Is your Resume all Frosting and No Cake?
Take a moment and consider the person who will read and evaluate your resume and job application. Not just YO|U|R resume, but dozens more after yours... do you know what they are looking for?
Cake!
The employer wants something of substance that relates to HIS needs in getting the job done -
something that lets him know
1. you appreciate the pressures on his time
2. you have an understanding of the job you are applying for
but mostly
3. that he is fond of CAKE!
Many resumes are filled with fluffy frosting which looks good and may make the applicant proud of being fourth in a local spelling contest or employee of the month three years ago...
but that is "frosting"
and the employer needs to have something of value or they will look for someone else's resume that has some cake.
Come, see what I mean in the following video...
maybe even have some popcorn while you are watching it.
Now get back to your resumes and practice applications and scrape off the excess fluff you have.
Enjoy the day...
We are celebrating the publishing of a book helping Veterans in their job hunt here at the HERO Method - Help a veteran discover then express the hidden and valuable skills they have for THEIR job hunt - www.createspace.com/7791627
To celebrate we are lowering the price on our most popular book, the Job Hunting Tool Kit I - IV!
HERE you get dozens of powerful and proven lessons and exercies helping people no matter their job hunt...Come get your copy atwww.createspace.com/5157706
Empowering the Job Hunter - For over twenty years I have helped thousands of people move toward their dreams. Through counseling, teaching and writing, I have worked to empower job hunters to learn of their hidden and valuable skills for the job hunt. Through the HERO Method disabled people appreciate their skills in dealing with people; single parents see how their ability to handle emergencies is a marketable skills and the elderly know their ability to cope with change is valued. Now is your turn... I've finally published a book helping counselors, family, friends and job hunters toward landing that job! The HERO Method continues helping people find their hidden, valuable skills to move toward their dreams... come see for yourself at the site... HERE is the newest member of the Job Hunting HERO Method family!
Seeing yourself differently -
Whether you have
- a disabling condition,
- a sense of being 'too old'
- other things that may make you feel "less than"
make sure that you do not focus on the negative but instead make friends with what would otherwise hold you back. Beating Labels that are intended to Limit
Think about it for a moment and build your own list of how the ability to adapt helps the hunter and in turn build the skills needed in employment. People who have lived with "labels" can now see themselves in a new mirror by using the HERO Method to consider what has been seen as a deficit instead now seen as valuable.
- "Disabled" : To survive as someone who has a handicapping condition, you have to learn many things others do not - about yourself, your community, how to resolve problems day to day. Whether it is learning about new medications, dealing with new care providers or accomplishing daily tasks a different way, you have to adapt to stresses as they arise in ways most people never learn.
Your skills in learning, dealing with many people and solving problems in changing ways are all valuable skills you bring to your next emoployer.
- "Single parent" : Instead of thinking of a single parent as a harried person with family pressures, think of how he handles those pressures. This parent knows that when a child needs help with a late night earache, that parent alone has to solve the problem. He deals with so many people - from sitters to transportation to doctors to teachers yet he still has to work well with them.
The ability to handle emergencies; being the one person in charge; dealing well with a broad variety of people and their different agendas and demands - these are valuable skills for many jobs though they do not fit easily onto a resume. You have to KNOW you have these inside of you and see the world a little differently than you did before.
- Military Veteran: All aspects of HERO are found in the veteran. She details the ability to work seamlessly as part of a team and the ability to appreciate the needs and perspectives of her supervisor. Every day she brings energy and drive even under stress.
The intangible such as learning new skills efficiently and effectively and owning the work you have done despite inevitable mistakes we would all make makes the veteran a special job applicant.
- Ex-convict: Often someone who has "paid their debt to society" can show that in the time incarcerated the individual has examined himself fully and is willing to take responsibility for actions. There are avenues for expunging the record, forgiving the offense or bonding the individual for the future. Whatever the ex-con job hunter does, she needs to show living proof that the future is different from her past.
