BUILD A FOUNDATION OUTSIDE OF YOUR JOB

The best time to look for a job, seek a career risk, ask for anything is when you don’t need anything.  Desperation repels.  Confidence attracts.  All careers have ups and downs and situations out of your direct control.  If you nurture your life outside of your career, you have the confidence to weather these ups and downs.  Just like the company with a cash cushion to weather challenging markets, so you must have a reserve outside of your career to prop you up when things are down.

Build a financial reserve.  If you live paycheck to paycheck, you are desperate for your current job.  You are not in a position to challenge career-stalling assignments, work overload, or poor compensation.  If you have savings, little debt, and liquid money to invest, you are able to take a risk, challenge the status quo, and pursue a dream.

Nurture your relationships.  You are not a different person when you leave your home and enter your workspace.  A fulfilled personal life contributes stability, encouragement and passion to your professional life.  Solid relationships free you to dedicate time and energy to your career.

Mind your health.  Career growth requires a healthy body to work hard and a healthy mind to focus.  You need enough sleep and a good diet and exercise routine to ward off daily ills.  You also need extended periods of relaxation (i.e., vacation) to compensate for extended periods of work (i.e., crunch time).

When you have solid finances, fulfilled relationships, and good health, your career has a platform upon which to grow and thrive.  While it takes time to build a foundation outside of your job, it takes less time than reactively putting out fires as they arise.  A solid foundation enables you to manage your career from a position of strength.

WITH 20/20 HINDSIGHT

For a Fortune 500 media company, I oversee the summer internship program, including coordinating events featuring senior management speakers.  To every speaker on my panel, I always ask:  what do you wish you knew in the first year of your career that you know now?  Here are three of the most popular responses:

Start networking now.  With the labor market becoming more competitive, networking has never been more important.  Yet, for many people, networking comes unnaturally.  The only way to learn is to practice.  Have lunch with different colleagues.  Keep in touch with people you already know.  Find mentors.  Be a mentor. 

Focus on learning anything because everything is transferable.  If the job is selling insurance, your sales skill transfers to selling in other industries and your insurance knowledge transfers to other functions in financial services.  These skills add up and come in handy, sometimes unexpectedly.  I put myself through college with various administrative jobs.  Years later, when I joined a start-up company in a non-administrative position, my ability to do these “mundane” office tasks was quickly noticed by the founder.

Enter and exit gracefully.  Everyone you meet and every assignment you work on has the potential to lead to more opportunities.  Always do your best, and do not burn bridges behind you.  One candidate I met was unexpectedly laid off just months into his first job.  He went back to an employer whose offer he had turned down (albeit gracefully) and was re-offered the position.

AVOIDING JOB SEARCH BOBBLES

The ball pops out of the shortstop’s glove, even though it went straight at him.  “Oh, he bobbled it,” the sportscaster calls.  It’s not a career-ender, but it may get the runner on, and maybe that runner will score.  In the end, the bobble may be costly.  Job search bobbles are small and may fall under the radar.  But, they can be costly, so try to avoid them:

PRESENTATION COUNTS.  A true story:  Mickey Mouse dress socks peek from under a candidate’s slacks as he sits down TO GET HIS OFFER.  The candidate doesn’t get the offer, as the employer interprets his choice of socks as a lapse in professional judgment. 

TIMING IS EVERYTHING.  Get to your interview fifteen minutes early.  There may be forms to fill out.  There may be security hurdles to clear in the lobby reception.  There may be a slow elevator.  All three are true for just one employer for whom I recruited. 

CHOOSE YOUR WORDS WISELY.  Your word processing program only catches words that are misspelled.  It won’t catch words that are out-of-context.  If a salesperson does “meat” clients, perhaps she should be a butcher.  Even the most vulgar trader probably doesn’t work in “pubic” finance.  There may be a “Colombia” University in Bogota, but not in New York. 

In short, be conservative.  Dress in proper business attire.  Give yourself plenty of time to get to the interview.  Proofread all of your correspondence.  Bobbles are only funny on the highlight reel.

PLAYING IT SAFE WITH YOUR JOB SEARCH

The job search process is highly subjective.  Multiple, often conflicting, opinions abound.  If you ask ten recruiters the same question, you may hear up to ten different answers.  For example, I do not care about getting thank you letters from interviewees.  Some of my recruiting colleagues close candidates if they don’t send a thank you letter.  I barely read cover letters.  Some place more importance on the cover letter than on the resume.  With so much dissension among recruiters themselves, how do you know what protocol to follow?  Be conservative.

Since you don’t know what recruiter is reviewing your resume or giving your next interview, submit all resumes with a cover letter and follow up all interviews with a thank you letter.  The recruiters that don’t care will just discard these things.  The recruiters that do care will now not have a reason to discard you. 

