Graduation advice is for job seekers, too

by Jennifer Bowden, Training & Workshop Coordinator

As the school year draws to a close, there are plenty of people out there giving speeches and advice to new graduates. Business Insider recently posted an excellent article with a roundup of the best advice ever given to graduates from such prominent figures as Oprah Winfrey, Winston Churchill, J.K. Rowling, and others. There are some great parallels to advice for job seekers – you’re at a crossroads as well, and advice directed toward someone starting on a new stage of their life might very well apply as you figure out the next step in your career.

Know that you are in charge of your own fate. Don’t be afraid to mess up. Act with honor and integrity. Find work you love.

What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?

JEFF BEZOS: Everything you are comes from your choices.

From Bezos’ 2010 commencement speech at Princeton:

“Tomorrow, in a very real sense, your life — the life you author from scratch on your own — begins.

“How will you use your gifts? What choices will you make?

“Will inertia be your guide, or will you follow your passions?

“Will you follow dogma, or will you be original?

“Will you choose a life of ease, or a life of service and adventure?

“Will you wilt under criticism, or will you follow your convictions?

“Will you bluff it out when you’re wrong, or will you apologize?

“Will you guard your heart against rejection, or will you act when you fall in love?

“Will you play it safe, or will you be a little bit swashbuckling?

“When it’s tough, will you give up, or will you be relentless?

“Will you be a cynic, or will you be a builder?

“Will you be clever at the expense of others, or will you be kind?

“I will hazard a prediction. When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices. Build yourself a great story. ”

CONAN O’BRIEN: Success is a lot like a bright white tuxedo. You feel terrific when you get it, but then you’re desperately afraid of getting it dirty, of spoiling it.

From his 2000 commencement speech to Harvard:

“But my mistakes have been necessary. I’ve dwelled on my failures today because, as graduates of Harvard, your biggest liability is your need to succeed, your need to always find yourself on the sweet side of the bell curve. Success is a lot like a bright white tuxedo. You feel terrific when you get it, but then you’re desperately afraid of getting it dirty, of spoiling it.

“I left the cocoon of Harvard, I left the cocoon of Saturday Night Live, I left the cocoon of the Simpsons. And each time it was bruising and tumultuous. And yet every failure was freeing, and today I’m as nostalgic for the bad as I am for the good.

“So that’s what I wish for all of you—the bad as well as the good. Fall down. Make a mess. Break something occasionally. Know that your mistakes are your own unique way of getting to where you need to be. And remember that the story is never over.”

CAROL BARTZ: The gloom and doom of today’s job market is not going to shape your future. The economy’s cyclical. Get used to it.

From her 2012 commencement address to UW Madison:

“Look past the gloom and doom headlines, and actually don’t believe that the events of today are the ones that are going to shape your future. Because your work life is very, very long. You’re the first generation that is preparing for a 50-year work life, and you know why. You have to support all of us.

“You know, that probably sounds like an eternity now, and you’re probably saying let me first get a job and then I’ll worry about working 50 years, but truly, for all kinds of reasons, health reasons, economic reasons, most of you will be working into your ’70s and ’80s, which actually isn’t all that bad. Retirement now at 62 and 65 as we think of it will be a thing of the past. You know, think of instead of this as a burden as a series of opportunities. In fact, people used to go to a job and stay in that job forever.

“That doesn’t happen anymore. How boring is that? So think of it as a chance to find and discover new things. If you start a job or business this summer or fall or a year from now, you’re going to realize how much runway you actually have. In the past, people talked about career ladders, and that’s what work felt like. If you were lucky, and you were diligent, and you sucked up and all that stuff, you went up the ladder. Do you want to do that, no. First of all, ladders are very unstable. Do a career pyramid so you have a great base, you can change your mind, you can do a lot of different things.”

STEVE JOBS: Don’t settle.

From his 2005 commencement speech to Stanford:

“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

“I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”

BRADLEY WHITFORD: At the end of your days, you will be judged by your gallop, not by your stumble.