- "Too old": Few generations in history have adapted as quickly and completely to change in the world around them as today's elderly. Just in communication technology from rotary phones to I-phones they learn as they go - a great attribute on the job.
When one of these hunters can show how as an individual he has adapted to change, he can show the ability to "walk the walk", not just say he can change with the challenges faced.
For YOUR copy of the latest HERO |Method Book go to
NOW on sale! Just published a book specially written to help family, friends and counselors of job hunters to help the people they care for LAND THAT JOB! Come take a look and get the edge the HERO Method has given to thousands of people moving toward their dreams. Enjoy! Here's that link again...
1. We are making a list of the favorite job hunting sites our readers know on the net... what are your favorite sites?
2. My wife Karen has joined the team in the Job Hunting HERO Method and "Valentine's Diner"! She has been an integral part of putting up with my work but now is psyched to join in the workings. Welcome, Karen!! 3. We are building our video library and looking to link with other blogs and websites dedicated to helping people win at that most frustrating part of life - job hunting... If you would like to link to our sites, share our videos... just comment to this blog post. Go ahead...
Relax and enjoy another video from the vault here at Valentine's Diner... have a blessed day.
In all of the hard work and frustration of your job hunting, HERE you have free lessons and exercises to customize to YOUR needs.
Enjoy this part of the copyrighted "Job Hunting Tool Kit I-IV", pass it along to friends but do not sell it, please.
Also, enjoy a really funny video for lesson 3Q, right HERE...
3I.
The Unasked Test - Eye rolling
3J.
Dealing With Your Ugly fish
3K.
Lord Churchill - - You Are Drunk!
3L.
Never teach a pig to sing
3M.
IPS – How to Eat A Cow
3N.
Informational interviews
3O.
Failure is not a person/ I never lost, only behind
3P.
Building Your Spirit/ Making Yourself More Interesting
3Q.
The Big Battle lines: Frosting versus Cake
Love that eye rolling
This
is my favorite because the unprepared fall for it
every
time.
You
are the employer for a moment... you have a job that requires a go-getter attitudeand ability to do things and
change plans on short notice. You want
to avoid anyone who would utter the words “I'm
not going to do THAT”. What to do?
Use an eye roller! Most of the time the eye-roller is a job
related test sprung on the applicant at the right moment.
So
you have completed the interview and the applicant has begun to relax. Their guard,
up for most of the meeting, is relaxed now and
you may see the real person behind the well-rehearsed
mask some wear at an interview. NOW!!
HIT THEM WITH THE EYEROLLER!
Give
them a job related test, simple math for cashiers, a written test with
vocabulary the right candidate should know. THEN I LOOK AT THEIR EYES AND
EXPRESSION!
Did
you see them roll their eyes and sigh a ‘oh, not a
test!' sigh? Well, they just told you how they deal with the unexpected. And they just lost a lot of their chance at
landing this job today. Why hire the eye-roller
when another candidate may enthusiastically grab the exam, welcoming the test
as a way to show their skills?
Back
to you being the job hunter... when an employer springs an eye-roller, like a
test or a ”come with me on a tour” or “I'll bring in another worker for a
moment”, welcome it and avoid
the eye roller expression
that can ruin a good interview in one second.
Making It Work:
What
are some unexpected things that can be thrown at you in an interview? Make a list of some off the wall questions
(like 'name six people living or dead you would invite to dinner tonight?’ what
animal most resembles you?) or job related questions (what would you do in
unusual situations at work) tests that can be dropped in front of an applicant.
Ask a friend to give you an interview,
have them select a few from your list or come up with their own and remember
yourtheir thoughts to your reactions.
Remember, the eyes have it, eh?
Everybody's got a smelly fish. The better you know it, the
better you will be at getting him from ruining your life.
First, a story.A single mother was hoping to one day buy a house,
but money was always a problem and her dream seemed far away. One day she went to visit a home for sale and
was soon chatting with the owner about the financial troubles that she and her
children faced.
