The Job Hunting Tool Kit: Sections 7 and 8 of 8

4A. Any mule can

4B. Cans and the but placement

4C. Fatigue leads to fear

4D. Fear not to lose

4E. A ship in port

4F. Seed packets/Russian dolls

4G. Commercials

4H. Sizzle and steak

4I. Employer sights and sounds

4J. Failure Is Not A Person

4K. I know There is a Pony In there Somewhere

4L. Sand/glass/sand

4M. Spirit/making yourself interesting

4N. The Care and Feeding of References

4O. Dealing With Those Employment agencies

Any Mule:

A sad truth nearly everyone faces is a play on the quote that every great idea starts with a plurality of one. Yes, every great idea (democracy, baseball, the slicing of bread) started with one person saying “hey...I have this idea.”

My version of it is

“every great dream starts with the person saying I have an idea, followed by a thousand people asking sarcastically

”what are YOU THINKing?”

Followed by “Your lame brained idea will never work and here is why...”

It's easy for people to find faults or reasons to put people down instead of moving ahead toward a dream. Like the saying goes,

“any mule can knock down a building;

it takes a good man or a good woman to build one up.”

Find someone with a lofty dream and be a good man/good woman for them building them up. Be that person for yourself. Few things match the feeling you will get.

It's so easy to move in the other seemingly safer direction, but remember libraries are filled with biographies of people who should not have made it, but they did anyway.

Folks, be that good man/woman to yourself. Believe in your dream and maintain it despite those who want you to dream smaller. Look at employers, picturing him/her as a guide toward that dream. Know you will make it but it will only happen if YOU picture it first.

A new CEO of a struggling company gave his executives a series of Russian dolls (the wooden dolls that fit one inside the other) before his first board meeting.

Asked what the dolls were for, he said we have the opportunity to hire people smaller than us, fewer dreams and we will grow smaller, like each smaller doll. Or we can hire people who are bigger, dream bigger and move to heights we cannot imagine today.

THAT shows the importance of unleashing talent... it would be so easy to move in the other seemingly safer direction.

One last point, find someone else with a lofty dream and be a good man or good woman for them in building them up. It makes good practice for yourself and few things will match the feeling you will get.

This isn't really the exercise. But please think of someone who has an idea or dream that you can be of help with. Sit down with them and discuss how their dream is possible and help them move toward it. Later, talk with them of your dreams and see what happens next.

Making It Work:

Take some quiet time and make a list of negative things others have said toward your dreams. (Or the “Watch where you put your but” exercise.) Put it in this formula:

I have this dream BUT (fill in the limitation or excuse here.) Now on another page, write (The same excuses)

Example:

Others say: George wants to play the guitar, but he never has time; has no experience; always put things off. I say: I may 'never have time'; I may 'have no experience' and I may have 'put things off' BUT I want to play guitar anyways. And I will! Have some fun, folks.

Success comes in Cans

and not in Can-nots.

Often at the groups I run, I bring a can of spinach. Partly it is in homage to my boyhood idol Popeye the Sailor Man (I will wait a moment while those under 30 years old quickly google “Popeye”). Mostly, I bring it to reinforce the saying that starts this lesson.

Before you can actually move toward a dream, you need to KNOW that you CAN do it.

Need to KNOW that you CAN do it. You already have some experience with that feeling:

• Getting Up to feed a crying baby late at night when all you want to do is sleep

• Completing a term paper in school though you wondered if you could make it.

• Pushing your body to jog that extra block or lift that friend’s couch one more time.

Remember the chapter where we reviewed “where to put your but”? There we reviewed the huge difference in the sentences

“I want that job BUT I have this thing in the way.” Versus “I have this thing in the way BUT I want the job”.

Return to your answers for that exercise and look at them with a ‘can-do’ perspective.

Making It Work:

Make a long list of all of the impediments between you and the job you want. Make a map with where you are now marked with an X and where you want to be marked with an *.

In between these markers write down all of the obstacles in your way from achieving your goal (I only have lousy clothes; I have this medical condition; there is no reliable transportation).

Write these obstacles (at least ten) on a LONG list on a separate piece of paper. Now write beside each one of these on your list what you need to do to get past them. Write what you CAN do.

Now when you get to the obstacle you will be ready with how you CAN do.

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Fatigue Leading to Fear

The great Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi talked often of how he would prepare his teams for upcoming games noting once that

“Fatigue makes cowards of us all”

When a person becomes tired physically, or emotionally, they tend to not take that extra step, that extra action that they normally would have otherwise.