From 2004 commencement speech to University of Wisconsin – Madison:

“Take action. Every story you’ve ever connected with, every leader you’ve ever admired, every puny little thing that you’ve ever accomplished is the result of taking action. You have a choice. You can either be a passive victim of circumstance or you can be the active hero of your own life. Action is the antidote to apathy and cynicism and despair. You will inevitably make mistakes. Learn what you can and move on. At the end of your days, you will be judged by your gallop, not by your stumble.

“But I do want you to be an actor in your own life. Infuse your life with action. Don’t wait for it to happen. Make it happen. Make your own future. Make your own hope. Make your own love. And whatever your beliefs, honor your creator, not by passively waiting for grace to come down from upon high, but by doing what you can to make grace happen — yourself, right now, right down here on Earth.”

HENRY KRAVIS: Relativism is not an option; it is all about honesty and loyalty.

From his 2011 commencement speech to Columbia Business School:

“Professional integrity begins with personal integrity. You cannot get away with the idea ‘our product has fewer defects than the competitor’s’ or ‘our service is not as bad as others’.’ Relativism is not an option; it is all about honesty and loyalty. These are absolutes. Trust me, they will make your lives simpler — and they carry their own rewards.”

 

What Are You Waiting For? Procrastination and the Job Search

You’ve probably heard it said that looking for a job IS a job, and a full-time one at that. This might explain why so many people are willing to put off important aspects of the job search; the thought of spending 40 hours a week on the job search is enough to frighten off the most dedicated job seeker. When you spend that amount of time at a paid job there are tangible rewards: getting paid, the satisfaction of doing good work, recognition from your boss, socializing with co-workers, and so on.

The rewards of the job search may seem few and far between by comparison, which leads many people to procrastinate. The internalconversation might go something like this:

Starting tomorrow, I’m really going to focus on my job search!

I’m going to really work on my job search as soon as I get home from driving the kids to school.

Now that I’m home, I’m going to look for a job. I just need to throw this load of laundry in, then I’m going to focus until it’s time to take Mom to her doctor’s appointment.

I’d better check my email first – there could be a message from an employer!

While I’m online, I should check my Facebook.

Oops, look at the time – I don’t really have time to do anything, so I’ll wait until I get home from that doctor’s appointment.

I need to get dinner started. I’ll look for a job after dinner/after the kids go to bed/after this TV show.

I’m too tired to work on the job search. I’ll start fresh tomorrow.

And so on.

There are actually several different kinds of procrastination:

Procrastination is voluntarily delaying an activity, even though you know there will be negative consequences. Strategic delay is putting off a decision or activity because the benefits of doing something else first outweigh the negative consequences of whatever we’re putting off. Self-handicapping is avoiding effort in order to avoid potential failure. And there are situations we put ourselves into that help us procrastinate, like social loafing (groups of people assigned a task do less work than each individual normally would) and waiting until last-minute deadline pressure forces us to work (arousal procrastination). (Source: “Getting Around to Procrastination” by Romeo Vitelli, PhD.)

We put off tasks that are unpleasant, difficult, or unrewarding, and occasional procrastination isn’t a problem. When it starts to become a regular habit or have serious consequences, it can be helpful to understand WHAT you’re avoiding and WHY you’re avoiding it.

A favorite activity of procrastinators is busy-work; that is, doing some kind of activity that makes you look and feel busy, even if it’s not moving you closer to your goal. If you feel like you’re spending a lot of time on job search activities but not making any progress, try keeping a log and see how you’re really spending your time. Are you procrastinating more than you thought? Here are a few tips to stay focused:

Have a written plan

Know what you want to accomplish in a given hour, day, or week. Breaking down a seemingly-huge task into smaller pieces can make it feel more achievable and help keep you focused.

Schedule your time

Write down job search time on your calendar and avoid competing commitments. You don’t have to schedule 40 hours a week, but you do need to set aside regular time to work on your job search.

