The Golden Bullet in the Job Search

I previously wrote about silver bullets in the job search process (see May 31, 2009 “Job Search Silver Bullets”). These are networking connections that become advocates for you and lead you to connections and jobs that you might not otherwise have had accessed without them.

Recently I had a networking lunch meeting with my former HR colleague and I observed that she was truly disengaged with her current company. She has a long history with her company of steady growth in responsibilities over the years. However, the company was recently acquired by a bigger company headquartered in a different city and the new company has a different set of values and decision making authority for employees. She no longer felt empowered to make decisions. As we talked she finally revealed that she was thinking about initiating a job search. She hadn’t yet pulled together her resume and she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do next in her career. She indicated that she might look at changing industries or even moving to a different type of role in human resources. Then she said something even more significant. She thought about immediately reaching out to her former CEO to get a reference and network with him.

As we discussed things regarding this CEO connection I thought about the silver bullet concept. This was a huge and powerful connection for her. He was someone that in just one phone call could swing wide open doors for her that she normally wouldn’t have been able to crack open. That is when I shared with her that the CEO was not a silver bullet but really a golden bullet. On a few occasions we may meet a person that may be an even more significant and powerful connection than any other one.

I suggested to my friend that she take some time thinking and preparing herself first before she ever approaches the CEO. Knowing this CEO, I would fully expect him to pepper her with questions and she would want to be ready. Being unprepared could diminish the impression she was trying to make and lose some of the potential impact of the opportunities that might come from the meeting. He would be such a tremendous asset for her as a reference and advocate that she would want to do everything to make sure she was prepared. I asked her to think about the differences between the successful meetings and unsuccessful meetings she had with him when they worked together. She quickly indicated that the successful ones were where she had done her homework.

After we parted from lunch I received an email from her that evening indicating that she thought about our conversation and she was going to begin preparing for a job search. She also indicated that she wouldn’t reach out to the CEO until she answered the questions to herself that she would expect the CEO and others would ask.

While a lot of us may not have a golden bullet like my friend has, we are likely to encounter people that will provide us tremendous value and even advocacy in our job search. You may not even recognize it in that first meeting. You want to prepare yourself for each of the connections. Do the homework.

A Good Chuckle in the Dog Days of Summer

We are coming into those dog days of summer and every now and then we need a good laugh to lighten things up during these long hot days. This article from CNN.com/CareerBuilder.com titled: 43 Weird Things Said In Job Interviews came across my computer at the right time and made me chuckle.

The article reminded me about my own experiences as an HR professional. In my 20+ years in human resources and thousands of interviews that I have conducted over that span, I have heard some pretty bizarre responses to some very ordinary questions. Just when I thought I had heard everything over the countless number of interviews, a new interviewee will throw a response out that will make me think, did I just hear him correctly? Did he really say that out loud in this interview? I look back on them now and get a little chuckle thinking about the off-the-wall answers I have heard.

As an interviewee, I am sure I have made my fair share of dumb remarks along the way but fortunately I don’t recognize any of my responses in the answers shared in this CNN article.

Pour yourself a tall glass of lemonade and enjoy the CNN/CareerBuilder article. It will be a good little break during these long dog days of summer.

Effective Goal Setting in the Job Search Process

We just crossed the halfway point of 2009 and it made me think, what would I be doing if I was an HR leader with a company? It would be midyear goal review time. I would be sending out that reminder (okay, I am sure it was perceived more like a nag) to business leaders, managers, and my own staff that is it time to review the status of your goals and objectives for the year. Are employees on track? Do they have any issues or barriers? What help is needed to accomplish them? I would stress to managers the importance of discussing the progress of the goals with their employees, and having their employees share their progress with the rest of their team. Just like in business, goal setting in the job search process is critical for a successful job search. Setting targets and proper alignment will keep you focused and help you achieve the end goal: landing that right job.

I recently met with a friend that is seeking employment. She had been testing the waters for about three months in the freelance world, but has found that she wasn’t as happy working outside the structure of a traditional workplace. She likes getting up each day with the purpose of going to a company and being around a team of other creative professionals. While she said she was going to continue to do freelance work as a source of income, she had determined that she was going to seek a regular job in her creative field with a company. She shared with me that she was struggling with setting a consistent daily schedule for herself but was taking the necessary steps to become more focused in her job search. She explained that she has recently aligned herself with another friend who is out looking as well. They now meet every other Monday at 8 AM to review their progress. Since they know each other very well and are in the similar creative field they know that they can’t bluff each other on what they did or didn’t do the prior two weeks. She had decided to expand her networking efforts and joined some groups in her field to attend their networking functions. She also was contacting some creative agencies that place professionals like her on temporary assignments. It is very common in her field for temporary assignments to become permanent. And lastly, she had determined that she would go to the coast for a couple of days with her friends and recharge herself for her new focus of finding a job with a company.

