Volunteer

Posted: July 13, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Job Search | Tags: , , , | 1 Comment

So, you’ve been out of work for some time; you have (you think) exhausted your network; you have applied for every job you can find; you regularly attend one or two job clubs; and nothing is working? I know it is an incredibly frustrating feeling. Maybe a solution is to try giving rather than taking…

An excellent way to spend some of your now available time is to give some of it away. I suggest you consider four categories of volunteer work:

Based on your profession – find ways, possibly through the local chapter of your professional association, to use your skill set to benefit a not-for-profit. Find a local social service agency where you can relate to their mission and ask if they would be interested in some free professional assistance (I can almost guarantee they will be). If you are an HR person volunteer to conduct an HR audit. If you are an IT person volunteer to install computers. If you are a marketing person volunteer to help them with social networking. You get the idea – give to them what you really want someone to pay you to do.

Based on your community – find a need in your community and see if they need some additional workers. Regardless of your professional training you can most likely pick up trash, serve at the reception desk at your local hospital, read to children at a Head Start, or help direct traffic for a local 5k run.

Based on your passions – find a need that with an agency that does what you love. If you love animals volunteer at an animal shelter. If you want to be outdoors work at a nature sanctuary. If you love art become a museum docent.

Based on your faith – find a need at your house of worship that fits you. You can teach Sunday school, lead a mission trip, coordinate a community garden, or paint the nursery.

The bottom line is that there are better places where you can spend your time other than on the couch watching soap operas or surfing the net hoping to stumble on a new job posting. Volunteering does wonderful things for you. Volunteering can help you keep your skills sharp, learn or practice a new skill, meet new networking contacts or maybe uncover new job opportunities. Just as importantly, volunteering can meet the needs of others and help your community be a better place. Volunteering keeps you keep busy and stay physically and mentally active. Finally, volunteering helps you feel good about yourself and provides energy to help you sustain your job search.

If you can’t find anyone to hire you yet, get up and find a way to give away what you have. Others will benefit, you’ll feel better and it just may help you find that next opportunity.

Back to Basics

Posted: June 21, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Interviewing, Networking | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Earlier I mentioned a symposium I attended on helping homeless Veterans find jobs and some of the job seeking advice I heard there. There was one more bit of advice that’s been running around in the back of my head – do I blog about this or not? I decided the answer is yes. There’s nothing earth shattering here but it can’t hurt to get this kind of advice periodically during your job search.

Here are 15 basic tips that you need to aware of when you go to an interview or a networking meeting. Again, I hope there are no surprises here, but if there are, at least someone told you.  These are not in priority order, you need to do them all.

  1. Be on time. Before the interview know where you are going, how to get there, where you will park, etc. Plan to arrive 10 minutes (or so) early. Sit in your car and relax if you’re too early. Use the power building suggestions from by Body Language post while you wait.
  2. Be clean. I shouldn’t need to explain this.
  3. Smell good. This really should be “don’t smell.” Too much cologne or perfume is sometimes worse than none at all. I suggest you be a neutral as possible.
  4. Dress appropriately. I suggest you dress one step above what that office’s every-day work attire is. Guys – a business suit is not required or appropriate for all occasions. If they wear ties, you wear the suit. If they are business casual, you still wear the suit. If they are in jeans you wear dress pants and a dress shirt – tie is optional. If they are in shorts and filp-flops then you’re in business casual. Never less than business casual. Rarely more than business suit. If you don’t know what they wear, call the company and ask the receptionist. You don’t have to tell her your name J. Ladies – sorry but you’ll have to take your dress cues from my advice for guys. I’m not qualified to translate.
  5. Bring copies of your resume. I suggest between 2 and 5 copies. It depends on how many people you expect to meet.
  6. Bring something to take notes on. Not your hand or a pack of post-its. Don’t forget the pen.
  7. Remember your body language – smile, look people in the eye, offer a firm handshake.
  8. Speak clearly. Talk slowly, clearly. Use full sentences. Answer the question that is asked, nothing else. Don’t ramble.
  9. Remember your manners. Say please and thank you. I think you can use “sir” and “ma’am” but be careful. I may get some backlash on this, but some women take offense to ma’am because they say it makes them feel/sound old. I grew up with parents from the South and sir and ma’am are just part of who I am – no offense intended.
  10. Be patient. Take time to consider the question you’ve been asked before answering.
  11. No lying. Enough said.
  12. Ask questions. Be prepared to ask several questions (even if you already know the answers). You can ask about the company history, the strategic plan, their products, whatever – but show an interest in the organization.
  13. Ask when you can follow up. Even if they tell you when they plan to get back to you, ask when you can check back with them. Be proactive.
  14. Relax. This is a job interview. You are not being investigated for murder. The worse thing that can happen is that you don’t get this job. That’s okay – there will be others.
  15. Be yourself. Let them know all the ways you can make their organization better.

