Burning Bridges …

Posted: March 27, 2021 | Author: | Filed under: Job Search | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Johnny Paycheck sings “Take this job and shove it, I ain’t workin’ here no more.”  There is something liberating about just writing those words, much less being able to say them.  But walking into your boss’s office and doing your best Johnny Paycheck interpretation probably isn’t great career advice (unless you can do it in style, go viral and get an offer from Queen Latifah).

Burning Bridges has some very different connotations.  In this post, Rebecca Thorman says that if burning bridges means cutting ties, then by all means, there are many good reasons to cut ties and move on.  I agree.  But she also says, “You shouldn’t just walk out. You should give notice and finish your projects and be polite (if for no other reason than your own sense of pride and accomplishment),” and that’s really where I come in.  

To me, burning bridges means a scorched earth policy.  It means trashing your former boss or company, or using confidential information inappropriately.  (Can you hear Johnny Paycheck in the background?) These are career limiting decisions and can have horrible effects on your job search.

Regardless of how you leave a job, leave it with as much dignity and grace as possible.  Follow Ms. Thorman’s advice.  After you’re gone, my advice is much like your mother’s was long ago, if you can’t say something good about someone, don’t say anything at all – especially in an interview.  No interviewer wants to hear you bash your former company or complain about how poorly they treated you. Be a grown up, highlight the good parts or stay quiet.  

I strongly support not burning your bridges, because you may need them.

If you are struggling with your job search, this might help.  https://im-fired.com/about-the-book/

Your resume needs more than content – it needs context

Posted: March 20, 2021 | Author: | Filed under: Resumes | Tags: , | 1 Comment

Let’s talk about your resume.

Most resumes I see contain a career history; a list of jobs where the person has worked, and often some description of their duties or responsibilities.  But what is missing is context.  Someone may tell me they managed this, or implemented that, but there is nothing to suggest that they managed it well or what impact the implementation had on the organization.  Without the context, their “responsibilities” are interesting, but not particularly helpful.

A list of accomplishments tells the recruiter what you’ve done and how successful you’ve been. It provides context to your work history.  The premise is that what you have accomplished for prior organizations, you can accomplish for the next one.  The good news is, that premise is usually accurate.

Separate your career history (which you still need) from your accomplishments.  Include a section where you quantify what you’ve accomplished.   A “responsibility” might read: “Responsible for managing a staff of 14 with an operating budget of $500,000” which is impressive.  But imagine instead that the “accomplishment” said “Successfully managed a staff of 14 with an operating budget of $500,000 with turnover substantially below the organizational average and expenses within budget,” then we’d know a lot more about you.

Put together a list of 10-15 of your career highlight accomplishments, then pull the 5-7 that really fit the job you are applying for, and sort them by order of importance to the job you are applying for. Now you have a customize resume for a specific position.  In your cover letter, highlight the top one or two accomplishments.  Tell the hiring manager how much you increased sales or profits, reduced expenses, expanded market share, etc.  That is what will open their eyes, and get you the interview.

If you are struggling with your job search, this might help.  https://im-fired.com/about-the-book/

Does Networking Really Work?

Posted: March 13, 2021 | Author: | Filed under: Networking | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Maybe you’ve been looking for a job for a while, and you are getting frustrated?  I can understand that, but I need to stress networking really is the key.  I have worked for 14 different organizations in my life. Three were before I graduated from college and the rest make up my professional career.   I have applied for at least one-hundred jobs, online or via mail, and I’ve had lots of interviews; but I have never been hired because I responded to a job posting. 

I got my first job at age 14 by asking about a help-wanted sign in the window of a fast-food restaurant.  One time I found a job through a professional recruiter. Every other job I’ve had, I found through networking.  Each time, someone I knew suggested that I talk with someone they knew, and those introductions led to an interview, and to a job offer.

It’s also important to understand that I don’t quit jobs very often.  Seven of the organizations I have worked for asked me to leave due to position eliminations, business closings, or changes in ownership.  Once, I was recruited away, and once, I left a part-time job for a full-time job.  And twice, when I couldn’t find a job, I became a one-man consulting company. So, I needed to learn to network.

You should also know that some of my transitions were quick, and some were not.  The first time I got “fired” was my first job out of college. The bank I worked for was about to be sold and I was told on the Monday before Thanksgiving that my department was being eliminated and my job would end after Christmas.  The good news was that I got to be a stay-at-home dad with my infant daughter for a month.  And, I networked into a better job before my severance ran out.  Twice, I was able to identify a new job before the current job ended, so I easily moved from one to the next.  One time I looked for three months before deciding to give consulting a try full time.  One time it took me 13 months to land a new job.

So, I get it.  Job search can be frustrating and exhausting.  You may find a job quickly, or your search could drag on, and on. And, while you need to work with search firms and to apply for jobs you see advertised, networking is the key. Through networking you can learn more, reach more people, and find jobs that are never advertised (six of my jobs were never posted).

From my experiences I wrote a book.  If you are struggling, this might help.  https://im-fired.com/about-the-book/

Meet Cherise

Posted: March 6, 2021 | Author: | Filed under: Support | Tags: , | Leave a comment

I’d like you to meet Cherise, a new character in this edition of the book.  Like Bob, Cherise is a jobseeker, but Cherise has zeroed in on her dream job.  Its’ the perfect job, at the perfect company.  She feels like she’s been preparing for this job her whole life.  She even gets to be one of two final candidates and nails the interview.

Then … they offer the job to the other candidate.  Cherise is beyond disappointed.  She’s devastated.  Crushed.  She says that she is not sure she can even get out of bed.  Why even bother looking for another job?  What will everyone think?

From my sidewalk-psychologist’s chair, I believe that Cherise has allowed her self-identity to be consumed by her job and her career.  In this state, she might label herself as an unemployed woman, rather than as a woman who is currently unemployed.

Bob tries to help because he knows that Cherise is wrong.  She will get up tomorrow, take a shower, get dressed, and get to work finding a job.  She will continue to care for her family.  She is more than her job.  She is a bright, talented individual, and while she thought that job was perfect for her, someone else disagreed.  It wasn’t that she was an awful person whom they hated.  They simply made a business decision that they felt the other candidate was the best one for them.  In the long run, they may learn that they made the wrong decision, but by then, Cherise will have a new job, that she loves and life will go on.

Remember, you are not your job.  Jobs are important because they provide the income we need to live our lives in the manner that we choose, but we are so more than what we do to earn a living.  In one of my favorite poems, Desiderata, Max Ehrmann writes, “Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.  You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.”

If you need some help, read this.  https://im-fired.com/about-the-book/