The
owner, wiping tears away, asked her how much money she had with her today. She shrugged and pulled out the $4.00 she had
in her pocket. “SOLD!”
he said.
The
woman found he was not kidding and she accepted the house on the owner's one
condition, that he would still own a hook on the kitchen coat rack. He was sentimental about it, and the whole
house for $4.00? What
could go wrong?
She
was settling in when the former owner stopped in one evening. “Sorry to
interrupt dinner, but I want to take a picture of the hook. Can you take a picture of me and the hook,
please?” OK, no harm done - the house
was a steal...
Weeks
later, she was preparing a small party in her place when the old owner stopped
by carrying a 40 pound fish.
“Yup, just caught it” he said as the fish dripped on
the kitchen floor. “Just going to hang it up here on MY hook.”
She
allowed it, took a picture of the man and his fish and was surprised when the
man left the house leaving behind the fish.
The former owner just smiled and said “I'm
leaving it on the hook. Don't you touch
it now because, hey, a deal is a deal...?”
Days
passed - the fish remained there, stinking up the whole house. She was reduced to staring at it and saying “a deal IS a deal.”
*********
Folks,
every deal you make and every compromise made carries the prospect that you will be left with
a smelly fish. Is it the words you have
to say to close a deal on a product you aren't sold on yourself? Is it the late hours or shift work that keeps
you away from family?
A
different kind of smelly fish pollutes your own
self-image. What keeps you from
your dreams? Down-cast friends? Fear of the unknown? A condition (physical or mental) you feel
that keeps you from advancing? Best to
take a good, long look at the fish you have on your hook in the compromises YOU
are setting.
FREE
HELP:
Employers
can receive a large tax credit for hiring people who are members of certain
“target groups”, (ex. veterans, disabled, single parents and others. Go to www.irs.gov and see if you are one of the Worker Opportunity
Tax Credit (WOTC) targeted groups.
Once
you know you qualify, make that solid first impression and when the time is
right, tell them that the employer may get a fat tax credit for hiring and
keeping you as opposed to other candidates.
Making It Work:
Draw
a picture of the
house you want to live in and in the middle of the picture draw your
personal smelly fish...maybe it is a whale, or
one with thorns and spikes; maybe it is really a lot of little fishes. Name the fish by the thing(s) that holds you
back the most. Keep this very personal drawing aside and
understand the impact that fish has on your life.
In
your own time and your own way, figure how to lose the fish somehow and get it
out of YOUR house...
My fish:
Lord Churchill, you are drunk
Lord
Winston Churchill had a quick wit that helped him dozens of times. He had one famous encounter that helps with
your job hunting.
One
night he was at a dinner filled with the richest, snootiest people London had
to offer. One woman was shocked (shocked
I say) to see Lord Churchill having had too much to drink.
She
shouted at him “Lord Churchill, you sir
are drunk!” Winston turned to her
and said softly but directly: “Madame, tonight I am drunk and you are
ugly. Tomorrow, I will be sober but you, sadly, will still be ugly.”
The
lesson here is that time and effort, painful as they may be at the time, can
cure some temporary problems – but ugly stays.
Churchill would become clear and sober again, but her ‘problem’ would
remain. How about you?
Making
It Work:
List
the aspects of yourself that are ‘rust’ in that they are part of who you are
and cannot be painted over or hidden. Be
true to yourself –
•Are you a slob?
•Do you have
trouble taking orders or correction?
•Do you get into
arguments too quickly?
Make
another list this time of the lessons you need in order to address the problems
you face. What are the things that time
and effort can get it done for you.
Somethings
in life are just what they are. It will
snow in my hometown every winter, dandelions growing in my yard next year and
that the sun will come out tomorrow.
The
important part of this is the lesson comes from this quote. I have faith and hope that with your tenacity
and good sense you will land a job that brings you closer to your dreams. But, folks, there are somethings that you
cannot change.
