Tag Archives: job search

Job Layoff and 5 What To Do Next Tips

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Well I have been out of commission for a little while and haven’t posted much lately.  My summer hiatus is over now and back to connecting with you all once again.  Today’s topic is centered around what are the first things you should do after you are laid off from your job.  I am not going to suggest you not panic or going to tell you “maybe it is for the better” or some catch phrase like that.  Instead I am going to share with you the realities of what to do first and why.

Here are five things you should focus your efforts on:

1. Start learning how to conduct an online job search.  I don’t advocate this approach as your only approach to finding a new job BUT it should be the place you start to explore the “low hanging fruit” opportunities.  This is where many (not all) employers go to start their own search for new employees.  This is also where many recruiters go to start looking for potential candidates in tough markets.

Learning how to conduct an online job search is a bit different and for another post.  But start adding this activity to your daily to-do list when the hint of job layoffs are in the air.

2. Get your resume up-to-date.  Don’t wait too long on this one.  Find someone who can help you craft a new resume.  Always keep in mind a new resume needs to have flexibility built into it so you can tailor it to meet the needs of online job postings you find or connections you make in the near future.  Tweaking resume content for EVERY job opportunity is very important…so start thinking that way about your resume.

3. Commit to an amount of time each day you will be job searching.  I personally don’t think you should search eight or 10 hours a day.  That is an easy way to get burned out.  Searching for three to five hours, five to six days a week is plenty.  You will be searching when you meet people in other activities so don’t worry, you will get a lot of time in.

4. Find a new hobby or activity.  After a job layoff it is important to make sure you are accomplishing things along the way.  Volunteering once or twice a week in virtually any capacity will help you stay “connected” to the world in general.  Don’t worry if it doesn’t help you find a job.  Instead think of it as your investment time into other people.  You will benefit from it every time you do it.

5. Start thinking about your financial future.  This is a great time for you and your spouse (if you have one) to start prioritizing your bills and how you are going to try to pay them all.  You might come to realize you need to find a part time job to bring in some income while you are searching.  That is also why I don’t think job searching should be done all day, every day.  You can find time to make some additional money along the way.  Your finances will help dictate how much and for how long.  Having those talks along the way will help keep the “monkey on your back” in check.

There are a lot of thing to consider when your job is eliminated by a layoff.  These top five will help you focus some of your efforts in the right direction.  A new job can be found with consistency…do a little each day and it will pay off for you eventually.  These things to keep in mine will help you stay in the job search game for the long haul if it goes that way.  There is a pretty good chance it will turn into a marathon job search.  You can do it.  You just need to be consistent.

Let’s Get Started!

Jeff

 

Don’t Blame The Resume

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So many times I hear job seekers say something like:  ”If I only had a great resume, then…”  The … can be any number of things from “I would get the job”, “I would get noticed”, or “they would give me a call back”.  None of those statements are actually true.  Resumes don’t think, feel, talk or produce anything.  Resumes are just pieces of paper (wood or electronic) that many job seekers use as a crutch.  NEWS FLASH:  Resumes Don’t Get You A Job!

Blaming your resume is just an excuse to not finding a job.  You don’t need an excuse anymore.  What you need is a swift kick in the butt.  So what is a resume good for anyways?  Here are the top three things a resume can do for you:

1. Provide background information on your experience level AFTER you make initial contact.  This is one of the biggest things job seekers ignore.  A resume should be used after you speak with someone, after the initial call/discussion.  The reason it is used after is so it can support your conversation and support the goal you are trying to accomplish with that person.  If you are talking to a hiring manager about a particular job opportunity, you can tailor the resume for the requirements of the job.  This type of resume showcases your depth of experience in a particular area.  If you spoke with someone who is going to pass your resume along to a hiring manager at their company, you would need a more general resume to demonstrate your breath (wide/general) of experience.  The main reason is you don’t know what the hiring manager is looking for.

2. Resumes are good if there is no other way to introduce yourself.  Some online postings only allow you to submit a resume and there is no contact information.  This is a time to submit your resume that is very specific demonstrating your depth of experience based on (relevant to) the job description.  Never send a general resume to these postings otherwise you are wasting your time.  You might be wasting your time anyways because you should be out looking in-person or meeting people (networking) first.  Sending a general resume (the kind you always send) doesn’t get you noticed.  You need to demonstrate a reason for the person on the other end to contact you to talk.

