No Job and Running Out of Money

It’s a difficult time in the job market and I’ve been talking to many more people lately that are in dire straits. The lack of income for a longer than expected timeframe has taken it’s toll on budgets, mortgages, and unfortunately… marriages. Savings have been used up, unemployment is running out, and debts are piling up. The financial stress often carries over into interviews and it sabotages the chance of getting a job even when there’s a chance. Each story has a different twist and there are no easy answers. I’m no financial expert or household budget guru, however, if you are facing a similar situation, here are some successful strategies I’ve observed and options to consider.

 

~ Diligently guard your attitude! Maintaining a positive attitude throughout your circumstances, regardless how difficult, is critical to a positive ultimate outcome. Without a positive attitude you are less likely to get a job, find solutions, or maintain your relationships. This is often the least considered but most important aspect in making it through your challenges. Read more about the importance of your attitude and how to maintain it here.

~ Consider a night job. I know of someone that went through job changes twice in their career when they had no money to carry them through their gap in employment. Although this person was a “white collar” professional, each time they found a midnight shift position in a machine shop in the interim to bridge their income. There were multiple reasons this was a successful strategy for them.

Since it’s more difficult for companies to find people willing to work night shifts, it was easier to find those opportunities than to find a more sought after day job. Often, the night jobs pay a premium wage compared to the same day shift as well. By working nights, it left their days free to pursue their job search during normal business hours. They could make the calls and schedule interviews without interfering with their current work schedule. Finally, one of the biggest advantages for them was that they HATED it! They hated the work, the environment, and the schedule. It was one of the greatest motivators they could find to give their full effort to their job search so that they could quit the temporary role as soon as possible. It paid some bills and helped them get their desired job faster. It may not be the right solution for everyone, but it may be a viable option to consider.

~ Cut expenses! That may sound obvious and simplistic, however, I find that many people don’t realize how much they can cut until they are forced to. The sooner you find those cuts, the longer your money will last. Particularly in America, we consider so many things as necessities rather than conveniences or preferences. Find expenses that can be reduced or eliminated in every area of your budget. Consider cable TV, Internet, cell phones, full-coverage insurance, eating out, groceries, dry cleaning, movies, and other entertainment. Now is a perfect time to talk to your mortgage company to explore a possible loan modification that may reduce your monthly payments. Invariably, when people really examine where their money goes each month, and don’t consider any item too insignificant, they are able to save significant amounts of cash.

~ Find money! No… it’s not likely you will find $1,000 laying on the sidewalk, but you may have $1,000 or maybe $10,000 laying around your home. What do you own that you don’t need? Craigslist and eBay are terrific tools to raise money relatively fast. Do you own a treadmill that’s gathering dust? Old books, old computer, old iPod, old cell phone, old furniture, old bicycle, old appliances, jewelry or anything else stored in your basement, sitting in your garage, or laying in a drawer that isn’t being used but could be easily sold? Do you have a newer vehicle that could be replaced by an older, cheaper car or truck? Do you own a boat or snowmobile that might be worth a couple of mortgage payments for you? Often it’s amazing what can generate money for you when you truly look around your home with critical eyes.

~ Explore Temporary or Contract work. Do you have skills and experience in an area where you might find temporary or contract positions? Companies use temporary workers in more fields all the time. It’s no longer just Administrative Assistants or Assembly workers that are used in temporary roles. Companies also use Accountants, Lawyers, Senior Executives, Programmers, Engineers, Network Administrators, Graphic Artists, Nurses, Bookkeepers, Cooks, Construction workers, Trainers, Business Analysts, Copywriters, and dozens of other roles on a temporary or contract basis. Often there are opportunities to get projects on a fixed bid, or piecemeal basis. Many can be done at home. Check with temporary agencies, contract firms, and call on companies directly for any of those kinds of opportunities.

~ Seek help. For some, it may mean seeking out and asking for help from others. Can you get help from family or friends? Can you get help from your church, synagogue, or other religious organization? Are there resources through your local Salvation Army, or other charitable organization? Have you explored what federal, state, or local benefits might be available? If your situation warrants it, seek whatever help you can.

~ Give special attention to your relationships. Often people withdraw into themselves during financial challenges rather than be open and proactive with their spouse or family. This is why one of the major causes of divorce is financial stress. Open communication and empathy with each other is critical in maintaining a marriage or friendship. Allowing the relationship to deteriorate compounds problems. Don’t allow the most important relationships in your life to blow up. Make the time and effort to give them more care than usual.

A job search can be an incredibly stressful time and financial meltdown makes it worse. If you find yourself in that situation, go into financial triage mode and find ways to keep your head about you. Whether it’s through seeking God, confiding to a friend, or getting plenty of exercise, your own mental health, persistence, and positive attitude are critical.