This follows with all the basic components of a job search.  Understand what is required, and err on the side of caution.  Have all marketing materials ready (e.g., business card, resume, cover letter, thank you letter, letters of reference, list of references), even though you might not need all of these all the time.  Dress should be professional and neat.  Wear suits in conservative colors (e.g., blue, brown or black) and cuts (i.e., not too short or tight).  Good manners always count.  Be on time.  Be friendly to everyone, including administrative staff.  Have a positive attitude.  You will not know the personality preferences of the people you meet, but you want to be remembered in a positive light.

WHY YOU SHOULDN’T CARE WHAT RECRUITERS THINK

So many candidates want an insider’s view into what recruiters think, perhaps thinking that this knowledge will make them better candidates.  However, with conflicting views among many recruiters, tailoring your approach to any one recruiter may conflict with another recruiter.  So, aside from sheer curiosity, you really shouldn’t care what recruiters think, and instead focus on honing your unique approach.

When you’re unique, you leave a lasting impression

You cannot control what the recruiter thinks, so use your job search to learn more about yourself and develop your own style.  Sometimes candidates do not have the background I need, so I don’t hire them.  But the ones with confidence and a sense of self are the ones I remember (and call in the future) when a suitable opportunity does arise.

When you stick to your game plan, you control your destiny

If you put your real self forward, whatever may happen, you know you gave it your all.  If your real self doesn’t get hired, the opportunity was probably not the best fit, and you have left the door open for an opportunity that better matches what you really want.

When it’s two out with runners in scoring position, you go down with your best pitch

During critical moments in baseball games, where the fastball pitcher is facing a fastball hitter, does the pitcher attempt some other pitch to throw the hitter off?  More often than not, good pitchers challenge with their best pitch.  You cannot tailor your search strategy to the desires of every recruiter out there, so pick the one that suits you, and go for it.

CAREER INVESTMENTS

Investing is not just an activity for your finances.  A successful career requires investments of time, money and energy in several key areas:

TRAINING.  A company pours revenues back into research and development.  So should you invest in your training and development.  Weak or unknown skills in your current profession are obvious candidates for training.  However, building on strengths and honing areas of natural interest even if unrelated to your current job are also important.  Studying something that sparks your curiosity or inspires you benefits your career by increasing your creativity, broadening your imagination, and improving your overall attitude.

NETWORKING.  A company dedicates resources to marketing.  Networking is your marketing function.  Relationships with colleagues and other industry professionals enhance your reputation and help market you.  Increasing your industry knowledge also makes you more marketable.  However, networking outside of your immediate job and industry is also critical.  Knowing different people broadens your perspective.  It also helps you avoid being the equivalent of a company dependent on one large customer.

BRANDING.  A company has an advertising budget, a logo, letterhead, and other well-thought ways of branding to its public.  You are branded by how you present yourself – your attitude, work ethic, personality, and appearance.  If you live a healthy lifestyle, commit to small luxuries (e.g., regular massages, subscription to your favorite theater or sports team), and take care of yourself, you make a statement that you’re worth all that care and attention.  You will project that in your brand.

As with a financial portfolio, a rich career requires consistent attention over the long-term.  Prioritizing regular amounts of your time, money and energy to career-building activities yields dividends in career security, challenge, and fun.

WHY MONEY MATTERS TO YOUR CAREER

Monetary compensation is the most obvious intersection of money and career.  However, there are other equally important, though often overlooked issues where money and career intersects:

Money impacts your employer and therefore money should matter to you.  Profit-making companies care about their bottom line, so you need to focus on how your job adds to that bottom line.  How much are you generating in revenues?  How much are you saving in costs?  If you don’t know how your job adds or saves money, then you better find out because the ability to add measurable value will make you a valuable (i.e., retained) employee.  Non-profit and government employees also can make money contributions (e.g., fundraising, grants, cost savings).

Your personal bottom line impacts your job prospects.  Confidence attracts, and desperation repels.  If you live paycheck-to-paycheck, then you’re desperate for that job.  You probably are not in a position to take on high risk (but high reward) projects.  If you have no savings and suffer a career setback (e.g., layoff), you will be tempted (or even forced) to take whatever comes along, rather than what’s best for your career.  On the other hand, if you are financially stable, you can work for the joy of it and bring more joy to your work.  This attracts even more opportunity.

How you handle money matters even in non-financial jobs.  More employers are running background checks on prospective employees and sometimes that includes a credit check.  Employers reason that how a prospect manages his/her personal money reflects judgment, discipline, and general knowledge.  Whether or not you agree, know that this is happening.  Therefore, if you run up on debt, are consistently late with payments, default on loans, or otherwise endanger your credit score, then you are hurting your career prospects.

