I have heard clients say that they feel lost or empty.  For those of us who have been highly goal-oriented, job search might seem that way.  However, this might not be bad.  Fields that lie fallow for a time are better able to support growth.  If you were burned out by your last job or succession of last jobs, what is this time period telling you that you need? 

Transition or job search means that we have to bring in a whole new set of attitudes as well as skills.  What made us successful in prior jobs might not be what is needed in search mode.  I can remember one of my two wonderful daughters-in-law telling me about holding a payroll training class shortly after the birth of her first child, my first grandchild.  She told class participants that something was a “no-no”. 

So we need different mind sets, different skills, different vocabularies during transition.  When you are with groups of others in transition, stop the circular negative talk about the economy, the search, the unfairness.  Find someone who has successfully made the transition and ask questions about how they managed.  Ask questions similar to the following:

1. What helped you the most?
2. What do you wish you had known early in the search?
3. If you had to do it over, what would you do differently?
4. What did you learn about yourself?
5. What advice can you share with me about my search? 

QUOTE 

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you,
If you leave it you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.

~ David Wagoner

 PLEASE COMMENT

Once again, I would appreciate any experiences, comments or questions that will help other readers.  I would particularly enjoy some humorous experiences and success stories. 

HOW TO REACH ME

jill@careercoachjill.com 

www.careercoachjill.com for career coaching   

www.limitlesshorizon.com for personal life coaching

www.leadercoaching.org for leadership coaching 

Thanks to tech guru David Behrens (http://neptunestudios.net), and editor M. C. Pastoret.

Your e-mail and voice mail are important links to those who have jobs to offer.  Does your e-mail system let you know when a message is undeliverable?  If not, do you double check to see if you have the address correct?  

Is your voice mail message professional?  A least favorite is, “I am not here.  You know what to do.”  Is your message brief and to the point?  I am sure your children are charming but not on your voice mail message if you are in search mode.  Your religious holidays are not of interest to the caller.  If you have a choice, make and receive calls from a land line because it can be clearer.  And finally, be very aware of background noise whenever you make a call or leave a message:  turn off the TV and stereo, and step out of the room if there are other people around chatting away.  The only sound the other party should hear is the sound of your own voice. 

QUOTE

“If e-mail had been around before the telephone was invented people would have said “hey, forget e-mail-with this new telephone invention I can actually talk to people.” www.thinkexist.com

PLEASE COMMENT

Once again, I would appreciate any experiences, comments or questions that will help other readers.  I would particularly enjoy some humorous experiences and success stories.  Once a month, I will choose one commenter to contact for a free coaching session.

HOW TO REACH ME

jill@careercoachjill.com

www.careercoachjill.com for career coaching   

www.limitlesshorizon.com for personal life coaching

www.leadercoaching.org for leadership coaching

Thanks to tech guru David Behrens (http://neptunestudios.net), and editor M. C. Pastoret.

I believe the problem is the informational interview.  Outplacement agencies and job clubs push “networking” and teach this technique.  It is stressed that you are seeking information, not a job.  For some of us that would be disingenuous because we are not seeking information, we are seeking a job.  Not all of us are going to do informational interviews in which we ask a contact to meet us for lunch or coffee.  Some of us are not at the place in our career where our contacts are free to meet for lunch or coffee. Networking is the big picture, and the informational interview is just one part of that picture.    Informational interviewing seems to work well when you want to learn

• about a type of career before you switch to it,
• about an industry,
• or about a particular company. 

But even if we don’t do informational interviewing, we all can network by choosing a method that works for our personality and needs.  For example, I have heard of those who have:

• Used a tag line under an e-mail signature about the type of job being sought. 
• Had an accidental interview on a plane when the person sitting next to her asked what type of work she did.  Her seat mate happened to be the CEO of a hospital.  (Thank goodness she had her Personal Commercial polished.)
• Contacted others through LinkedIn or from his contact list for information about a company.  “Who do you know at xyz company who can help me get my resume noticed?”
• Asked contacts for names of recruiters.  The recruiter pays more attention when you have been referred.  
• Attended meetings in their current or desired field.  (Bring  business cards and copies of the Networking Brief.)
• Asked family, friends and contacts to be their eyes and ears about openings in a desired field or at a desired company.
• E-mailed contacts to let them know with wording from the Personal Commercial what is being sought and how the contacts can help.  (You might attach your Networking Brief to the e-mail because it is specific about how you can be helped.)
• Asked contacts if  they know anyone in a desired firm who can let them know what it is like to work there.
• Done public speaking on an area of expertise.
• Volunteered in a field of interest.
• Gone to local job search groups and then had coffee or lunch to better get to know someone else in transition.  This person does not necessarily have to be in your field.  (Once when in transition I had coffee with a man who was interviewing to be COO of a company where I had applied to be the HR Manager.  If he had landed that position, I would have been a shoe-in.)