Keep your commitment to yourself

Just as you’d keep an appointment scheduled with your doctor, you need to treat your job search time seriously. Don’t let day-to-day commitments sidetrack you.

Rethink your plan

If you can never, ever find the interest or energy to pursue your job search, it may be worthwhile to examine your goals. Would you feel more motivated if you were looking in a different direction?

Be nice to yourself

You don’t have to dedicate every waking moment of your life to the job search. Once you’ve completed your scheduled tasks for the day, be done. It’s okay to have fun, pursue hobbies, and have a social life – in fact, doing things you enjoy will help keep you energized and better able to focus the next day.

Being a Good One

One of my favorite quotes of all time is from Abraham Lincoln: “Whatever you are, be a good one.”

Most people who feel they’re struggling in the job search are having difficulty deciding what they want to do. With all the upheaval in the world of work in the last couple of decades, there’s no longer any such thing as a permanent job or a lifelong career, and sometimes we’re left wondering “What’s next?” Our career search plans and expectations haven’t necessarily kept up with the times.

Here’s what I hear every week: “I’ll do anything.” “I’m open to any kind of work.” “I just want to get my foot in the door.”

If we were really honest with ourselves – and not speaking from fear and anxiety – we’d admit that not every job is equally appealing. People love to use the example “I can’t even get a job at McDonald’s!” – they forget that hiring decisions are business decisions. If the manager at that McDonald’s hires the first person who is capable of running the register or cooking the burgers, s/he has solved a problem or filled a need (at least for the moment). But if that new employee is already on the lookout for something better, a few months later that manager is going to be in the same position of looking for another employee. That manager has a responsibility to find someone who wants that job, not just wants it until something better comes along. If you’re going to do something – be a good one. Be all in.

We’ve become so used to thinking about the job search in terms of what we don’t have, it can be easy to forget that we actually do have skills to offer the right employer. It’s our responsibility as job seekers to articulate the value we bring – and this starts with self-knowledge. Have you recently considered:

•  What kind of work setting brings out the best version of you? If you really love working with people, a job sitting in front of a computer in a cubicle somewhere is going to suck the life out of you. If being with people exhausts you, don’t pursue jobs that require constant contact with others. It’s easier to be “a good one” when you like where you work.
• What do you absolutely NOT want to do? Just because you’ve done something in the past doesn’t mean you’re stuck doing it in the future. While you may take a “survival job” in the short term, your job search is also an opportunity to consider where you want to go and start taking the steps needed to get there.
• Remember that it’s not the employers’ responsibility to guess what you want to do or understand what your skills are. If you can’t explain what you would bring to this new job, don’t expect someone else to do it for you. This is the foundation of your career search, your resume, your networking conversations, your interview answers – take the time to understand yourself and help your next employer see what you’ll contribute.
• Get the word “just” out of your vocabulary. “I was just a waitress.” “I was just a mom.” “I was just a driver.” You have to believe you have something to offer before anyone else can believe it. Whatever you were, you were a good one – and you can be good at the next thing you do, too.
• Know your audience. If you want to work in a particular industry or company, go into those conversations armed with better reasons than “I want a job with a pension” or “I know the industry.” Like people, employers want to feel special – why did you choose this company over a competitor? What is appealing about this industry? How well do you understand the day-to-day tasks? Going into a job search without knowledge of what you want and why you want it is like going on a blind date and telling your date, “I’ll go out with you until someone I’m actually interested in comes along.” Focus your attention on the job you want and you’re more likely to find an opportunity to do it – and be a good one.

In a tough economy, it can be easy to fall into the trap of chasing after a job you don’t really want, just to be employed again. Think about quality over quantity – focus on the things you’re good at, the things you’re interested in, the things you want for yourself – and you’re on the way to being “a good one,” whatever it is.

“That’s Not My Job!” – Flexibility in the Workplace

This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it.