Think of it in your own life. When you faced fatigue, it is human nature that you did not take chances or shake that extra hand or make that extra phone call. The way Lombardi sees it this is a sign of fear and a loss of opportunity to build a better future.

Making It Work:

Take a look at yourself for a moment and consider how fatigue has affected you in the past – the way it makes you less apt to move forward. How can you avoid that?

List ways that you can take care of yourself better physically, given the demands on your time. What are the things you have been meaning to do for your exercise, diet or sleeping that you have not yet put into practice?

By seeing the effect that putting these things off, maybe you can take the time now to make the changes that you have needed to do.

Fear not to lose

The Fulton, NY’s G. Ray Bodley High School wrestling team had won the state title for three years in a row thanks to the innovative coaching of the high school staff and the building of everything from the mat rats program where elementary school kids learned the basics of the sport to having the best amateur wrestlers of Europe to come to their little burgh to wrestle the high schoolers.

Fulton’s matches became ‘the place to be’ throughout the long winter months – complete with new uniforms that glowed in the theatrical lighting when they were introduced at the start of each match with the strains of Queen’s “We are the Champions”.

Little by little, something arose on the team that led to the loss of their state champ’s status. Players started to worry about losing, they became careful not to make the mistake that would lead to losing points, losing a match, losing that image of being invincible.

They began fearing not to lose. This led to worrying about all of the little things that they did and all of the preparation was lost in anxiousness. Once this snowball began rolling downhill, it gathered momentum and G Ray has not won the title since.

The lesson here is not about reading up too much on what to do or the tennis court lessons, it is about maintaining a sense of pride and stride and being careful not to lose it.

So We Introduce ‘Pigs with Wings’

My co-workers always kid me that I will imagine people landing jobs before they do, joking that a certain person will land that job when pigs fly.

I have found that fearing not to lose stifles some of these dreams before they are allowed to grow. That is why I have begun the Pigs with Wings award. We have a ceramic pig with little cotton wings pasted to its back and people who have the courage to try and who can also avoid the fear to lose and thus remain themselves win the award no matter how long the job lasts.

Here’s one to start for your own collection:

Making It Work:

Walk around for a little while with a sense of purpose. Select four jobs that you are being considered for and make a list of the reasons why YOU are the right person for each job.

Read them out loud because the more senses you use, the greater you will be able

to remember each point that you have made (writing for feel, read aloud for hearing and seeing –

I have not figured out yet how to smell or taste the list).

Now draw a picture of yourself working at these jobs. Have some fun and do not worry about how it looks, this is your drawing after all, as this will help add more of your brain involved in the sense of your being a success.

At the Job:

A Ship in a port...

In the late 1980's a woman who had risen high ranks in the US Navy was about to retire after over 30 years. A reporter interviewing about her work asked 1 question too many...

”Instead of a career, why weren't you home making cookies like other women did then?”

Instead of bopping him on the nose, she smiled and replied... “A ship in port is a beautiful thing, but that is not what ships are made for.”

She then talked of how each individual has special talents & they can keep them in port with the anchor deep in the water. They can also choose to do what they are meant for, an adventure of trying out those skills.

You can play it safe and not learn of your talents. Just stay in port where you face rust, cobwebs, boredom and worst of all not reaching for your potential.

Making It Work:

On 3 separate pages write a type of road map for yourself. In the upper right draw a star and put by it a description of a dream or goal you have (be as specific as you can be). In the lower left corner write an 'x' and a brief description of your present status toward that goal. Say your goal is to own a car (put that by the star) and all you have saved is $2.25 (that goes by the 'x').

Draw a line connecting the x's and the star and draw dashes along that line. At each dash describe a milestone you will need to reach to finally meet your goal (for example: visit auto dealers; save first $100.)

Now do the same for two more goals and keep updating your road maps as you reach milestone after milestone... and keep your eyes on the prizes you have.

My Road Map:

Seed packets/Russian dolls

Did you ever notice how when you go into a grocery store most labels are pictures of what is inside? Before you all give a collective “well, duh…” notice one big exception – seed packets.

The little envelopes that contain seeds have pictures not of what is inside but what can become of the seeds given the right mix of sunshine, moisture and tender loving care.

Seed packets are special that way because the seller and the customer both want the seeds to look like the beautiful, mature grown-ups on the cover.

Hey, YOU are that seed! You are always in the process of becoming something more than you are today. Job hunting gives you the opportunity to express to people who are today strangers but may soon become people who pay you for your time and for who you will become.