Please share with me your networking ideas and successes.

Some suggested books that have information on networking:

Change Your Career: Transitioning to the Nonprofit Sector  by Laura Gassner Otting 

In Transition:  From the Harvard Business School Club of New York’s Career Management Seminar by Mary Lindley Burton, Richard A. Wedemeyer

Rites of Passage at $100,000 to $1Million +:  Your Insider’s Lifetime Guide to Executive Job-Changing and Faster Career Progress in the 21^st Century, by John Lucht 

What Color is Your Parachute?  2010: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-changers by Richard N. Bolles.

QUOTE

 “…when it comes to finding out about new jobs…’weak ties’ are always more important than strong ties.  Your friends, after all, occupy the same world that you do. …Your acquaintances, on the other hand, by definition occupy a very different world than you.  They are much more likely to know something that you don’t.”  (Page 54, The Tipping Point: How Little things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell)

 PLEASE COMMENT

 Once again, I would appreciate any experiences, comments or questions that will help other readers.  I would particularly enjoy some humorous experiences and success stories.  Once a month, I will choose one commenter to contact for a free coaching session.

HOW TO REACH ME

jill@careercoachjill.com

www.careercoachjill.com for career coaching   

www.limitlesshorizon.com for personal life coaching

www.leadercoaching.org for leadership coaching

Thanks to tech guru David Behrens (http://neptunestudios.net), and editor M. C. Pastoret.

• Get a business card.  Early in my career search, I found myself in the embarrassing position of writing my name and contact information on a yellow sticky note to hand to a potential contact.  Your business card can be a simple one with your name and contact information on it. You do not have to include your address.  Instead of a title, you put your function under your name.  For example, Human Resources Professional, CPA, Engineer, IT Professional, Administrative Professional, Electrician.  This correlates to the function you used in the summary of your resume and in your personal commercial.  You can get them professionally printed relatively inexpensively or even do them on your home printer.
• If you haven’t joined LinkedIn, do so.  LinkedIn is free, and I have seen it be very helpful to clients.  It helps you develop and manage your network of professional connections—people you know or should know in your field of interest.  Just as important, LinkedIn lets you create a profile for yourself that communicates your value to those contacts.  Your profile is one more way to let the world know what you do uniquely well.  It is worth spending some time writing it.  Then, when you start to build your network, you can ask friends and co-workers to write a recommendation for you.  You might also then do the same for them.

I will write about the Networking Brief next week and include a sample.

QUOTE

“More business decisions occur over lunch and dinner than at any other time, yet no MBA courses are given on the subject.”  Peter Drucker

PLEASE COMMENT

Once again, I would appreciate any experiences, comments or questions that will help other readers.  I would particularly enjoy some humorous experiences and success stories.  Once a month, I will choose one commenter to contact for a free coaching session.

HOW TO REACH ME

jill@careercoachjill.com

www.careercoachjill.com for career coaching

www.limitlesshorizon.com for personal life coaching

www.leadercoaching.org for leadership coaching

Thanks to tech guru David Behrens (http://neptunestudios.net), and editor M. C. Pastoret.

• You introduce yourself.  Hello, my name is….
• Tell the person who you are by function, not by title.  Perhaps use an adjective to describe yourself in this function.  For example, “I am a trend-setting web designer…”  So begin by using the words, I am…. 
• If relevant, say why you are no longer working for your prior firm or why you are thinking of leaving your current firm.  (You will be asked this at some point by friends or during an interview, so get comfortable with stating this.)  Make it brief and non-judgmental.  You might refer to my earlier blog on the Leaving Statement to see how this works
• Say something interesting about your experience or successes that will hook the listener.
• Say what you are looking for in a new job and how the listener can help.  This can include where you want to work.

