autobiography.
2. You Misunderstand the “Tell Me About Yourself” Question. Most people answer this question starting with their education and then a list of all their previous jobs. It is the wrong place to start. This is your opportunity to target the company needs and demonstrate how your experience is relevant to the job.
The better answer:
- Come prepared with a solid pitch about what part of your background makes you a good fit for the job.
- Tell why you selected this company as a prospective employer.
- Practice with a video camera or tape recorder. Your response to this question can be a deal killer or a chance to shine.
3. You offered a solution when they really didn’t want one. You are asked your opinion on challenges facing the employer. It is easy to assume they want you to offer a solution. They don’t. This question is a way for the company to see how you solve problems.
The key – Ask, don’t tell:
- Ask what has been tried to date and the results.
- Ask what outcome they would like to see and discuss in detail.
- Ask why it did or did not work and what resources are currently available.
- List what you would need to know before you could have a comprehensive solution.
- Tell them about another experience where you solved a similar problem and acknowledge the situations are no doubt different.
- Tell them what resources you used, the solution and the results. Make certain the employer understands you know you don’t have enough detail to say this will be an appropriate solution for them.
4. Your references did not shine. Employers tend to place a high value on references. Just because your former employers liked you doesn’t mean they have the right patter to communicate your qualifications.
Worse yet, just because they liked you doesn’t mean they will give you a good reference. HR professionals often hear “Are you certain she gave you my name as a reference?” and “I don’t know what he has been up to lately, but when he worked for me, he wasn’t management material” and other deal-killer comments.
Prepared references are good references:
- Make sure the contact information is current.
- Your references want to help you. Communicate the specific needs of the employer, the position and the qualities the employer is looking for.
- Fill your references in on what you have been doing so they are knowledgeable about your latest accomplishments.
Finally, to conduct your best interview, put yourself in the interviewer’s shoes. They have an opening in the company that needs to be filled. Believe it or not, they are actually looking for a reason to hire you.
IT ISN’T EASY, BUT IT IS SIMPLE
Reluctance to network and poor networking techniques are the most common barriers to landing new employment quickly. Statistics show over 75% of jobs are filled through networking: Not ads, not job boards.
While proper networking is simple, it is not easy. To make networking less of a challenge, follow these simple guidelines:
1. Accept that people want to help. Help them understand what you need. Know what you can do for them in return.
2. Craft an elevator pitch to tell the world what you do, how you do it and why you are successful. No more, not less. “I am a project manager who delivers quality products on time and on budget because I create intradepartmental dialogue.”
3. Examine who you already know and include:
- Friends
- Previous employers
- Your references
- Any service providers or vendors
- Synagogue or Church, cultural associations
- Hobby groups and golf buddies
- Volunteer associates
- Your doctor, dentist and real estate professionals
- Your significant other’s connections
4. Ask for specifics and offer justification for your request. “I develop quality C++ code and have delivered seven SaaS projects on time and on budget. Can you introduce me to three companies who are creating SaaS applications?”
Tailor your request to the audience. You may ask for introductions to people who know where those companies are or you might want to get connected to people who do what you do in hopes they can pass on leads to you.
Once you know what to say and how to say it, you can overcome your networking challenges. For a step by step guide to effective networking: Networking Debugged can be purchased here:
Read why job hunting during the holidays is a great idea. As guest blogger on Single Minded Women I explain why this is so.
Lay offs hurt every one. No one benefits from them, not even the companies forced to take such a drastic action. PR issues aside, the internal climate of any company who has laid off staff is not the most productive.
For the person laid off, the rage and confusion are part of the package. It is not unusual to be frozen with fear or resentment. Many people plunge into a temporary depression. Feelings of powerlessness over one’s life are inevitable. And while these are neither unusual nor unexpected reactions, they must be overcome in order to proceed with the search for a new job.
What can you do to scale the hurdle of the potentially debilitating affects of a lay off? Take Action. Get control back in your life. Control what you can and acknowledge that control and every minor success that brings.
- Gather all your job search essentials in one place and make it “Job Search Central.” Go to “work” each day with a clear focus on your objectives.
- Create a to-do list each night before retiring. Make it manageable with achievable items. Make four phone calls and three emails to former employees is doable. Get six leads to jobs is not. That may be the outcome, but it is what you do to get those leads that belongs on the list.
- Your new job is looking for a job. When your children or relatives say you are unemployed, make it clear your employment is intense and purposeful. Mention a goal achieved such as your research on prospective employers and who you might contact.
- Suit up. Don’t give in to the temptation of lounging around in sweats and flip flops. Put on decent attire and you will be more professional in your search activities even if they are conducted from the privacy of your own home.
- Don’t complain. Remind yourself of your significant accomplishments. Make your elevator pitch your mantra and use it to drown out the negative voices.
- Don’t let others complain. When those around you want to discuss all the horrible layoffs, the poor job market or their other friends who have been out of work for six months, respond with comments about what you achieved. For example: “I connected with four people who have referred me to people who can help me.”
- Be good to yourself. This is no time to engage in self punishment. Drink that favorite tea, soak in a foamy tub or take a hike in your favorite place.
- Set some time aside each day for your favorite computer game, or call a friend and tell a joke. Do something completely different.
- Create a job search budget. Include your new suit and all those coffee dates. If you chose to work with a well chosen professional your time for reemployment will be shorter than if you didn’t, so don’t be too frugal when making your budget. If you know what you have allotted it is easier to relax when you spend a few bucks to have the car washed.
At the end of each day, before you create your to-do list, brag. Call someone up, talk to your partner, brag. Talk about completing your to-do list or getting through to a difficult to connect with executive. Mention the best answer you gave during an interview. Keep a journal each day of all your accomplishments and brag about them before you retire. You will find it much easier to get up in the morning to start over again.
Six Reasons You May Need a Job Search Coach Now.
JobMob featured me as a guest blogger on a very important topic. Click the topic to read. Leave comments.
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