It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

Something like this probably happens in most workplaces, at some time or another. There’s a job that nobody wants to do, because:

• it’s boring/time-consuming/gross/thankless/menial
• everyone is already busy
• it’s not in their area of responsibility
• they’ve already done it and feel it’s someone else’s turn
• they lack the skills or training to do it

In a competitive job market, employees typically don’t have the luxury of saying “That isn’t my job.” If you’re tempted to pass the buck, consider the consequences:

• Important tasks may not get done at all. When it comes to cleaning, maintenance, and other routine tasks, leaving the mess for someone else can also lead to compromises in safety and efficiency.
• If undesirable tasks get pushed down the chain of command, the people at the bottom end up doing all the lousy jobs and are less likely to stay. When those people leave, guess who gets stuck doing their jobs?
• Bad attitudes are contagious. Refuse to pitch in, and your co-workers are sure to remember it next time you need help with something.
• Be the person who says, “Sure, I’ll help with that,” and your boss is more likely to remember who looks out for the good of the company during the next round of layoffs.
• Become cross-trained in different tasks or functional areas and you’ll get a reputation as the “go-to” person. You’re more likely to be considered for collaborative projects with other teams or internal moves or promotions.
• You were hired to solve a problem or fill a need, not just to do tasks. Find a way to solve a problem and you’ve demonstrated that you can be valuable to the company no matter how much the job changes.

If you legitimately don’t have the time or training to take on extra work, look for other ways to contribute and ease the workload on the entire team. You shouldn’t be expected to take on unrealistic workloads or tasks in which lack of training could present a hazard to yourself or others, but your first response should be finding ways to demonstrate your value to the company even if it means stepping outside of your job description.

Do you hate working on a team?

A previous post listed some of the so-called “soft skills” that employers look for in potential employees. We know that technical skills can get people hired and soft skills let folks keep their jobs…. But what if you’re really not good at a particular soft skill?

Teamwork is a great example of this. Few people actively dislike working with others – or at least few would admit it – but there are definitely a lot of negative examples of teamwork in action. Our mock interviews are full of stories of teams in which one person did all the work but had to share the credit, supervisors who played favorites, frantic last-minute scrambles to finish, non-existent training programs, and other factors that make job seekers inwardly flinch at the thought of answering the Dreaded Teamwork Question.

A Google search of teamwork defines the term as “the combined action of a group of people, especially when efficient and effective.” This definition makes it obvious why an employer would care about teamwork – who wouldn’t want efficient and effective workers? If you’re struggling to find good examples of a functioning team, expand your thinking a bit and consider the reasons why we work on teams in the first place:

• Most jobs or tasks are larger than one person could realistically complete on their own
• The skills of others compensate for areas where you lack knowledge, experience, skills or expertise
• You can better develop your own skills by teaching them to others
• Working with a team provides support when things are not going well
• A team can provide accountability and structure in your work
• People who work in environments in which they are supported and feel a sense of belonging are more likely to stay longer, be more satisfied with their jobs, and be more productive

Anyone can say “I work well with others,” but you need to give examples in your interview. Think about other facets of teamwork that can highlight your skills:

• When have you worked with a larger group to complete a really big project? How did your work fit into the overall project?
• When have you learned from someone else? Are you comfortable asking for help when you need it, instead of trying to work it out on your own and possibly taking more time/making mistakes? Can you accept training from a co-worker on your level (or a subordinate), not just supervisor?
• Have you taught, mentored, trained, advised, or otherwise instructed a co-worker on an aspect of the job? How did this help the person do their job better or benefit the team overall?
• When has a project gone terribly wrong? What did you learn? What would you do differently?
• Are you comfortable being accountable to others, or do you get defensive if someone asks for a progress report? Does working with a team help you stay better organized? Are you the person who hands out assignments and keeps everyone on track?
• What are you looking for in the next team you work with? What elements have been lacking in the past? What skills or strategies have you developed to compensate for working with less-than-stellar teams?
• How do you resolve conflicts within a group? How do you take criticism from peers? How do you provide feedback to others?
• Have you gone above and beyond or done work that wasn’t your responsibility in order to benefit the group or company?

