Think As Inc

Avoiding the Annoying Trap

Networking is critical to the jobseeker.  Most jobs are filled via referrals, not ads.  Getting inside is especially important in a slow economy, when companies cut recruiting costs.  Add to this the competitive labor pool and you may be tempted to network too aggressively.  You think it shows persistence, ambition, and moxy.  However, networking the wrong way can just be annoying.  Here are some tips to avoid the annoying trap:

MAKE A REASONABLE CASE FOR WHY YOU ARE NETWORKING.  I recruited for a firm that only placed senior strategy consultants.  We received countless inquiries from people with no background or interest in consulting.  Do your homework, and only approach relevant targets. 

IF YOU APPROACH SOMEONE REPEATEDLY, SAY SOMETHING DIFFERENT EACH TIME.  Your first approach might be an informational interview.  Your second approach might be a personalized thank you for the interview.  Your third approach might be an interesting insight about what you discussed.  Each time, new information is shared.  No approach should just be to check on job openings.

USE THE INFORMATION YOU ARE COLLECTING.  In the above example, information gleaned from the first interview is useful at least two more times – for the thank you and for a future insight.  It is also useful when networking with other people in the field.  You appear knowledgeable about the industry when you share insights from one insider with others.

REMEMBER TO MAINTAIN THE NETWORK.  When your search is over, circle back to the people who helped you along the way.  Get into the habit of not only calling people for help, but of building genuine relationships.

A Win-Win Solution To Labor Market Chaos

A Fortune magazine article for a past downturn highlighted the changing scope of layoffs  – affecting white-collar, as well as blue-collar; recent graduates, as well as experienced.  The downturn is even hitting historically stable jobs, such as banking and consulting.  In these precarious times, one might wonder, “Can anyone win in this problematic labor market?”

An indiscriminate market that hits even the safest careers highlights an important and often overlooked point about the choices we make.  There is no 100% job security.  Every choice carries a risk.  If you make a career choice just to mitigate your risk, you could experience a potentially bigger letdown.  Let’s say you choose that consulting job, even though your dream is publishing.  Because consulting is stable.  Because publishing doesn’t pay well.  If you’re one of a significant number of recent graduates who got laid off when several big-name firms downsized, you’ve lost out twice:  1) you’ve lost your job; and 2) you’ve compromised your dream for what turns out to be a false sense of security. 

A better approach would be to acknowledge that all careers carry potential risks and therefore to take the risk for something you truly want.  This approach is a win-win solution.  If things work out, you have your dream career.  If not, you have the satisfaction of knowing that you did your best for what you love.  Either way, you’ll have a fabulous time on your journey.

Surviving A Lengthy Unemployment

There are special considerations when you are unemployed for more than six months.  Your skills and expertise are getting stale.  Motivation is waning.  Unemployment benefits are running out.  Here are some survival tips:

IF YOU FEEL YOU’VE BEEN OUT TOO LONG, remember that, in this difficult market, many qualified candidates share your predicament.  Employers will not hold this against you, if you come to interviews with fresh ideas.  To keep your knowledge fresh, read trade journals, attend conferences, and keep in touch with your employed peers. 

IF YOU THINK YOU’RE NO LONGER COMPETITIVE, improve your skills – whether specific to your job or in general (e.g., computers, marketing, communication skills).  Look at libraries, community centers or colleges for free or subsidized classes.  Teach yourself through books or online resources.

IF YOU’RE TIRED OF LOOKING, find different ways to keep motivated.  Network with jobseekers to share support and ideas.  Keep a journal of your progress.  Treat yourself after meeting certain targets (e.g., after making five new contacts).

IF YOU’RE LOW ON CASH, keep your financial goals separate from your career goals.  While it would be ideal to make money by finding your next full-time job, you don’t want to take whatever comes along just because you need the money.  In the immediate term, your financial and career needs are separate.  Some ways to make cash:  freelancing, temping, selling, babysitting, housecleaning….No job is insignificant if it keeps you in the search long enough to land that next job.

Taking A Chance In A Down Market

A reader asks:  I’ve been planning a career move, but the market I’m targeting is slow.  Should I wait till the market picks up before making the transition?

Making a move in a down market is tougher than in a robust market.  In the heady days of the last labor market boom, employers were so strapped that they considered a wider range of candidates – candidates with less experience, different industry expertise, or different functional specialty.  Now, employers can be selective and demand exactly the profile they prefer.

That said, there are many aspects to consider in a career move, and the state of the market is but one.  Other factors include professional preparation and emotional readiness. 