Making It Work:

Draw three pictures of yourself:

• As a child – including things from that time in your life that were special to you: siblings, games you would play, activities, dreams you had for the future.

• As you are now – including the people, activities and things special to your present day-to-day.

• As you hope to become in a few years.

What have you needed through the years to move toward your present years?

What do you need to nourish the dreams you have for the future? Considering your need for Sunlight (learning, support), Water (resources) and fertilizer (things that hold you over through the tough times)

Ever notice how some gardeners keep the pictures of the mature plants near the plants? Do this for yourself to encourage yourself – like the plants that grow up and be the what was already in their genes.

Building a Commercial

You have just a few seconds to make a first impression and yes, (you know how the saying goes) 'first impressions last'. People are creatures of habit, often considering your later actions in light of their first thoughts about you.

The more prepared you are for the first impression, the better your chance to get the image you want to make.

Plan for how you will address the 3 top questions and have them readied in a quick 20 to 30 second commercial. Though you are rehearsing a bit of self-promotion, work at it to come across as non-mechanical, with room to adjust it to your different audiences and situations.

The commercial is about you answering 'the mother of all annoying questions' that goes

”so, tell me about yourself...”

Hey, the employer is not really asking you to tell all about you; only what about you is related to the job. Highlight for them the most relevant info about you first (relevant to your employer's needs – see “don't think like a job hunter”) with supporting information second.

By being relevant you get their attention, selling the 'sizzle' then the steak. Milk advertisers say milk tastes good & by the way, it’s good for you. Lead with an example of a skill you have that addresses a central part of the job (you provide an answer to their need).

Next, enhance it with how you have other skills and interests that can help the team as well.

Like:

I have computer experience and have built spreadsheets for my friends to solve their household problems. I also have experience as a cashier using their computers.

Answer the 2 other main questions the employer has:

** Why do you want to work for me?

(Translation: English to Employer-speak):

I want to know that you consider my place and this kind of work is important to you, so you will have dedication to understand the hard-to-learn parts; survive the inevitable hard-to-take days & stick around for a while.

** Why should I pick you compared to somebody else?

(Translation): I have many applicants; I want to avoid regretting my decision to hire you instead of any of them. I would rather eat dirt than to make an expensive, wrong decision. Tell me quickly, what makes you best qualified?

For your commercial, finish answering these questions in a sentence or 2, adding a how moving to this job makes sense to your development or the employer's needs.

Answers to these questions should be direct to what the employer's looking for and sincere in how you feel.

Warning: Sometimes your preparation for answering these questions tells you something about how you really feel about your uniqueness or why the employer is uniquely special to you.

Making It Work:

Think of your four best prospective employers. Consider their point of view in the three top questions to be answered. Now write commercial covering answers for each of them. Note the commercials will not be identical so it will take some imagination. Practice the commercials aloud; timing each to lasts at most 20-30 seconds.

Employer words/sights/sounds

People are creatures of habit in showing their preferences and you can see those preferences –

if you know where to look.

Hiring managers are creatures of habit, for example in sensory matters:

• In the way they talk: People tend to use expressions related to one of the five senses: They use phrases like “I SEE what you mean” or “Do you HEAR what I am saying” or “I get this FEELING…”

• They tend to emphasize that sense in their style, visual talkers more interested in how things look, feeling people more sensitive to how things “feel”.

• Note the speed of their speaking delivery. Are they talking quickly, raising their voice at certain places?

Address this by trying to match the phrasing and emphasis in your own speech and appreciate the level they value on those senses (hint: visual people do not like an appearance of chaos on your desk).

They show preferences by the decisions made:

• What is on their office wall? Is it inviting, family oriented or are they meant to impress and value achievement or connections?

• The environment – in the office and lobby is the area built for comfort, efficiency and what message is being given to the people waiting there – competence, customer service?

By knowing these things before meeting the hiring manager, you can be more prepared for that meeting.

Making It Work:

Practice these skills first with friends, clerks in stores, family – most anyone you interact with regularly. Now you may see their world from their perspective a little better.

Make your notes below of the way others see the world, or how different places are arranged. The trick again is to match your speaking style to the interests and perspective of the people you are talking with. It takes practice but is a lot of fun once you get used to it. So have some fun, eh?

Failure is not a person

That phrase says it best, but it is limited. The day is long and there may be times when you feel deflated by your situation. Just remember:

“Failure” is not a person, it IS an isolated event. It is not a pattern or a prediction for the future or even a good description of what happened in that event – you always have the opportunity to learn from any loss or setback.