Once you have written the words, it’s time to practice the commercial. Call your voice mail to record it and then play it back to see how it sounds to you.  Try it out on family members and friends and ask for feedback.  When you are happy with your personal commercial, practice it until you can give it gracefully whenever needed.  Practice in front of a mirror.  Record it without your notes and listen to how it sounds.  Re-record until you can deliver it smoothly.

 As a side note, you might find that you will also use portions of the personal commercial in e-mails to contacts to let them know how they can help you.

SOME NOTES:

1. Express your value.
2. Speak with confidence.  If you are sure of your value, your listener will believe in that value.
3. Make it short.  This is not a history of your life. 
4. Do not improvise. If you do, you will talk too much.
5. Be professional and upbeat.  Don’t let this be about the sadness of what you may have lost.
6. Once again: practice, practice, practice.

AN OFFER

I will help polish, at no charge, the personal commercials of the first three readers who contact me at jill@careercoachjill.com.  This would be for a session of no longer than 55 minutes.  To be considered, you must include in your e-mail a copy of your rough draft and your contact information.  

MY PERSONAL COMMERCIAL 

My personal commercial follows and I would be remiss if I didn’t ask you for help in achieving my goals:

Hello, my name is Jill MacFadyen.  I am a certified life coach who specializes in helping my clients find satisfying careers, jobs and lives.  My clients are given support in all aspects of career search from “what do I want to do when I grow up” to how to be successful in their next position.  One client even reported an improved golf game, a surprise.   I would appreciate your referring to me those who might be less than satisfied with their job, work or life.   

PLEASE COMMENT

 Once again, I would appreciate any experiences, comments or questions that will help other readers.  I would particularly enjoy some humorous experiences and success stories.  Once a month, I will choose one commenter to contact for a free coaching session.

HOW TO REACH ME

jill@careercoachjill.com

www.careercoachjill.com for career coaching   

www.limitlesshorizon.com for personal life coaching

www.leadercoaching.org for leadership coaching

QUOTE

“Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired.”  Martha Graham

Thanks to tech guru David Behrens (http://neptunestudios.net), and editor M. C. Pastoret.

–Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I am reusing last week’s quote because it is so powerful and because it is also apt for this week’s topic about networking.  If one is committed to something—like finding a job—one tells others about it. 

To put it simply, networking works.  It doesn’t have to be complicated.  It can be conversational.  It doesn’t have to be scary.  It can run the gamut from telling the local butcher that you are looking for a job to conducting informational interviews and everything in between.  I think it is especially important after you have applied for a position you would really like.  Then certainly ask contacts if they know anyone at that firm who can help you.

The days when people were embarrassed about looking for work are long over.  I had one wonderful client who used as a tag line after her signature line on e-mails, “Looking for a Project Manager Position.”  That certainly is networking and you will have to decide if it works for you or not.

In next week’s post, I will outline the steps to writing a 30 second personal commercial—also referred to as an elevator speech—which is the first step.  For right now, I would like to give you two examples:

• Friend A told me of her dream job.  Shortly thereafter, I called Friend B about a different topic and Friend B mentioned that her firm had a need for skills that fit Friend A’s dream job and for help in finding a project management employee.  I called Friend C to  see if his wife might be interested in the project management position and he said that he was having trouble filling positions for his firm and he needed someone who would fit Friend A’s dream job skills.  So in two serendipitous phone calls, I had two possible leads for Friend A.
• A client in another state had been a bookkeeper for an automotive credit company for decades.  She is a quiet woman who didn’t think she would like to network.  However, we prepared her 30 second personal commercial and had her practice it until it just flowed.  She went to the local grocery store where the deli manager while slicing ham asked why she was there in the middle of the day.  She replied with her personal commercial which ended with the words, “at this point, my ideal job would be as a bookkeeper for a local car dealer within five miles of my home.”  He responded, “You want I should have the VP of Sales from the Caddie dealer down the street call you?”

You never know who knows the right contact.  So you help yourself by spreading the word.  However, “the word” has to be sincere, positive and upbeat. It cannot ramble.   If you are still feeling negative or down about your situation, go back and read some of the earlier posts.  