There you go – fifteen simple things to remember. Have a great interview!

Be Prepared for Surprises

Posted: June 18, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Job Search | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Despite your best efforts in trying to predict the future, it just rarely plays out like you think it will. A friend recently received a call to schedule an interview. He’d heard about the job through a networking contact. It didn’t really sound like what he wanted to do; the location wasn’t great; he didn’t think they were going to pay very much; and he thought it was part time. In short, he really didn’t want “waste his valuable time” going to this interview.

I reminded him that a) since he was unemployed his time really wasn’t that valuable, and b) if nothing else he could consider it a practice session and hone his interviewing skills. Grudgingly he agreed.

After the interview he was excited. The networking contact had missed most of the good points. It was a full time job; the pay was okay; the location was easy to get to; and the duties were interesting – he could learn a lot on this job. Now he’s on pins and needles because they are supposed call him the next day with a start date the following week.

As a job seeker, you have to be prepared for surprises. He didn’t think this interview was worth his time a now he’s hoping for a job offer. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard of people interview for one job, but then being hired for a different job because of their skill set. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone into a networking meeting thinking I’m wasting my time and walked out with 3-4 excellent leads.

My advice is to go in to every interview and networking meeting with your eyes wide open. Give them your best stuff and then be prepared to step back and see what happens. Sometimes you’ll get a surprising job offer or networking leads and sometimes you’ll get some good practice. Either way, your job search is moving forward. Keep at it.

Join the Club

Posted: May 24, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Networking | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Join the club – a phrase with many meetings. When you first lost your job and met a fellow unemployed person the conversation might have been “I just lost my job,” followed by “Join the club.” The phrase means – me too, or you’re not alone. But join the club has a different connotation for job seekers. Maybe you need to join the “job search” club.

Across America you’ll find thousands of job clubs. These are groups of people that gather, usually weekly, to network, share job leads and just support each other. Job clubs are an excellent way to give your search a boost.

Job Clubs are often run by churches or other community groups. Frequently they are hosted by an area HR professional. Those that I’ve attended work a little like I imagine an AA group to work. There is strength in being able to admit to a group of peers, “Hi, my name is Bob and I’m unemployed.”

The practice of regularly attending a job club gives your search structure. Much like going to work you have a place to be and a time to be there, you have to prepare (so you have something to contribute), you get to contribute, and if you’re lucky enough to be at the right club, you may also get some refreshments.

Some job clubs work like book clubs, and they’ll agree to read and talk about a book on job search (maybe soon they’ll be talking about I’m Fired??!). Some involve going around the room and reporting on your progress. Most celebrate their graduations when a member finds a job.

Job clubs are full of people, just like you, who are looking for work and could use a little help. Check out the job clubs in your neighborhood and start attending. Then, when someone tells you “I just lost my job” you can say “join the club” and mean it.

BTW – on this Memorial Day Weekend, take a short break from your job search, spend time with family and remember those who have gone before, and made possible our lives and our freedom.

 

 

First Impressions

Posted: May 10, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Job Search | Tags: , , , , | 3 Comments

I will bet that when you were very young your mother told you more than once, “You only have one chance to make a first impression – don’t blow it.” She was right, but she probably didn’t know how right she was.

Some fairly recent neuroscience has confirmed that we make first impressions within milliseconds and those impressions are hard to change. Think about it. As our ancestors were living in caves and struggling for survival every day, they didn’t have time to interview every new person they met to decide if they should fight or flee. They developed the mental processes to immediately assess if this was a person they liked or disliked so they could react and keep their family safe. We have come a long way since then, but we still have much of that caveman brain.

When you meet a new person, the way that they perceive you in the first few seconds will have a huge impact on their impressions of you. It is even true on the telephone. Scientists have found that just by how you say hello tells the caller a lot about you including your trustworthiness.

Now get ready – this is going to sound like your mother again. When you go for an interview make sure you are neat, clean, well groomed and appropriately dressed. Stand up straight, put your shoulders back and a smile on your face, look them in the eye, say hello in a clear, confident voice and offer them a firm handshake. If you can do those things, the rest of the interview will go well. If you are rumpled, smell bad, look at the ground, mumble a greeting and offer a limp handshake, then pack up your resume and head for the door.