It
is to save you time and energy (and sanity) I remind you that pig voice lessons
are a lousy investment because outside of Hollywood and Charlotte’s Web, pigs have
a terrible time carrying a tune.
Making
It Work:
Time to bring out tthat
beautiful Serenity Prayer:
“Grant me the
courage to change the things I can,
Patience to
accept the things I cannot and the
Wisdom to know
the difference.”
You
already have courage and wisdom (you are reading the JHTK series, right) Make
yourself a long list of what frustrates you about job hunt. Please
make it a long list.
Now
break it down into what you can change and what things you cannot. Now review the list a second time and
consider what you can’t change list again.
With time, help, education, perseverance are there some things in your
cannot list that can be changed. I could
buy something to get rid of the dandelions or get in snow shoveling shape to
prepare for the snow, making it less a problem. Like Little Orphan Annie sang “maybe what’s good gets a
little bit better and maybe what’s bad gets gone.”
Now
take your list of really can-nots, a pen and a roll of toilet paper. One by one, write down the items on your
can’t list onto the toilet paper. Once
the list is complete, one by one tear them off, sink them into the toilet water
and flush them away.
So
many things are happening to you all at the same time that it is easy to lose
track and feel overwhelmed by it all.
The best way I know how to deal with this problem is to learn from what
my late grandfather said –
“The best way to
eat a cow is one steak at a time.”
Hey
, folks, you are facing ‘a cow’ in being unemployed or underemployed. You will remember years from now how you
handled the pressures you are facing right now.
Well, with apologies to our vegetarian friends, you have to bring that
cow down to size.
One
way is to label each of the steps separately, as is done in the Individualized
Placement and Support model of job hunting.
By breaking it down into its components,
you may be able to have a greater sense of mastery and a better sense of how
you will accomplish something toward your overall goals every day.
Making
It Work:
List
all of the parts of the job hunting process from your point of view:
•Preparing
physically: Appearance, transportation, clothes, etc. so you present yourself
as energetic.
•Preparing your
message: Resumes, applications, Oz factors of you and the specific employer.
•Preparing your
research: What are perspectives of each employer, issues facing the hiring
managers for today/future, have you kept up with references?
•Preparing for
the fine points: Ready for the unexpected, preparing for questions you may
face?
•Add here any
other preparations unique to your personal situation.
So
you have tried your best to get interviewed but cannot
get past the Bulldog.
Maybe
you want to show your capabilities but cannot get through to the employers out
there.
Or
maybe you are trying to get a better understanding of the interests, points of
view and Employer Oz factor, but you cannot find out.
One
solution to all 3 of these is the
informational interview. One of
the best ways to find out an employer’s needs and point of view is to ask one.
A great way to express to an employer your skills is to, well, tell one.
Getting
that information and exposure can come through an informational interview. This takes some self-confidence to set one up
but as with potato chips, once you have finished one you cannot wait for
another.
Making
It Work:
Practice
setting up an informational interview with three companies in the field you
want to go to work in. You may not get
all three, but keep at it until you meet at least one.
You
will need the following:
•Who, Where and When–
Find the hiring manager at companies in the field you want to work in.
•How
– Compose a letter asking to meet briefly with the person you have identified
at their convenience whether or not
they are hiring currently.
•Why
– Well, what is YOUR reason? What is
YOUR interest in the field – why THIS company or THIS field?
•What
– Plan ahead, knowing specific things you want to learn about – especially in
the point of view of the hiring manager: how do you select the right
person? What directions do you see for
the future?
The
goal overall is to understand more about the field, understand the Oz factor of
the employers you are hunting and when that is accomplished to get the word out
about your skills.
It
is important to keep your spirit up as you face the challenges of job
hunting. Earlier in the series we
reviewed some actions you can take to feel more centered or to make your
application more interesting, but in the fine tuning we are more personal.
Remember
to feel a sense of gratitude in the gifts that you have – the gifts of the
world around you and the gifts that you have to share with others. It can make a lasting effect on you to make
an inventory of what you need to support your personal spirit.