PLEASE COMMENT

Once again, I would appreciate any experiences, comments or questions that will help other readers.  I would particularly enjoy some humorous experiences and success stories.  Once a month, I will choose one commenter to contact for a free coaching session.

HOW TO REACH ME

jill@careercoachjill.com

www.careercoachjill.com for career coaching   

www.limitlesshorizon.com for personal life coaching

www.leadercoaching.org for leadership coaching

QUOTE

"... the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too."  Goethe

Thanks to tech guru David Behrens (http://neptunestudios.net), and editor M. C. Pastoret.

This is a powerful quote.  We’ve all had the experience that when we truly set our minds to do something, to make a commitment to an achievement, that things suddenly seem to fall into place for us, to help us along the way—what Goethe calls “Providence.” 

In looking back on my many years and many friends, and all my reading, I am not sure that any of us really commits to New Year’s goals.  We only say “I am going to be kinder to my kids,” or “I am going to quit smoking, or do better at work.”   But have we made a commitment to these goals?  Until we do, Providence will not help us, and our goals will go by the wayside. 

So how do you commit to a goal, to something in the future, yet-to-happen?  I think our usual methods are inside-out:  we want the behavior to happen, but we have not readied ourselves.  That means that it is more likely we will fail to achieve our goals, which sets us up for disappointment in ourselves and puts more stress on an already pressurized cauldron. But there is a way to prepare for pressure-free success. And it starts by striving to appreciate ourselves.  The first step is stopping the “monkey chatter” of self-negative talk.  That means looking out for it even in the way we set our goals.

We tend to frame our goals in ways that presuppose we are imperfect and need to change.  What if, instead, we liked ourselves so much that we wanted to responsibly take care of ourselves?  That’s the meaning of “appreciate ourselves.” If we can make that commitment to ourselves, then “I am going to lose weight” becomes “I’m choosing now to eat nutritiously,” and “I am going to quite smoking” is now “Smoking hurts me and my family, and it’s time to stop doing that.”  With our commitment in place, we may just find that Providence is at hand to supply the help we need to reach our goals. 

PLEASE COMMENT

Once again, I would appreciate any experiences, comments or questions that will help other readers.  I would particularly enjoy some humorous experiences and success stories.  Once a month, I will choose one commenter to contact for a free coaching session.

HOW TO REACH ME

jill@careercoachjill.com

www.careercoachjill.com for career coaching   

www.limitlesshorizon.com for personal life coaching

www.leadercoaching.org for leadership coaching

QUOTE 

"... the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too."  Goethe

Thanks to tech guru David Behrens (http://neptunestudios.net), and editor M. C. Pastoret.

• Everything is left side justified. 
• There is no bolding.
• There are no bullet points.
• It is a plain vanilla version. 

If you try to paste your regular version when a text file is needed, bullet points may come out as question marks or the number 7.  Spacing becomes jumbled.  This is not the impression you want to give to a potential employer.  If you create one text version, you have it on your hard drive and don’t have to fuss with changes anytime you need to use it again.

 To create a Text file, try the following:

• Open your resume
• Click File, Save As
• In the Save As Type Box, select:  Text Only or Plain Text.
• Rename document
• Now open this text file document
• Check document and make minor changes.  Remove any heading for page two as you don’t know how this version will be viewed or printed by the recipient.  If you have used a table, there might be some extraneous symbols that need removing.
• Save it to use any time you need a “cut and paste” version of your resume.

 These directions are for PC users and I would enjoy hearing from Mac users about how they handle the need for Text versions. 

 See  sample that follows.   sam_smith_text_example[1]

PLEASE COMMENT 

Once again, I would appreciate any experiences, comments or questions that will help other readers.  I would particularly enjoy some humorous experiences and success stories.  Once a month, I will choose one commenter to contact for a free coaching session.

HOW TO REACH ME

jill@careercoachjill.com

www.careercoachjill.com for career coaching   

www.limitlesshorizon.com for personal life coaching

www.leadercoaching.org for leadership coaching

FUNNY EXAMPLE FROM A RESUME

Experience: “Child care provider: Organized activities; prepared lunches and snakes.”

Read more at: http://jobmob.co.il/blog/funniest-resume-mistakes/#ixzz0YGOtn621

Thanks to tech guru David Behrens (http://neptunestudios.net), and editor M. C. Pastoret.