Have you thoroughly researched your target field?  Do you know the top firms?  Do you know the major trends? 

Have you conducted informational interviews to gain firsthand knowledge of your target field?  Do you know what personalities and backgrounds are most successful?  Do you know what it means day-to-day to work in this field?

Have you considered the impact of this transition on your life outside of career?  Are there significant lifestyle changes (e.g., longer hours, less money) associated with this transition?  Are you ready to work harder as you always do when you embark on something new?

If you have done your homework and are professionally and emotionally ready for a transition, then this supercedes the market circumstances of the time.  Yes, you could wait for another market upswing.  But then you never know when this might happen, and in the meantime, your knowledge goes stale and your courage starts waning.  In a down market, people still get jobs.  If you feel you’re ready, go for it.

The Importance of Heart

Early in my career, I was told, “You will be phenomenal in whatever it is you put your heart in.”  I have been a pianist, actor, consultant, banker, recruiter, and career coach.  Can you guess who said that?  A musician seeking to inspire?  A coach seeking to encourage?  Actually, I heard this and similar quotes at every stage in my career.  This particular one came from a partner at an investment bank.

Heart is probably not the first thing you think of when you think investment banking.  Yet, this successful person in this quantitative, business-minded industry recognized the importance of desire.  When we discussed the elements of career success, grades, degree, experience, and other tangible qualifications were not mentioned.  We talked exclusively about heart, passion, and wanting to do what you do.

We all hit career plateaus.  It might be an outright setback, like a layoff, or something subtler, like remaining at a position that no longer challenges you.  How do you know if your career is still the one for you?  There are many techniques to jumpstart your progress.  You can find mentors to inspire you, read trade journals to get new ideas, and research industry trends to plan ahead.  You can also just ask yourself:  How badly do I want this?  If your career still gets you excited — lights the fire behind your eyes, pulls at your heart – then focus on that and allow yourself to get excited again.  And you will be phenomenal.

Minding The Bottom Line

Successful businesses mind their bottom line.  Your career is your business, and your personal bottom line matters.  People with strong balance sheets are better positioned to ride out tight labor markets.  People with profitable bottom lines have a cash cushion to rely on during that career change or entrepreneurial venture.  People who mind their personal bottom line have money to fund their career and life dreams.  (If you still don’t believe this, maybe it’s a blind spot; see above!)

However, budgets and to do lists often don’t work.  Wishful thinking about how you could/ should/ would spend your money or your time is often not as illuminating as seeing how you actually spend these resources.  Sometimes, you don’t need to plan.  You just need to see what is actually happening.  Then, you have your wake-up call:  a point-in-time audit of how you’re doing.  For helpful hints on accounting for your time, see the August 2002 newsletter for the Time Diary exercise.  To account for your money, simply check your account balance at the beginning of the year versus the end of the year.  If you use multiple accounts, total your findings for each account:

How much money did you spend? 

How much cash did you withdraw?  Are you bleeding cash? 

How much did you pay your credit card companies?  Are you overextended? 

How much in checks did you write?  Checks leave a paper trail, so you know where this money goes.  Are you happy with where your money is going?

What expenses are fixed versus variable? 

Are you spending your money on your dreams?

The Challenge of Parallel Careers

Many of us have parallel careers – the “money job” we do from 9 to 5; and the dream we harbor on the sidelines.  Even those of us who make the leap to turn dream into dream career may not earn a sufficient or stable income solely from this dream  – hence the prototype of the waiter/ actor.  Thus, we have parallel careers:  the one that fulfills our life; and the other that makes our livelihood.  Here are some tips to meet the challenge of parallel careers:

Clarify your motivations for each career.  What is your ultimate goal for your dream?  Do you want your dream to be your source of income, or do you want to keep both careers?  How much money do you need to make from your money job?  How much scheduling flexibility do you need?  Depending on your requirements, your money job may mean temping, a traditional career track job, or an entrepreneurial venture.

Follow the business protocol for each career.  Take the example of an actor who supplements with temp work.  Acting resumes differ from corporate resumes.  Audition clothes differ from interview clothes.  Interviews vary at a casting office versus a corporate office.  You need to understand the required marketing materials, dress code, and work environments of each career.

Maintain perspective about the benefits of both careers.  The benefits of pursuing your dream as a career include doing what you love every day.  However, resist the trap of begrudging your money job.  Your money job is an investment in your dream.  It sustains your dream and gives it a chance to succeed.  Both careers contribute to your ultimate life goals.