Whether she had realized it or not my friend had just completed a goal setting session for her job search plan. She had all the elements needed for effective goal setting.

• Set the goal with the end target in mind. She had decided to seek regular full time work instead trying to stay as a freelancer.

• Establish tactics or actions to enable you to achieve the main goal. My friend set plans to join groups and meet with creative agencies.

• Align your goals in step with your life goals, annual goals, monthly goals, and weekly goals. My friend wanted to set a firm schedule to give herself the permission to do other things during the summer besides just looking for a job. She was also reading a book titled 10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea, by Suzy Welch, about making priorities and balancing your life.

• Keep your goals manageable. Don’t over commit yourself. She knew that she needed to set a regular daily schedule with regular tasks and appropriate blocks of time just like she would in a typical workplace.

• Write your goals down and post them in a place where you can see them! I didn’t see her goals and plans but knowing the type of person she is, I am confident she has them written down and posted near her computer. Share your goals with someone else. Ask for their support. My friend found a search buddy to share and help hold her accountable.

• Regularly review your goals, adjust and update. She adjusted her goals along the way with the decision to switch from freelancing to a regular position.

• Celebrate achievements and completions. Going to the beach for a couple of days was a celebration for her. She had accomplished several action steps over the past couple of weeks and was rewarding herself with some needed R&R.

Use goal setting in your job search process just like you did at work. It will have the same positive effects in your search as it does at work. It will have the added benefit of keeping your goal setting skills sharp for when you get back into the workplace.

The Balancing Act. The Job Search/Life Balance

Summer break is well under way with most of our kids out of school and the 4th of July just around the corner. My two teen age boys are bouncing in and out of the house all day, and working out of the home often can be distracting. As when you are working, the work/life balance can be an issue with a lot of people. The competing demands of the job frequently and unfortunately seem to win out more times than not over the home needs. The same can be true during the job search process. The job seeker will struggle with the job search/life balance.

Some people will say that you are lucky to be free during the summer and you should try to enjoy the time off with your family. However, the pressure to find a new job to support your financial needs weighs heavily on you. You may feel guilty while spending time with the family, thinking you should be spending that time job searching. Or the opposite, you feel guilty because you passed up an opportunity to do something fun with family or friends because you felt like you needed to do something related to your job search.

These breaks in your employment history can be sometimes a very rewarding time for many job seekers. You may get to focus on family more, help out with a non-profit, get that house project done, or coach a youth sports team. Sometimes, with your children, they look back on these times with fond memories because dad or mom had more time to do fun stuff with them.

Several years ago, I was out looking for a new job during the summer months. My boys were elementary school aged and our neighborhood has a community pool. Nearly every afternoon I blocked time out of my job search schedule to take them up to the pool in the afternoon. I was able to read some professional books lounging by the pool, and even did some networking while hanging out. Later in the summer my son’s fourth grade soccer team needed a coach. I know as much about soccer as I do about building a rocket. World Cup? Is that the same as a travel cup? I had coached youth basketball, and since they were 4th graders I figured I couldn’t do too much damage, so I went ahead and said yes. It turned out be a fun experience and some of those boys have now moved on to play on their high school soccer teams despite having me as their coach earlier in their development. The other positive outcome of that coaching experience was that I got to know one of the parents better and he lead me to a job opportunity that I eventually landed. It proved to me again that you will never know where those connections may come from.

Frequently job seekers will put their life on hold when they get laid off. While you may not have the financial means to do all the things you used to do, there are still several fun things that can and should be done that are free or inexpensive. Instead of going out to dinner as you used to, pack a picnic and attend one of the free concerts in the park. You will want to take breaks from the daily job search grind, just like you took breaks from work.

Scheduling the time into my day was the key for me to manage the balancing act. I build my job search and networking schedule around the time I planned to spend with my family. I tried to hold that time on my schedule. Sometimes I had to adjust and shift the time around to get on the calendar of someone with whom I was trying to meet. For the most part, I was able to maintain the balance.

This job search/life balance is different for everyone just like it is with work/life balance. I would encourage you look at how you are spending your time and try to build some quality fun time into your schedule. You don’t want to look back and feel guilty about missing out on something.