Under each position, use bullet points to outline your accomplishments.  Do not use huge, clunky paragraphs.  You need to lead the reader to your accomplishments, not describe in detail how you achieved them.  Try not to use the word, “responsibility”.  What you were responsible for is not as important as what you accomplished.  Ideal accomplishments have three parts—challenge, action and result. 

• Challenge—why was it difficult. 
• Action—what did you do (not what you were responsible for but what did you do).
• Result—why was it good for your company or your client.

I had one client who listed numerous awards as bullet points.  Although it was impressive, there was no explanation of what he did to deserve those awards.  The work behind it was most important and I wondered if this young man could work without praise every step of the way.

PLEASE COMMENT 

Once again, I would appreciate any experiences, comments or questions that will help other readers.  I would particularly enjoy some humorous experiences and success stories.  Once a month, I will choose one commenter to contact for a free coaching session.

HOW TO REACH ME

FUNNY EXAMPLE FROM A RESUME 

Thanks to tech guru David Behrens (http://neptunestudios.net), and editor M. C. Pastoret.

Look through some job postings that interest you and find out what companies are seeking.  If you have those qualifications, highlight them in your summary.  Do not include in the summary anything you do not want to do again.  If you are excellent at filing and don’t enjoy filing, then don’t include it in the summary.  The statements are not done in complete sentences and do not use personal pronouns.

 If you have been in your current position for a long period of time, don’t stress the years.  For example, writing “Technical Sales Professional with 24 years of experience” does you more harm than good.  The reader might infer your age or might wonder if your technical skills are up to date.

EXAMPLES

 An experienced, dependable Administrative Professional with superior organizational skills and attention to detail.  Background includes human resources/benefit administration, sales support, and mortgage account management.  Recognized for capacity to adapt to rapidly changing situations, while providing exceptional customer service.  A personable, articulate communicator with a proven ability to multi-task and manage priorities effectively.  Proficient in MS Office.

Dependable and personable Office Manager with strengths in communication and proactive problem solving.  Go-to person for contracts and price comparisons.  Effective liaison between company and building management.  Comfortable with multi-tasked assignments.  Known for being able to achieve in ambiguous situations with little direction.  With the following skills:

• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Works XP, Adobe Acrobat Professional, Adobe Acrobat Visio and Adobe Acrobat.
• Typing skills 70-wpm.

Persuasive Sales Representative with a record of exceeding company revenue targets using a consultative selling and relationship building approach. Educational sales of textbooks, technology, intervention, and supplemental products. Self-starter with highly effective interpersonal skills and a proven ability to communicate concepts, ideas, and applied knowledge of products and services. Competitive leader who demonstrates persistence, systematically pursues opportunities, and leads by example to achieve company goals.  Known as a quick learner who easily bridges the gap between customers and work place solutions.

Accomplished and dynamic business professional with experience in developing and implementing strategic plans.  Recognized performer with a proven record of directing cross functional teams to deliver excellent results.  Skilled in P&L management as well as adapting to rapidly changing business environments.  Highly effective interpersonal skills and experienced in communicating to a wide variety of audiences.

Personable and tenacious Business Professional with a Ph.D in Biology.  Possessing many years of experience in research, great intellectual curiosity, skills in problem solving and presentation.  Experience in molecular biology and business with ability to explain scientific issues in non-technical language.  A collegial team player who thrives in fast-paced environment.   Fully conversant in Mandarin and currently studying French.  Interested and willing to travel internationally and especially to third world countries. Strong interest in an impactful position in the social services with an International Development or Global Health focus.

In the upcoming weeks, I will continue my comments on writing a resume.

PLEASE COMMENT 

Once again, I would appreciate any experiences, comments or questions that will help other readers.  I would particularly enjoy some humorous experiences and success stories.  Once a month, I will choose one commenter to contact for a free coaching session.

HOW TO REACH ME

jill@careercoachjill.com

www.careercoachjill.com

FUNNY EXAMPLE FROM A RESUME

“Extensive background in public accounting. I can also stand on my head!”

See http://www.speedygrl.com and go to the resume quotes on right hand side 

Thanks to tech guru David Behrens (http://neptunestudios.net), and editor M. C. Pastoret.