Times can be trying, but if you do all you can and keep at it, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel.

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The One Best Thing You Can Do For Your Job Search!

 

One challenge in a job search is that it seems there are a hundred things to do and you have to do all of them, all the time. That’s mostly true. The more avenues you can pursue, and the better job you can do pursuing them, the higher the likelihood you will find a new position sooner. However, if there were one thing you could give the greatest focus to that might have the greatest impact… what would that be?

Attitude!

Maintaining a positive attitude is one of the most difficult yet most important things you can do for a successful job search. It affects every other aspect of your search and will have a dramatic impact on how you are perceived by potential employers.

A positive attitude makes you more effective in networking calls, meetings, interviews, and every form of contact with other people. People with a positive attitude are more pleasant to talk to, more engaging, and more appealing in many ways.

A positive attitude makes it easier to do the things that you otherwise don’t care to do. Having to contact people that you don’t know may be as appealing to you as a root canal. However, approaching it with a positive attitude will make it much more palatable. Approaching it with a defeatist attitude or sense of dread will cause you to procrastinate, feel miserable, and probably make a poor impression with whoever you may be calling.  The same is true at meetings and interviews.

A positive attitude makes you a much more attractive candidate to a potential employer. Someone that comes across as ‘down’, discouraged, bitter, or fearful does not inspire an employer to think “Here’s someone I would love to work with every day!” Someone that is optimistic, upbeat, cheerful, and looking forward to a new opportunity is much more interesting to a hiring manager. It is often the primary reason why one person gets hired over another with similar skills.

So how do you maintain a positive attitude in a tough job market? That will vary from person to person. What works for one may not help another, but here are some suggestions…

• Turn off the TV! It is extremely rare to find anything on TV that encourages you, inspires you, or cheers you up in any way. News broadcasts focus on bad news and trumpet the latest ‘crisis’ 24/7. Sitcoms, reality shows, and dramas don’t tend to highlight the best in people, but rather thrive on stories of people at their worst. Think of how often you walk away from watching TV and feel more motivated to get some work done. Probably not often. Your attitude is likely to be much better without much TV.
  
  
• Be careful of who you talk to. Others around you can be a huge influence on your attitude. They can either encourage you or bring you down. Make it clear to your family and friends that you are working hard at keeping a positive attitude and ask them to help you do that. When you network with others, don’t stick around if they are dwelling on doom and gloom. It’s difficult to keep your own attitude up when you’re listening to someone else complaining about how bad things are. Guard your attitude and don’t let others bring it down.
  
  
• Exercise! It’s hard to maintain a great attitude when you’re sitting on the couch and eating everything in sight. Your body can have a great affect on how you feel. Better yet, when you exercise your brain emits endorphins that give you sense of well being. Almost invariably, people that exercise regularly have a more positive attitude. Do it. It works!
  
  
• Feed your mind with good stuff! The old computer cliché’ is true for our minds as well… GIGO… Garbage In, Garbage Out. The converse holds true too… Good stuff in, Good stuff out. Reading things that are encouraging, inspiring, and uplifting can do wonders for your attitude. For some it may be scripture, for others it may be biographies of great leaders, or poetry. It may be listening to uplifting music or something else that has a positive impact for you.
  
  
• Do what you should be doing. One of the best ways to keep a positive attitude is to feel good about what you’re doing. If you are spending your days pursuing your job search as you planned, you will likely feel good about yourself. If your day is more characterized by procrastination and distractions and feeling like you haven’t accomplished much you will likely feel down. Do what you’re supposed to do! You’ll accomplish more and build your attitude every step of the way.

Nothing works for everyone, but pick the things that work for you and do them. A positive attitude will be the most valuable asset for your job search!

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Type-A in a Laid-Back World

When looking for a new job, most people certainly look for opportunities that fit their skill sets, interests, and salary requirements. Often, however, the culture of the organizations they are pursuing is very low on their list of considerations.  So what? The culture of an organization will make or break your career, success, and well being. It should be as important a consideration as the jobs’ responsibilities, title, and compensation.

There are countless examples of people that had been tremendously successful in one company, get recruited to a competitor, and fail miserably in the same role. Did they lose their skills in the transition? Of course not! What they failed to consider was the difference in corporate culture.

There is an excellent large company in the market I live that has been successful and growing for many years. They have a great number of people that love the organization and have built great careers over many years there. Yet they have a very high washout rate among employees in their first year on the job. How can that be? They have a very distinct culture that greatly rewards people that take initiative, devote themselves to their careers, drive to succeed, and find new ways to drive revenue and accomplish goals. For people with personalities that fit that mold, it can be one of the greatest companies they ever hoped to work for. For people where those traits don’t come naturally, it can be one of the most punishing and discouraging experiences of their life.