Helping others toward their goals – whether it is helping someone with homework or
joining a job hunting support group – can feed your spirit in a unique way.
Making
It Work:
Let
us address all three-
•Gaining a
feeling of gratitude for the gifts you have requires that you make an inventory
of these gifts. Take a moment and list
gifts that you share with others - - the sunshine, 24 hours in a day and hope
for the future for example.
Include
the gifts that you have in the main realms of life – your physical body, your
intellect, your heart and ability to deal with others, resources to help
yourself financially and your spiritual gifts of faith in yourself, others or
tomorrow.
•Make an
inventory of what you need for supporting your spirit. This is often difficult at first and requires
you to consider what faith means to you and how to foster it for the
future. Faith in the future, faith in
your being able to meet the challenges ahead.
•Help others
toward their goals – give them the benefit of your experience, expertise and
caring. This helps open things in your
life that only come out in caring for others.
At the end of the day you will gain a sense that someone else’s life is
different because you were in it and know that this day was special to you as
well.
My
late grandfather used to enjoy warning me about seeing past the sweet words of
salesmen or others who he called “all frosting and
no cake”.
In
job hunting there is a tendency among some hunters to sell all of the sizzle
without having any steak to back it up.
Employers are often concerned that they may be fooled by an applicant
who is just all sweet words (frosting) without a foundation to back it up (no
cake). The trick to it is to make
certain that when faced with this the employer knows that she is getting cake
after all.
How to do that?
First,make sure that in your resume, application and JIST
cards that you are showing the cake. Detail specifics of what you can do – have
proof with statistics, references who will back up the sweet sounding
statements you make.
Second, the cake should be inviting
to your audience – review the
words about your accomplishments as related to THEIR interests (noted in the
job description and all that you have found
in research.) If the employers want
angel food, avoid giving devil’s food.
Third,too much frosting makes the employer wonder how deep
the frosting goes compared to where the cake begins. Avoid
too much sweetness by keeping sentences short, resume easy to read and
filled with at least some cake.
Making
It Work:
Review
your resume, application and JIST card in light of the cautions listed above
and make the changes as needed. JIST
cards? Bulleted points of your best
qualities and qualifications targeting what the employer is looking for.
This is one of the most frustrating lessons for me
to remark about because many feel that they have to become someone they are not
when in the interview. The best way I
know to express this is to mention how I learned of its power.
Years ago I was playing tennis against an old friend
and his serve would fly past me every time.
I took him aside and asked what his secret was- - did he inhale or exhale just before hitting the ball? He thought it through and each time in the
next game he served the ball he was concentrating so much on whether or not he
was inhaling, his serves slowed enough that I was able to hit them back.
Once
he noticed how concentrating on something that really did not matter was
affecting his game, he laughed out
loud and shouted “it just doesn’t matter”. He
then went back to being himself and firing those laser serves that I just
watched as they flew by.
Remember that man a foot taller (and a foot wider)
than I am grabbed my hand held it in a vice grip shook it hard three times then
let it go. When he noted “well, this
book I read said grab the employer’s hands…”
I told him next time, “just be yourself”.
Making
It Work:
Think through the physical part of the
interview. What advice have you been
given or what parts of it have you become worried about?
Certain parts are essential – making sure that you
are looking good, smelling good with an authentic smile for the person who is
taking time out of their day to meet with you.
Most employers are anticipating that people have
some things that make this meeting less than the real person – hey, you are
giving your best first impression. The
key to this is to make certain that you are being yourself and not constrained
in ways to act that are not you.
Make a list of the different parts of the physical
aspects of the interview (eye contact, shaking hands, posture, etc.) and circle
the ones that you are concerned with.
Now think through what it is that you want to do about them and consider
if that is something you will be comfortable doing.
Employers
usually believe they are better than average judges of character. Part of their assessment of YOU is if you
consider their agency's work
1.)
important to you and
2.)
theirs is a place you will stay for a while.