Be prepared to give examples that show how you work as part of a team, following the PAR (Problem, Action, Result) format. Showing teamwork skills can highlight other important soft skills, like communication skills, creativity, flexibility, a positive attitude, and the ability to accept feedback. Even if working with a team hasn’t been a great experience for you in the past, having a good understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses will help a potential employer understand how you’ll fit in and what talents you’ll contribute to your new team.

There’s nothing optional about “soft” skills

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the difficulties employers are having qualified candidates for jobs, even among candidates with great education and credentials. The missing factor? The so-called “soft skills.” As an employer told me recently: “We hire based on what you can do, and fire on who you are.” 

At a first glance that seems harsh, but let’s unpack this statement a bit more. You get hired based on your performance at an interview – a one-time (or two- or three-time) encounter that you’ve prepared for extensively. Everyone is on their best behavior. Once you get settled into the tasks of a job, the ways that you interact with others – what you’re like on a day-to-day basis – become incredibly important. Employers can train an employee on your skills, but they can’t train attitude.

So how do you know what qualities to emphasize? The following list of skills showed up most often in my informal survey of articles about the importance of soft skills:

Teamwork

How well do you work with others? Teamwork means more than just sharing a job description or dividing up tasks. Members of a high-functioning team can collaborate, resolve internal conflicts, and negotiate responsibilities. What’s your role in a team? Are you the informal leader who keeps everyone on task? The one who makes sure everyone has a voice in the process? The Steady Eddie who holds the team together? Be prepared to give examples in an interview.

Flexibility

In a competitive job market, you never get to say, “That isn’t my job.” How do you react when someone asks you to do work that’s outside your area of responsibility? How do you prioritize equally urgent tasks? Can you hit your deadlines without a supervisor telling you what needs to get done? Are you dependable? Having a can-do attitude and prioritizing appropriately shows that you understand the importance of your role in the company – and others will, too.

Communication skills

Communication is more than just the ability to talk to other people. When you talk, do others understand your message and priorities? Are you a good listener? Are you paying attention to your body language and non-verbal communication? Can you convey information in writing? Are you good at explaining things to others? The communication skills that are called for will vary by environment; having solid examples ready for an interview shows your self-knowledge and demonstrates your understanding of the job for which you are interviewing.

Positive attitude

Nobody wants to work with someone who’s always negative, cranky, or brings their personal problems to the workplace. Positivity is contagious – stay optimistic and upbeat and put your best foot forward at the start of each day. Maintaining a positive attitude in the face of deadline pressure, external pressures, or personality conflicts shows confidence and reinforces other soft skills, including teamwork, integrity, resilience, communication skills, and more.

Creativity

The ability to consider problems in a new light is valuable in any line of work – unexpected issues always come up, and being able to think on your feet and solve a problem quickly can make a huge difference in a company’s bottom line. Are you a problem solver? Can you try alternate approaches until something is done right? Can you look past “the way it’s always been done” and consider new solutions? When a new project or process is rolled out, you’ll be the person that leads the way for the rest of the team.

Accepting feedback/having accountability

The way in which you accept feedback and take responsibility for your actions says a lot about the quality of your character. This is an important thing to remember in interviews! If you were faced with a difficult situation, such as being terminated, what you learned from it and how you handled yourself afterward can give a potential employer confidence that you can learn from your mistakes and become a better employee.

Wikipedia defines soft skills as “personal attributes that enhance an individual’s interactions, job performance and career prospects.” Soft skills can be a differentiator between equally-qualified candidates, and can determine who stays with a company during tough economic times. Technical skills are important to launch a career, but soft skills are essential to maintaining one.

What are you getting yourself into? Gauging company culture

A lot of companies seem to be talking about their culture lately, and what it means for employees to be “engaged” in that culture. It’s pretty widely recognized that the environment you work in can be just as important as the work you do, so understanding what company is really like is a key part of the job search.