The company is often very explicit about their culture in the interview process with a potential candidate in order to head-off a mis-hire. Often the candidates though think they would like to be that way so ignore the warnings. It usually only takes a few months for them to realize that it’s difficult to become something they are not and either leave or are let go due to a mismatch.

Conversely, there is another large company in town that is a competitor. Their culture is dramatically different. They tend to be more deliberate in their processes. They move at a decisively slower pace, are more risk adverse, and reward strong analysis before taking action. People that join the organization that are more ‘immediate action’ oriented quickly become frustrated at what they view as red tape and bureaucracy.

In each case, the failure of many individuals in those companies is not so much a statement about the abilities of that person as it is a failure to consider the importance of culture.

The impact can affect much more than their professional life. Some people get physical reactions due to the stress that builds up. It can affect their attitude, their confidence, and their relationships.

So how do you prevent a mismatch?; Know yourself and ask questions!

~ Self-awareness is critical! Be honest with yourself about who you are, not who you wish you were. Take personality tests, ask others that know you, and consider your past behavior in various work situations. The more you know yourself the better decisions you can make.

~ Any interview should be a 2-way street. It’s as critical for you as a candidate to determine if a particular job and company is right for you as it is for the company to determine if you are right for them. Ask questions about their management style, and how they would describe their culture. Ask for examples. Ask what makes someone successful in their organization. Ask how your work would be evaluated. Ask what their expectations would be of you in the first month, and in the first six months. The answers to these kinds of questions will give you clues as to what to expect when you are on the job.

~ Ask around. Network! Find friends, acquaintances, prior customers or vendors what they know about the company. What have they heard? Who do they know that could give you some insight? Search online. What do people say? Always be cautious of putting too much weight on comments from people that may have sour grapes about their experience there, but getting enough opinions will help you form a picture.

Don’t minimize the importance of corporate culture in your job search. It may mean the difference between a successful job move, and having to look for another job soon!

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The Introvert’s Guide to Landing a New Job

From the outset… it must be understood that THE best way to land a new job is through networking, and networking is most effective over the phone and face-to-face.

However, for many people, the thought of actually taking the initiative to call someone they don’t know is overwhelming and often is just not going to happen. For those people, contact online and by email is much more palatable and realistic.  Here are some pointers to make the process as effective as possible.

~ Create an effective resume and tailor it for each position. If your resume doesn’t easily show how you are an obvious fit for a particular position, you will not likely be considered. It’s critical that you tailor your resume for each position you pursue in order to highlight your relevant experience and skills for that role. You can get additional help here.

~ You still have to connect with real people! In this market, it’s not realistic to expect success by simply submitting a resume online and waiting for a call. The competition is too steep, and even if you’re a perfect fit for a particular job it’s very difficult for them to find you. The only way to get noticed is by taking extra steps by contacting people. 

Submit your resume through the online posting, however, additionally send an email to the best contacts you can find at the organization through LinkedIn, JigSaw, and Google. You can find additional help in finding contacts here.  Your email should include a SHORT introduction of why you are a unique fit for the role, and have your resume attached. Send a similar email to multiple people in the organization.

~ Follow up matters. Submitting, and emailing the resume is not enough. A professional follow up sets you ahead of the vast majority of other candidates. A few days after presenting the resume, send another email with a BRIEF message of your interest and one or two compelling reasons you are a strong fit for the role. Attach another copy of your resume so they have it handy and make sure your contact information is prevalent in your email. Ask if there is anyone else in the organization they recommend you connect with. Send a similar note to each of the people you emailed originally.

~ Persistence Pays! Following up on a regular basis… professionally, pays dividends. Most candidates simply submit their resumes and wait. Candidates that get called are the ones that show extra initiative and stay in the forefront. Creating a marketing plan of follow ups, adding a little more information each time, helps to set you apart from the crowd. Each note should be very brief, professional, and show your value to the organization. Additionally, send a hand written Thank You note thanking them for their continued consideration and your sincere interest in the role. This should be done with multiple people in the organization. Although it would help for each of them to be related to the role you are pursuing, it’s not necessary. Even someone in Accounting can pass along positive information to someone in Engineering. Be sure all your contact information is included in each email.

~ Create a network list and update your network monthly.  Most people want to help, but if they don’t know you are looking or don’t know if you’re still available they can’t. Create a list of EVERYONE you know… friends, family, former co-workers, neighbors, other parents at your kids sports teams, etc.  Send them an email letting them know you are looking for a new position. Let them know BRIEFLY what you do. And let them each know that you would be grateful for any additional contact they might provide of people they think might be worthwhile for you to connect to.