3. Resumes are good for hiding behind if you are scared to get out and meet people.  Don’t ever use this excuse anymore.  I have called you out so you can stop hiding.  Go out and meet people doing things you like to do or want to learn.  Learn how to introduce yourself and ask good questions of other people.  Learn about what they have done to find a new job or their current one.  Ask what they like and hate about it.  Help them out if they need it.  Genuinely invest in other people and they will invest in you.

A resume is your experience packaged in a one or two page overview.  It is not what you are good at, what defines you or how you think and feel.  Resumes can only lay there and look pretty…you need more guts than that.

Stop blaming your resume on why you are not finding a job.  Go hunt for jobs with a big gun…your mouth.

Let’s Get Started!

Jeff

Job Search Blunders

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Ok…I interviewed a guy for an opportunity I had available on my team.  He claimed to be a specialist at his craft and may have been.  The problem I had is I could not get past the BS he was shoveling.  He had a business on the side (for the past 11 years) but had been full time at other companies during the same time.  Something was not right.  In addition, he seemed to job hop a little but not too bad.

So as I dove into his current work experience, I asked him about his clients in his business.  He said to me:  ”I make $80k to $90k per year with them currently.”  That prompted me to ask him why he was looking for a full time position that paid much less than that.  His answer was not well thought out and included the phrase:  ”I don’t really need to work.  I do it to have fun and gain new experiences.”  This floored me and I almost didn’t know what to say.  He was not the right guy for the job and it was obvious.

So what is the lesson…was he just being honest?  If so, I really should have appreciated it, right?  My gut was telling me he wasn’t though.  He seemed to be just trying to demonstrate he was successful in the craft I was interviewing him for.  But what he got was the person on the other end not being sure if he was telling the truth or not.  So the lesson is to always be honest with your answers BUT don’t paint yourself into a corner and not think ahead on how you will answer obvious questions an interviewer will have based on your background/resume.  You don’t want to be telling the truth but sound like you are lying.  That is a bad combination.

If a hiring authority sees you job hopped ever 18 months for the past six or seven years, of course they are going to wonder if you will just be around for a year or so.  During the interview, be confident and prepared to answer that type of “obvious” questioning so you don’t sound like you are stretching the truth too much.

In addition, if you have run your own business for a number of years, it is imperative you don’t treat an interviewer like someone who is a potential client.  You should instead demonstrate your personality as one who is willing to get in there and do the tough work to get the job YOU ARE INTERVIEWING FOR done.  That type of attitude is what hiring managers are looking for.  They don’t need friends, they need people on their team willing to work hard and provide value to the company.

There are so many more blunders to highlight in a post like this.  They include things like saying “I am a people-person” in a sales interview.  Hiring managers have heard it and it has now become a negative statement when seeking a sales position.  Other blunders include trying to hit-on the interviewer or disrespecting them.  Try to stand out from the other people who the hiring manager will see that day.  Don’t do what everyone else does…but don’t be weird.

Lastly, do your homework on the company you are interviewing at.  If you don’t prepare yourself ahead of time, it will show through in the interview.

Let’s Get Started!

Jeff

Job Search Drudgery

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I really enjoy reading a marketing/life change artist blog by a guy named Seth Godin.  Seth has a very unique way of telling a great story that gets into the deepest parts of your psyche.  His blog post today is about change and want to repost it here for you:

Extending the narrative 

Did you wake up fresh today, a new start, a blank slate with resources and opportunities… or is today yet another day of living out the narrative you’ve been engaged in for years?

For all of us, it’s the latter. We maintain our worldview, our biases, our grudges and our affections. We nurse our grudges and see the very same person (and situation) in the mirror today that we did yesterday. We may have a tiny break, a bit of freshness, but no, there’s no complete fresh start available to us.

Marketers have been using this persistence to their advantage forever. They sell us a car or a trip or a service that fits the story we tell ourselves. I don’t buy it because it’s the right thing for everyone, I buy it because it’s right for me, the us I invented, the I that’s part of the story I’ve been telling myself for a long time.

The socialite walks into the ski shop and buys a $3000 ski jacket she’ll wear once. Why? Not because she’ll stay warmer in it more than a different jacket, but because that’s what someone like her does. It’s part of her story. In fact, it’s easier for her to buy the jacket than it is to change her story.

If you went to bed as a loyal company man or an impatient entrepreneur or as the put-upon retiree or the lady who lunches, chances are you woke up that way as well. Which is certainly safe and easy and consistent and non-confusing. But is it helping?

We dismiss the mid-life crisis as an aberration to be avoided or ridiculed, as a dangerous blip in a consistent narrative. But what if we had them all the time? What if we took the resources and trust and momentum that helps us but decided to let the other stuff go?