Sound harsh? Maybe – but its life. Self-confidence gets jobs. Lack of confidence gets unemployment. You must believe in yourself. You need to know what you can do and be ready, willing and able to tell others about it. That takes preparation and practice. Get yourself ready. Write out answers to questions and practice saying them out loud. Work on your elevator speech until it rolls off your tongue. Have close friends help you examine your look, your wardrobe, your handshake. Practice your diction and learn to speak clearly. Go to networking events just to practice meeting people and making a first impression. Practice until it is who you are – because it is who you are, you’ve just been hiding behind a lack of confidence.

Regardless of your circumstances, skills, formal training, what-have-you, you can be confident that you are unique. You are a person of value and a child of God. You have worth, you can contribute, you can learn and you can be a positive force for good in your community. You may or may not be ready to be the next CEO, but you can be successful in whatever job you are applying for. If you believe it, they will too.

Ten Words That Will Power Your Job Search

Posted: April 19, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Networking | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

What if I told you that with just ten words you can dramatically alter the success of your job search? Would you believe me? It’s true! These may be my ten favorite words in the whole world. Some are okay all on their own, while others work best in groups. Is your curiosity piqued?

Here we go …

The first three are Please and Thank You. Your mother told you about these when you were about 3 years old, but I am continually astounded at how they’ve been forgotten. It is much more common today to ask for something, without saying please and almost as rare not to heat thank you.

The next three are You Are Welcome. I think soon literary researchers are going to have to comb the archives to find uses of you’re welcome. What passes for “you’re welcome” is likely to be “sure”, “no problem”, “no biggie”, or nothing at all. This one pains me the most. When someone takes the time to show their appreciation for your help, don’t minimize their appreciation with a grunt or “sure”. Say it – “You are welcome.” That way they know that you heard and accepted their gratitude. You closed the loop – you helped them – they thanked you – and you acknowledged that thanks.

Finally, the big four of job search – Can You Help Me?   These four words will open doors like no other phrase. People are inherently good and will help – IF YOU ASK. If you don’t ask, they don’t know you need help and they have other things to do. If you speak those four words people will stop, look you in the eye and say “sure, what do you need.” Stick a “please” in there and wow, what a powerful combination. Follow that with a thank you and you have seven of ten – that’s one powerful exchange.

To borrow a line from Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, “I have always relied on the kindness of strangers.” That is the essence of networking – politely asking strangers for help, getting that help, and saying thank you. Then when someone thanks you, telling them they are welcome.

Try using these 10 words multiple times throughout the day, and see how much more effective your job search can become.

Do I Have to Network?

Posted: April 7, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Networking | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

There are people that just are not comfortable with the idea of networking. Maybe they are shy, insecure or just don’t like meeting new people. I get that. I’m not one for glad handing myself. But at the end of the day, networking is how people find jobs.

Here’s a true story. When I was about to graduate college I wrote letters to the major banks in my hometown looking for a job. I was extremely fortunate that my letter hit HR right when one bank was starting a new department and was looking for new college graduates with my skill set. It was a fluke, but it got my career started.

That job ended three years later when that bank was sold and my department was eliminated – my first RIF. Since then I’ve been RIFed (or whatever you choose to call it) five more times. I’ve been on the wrong side of mergers, acquisitions, downsizings, restructurings, etc. During the intervening periods between jobs I’ve been out of work for periods ranging from two weeks to 13 months. Once I ran my own consulting company for about two years.

I’ve also quit two jobs – once when I got a call from a head hunter with an opportunity too good to pass up and once to take the job I have now. So that means that I’ve been hired nine times. For eight of those nine (excluding the fluke at the bank) I have networked to find the job. I met someone who knew someone who referred me to someone else who was hiring. I was never hired by a friend or a relative. Every hiring process was competitive and all of the jobs were advertised. But for all of them, I learned of the job (and often they learned of me) through networking.

During that same period of time I’ve also applied for lots of jobs that I’ve seen advertised. I’ve had lots of first interviews and I’ve been a finalist probably a dozen times, but I have never been hired for a job that I simply applied for. Maybe that says something about my inability to close a deal, but I’d rather not think that way.

I believe that things tend to work out the way they are supposed to. People find the jobs they need – and that need them. It takes patience, hard work, self-confidence and being honest with yourself about who you are and what you want to do. But using me as an experience as an example, if you don’t network, you don’t work.

Now, let’s get out there and knock on some doors.

Pray for Whirled Peas

Posted: February 17, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Networking | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

I have a friend who has a t-shirt that intrigues me.  The shirt has a graphic of a round green and blue swirled ball that vaguely resembled the view of Earth from space.  The caption is “Pray for Whirled Peas.” It is great! She also has one that simply says (in large letters) HUMANKIND (and in smaller letters) BE BOTH.