Money matters to your career in ways unconnected to compensation.  Therefore, take time and energy to get your money in order.  A solid understanding of business, stable personal finances, and good credit will help your career, not just your money.

PRICING YOUR PRODUCT

In addition to knowing your product, you also need to price it.  The salary of your current job is one indication of your market price.  It is always good to know the going rate for your function, level/ title, and industry.  However, salary reflects what your skills and experience are worth in the specific context of your industry.  You also need to consider your worth if you switch industries (e.g., the teacher who moves into corporate training), switch functions (e.g., the English teacher who becomes a writer) or strike out on your own (e.g., the teacher who starts a tutoring company).

It is critical to understand how your product would be priced if you did strike out on your own.  For the teacher, a move into training is only one example of another potential product offering.  Online education, community/ adult education classes, tutoring, writing training manuals, even coaching are other possibilities.  Think even broader.  A teacher is comfortable leading groups.  Giving tours and public speaking training are also possibilities. 

Now that you have a sense of the range of products you could offer, you can check the market price for all of these.  How much do corporate trainers earn?  What’s the rate for online class teachers, community workshop leaders, tutors?  Pick a product offering that really appeals to you and build it out even further.  If you were to build a touring company, what kind of tours would you offer?  What would be your business costs?  How would you market it?  Do you need staff?  What resources do you need?  How much would you charge?

Thinking like an entrepreneur does not mean being an entrepreneur.  You may decide to stay in your same job, company and industry. In that case, pricing your product (i.e., a salary check) ensures you are equitably paid.  However, the exercise of pricing your product is an effective way to understand exactly what your products are.  It is a reminder that you can survive outside of your current role.  It gives you ideas outside of the specific function and industry you are in.  It opens up new possibilities.

IDENTIFYING YOUR PRODUCT

Every business has a product (or service) line to offer its customers.  Do you know what your product line is?  Do you know what value you add to your employer, your relationships, and your community? 

If you are already a business-owner, you are probably used to identifying your value proposition so you can do effective sales and marketing.  But as an employee, you may not have the mindset that you have a specific product line to sell.  This puts you at a disadvantage in today’s labor market, where employers want to hire candidates who know how to impact the bottom line.  Therefore, it is critical that you identify your value:

YOUR VALUE IS IN YOUR JOB DESCRIPTION.  Write a job description for all that you do.  Focus specifically on what results you produce.  If you are a receptionist, your tasks may include fielding phone calls, but your value is really in being the first line of contact for your employer (marketing) and in managing incoming calls (organizing).  Your product line then is a good first impression and a sense of organization.  Where else can you sell your services?  Reception is but one client.  In what other jobs might these skills add value? 

YOUR VALUE IS WELL-KNOWN AMONG FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES.  Ask colleagues and close friends about your best attributes.  Specifically, find out what you are the go-to person for.  Everyone understands the concept of go-to people.  On a personal level, if you’re blue, you want your funny friend.  On a professional level, for your heavy analytical project you want the number-crunching dynamo on the team.  What do your friends and colleagues go to you for?

Even if you are accustomed to identifying your value at a professional level, it is helpful to take this to a personal level.  When you focus on what makes you a good spouse, friend, citizen, then you offer the best to your personal customers as well.

THE DANGER OF DELAY

One of the downsides of fear is the delay it causes.  You don’t jump in at the meeting, only to hear your brilliant idea espoused by someone else.  You had a fear of being wrong or speaking out of turn so you hesitated, and then your moment was gone.  You don’t lobby for the promotion, and then see it go to a peer.  You were afraid you weren’t ready, but opportunities may not wait till you are ready.

Career success has a strong timing element.  Hiring is based on a candidate’s skills and interests PLUS how these meet what is available at the time.  Interviews turn on how prepared you are PLUS how receptive the interviewer is at the time.  Promotions are granted when employees are ready PLUS there is a need for a higher level at the time.  It is rare to have your opportunities aligned exactly with your readiness.  In most cases, you will have to reach for the opportunity — sell your achievements, stretch your abilities, take a risk, and thus encounter fear.  If the fear causes you to delay too much, the opportunity may pass.

Understanding the danger of delay, then, may help you mitigate your fear.  You realize that you not only have to overcome hesitation but you have to do it as quickly as possible.  Ask people what their biggest regrets are, and they usually are not things that they did, but things that they didn’t do.  You have the benefit of their hindsight.  Jump into your career.  Don’t delay your potential success.

We cannot put off living until we are ready.  The most salient characteristic of life is the coerciveness:  it is always urgent, “here and now” without any possible postponement.  Life is fired at us point-blank.  –  Jose Ortega Y Gasset