Knowing
how they may 'size you up' helps you prepare for meeting with decision
makers. A good way to understand this is
the Tale of the Three Bricklayers.
An
opinion surveyor walked up to three
people 'laying bricks ' on a work site and asked each of them ”what are you doing?”
The
first one growls “I'm slapping two bricks together,
then another and then another ...what a stupid question!”
The
next one states ”well, we're a team. I build a wall, she builds one and he builds one”.
The
third smiles and said “Thanks, I am helping build a
cathedral people will enjoy for generations to come.”
The
moral is that they are doing the same
job only looking at it differently and it shows in their attitudes. Take a moment and reflect on the attitude
an employer looks for in longevity, solid customer service & other
intangibles for the job he is filling. Will he find it in you?
Making It Work:
Now reflect on how you are feeling about each job you are considering. Would you see the work as “slapping two bricks
together” or as something more?
Nearly
every job offers the chance to see the work as larger than 'just bricks” but
it’s up to you how you will see it.
Make a chart with 3 columns: “just bricks”,
“team work” and “cathedrals”
adding your thoughts on each job you are considering and which column they
belong in today.
On
another day, without
looking at today's list, write down your thoughts a second time. This helps focus
your mind more fully. The
employer will see your true attitude pretty quickly in how you present yourself
your answers and that look in your eye.
In all of the books I have read on job hunting few discuss
the spiritual side of the search. I do not mean a religious matter –
just keeping your spirit and motivation ‘up’ while you are doing the soul
sapping struggles you face. Remember in
the job hunt that you take time for yourself to appreciate the beauty around
you. For example that you
•See the beauty
in things not necessarily man-made, but things like sunsets or the beauty in
the night sky.
•Find yourself a
safe place where you can focus on the things important to you.
•Put together a box that is all yours with things
that give you a sense of peace – from photos, to things you enjoy doing to
scents that you like.
•List traditions
that bring you peace of mind (such as saying thanks daily or playing favorite
music)
Getting used to feeling centered is like learning to
get your balance or riding a bike.
Before you can move forward with confidence, you need to feel sure of
your balance. Also, balance requires
moving forward with confidence.
Making
It Work:
Here is something that can help you through the hunt
– and often it is free. Build a
centering box– put in a box or in the bottom of your sock drawer
where you can.
Keep things in a private and safe place the items
and images (sensory things) that help you feel more centered and at peace.
Write down a list of what goes into that box.
Appreciate nature every day. Find something in the world around you that
has its own rhythm (from the last song of the birds before sunset to the rattle
of a passing subway car). Write a list
of these things and add to the list you find as days go by. Write a list of traditions you have enjoyed
that give you a sense of warming your spirit.
Sometimes you feel so small as you look for someone
smart enough to hire you. More and more you
face the idea that the future will never look anything different from the
present, slogging through more days like the day before.
The tough part here is that the winner in the job
search is often the person who projects a positive image – how to do that when
the days are all so gray? This is when
you appreciate that sometimes courage is not about bravado, but is a small
voice that says “well, I will try again tomorrow”.
Margie’s Courage
Years ago I
counseled a young single mother of several children. She cried in talking over the lack of job
skills she had because she was just a
mother. She had heard of the
lines of mothers being coaches and nurses and she was not buying those as job
readiness skills. She needed to
understand something more specific to HER life.
We spent hours
talking about the Headstart program her children were in. This preschool program required that parents
get involved and she elected to join committees like the ones that put together
the holiday parties for the kids.
Mary joined this
committee and quickly noticed that when she spoke, other
people listenedand they appreciated her insights. She showed them the energy and positive
spirit that made her a successful single mom as she headed up several
projects. Even though teachers or
administrators had sometimes in the past made her feel small and relatives had
questioned her parenting skills sometimes, here she learned to have courage of
her convictions and to be heard.
Soon afterward she
became a supervisor in a local hospital dietetics service. Her kids are doing fine having a great role
model for learning their own courageous side.