These two shirts have, rather obliquely, spawned this post.  I’ve worked with a lot of job seekers and the key to finding a job remains networking.  For many, if not most people, networking is difficult.  You have to put yourself in some uncomfortable positions to tell your story over and over.  You have to make yourself vulnerable and ask for help (now I’m starting to sound like Dr.  Phil).  Bottom line – it’s not fun, but it has to be done.

But what makes networking even harder is when you run up against someone who refuses to help.  Someone who doesn’t want to hear your story – or even worse, who makes you go through your whole spiel an then says “Sorry, I don’t know anyone who is hiring.” HUMANKIND people! BE BOTH.

If someone asks you to help them with their network, say yes.  Listen closely to their story and be empathetic to their position.  Always refer them to someone and in those rare instances where they’ve already talked to everyone you know ask to see their Target list.  Encourage and support them in any way that you can.  Make sure they always get something from you: a name, an organization, a job search tip, something.  Do what you can so that when they walk away 15 minutes later they feel better about their job search.

I can hear some of you thinking … “Why?!? The job market is crappy and sometimes these people just need a dose of reality.  They need to wake up and smell the coffee.  This is no land of fairies and rainbows.  There are no jobs like they want, they need to step off their high horse and just get back to work doing anything.”

And my answer to you is “Put a sock in it buddy.” You do not know everything.  You cannot predict the future.  Your job in the networking process is to be helpful and supportive.  Reality will take care of itself.  There are two reasons that you need to behave like this.  One – it’s the right thing to do.  Two – you just might find yourself in this situation in the future and you’ll need friends.  You’ll want to go to the people that came to you and you’ll want them to be helpful and supportive.  It’s a small world and what goes around comes around.

Now, your take way from today is when someone asks you for networking help – give it to them.  And in your spare time, pray for whirled peas.

Where Can I Find A Job?

Posted: February 11, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Networking | Tags: , , | 1 Comment

Wow.  Simple question – hard answer.  There are so many places to look for jobs these days, and so many people looking in them – what is the “best” place to look?  The answer (that you probably didn’t want to hear) is all of them.

The most popular “place” to look for a job these days is the Internet. While not really a place, it is a method you need.  You need to look (often) on all the major job boards – Monster, CareerBuilder, Indeed, CraigsList, etc.   (Look here for one list of the top 15 job boards.)  You may be one of thousands that is viewing that posting or applying for that job, but better 1 in 1,000 than 0 in 1,000.  Better yet, you need to find job boards that are specific to your industry or job type – the numbers are better there.  Regularly look at the website of every company on your target list (see my post from November 16th if you don’t have a target list).  Unfortunately, while lots of people look for jobs on the Internet, not many find them there.

You need to look in the newspaper.  Yeah, I know, the old fashioned want ads seem just so, old fashioned, but you gotta go there.  And don’t stop with your city’s main newspaper, look in the local papers and the “jobs” papers.  Look at all of them every week.  But again, while you need to look, most job seekers don’t find jobs there either.

Don’t forget the local unemployment office.  They have listings of jobs and they are paid to help people fill those jobs.  Plus, talk to recruiters, head hunters, temporary agencies, whatever you call them.  Let them know you are “available to industry.”

I’ve been looking for a good source of job-search statistics and I can’t find any that are both current and easy to cite, but everywhere I look I get the same general feel that if you do everything I’ve mentioned so far you’ve got at best a 50/50 chance of finding a job.  Was 50/50 not what you were hoping for?  What’s the real secret you ask?  Well, it’s not really a secret, but the answer is networking.

Networking is the key.  Somewhere between half and 95% of jobs that are filled (depending on who you ask) are never advertised.  They are filled when the hiring manager has an opening and knows a qualified candidate.  Those might be internal promotions or transfers, but more often than not the personal knowledge came from networking.

You need to tell everyone you know that you are looking for a job.  Take your resume with you everywhere you go.  Ask everyone you talk to for a referral to someone else.  They may not know of any jobs but their name will open another door.  When you can call or email a stranger and say “Bob Smith told me that you might be able to help me,” they will usually be willing to stop what they are doing and listen to your story.  Just keep repeating that process.

The message today is get out from behind that computer screen and go talk to people – face-to-face.  Tell them your story and ask them to refer you to someone they know.  That chain of people, while possibly long, will have the link to your next job.

Burning Bridges …

Posted: February 7, 2014 | 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.

Burning Bridges has some very different connotations.  Here’s a link to an interesting blog post.  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 where I come from.  Burning bridges to me means a scorched earth policy and I think that mentality will limit your career.

Here’s another interesting blog post.  In this one, Roger Custer suggests that burning bridges may involve trashing your former boss or company, or using confidential information inappropriately.  Again, these are a career limiting decisions.

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’m not advocating that you continue to work in an unhealthily atmosphere, but I am suggesting that you leave with your dignity intact.

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

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