CHANGE YOUR LIFE

The phrase, “life-changing experience,” conjures up images of extreme joy or of undue hardship.  Therefore, the act of changing your life implies momentous decisions involving career transition, financial risk, and emotional upheaval.  Actually, changing your life can be a series of small actions that together lead to big change.  These small actions require no resignation letter, no lien on the house, and no melodrama.  However, changing your life even in small steps does require an open mind and a willingness to start today.

You need an open mind to put yourself first and to not feel selfish about doing so.  Your boss, partner, kids and friends will be thrilled because you will be so much more fun to be around.  Small actions that put yourself first: 

book that doctor’s appointment for whatever has been ailing you and, if nothing ails you, get a physical;

finally book that eye checkup;

see a live show or sporting event and savor the rush of the crowd around you;

rent that movie, read that book, or visit that museum on your I’ve-always-wanted-to list;

eat your favorite food slowly;

put an object of beauty (e.g., flowers, painting) in your workspace;

reserve a three-day weekend with no plans;

take care of a nuisance on your I-must-attend-to-that list (e.g., tailor those pants, frame that photo);

open a retirement account or stick an extra $50 in your existing one;

write a thank you letter to your partner/kid/best friend (yes, even this one’s for you b/c it will remind you how lucky you are);

enter appointments in next year’s planner for next year’s dates with yourself.

You need to start today because change feeds on momentum.  Lack of change feeds on inertia.  If you get moving now, whatever baby step you choose, you put the process in place.  Plan one small action each day.  In a week, you’ll feel energized.  In a month, you’ll be renewed.  In a year, you will have 365 rich experiences that you made happen, and you will recognize your power to change your life in the direction you choose.

CHANGE YOUR MIND

The phrase, “I’ve changed my mind”, is so common that it sounds easy to do.  In fact, our opinions and beliefs are so deeply embedded that changing our minds is rather difficult.  That’s not necessarily bad, since you might not want to be fickle about big choices in life — your significant other, your career, your life goals.  Or do you?  When you review the big choices you’ve made, do they still make sense?

What are your life goals right now?  Goals change.  In college, these might be self-exploration and intellectual challenge.  Later, these might be work/ family balance and financial security.  Motivations change.  In college, the environment is goal-oriented – towards graduation, towards that first job.  Later, there is less external motivation.  You may be so involved in day-to-day living that longer-term goals are ignored.  Motivation must come internally.

What is your career plan right now?  A career is not a random series of jobs, but rather a planned series of professional achievements.  If you have a job right now, what is your current job contributing to your career?  If it’s x, then focus on x.  If it’s nothing, then change your job or change jobs.  If you don’t have a job right now, how do you plan to forward your career?  The focus is not the next job, but rather the next stage in your career, whether that be a job, an entrepreneurial venture, or some time off.

Who shares your joy with you?  Whether it is family or friends, life is not just about achieving goals and career progress, but also about sharing joy.  Write a love letter to your spouse.  See those old friends.  Out of habit, your mind might take your loved ones for granted.  So, change your mind, and actively express your affection.

THE SIX-STEP JOB SEARCH

There are six steps to the effective job search:

Define what you want; 

Create your marketing campaign;

Research your targets;

Network your way into your targets;

Keep motivated and organized; and

Close the offer.

These steps are sequential but also concurrent, and this is not a contradiction.

If you don’t know what you want, you can’t create relevant materials (i.e., resume, cover letter, and other business communication).  If you don’t have your materials ready, you risk researching and networking your way into someone actually showing interest in you, only to have no materials to present.  If you don’t research your targets, you can’t effectively network into them.  If you don’t network (i.e., get out there among potential employers), you won’t need to stay motivated and organized.  If you don’t stay motivated and organized, you risk blowing the offer.

However, the job search is not a linear process.  Opportunities arise unexpectedly, or circumstances change.  You may get to the offer stage, only to realize that you don’t want this particular job (maybe the competitive office environment made you realize you’d prefer a friendlier place).  Therefore, closing the offer (step six) actually helps you define what you want (step one).  Similarly, in the course of research and networking, you might realize that your resume is not as targeted as it can be.  Steps three and four help you refine step two. 

You need to observe the sequence of an effective job search because you need to be as prepared as you can be.  However, you also may need to do the steps concurrently or even out of sequence because you want to be flexible and opportunistic and in tune to how your individual search progresses.  In any case, by minding the above steps, you will be well-positioned for any job search.