Who does the company think they are?

Company culture is deeper than the taglines on a website or poster – but those taglines will tell you a lot about what the company *wants* to think is important. Knowing “who you want other to think you are” is an important part of the culture puzzle. Look at the official website, social media sites, and other media published by the company. What is their self-image? Are the company’s actions consistent with their stated values?

Internal expectations are a big deal. The way that employees dress, for instance, can send a lot of messages about what’s expected. How do people communicate – it is OK to drop into the boss’s office for a brainstorming session, or do you need to schedule a meeting in advance? Norms like this can help you understand more about your day-to-day environment so you can decide if it’s a fit.

Be an online detective.

Tap into your network of contacts. Thanks to the power of social media, it’s easier than ever to tap into friends of friends with a direct line to the company. Check your Facebook and LinkedIn contacts; do you know someone who works (or worked) at the company? If not, do you have 2nd or 3rd degree connections that could provide some insight.

Look at sites like Glassdoor, Jobitorial, Indeed,  or similar to see what people who work at the company have to say. Is it a match for the “official” culture? If a company’s site talks about work/life balance and employees are talking about their 60-hour work weeks, you need to dig deeper.

If you have specific requirements such as flexibility or telecommuting options, niche sites like FlexJobs.com can provide a starting point. If you’re using a large national job board to look for leads, use “telecommuting” or “work at home” as part of your search terms. Concerned about balancing work and family commitments? Check out the list of 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers from Working Mother.  Want to stay local? Use the Michigan Business and Professional Association’s list of Michigan’s 101 Best & Brightest Companies to Work to identify local companies with values and priorities that align with yours.

Ask great questions in the interview.

One of the hardest things to remember as a job seeker is that this is a two-way process. You should be evaluating the company just as much as they’re evaluating you; after all, you’re about to spend a lot of time with these people, and you want to make sure the setting is one that lets you be the best possible version of yourself.

Check out these links for some suggestions about great interview questions that get to the heart of culture:

11 Ways to Gauge Your Next Employer’s Culture

7 Interview Questions Uncover Corporate Culture

4 Sneaky Ways to Determine Company Culture in an Interview

How to Find Out if a Company is a Cultural Fit for You

Why should you care?

Having some knowledge of the company culture will help you talk more confidently in your interview about the reasons you’d be a great fit for the job. It shows your sincere interest and helps your interviewer picture how you’ll fit in and do the job. Aside from the boost it can give your interview, there are some very practical considerations: recent research and articles show that people are happier, more productive, and stay longer at companies where they feel comfortable.

Defensive Googling: What Does the Internet Say About You?

It’s common for job applicants to search for company information online before a job interview – but savvy job seekers know that companies may also be searching them. Have you Googled yourself lately?

The job search resource site Jobhunt.org calls this practice “Defensive Googling,” and it’s a smart practice for every job seeker, whether you have an active online presence or not. A 2012 study conducted by CareerBuilder indicates that nearly 2 in 5 companies use social media to screen candidates, and a third of those reported reconsidering a candidate on the basis of information found online.

So what do you look like online?

It’s valuable to know what online impression you’re making. Even if you’re using privacy settings on your social media, remember that anything you post can be reposted by a friend. If you comment on news articles, web pages, or a company Facebook page, those comments become public. Someone could learn a lot about your political views, what you read or buy, and how you spend your free time just by looking at your online footprint. Social media lets us tie together a lot of our online activity, but you might choose to skip the convenience of one-click logins and read or shop anonymously – it all depends on your own personal comfort level.

But what if it’s not you they’re looking at?

In the vast world of online information, it’s entirely possible that a search conducted on your name will turn up information on someone whose name is a match, but whose behavior is not. Even if you’re never online – even if your public persona is squeaky clean – you have no control over the impression made by others with your same name. It’s up to you to be aware of any potential mistaken impressions and deal with them proactively.