It’s painful to even consider giving up the narrative we use to navigate our life. We vividly remember the last time we made an investment that didn’t match our self-story, or the last time we went to the ‘wrong’ restaurant or acted the ‘wrong’ way in a sales call. No, that’s too risky, especially now, in this economy.

So we play it safe and go back to our story.

The truth though, is that doing what you’ve been doing is going to get you what you’ve been getting. If the narrative is getting in the way, if the archetypes you’ve been modeling and the worldview you’ve been nursing no longer match the culture, the economy or your goals, something’s got to give.

When decisions roll around–from what to have for breakfast, to whether or not to make that investment to what TV show (or none) to watch on TV tonight, the question to ask is: Is this a reflex that’s part of my long-told story, or is this actually a good decision? When patterns in engagments with the people around you become well-worn and ineffective, are they persistent because they have to be, or because the story demands it?

Let’s Get Started!

Jeff

Who Needs A Job?

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Raise your hand if you are one of those people who needs a job?  Do you just need a new job or you don’t have one and need one as soon as possible?

I ask who needs a job because I want to better understand who is visiting my blog these days.  Are most of your employed or not? So leave me a comment below so I can better understand….please?

The “who needs a job” statement make me wonder if you are desperate.  If you are, always remember desperation can encourage you to make bad decisions.  Now the desperation won’t do it but your feelings of desperation can cloud your judgement.  So the point I want to make with this post is to remind you that if you are feeling desperate in your job search, you might be inclined to listen to wrong advice or make spontaneous decisions.

This is why you really need to plan out your job search a little before you get going.  You don’t need a rigid plan in place that you don’t adjust along the way.  What you do need is a list of basic goals for what you are trying to find in the way of a new job.  Something like:

- How much time will you work on your search each day?

- What type of job are you most qualified for?

- What type of job can you make the most money AND is this what you really want to do?

- Do you require an interim job until you find the right one for the long term?

- What is your long term job desire?

- Do you need a flexible job so you can go back to school or get some additional training for your long term goal?

All these type of questions should be answered ahead of time.  Then when you get in the middle of your search, you can go back and review what your goals are.  This review process will give you a foundation to review every opportunity along the way.

Another important thing putting a plan on paper does is helps you get out of your head the things that are swirling around causing you confusion or second guessing your decisions.  The more stuff you keep in your head the greater the chances are that you will be swayed by emotional ups and downs during your job search.  Finding ways to keep yourself grounded is so important.

So if you are one who raised your hand for the question “Who needs a job” then keep the above things in mind.  Try not to let desperation seep into your head during your job search.  You will search better and faster if you don’t.

Let’s Get Started!

Jeff

Top 10 Tips On How To Find A Job 2012

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Ok…here is my best shot at the most important tips on how to find a job in 2012:

1. Know Thyself – understand what you are looking for in your next job BEFORE you start searching.  You don’t have to figure out what you want to do for the rest of your life.  Pick one direction, plan it out and stick with it.

2. Don’t get bogged down by social media stuff – I hear a lot of buzz around should I use Twitter or Facebook to find a job?  What is LinkedIn and how can I find a job with it?  If you don’t understand these tools don’t waste your time on them until you do.  Don’t let them be a distraction to your job search thinking they are the “magic bullet”.  They can help but they are not for everyone.  A successful job search means you connect with hiring managers and they want you.  Social media tools can help these interactions get started but I have also seen people spend so much time trying to make it work for them they miss great opportunities.  Don’t go down this “rabbit hole” if you get easily distracted.

3. Be genuine.  Be yourself – whether you are meeting someone to help you with your job search or a potential employer, don’t oversell yourself and your accomplishments.  You are who you are.  We like you as you are.  Don’t be someone or something you are not.  You have gifts and talents just like everyone else and you deserve what you are looking for.  Focus your efforts on who you are not who you want others to think you are.

4. Be a dream seeker - it is ok to be looking for the dream job or the right situation for your next job.  Dreaming and seeing those dreams become reality is such a wonderful experience, everyone should be striving for it.  I am a big proponent of you trying to find an opportunity that is over your head or out of your comfort zone.  ”Stretch jobs” can be one of the most exciting times in your working life.  There are so many companies and so many types of hiring manager.  Look for the ones who believe in your and willing to give you a shot at your dream.  They are out there.  You just need to find one.

5. Your attitude is everything – I can’t tell you how important your attitude is.  Be happy, optimistic and positive no matter what is going on around you.  It will seep into your conversations and make your presentations most fruitful.  A bad attitude will do the same but sour your chances.