Looking at things in a larger view there are other words that may have the same temporary effect

“Disability” is not a person and neither is “unemployment”, “bankruptcy”, “welfare” or “poverty”.

Make certain that it does not stick to you like a tattoo – it is not unless you make it one.

Making It Work:

Make a long list of words or situations used to either hurt people or to make them feel “less than” what they really are. Now make your personal list of 5 words – complete with the true definition of what that word is often associated with a certain perspective. Now include the true review of what they actually mean.

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I know that there’s a pony in there somewhere

President Ronald Reagan had a great story to tell people about his optimistic view of the world.

He said there were twin boys with opposite personalities: one always angry and negative, the other always very happy and positive. Their parents went to a psychiatrist to find a way to make the first more appreciative, the other more realistic. They were told to buy the first child a beautiful toy fire truck and the other a room full of, well, poop.

Upon getting the truck, the first boy shouted “Hey, I wanted a BLUE fire truck! You never give me what I want – you must hate me!” He ran away, the parents unable to speak.

The other child was then led to a room piled chest high in poop. The child stood thinking for a moment then jumped into the room excitedly. His parents pulled him back and asked why he did such a thing. The child said “With all of that poop, there must be a pony in there somewhere.”

The four lessons are

• Please do not try this experiment at home!

• Appreciate all of the blue fire trucks or other free gifts that you receive.

• When you get a room full of stink, there is something special in there somewhere.

• When considering what you have or want, avoid words like “always” and “never”

Making It Work:

Keep a written record of the opportunities you come across during the day and your response. Review it later to see how you react to these opportunities.

There are other ways to detect your optimism – like putting a rubber band on your wrist then pulling it and thwacking yourself with it whenever you say something negative. With time you will get good on this and either train yourself to be less negative or wind up with a big pain in the wrist.

Try either or both of these for one week. And keep looking for that pony.

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Sand/glass/sand

You probably already know that glass is made from sand.

Next chance you can, take a look at a glass made from real glass, hold it in your hand and admire it. Think for a moment that what you are holding came from … probably sand from other parts of the world… sand for thousands of years until for right now it is a useful glass container that you can enjoy and use and admire.

Soon, probably way too soon, it will become broken and no longer useful as a glass. It may even eventually return to being sand again.

So much in life is like that glass... enjoying what you have until it is gone.

At the closing of an area brewery years ago, a news reporter interviewed people leaving their job for the last time (where do reporters come up interviewing people at this time is a good idea?) Along with people expressing anger, fear o, crying was one person who seemed very much at peace. He told the reporter

“Hey, I have been on this gravy train for nearly 17 years, now I get to see what comes next.”

THAT is how you appreciate the sand to glass to sand in your life. Enjoy the glass knowing it will one day be sand.

Making It Work:

Make a list of the things you have in your life right now, one column for things you can see and feel and another column for things you cannot.

Now ask yourself (and make marks beside your lists):

How am I making the most of the resources I have today? How will I cope when these gifts are no longer here?

How am I appreciating the gifts that I have today-

both the gifts you can see (material, family and friends) and those you cannot (education, support)?

The Proper Care and Feeding of References

Job hunting involves so many different things being juggled at the same time. Along with your research and rewriting of resumes, one part that is often overlooked by your competition is caring for references.

Often when candidates for a job are closely matched, a strong reference can carry one person over the finish line to getting the job. Where do you get references like that?

First, return to your Oz factor:

• Who knows of your ability to learn, understand and put things into practice? Teachers, former employers are good examples, but do not forget others who also have examples of your brains like people you have helped teach or train.

• Who knows of your abilities to get along well with others? Co-workers, sure, but do not forget about satisfied customers or people in related agencies you work with on occasion for special projects.

• Who knows of your conscientiousness and courage? Think of specific circumstances that show these traits and remember the people involved in them for a list of potential references.

Different examples of these factors will be important to different employers so make sure to match up the right people and examples for each job applied for.

Now contact each reference before you list them as a reference and ask them for the privilege of having them speak well for you to employers. After they say yes, thank them verbally and follow that up with a sign of your appreciation (card, gift, favor, offer of help for them).

Finally the most important parts – talk with them of examples they may bring up if/when they are called. Having these specific examples ready makes your application unique and memorable to the employer.

Finally, keep in touch with these folks because that call to them reminding them of how you appreciate their support may yield not only their help but also lets them know you are looking – they may have some leads for your hunt.