If you’re aware that you could be mistaken for another person, you may want to consider using a nickname or variation on your name, or adding your middle or maiden name to your online profiles in order to make it easier to tell you from someone else. Use this version of your name consistently in all your job search activities.

Here are some tips for managing your online reputation:

• Set up a Google Alert or use a service like SocialMention or TweetBeep to notify you when new content or search results match your name.
• Assume that everything you post will become public
• If you’re tagged in a post or photo that you don’t care to be publically associated with for all time, remove the tag that identifies you. Ask others not to post content without your consent.
• Treat others as you would like to be treated online, and respect others’ right to privacy
• Check your online identity regularly; be sure to use more than one search engine
• Post positive content about yourself to move negative/inaccurate/misleading content down in the search results

It pays to be aware of the information available about you online – and the impression it can make. While I’m not suggesting that anyone needs to hide who they are or try to put up a false front (far from it!), everyone needs to take responsibility for managing their online reputation. It’s one of your greatest assets in the Information Age.

Career Lessons from LEGO

Change consultant Ken Perlman wrote a great article in Forbes this week called Leadership Lessons from LEGO. It’s a smart take on leadership, especially for companies in the midst of change, but there are some applicable lessons for job seekers too.

Lesson #1: Start with what success looks like. Perlman points out that “LEGO provides a complete – and existing picture of the final product right there on the box. It always looks AWESOME.” You know that success is around the corner and you have a really clear idea of what it looks like, thanks to that picture on the box. “People fall in love with the idea; that makes them eager to spend their time putting all the pieces together to make it happen.”

Does your career path have an AWESOME end result? Can you picture it clearly in your head? Are you in love with it? Will that excitement help you get through the rough parts of your job search? If you’re having trouble feeling excited about your job search or career, do an “awesome check.” Does the end result of your career excite you? If not, consider how can you shift focus and inject that kind of energy. A little daydreaming can go a long way.

Lesson #2: Consider interchangeable parts. When a LEGO set is missing a block, you can pull out another set or some spare blocks and keep building. In an organization, we often come up with new solutions instead of going back to a previous item that we could find a new use for.

The career search makes a lot of people think about reinvention, but sometimes it’s about realigning your current skills rather than going out and building new ones. What have you liked about previous jobs? Why did you choose your career field? Rather than looking at the reasons why it hasn’t worked out in the past, consider those transferrable skills and parts of the job that you’d really like to focus on in your next opportunity. This is a helpful approach if you’re struggling to reframe your past experience in a more positive light.

Lesson #3: Instructions are only so helpful. Experienced LEGO builders know that the instructions only get you so far; at some point you just have to start building and see what happens. Perlman points out that “fearless experimentation is a critical element to accelerating innovation” and asks “What’s the worst that could happen?” Fear of looking wrong is often our biggest obstacle.

If this isn’t applicable to the world of work, I don’t know what is. Are you looking at jobs doing the same thing you’ve always done? Did it make you happy? Is it the only option out there? The job search can be scary and demoralizing, but it can also be exciting and – yes – fun. Ask yourself, “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” You could try something and fail and go back to the job search armed with more information about yourself and what you’re looking for. Albert Einstein defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Throw away your instructions and see what happens when you experiment.

Lesson #4: It’s more fun when more people are working together. On any big project, getting lots of different perspectives and having more people collaborate makes the work go faster.

Do you have career collaborators? Are you reaching out to other people and getting new ideas, perspectives, job leads, and industry information? Don’t fall into the trap of getting stuck behind your computer and feeling isolated in your job search. Tap into your network – or build one – and remember that the world is full of people who want to help you get what you want, if only you can ask them for it.

Lesson #5: The quality of the final product relies upon the input of imagination. Again – the instructions only go so far. If the end result falls apart or doesn’t work the way you need it to, a LEGO builder can take it apart and make it better.

Do you approach your job search thinking there is only one right way to do things? We’re all unique individuals, with different goals and skills and aspirations – our job search shouldn’t fit into a cookie-cutter mold. While there are some best practices to keep in mind, what works for a friend or a colleague may not work for you. Don’t judge your success with someone else’s ruler.