6. Don’t be too proud – being too proud is actually a form of fear.  Pride forces you to not let others into your life.  Pride puts up walls that might not be able to be seen by the other person but are felt at a deeper level.  Try “humbleness” on for size and see how it feels.  It is actually very comfortable and opens more doors.

7. Don’t give “canned” ANYTHING – no canned responses, no canned resumes, no canned cover letters, and no canned tuna (jk on the tuna).  If you look or act or sound like everyone else you are going to be perceived to be like everyone else…B-O-R-I-N-G.  Don’t be boring.  Instead be bold in order to stand out in someone’s mind.  Don’t be cocky but be bold and look for ways to make an impression.

8. The details will kill you – if you have never heard the old saying about the “devil in the details” you might want to think about this one.  Spending your time on making sure your resume doesn’t have errors or your “elevator pitch” sounds comfortable or whatever you are doing is done well, is very important.  Employers don’t want people who can churn out calls or data, they want people who take pride in their work (and maybe churn out the calls and data).  Make sure you are taking the necessary time to proof your work.

9. Slow down – if you are always feeling like you are rushing to get that resume to that lady or hurry up and push out that blog post or trying to hurry through coffee with a friend because your “schedule” is waiting, then slow down.  Slowing down allows you to focus on one project at a time and pour your whole self into it.  That means being a little flexible with your schedule and not putting so many deadlines on your time.  Have a plan but give it room to breath and take shape.

10. Have fun – now this one can be taken the wrong way if I am not careful.  I don’t want you to think of your job search as a party, necessarily.  I do want you to be excited about what direction your next job is going to take you in.  Thinking about the excitement for what is next in your working life can really get you pumped up.  Finding a job is no easy task most of the time, you might as well try to find ways to make it fun.  Adding a little fun to the work can make the work not seem so difficult.

I love the 10 tips here and hope you do too.

Let’s Get Started!

Jeff

End of Year Job Search

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ANYTIME is a good time to job search especially at the end of the year…ESPECIALLY around holidays….parties….get togethers…presents…volunteering…etc.

Of course things do slow down during the holidays including hiring.  That doesn’t mean there is no one hiring it just means the entire machine slows down.  That can mean good or even bad.  Let’s unwrap both.

The Good:

1. A slow down means both job seekers slow down and hiring slows down.  That also means there might be less competition for those open slots you find online.  If you are using online sources, this should be music to your ears.

2. Hiring managers are less bombarded by calls and emails about potential job openings.  That means you can probably get through for requesting an informational interview or to inquire about opportunities they might have opening in January.  Make the calls today.

3. January and February are very strong hiring months and this is the perfect time to get your name out there.  Contacting employers to get into their “tickler file” is an excellent idea.  The tickler file is one they use to save resumes and contacts for a future hiring need.

4. Parties, get-togethers and volunteering activities increase during this time of year.  It is a perfect time to get out into the community and with friends to explore if they know anyone in the field you are looking into.  Remember that ANYONE is a potential lead to finding a new job even people who are not in the industry you are looking at.  Anyone and everyone is a “target” for your conversation.  So go hit if off with people and see what you can help them with and what they can help you with.

The Bad:

1. Slow down…this is the only negative I can think of.  There is a slow down in the volume but always remember hiring managers are ALWAYS in search for good people.  That is one of their primary jobs so even though there is a slow down, it doesn’t mean you are out of the race.  Go find a race that is alive and well.

Getting hired means finding an edge in your job search activities.  This is the edge you might be looking for.  An end-of-year job search is perfect timing.

Let’s Get Started!

Take A Survey

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Don’t take my word on some of these things.  Go find out for yourself if this information is correct.  Taking a survey of your friends, family members, neighbors, co-workers, and people you run into is a great way to learn more about what has worked for them and how you can apply it to yourself.

Job opportunities for most people are not easy to find.  Job searching is not an easy activity to do.  It requires a little bit of sales, marketing, guts, and determination to accomplish successfully in the time you want it.  Instead of giving you a laundry list of things you should or should not do to find opportunities, you are empowered to ask others how they did it.

The following list of questions will help you uncover some of the keys to finding the right job for you.

1. Ask those who you know enjoy the work they do how they found what they love to do? 

The answer to this question will help you think about how you are going about finding the career path that is right for you.  Don’t go asking people who hate their jobs or those who are just ok about what they do.  That’s stupid.  Find people who love what they do and ask them how they found it or figured it out.

2. Ask people who you run into how they found their current (and maybe even their previous job) job.  Ask them to tell you the whole story from
start to finish. 