Keep them up to date, if they would like, with your progress as people often enjoy being part of something bigger than themselves like being part of your success story.

Making It Work:

Review the lesson and follow the steps provided:

• List your Oz factor and the people who could support your claims to brains, heart and courage.

• Connect those people and the Oz factors to be presented to the employers and what they would value.

• Contact those people and ask if they would do you the favor of being a reference.

• Remind them of great points they could raise if contacted by an employer. This avoids the situation where an employer calls a reference and gets “uh… George, huh? George Valentine… oh, yeh, great guy…” and instead gets “George, great guy, let me tell you about him…”

• THANK THEM and keep in touch every so often in your hunt.

Enjoy the day, folks.

Spirit: Making YOU More Interesting

Think of the more interesting people you know – either personally or by their reputation. Although their outward attractiveness is part of what makes them special, it is a certain part of their personality that gives them that something special.

There is something unchanging in them no matter the temporary situation that they are in. This ‘extra’ lifts them up when they are down, supporting their courage, warms their heart helping in their relationships with others and provides their confidence when having to learn, understand and accomplish things before them.

That something special is inside and can be strengthened by certain actions. You can build that something special and make yourself more interesting at the same time.

Making It Work:

• “Fake it till you make it”. I am not saying to be someone you are not, but put on a temporary mask of someone with confidence when you are hurting until the pain goes away. “Tough times don’t last but tough people do.”

• Help someone. I’ve mentioned this earlier in the series, but it gives you a chance to be appreciated by someone who sees you as part of the solution for their needs. If you ever saw the TV show “Cheers”, you remember the scene when Norm would walk in and the place would erupt with people calling “Norm!” THIS is what helping others or volunteering would do for you – gives you the “Norm!” effect.

• Learn about and begin traditions (faith, family, etc.) that can give your life a greater sense of rhythm and balance. You may be surprised.

• Read something inspirational whether a biography, quotations or short stories. Make this a habit.

• Learn something new – especially if it is something you have meant to do. It will distract your mind for a while and give you something new in your life.

• Make a finished product whether a meal, woodworking, knitting – it does not matter. It is a special feeling when you are involved in something as “unfinished” as job hunting where you are always in the process of something, to have made a finished product you are proud of.

Take a look at these ideas and select three or four most appropriate for you. And see them through.

Employment agencies

Most job hunters have a pretty clear view of how to prepare for an employer’s Oz factor and their perspective of the kind of person they want for a particular job. You apply for Job A after researching just what the employer wants in that position. You pare down and focus your resume with your skills and capabilities and ready for structured interview targeting this one job – like all of the interviews before. Then you wait a while for them to make their decision.

When you make application to an employment agency – forget all that about the other kind of interviewing.

Most employment or staffing agencies (the ones that do not specialize in a narrow part of the employment market) have no idea what kind job they will have open when you arrive or the next day or the next.

Even with those agencies that specialize in a certain field (accounting or nursing for example) or have openings at a particular field operation (such as a factory or warehouse) do not know what opening they will have to fill next.

How does that affect you and the next interview?

Five ways.

• You should tell them everything about your skills, abilities since you will be considered for a wide range of jobs, not just one.

• Show your energy and availability. Be peppy, showing that you have the interest and energy for whatever comes along. Stress that you have transportation to make it to the jobsite (be honest as saying you can get there then saying “sorry, I can’t” may hurt your chances for jobs in the future.

• Show initiative and persistence. Keep in touch with the agency with regular, polite calls about your availability and skills you have. Keep looking for their local ads indicating work available and when calling indicate you would like to be considered for them. Some interviewers may try to get past “practiced enthusiasm” of some applicants by asking some stress questions. Just relax and be yourself.

• Say thank you. Be memorable (in a good way) with the agency and with the specialist who interviewed you. As someone who worked in those shoes, thank you notes are rare and memorable.

• Beware the “one strike and you’re out” that many agencies have – once placed get there, do your job and avoid conflicts when you can. Due to the nature of employment agencies avoid the temptation to say at a placement “hey, I won’t do THAT”. It may be your last placement with that agency.

Making It Work:

Go for it! Make application to an employment agency with either a real or practice interview. Know your Oz factor well and be ready to express several aspects of it.

Get several ads for specific jobs from employment agencies and complete blank general applications for each of them. See how different they are? See how the different the interviews and perspective of the hiring manager will be? Go ahead and keep in mind the five clues in this lesson.

Notes:

The Job Hunting Tool Kit

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Sections 7 and 8 of 8

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