Then send out a monthly email to everyone on your list and everyone you’ve contacted since the last time with an update of your search. Let them know of companies you’ve pursued, interviews you may have had, leads  you’ve been chasing down, and great contacts you may have made. Let them know you are still looking for the right opportunity and would continue to welcome any new contacts or leads that may have come to mind.

Often you may connect with someone, and they come across a contact or opportunity weeks later, but think you are probably not looking any more by that time. This is a way to show that you are active and still interested. Send them regularly.

~ Keep records. Be sure to keep careful records of what information you sent to whom and when. You don’t want to duplicate the same note to the same person, and you want to be able to refer to what you’ve sent when you do get a call from someone. Few things can mess up your good work more quickly than if they ask you about something you sent and you have no idea what they’re talking about. Keep track of all your activity!

The process can often be accelerated and more effective by making phone calls and actually talking to people. However, if that is more than you feel you can handle, an effective online / email / snail-mail campaign can be effective as well. Whatever you do, don’t just apply and wait. Your job search will become MUCH longer than necessary.

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Targeting Companies for a Job in 5 Steps!

In today’s job market, it’s not very effective to simply respond to job postings online and wait for a call. It only makes you one of dozens, or hundreds that are doing the same thing with each of those postings.

It is much more effective to pick one, or five, or ten companies you most want to work for, and execute a strategy to target them whether they have an appropriate opening posted or not. Here are 5 steps:

 

1 ~ Prepare your lists! Create your target list. You can do this by searching people on LinkedIn in your area with titles similar to what you are looking for. What companies do they work for? Pick the ones you want most. Search LinkedIn and ask your other networks for contacts at those companies. Create your list of phone numbers and email addresses for each one. You can use WhitePages.com, JigSaw, and Google to help. Often by Googling the person’s name you can find a direct phone number or email address, or at least find the general format for the company email addresses then apply the individuals name. At the very least, you can certainly find the company’s main phone number to call and ask for the person by name.

2 ~ Get smart about them. Learn what you can about those companies. Read their websites, Google them, check finance sites for news about them. Check what kind of jobs they may have posted.  Figure out what skills, experience, knowledge, and strengths you have that may uniquely fit their organization or solve a problem for them. Write it out. Using what you’ve learned, create a tailored resume to emphasize your strengths for each organization.

3 ~ Write Scripts! No matter how articulate and well spoken you are, you will be better if you’re well prepared with what you will say. Create detailed scripts for multiple scenarios… contacts that are not related to the position you’re pursuing, and contacts that may be a hiring manager for you. Write ‘decision trees’ so that you have a response regardless of their answers.  Don’t ask for a position, but ask who they recommend you talk to, what they recommend as the best way to get noticed, ask for further information about the company, culture, tools they use, etc.  You don’t have to memorize the scripts, and certainly don’t read them word-for-word, however, by writing it out and having it handy as a guide you will better stay on track and be much more effective. Make them brief and to the point. Make them professional and practice them. You can find additional help here.

4 ~ Connect! A well prepared call is always better than an email. Contact the names you’ve gathered and make an introduction. Let them know you are specifically focusing on opportunities in their company. Gather the information you can and let them know that, if they don’t mind, you’d like to reconnect with them again as you may have additional questions. Use your scripts. Follow up EVERY call with an emailed Thank You to keep your name in front of them and to be sure they have your contact information. ALSO sending a written Thank You note in addition to the email is an added way to stay connected and shows professionalism.

5 ~ Connect some more! Persistence Pays! A person from one of my job search classes contacted five people at a company he had targeted. Each of the first four told him there were no opportunities coming up any time soon. The fifth invited him to meet, and over the course of the next 3 weeks he ended up getting a job offer. Most people would have given up after the first ‘No’. Don’t let one person that doesn’t help you discourage you from continuing to pursue as many others within the organization as you can find. Contact multiple people from multiple areas within the organization. Follow up with them more than once. Be professional and ‘Pleasantly Persistent’ with each contact, but don’t quit after only one call!

Professional persistence in targeting specific organizations will be much more effective than ‘carpet bombing’ your resume to dozens or hundreds of companies. It takes more effort and initiative, but you are much more likely to get the job you want, where you want it than any other method. So get busy!

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Footnote:

Thank you for visiting The Wise Job Search. I truly appreciate your interest. If you like the material here and would like to help keep it viable, please peruse and visit book recommendations, and other resources posted throughout the site. Best wishes on your continued search, and feedback is always welcome!

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