The answers you receive to this question will surprise you.  Expect to hear that most people who found their last one or two jobs found them by either casual relationships or from people who know them.  Securing a job is easiest when you have someone on the inside advocating for you.  This “foot in the door” assistance will help you in ways you could never have imagined.

3. Take this test…select a famous person who you would like to meet.  Contact all of your friends, family members, acquaintances, co-workers and everyone in between and ask them these two questions:

Do you know _______________ (famous person)?  If they say yes, you are done.  If they say no, then go on to the next question.

Do you know someone who might know how to get in touch with ______________(famous person)?

These two questions are critical to understanding how interconnected we really are and how to best build your network.

Those main three question groups will greatly enhance your ability to learn from the inside about successful career information most job seekers will never learn about.  Answers to these questions will not only change your career direction but also change you personally from the inside out.

Let’s Get Started!

Jeff

Where The Jobs ARE

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Job opportunities are everywhere.  Literally they are coming out of every nook and cranny of most businesses and organizations out there.  Now obviously not every business is on the success track.  Some industries may be moving off shore or starting to lose their footing.  Not every company or business is looking to hire people at any given moment.  But what remains constant is potential job openings are in the minds of hiring managers right now.

Yes, jobs are currently in the minds of hiring managers; right now.  Most managers are always keeping an eye out for new people to add to their teams, especially if they have high or even moderate turnover.  One of the most important functions of any manager who is in a position to hire people, is finding people they can trust who will do the job they need done without many issues.

So, the problem is not that there are not enough jobs out there.  The problem is how do you tap into the reserve of jobs out in the marketplace before the other guy (or gal) gets to them.  Before we describe the competitive environment out there let’s first explore where the jobs are:

-         In the mind of hiring managers or company leadership.

-         Waiting for approval.

-         Part of a new company or departmental initiative.

-         Part of an expansion plan.

-         As a temporary assignment to see if a new program will work.

-         Part of a hiring program but just cannot find the right person.

These six examples describe where jobs opportunities abound.  Finding a new job is not just about what is published but what is unpublished.  Unpublished jobs have greater potential to be just for you and what you are looking for.  Unpublished jobs are what you should be looking for all the time.  They are not easy to find.  They are easy to uncover.  That is for another post.

Let’s Get Started!

Jeff

Swirling – Stop Being “Confused” About What Is Next

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Staying grounded while you job search can be tough to do.  What makes it tough is not the actual job search but all the other “stuff” that influences your decision-making process.  Everyone makes important decisions in different ways.  Some do it quickly while others consider all the possibilities.  Big decisions like where you want to take your career and what you want your working life to look like can be tough to make no matter what stage in life you are in.

Swirling is that state of mind when you are deep in the decision-making process, confused and you feel like no matter how hard you try you cannot get out.  Sometimes you feel stuck with no way out.  Maybe you are trying to figure out what job you want to take or what direction is best for you.  Everyone you ask and everything you read doesn’t help.  Instead it feels like you are being turned and twisted in several different directions and you are no closer to where you want to be then when you started; you might even be farther away than before.

Being pulled and turned in many different directions can really take a toll on your emotional state of mind.  It can play tricks on you and your mind.  Those of us who are swirling can easily start down the path of minor (or major) self-destruction.  Not the type of self-destruction which can end a life but self-destruction that can undermine a well planned and orchestrated job search.  Examples of self-destructive type behaviors include telling yourself you are never going to find a job; thinking you are not good enough or you are never going to amount to anything; and even that you are going to go bankrupt and lose everything.  When these thoughts start to creep into your mind, recognizing them for what they are…W-R-O-N-G.

These thoughts can start to creep into our mind during a time of swirling.  The main reason swirling happens is because we have lost our grip on the one or two things that can give us stability.  Stabilizing forces can be a number of things from our friends and family, our religion, or a goal.  The swirling phase is actually a tremendous personal growth time when you can start to better understand who you are and what you need.  Everyone needs something to hold on to; it is a natural desire within us all.  During some of the toughest and most confusing times in our lives, what we need most can bubble to the surface and smack us in the face.  Don’t run from helpless or frustrated feelings.  Instead recognize them when they present themselves and begin to better understand you as you were created.  Yeah, you were created not spontaneously generated…that for a later time.

Stop the swirling by grabbing hold of one or two things.  Reconnect with a friend or spouse like you have never done before.  Grab hold on one of your goals in life and dig deep inside yourself to use it to help pull yourself out of the swirling vortex.  It takes a lot of strength and determination but you will do it one small step at a time.  Stop the swirling and start to see yourself in a new light.