Forrest Gump said that “Life is like a box of chocolates,” but I’m inclined to think it’s more like building a really excellent LEGO set. Your path is limited only by your imagination – throw away those instructions and start building something AWESOME.

You Lost Your Job, Not Your Identity

by Heather Coleman Voss, Business Services Coordinator

I had a client say to me: “I am at a loss. I was just a cashier. I have no other skills. There aren’t many cashiering jobs out there, and I don’t have a degree or certifications in anything. I don’t have anything to offer.” I’ve noticed that regardless of the position someone has held, this feeling is common after a person experiences a lay-off.

The grief process can be brutal, and a lay-off hits hard. Loss of a job. Loss of your work family. Loss of your identity. A job loss and subsequent long-term unemployment can result in the feeling that your entire world has crumbled apart, and that makes it very difficult to believe there is hope for the future.

And yet, thousands of people are successfully career transitioning—in many cases without additional training or degrees. How are they accomplishing this? How do you get from here to there?

Acknowledge the loss: Take some time to grieve, adjust, and put things into perspective: Separate the job loss from your identity. Unemployment is not who you are; it is a situation you are working through.

Be proactive: Contact creditors, establish payment plans, and budget your household bills. While it is true that unemployment insurance will not cover all of your expenses, effectively controlling the funds you do have available makes a significant difference in your stress level.

Surround yourself with a mutual support network: Take advantage of the no cost workshops and services via your local MI Works! offices. Attend free networking events online and in person. Join organizations such as your local area chamber of commerce. Meet people. Go forward with confidence.

Update your resume: Resumes should be fluid documents – spend time updating your resumes to reflect your skill sets as they pertain to each job posting. Jacqui Poindexter, Chief Career Writer and Owner of Career Trend, states in her post on Glassdoor: “Have the courage to sharpen your career story arrow. It takes courage and introspection to aim your resume and online message at a more explicit audience.”

Remember who you are: Your lay-off occurred due to a very tough economic market; it is not a reflection of your talents and abilities. Think back to all that you have accomplished in your previous positions. Make an honest list of your strengths and abilities and showcase them: On your resume, your business cards, at networking events and throughout your social media platforms. There is no false modesty in job search. 

Develop Your  Personal Brand Who are you? What are you most passionate about? Where are your natural talents and abilities? What are you great at and what do you want to do? Present yourself on social media and at in-person networking events as a specialist in your field of interest. Remember, your previous job title does not define you; it’s about where you choose to take your career.

Speaking of social media: Update and revise your LinkedIn profile. Tap into your Facebook network of friends and colleagues – mention that you are making a career transition and ask to be connected to someone relevant in your field. Interact in professional online groups. Learn how to effectively use Twitter for professional use. Join the conversation!

Social Media and Career Strategist Hannah Morgan of Career Sherpa says it best in her post “Your Reputation Precedes You”: “We all have a reputation…something we are known for by those people we call friends. It could be a skill, a personal quality, or an interest. Isn’t it time you shared it with a greater audience?”

Give yourself credit for what you have accomplished There is no ‘just’ anything in the workforce – every position is integral to the success of an organization. Know your transferable skills. Understand that those skill sets apply to many different positions. We are all multi-faceted; acknowledge your talents and abilities, and focus on where you will take them. You are the solution to an organization’s problem. 

The woman who felt she was “just” a cashier? She started to remember who she was and all that she had accomplished – and her skill set was amazing. With her passion for customer relations, strong mathematical skills, natural leadership abilities and her artistic talents, she was an outstanding fit for an assistant manager position at a floral shop. After 25 years as a cashier, she launched the next phase of her career by identifying her strengths and her passions and believing in herself. She is now doing the work that she loves.

You will too.

For more on networking during job search, check out this great video by  J.T. O’Donnell, CEO of CAREEREALISM: 

Check out our “Job Flash” for current openings in the Metro Detroit area!