Making
It Work:
Think of a saying you have heard in the past for
motivation. Ask around to friends or
look into it yourself – but make certain that these nuggets have meaning to
you.
Return to the lesson “Libraries are Full of Them”
and make a list of people you know – family, friends, teachers. What makes them unique and special in your
estimation?
Now take these things that are special to you and
write them down – say them loudly when you feel your spirits waning. Otherwise, you can find three quotes from
your research on motivating for a brighter future and read them aloud at the
start and end of each day you are job hunting.
You never really know about a person – especially
their courage and character – until you have seen them handle pressure. It is only then that you see if the person
remains a lowly piece of coal or becomes the diamond that lies beneath. Remember that a diamond is just a piece of
coal that did well under pressure.
In the Job Hunting Oz factor we focus on the quality
of courage. Note that the more you are
able to present courage – ability to work well under pressure just as well on
good days as bad – the more you are able to show your diamond-like
qualities. But first YOU have to see
it.
Making
It Work:
List the challenges you have faced in the following
four sections.
A – In your studies. Academic counselors say it is not the super
high school student who does well in college, but one who knows how to handle
it when she cannot understand something easily and works hard to get it all
learned.
B – In dealing with
or helping others.How
do you handle clients/customers who are difficult to deal with?
C – In the
decisions to do the right thing,especially when what is
right is not easy.
D – In dealing with
your own personal challenges.
Let your mind drift through some divergent thinking
searching the ways you have become the person you are. And remember that courage and
conscientiousness is not all about brave actions… it is often just a small
voice inside.
•Is there
anything facing you now that challenges you to move from a piece of coal to a
diamond?
•Facing
challenges in the four sections noted above – how are you planning to address
them now?
•What are your
plans for what is next in your personal challenges?
Now use some convergent thinking and find the top
answers to the above questions to show not just yourself but the stranger who
will one day become your next employer.
Hey - and enjoy yourself.
She was a single mom back in the Great Depression, a
time when there were not many supports for families in her situation. She began making then selling soap she would
make in her bathtub with the little money she could put together.
Well, she got pretty good at selling and with
hope, hard work and the help of others she created one of the largest
cosmetics companies in the world and named it after herself, Mary KayAshe. She
regularly stated that one of the keys to her success is a phrase she never forgot:
“Those who think they
can, can.
Those who think they
cannot are right.”
The point here is that it is essential you think you
can accomplish something in order to finally do it.
People who question if they can are no less
competent, smart or capable of meeting the goal. What holds them back is that they deep down
do not think that they can make it.
Think of the successful people you have heard of, met or read about. They all shared Mary Kay’s secret.
Making
It Work:
Review the Oz factor and review what you have in the way of brains to
learn things; heart to get along with others and courage to be conscientious
and honest in growing with time.
You are still in the process of growing your Oz
factor, growing your smarts, your heart and your lion-ness. Review your answers to the first lessons,
circle the ones that give you confidence that you are going to make it.
These are the sides of who you are… not someone else, not some model from another job
hunting book but YOU.
Write these answers in the space below and once a
day before you start the day’s job hunt say out loud “those who think they can, can, those who
think they cannot are right. I think I can.”
Somewhere near you is a radio station where you can
still hear the top forty songs either of this week or a week years ago. The reason I focus on 40 here is that it is
an easy number to remember and use and because I miss the show “American Top
40”.
Take a moment because you are up against a lot of
competition for jobs. OK, have already
figured that one out, but know also that many people who do not prepare well
for the hunt will soon fall of and no longer be your real competition.
Making
It Work:
Below are forty X’s (competitors for a job) and one O (that’s you). Now cross out a few X’s the competition who
have not examined their skills, a few more who have not considered the
employer’s point of view, a few more who
became discouraged while you kept on moving forward.
Keep this chart as you complete the JHTK crossing out more X’s as you learn more about language,
other job search fine points and so on. Once
you are done, you will see that your real competition is not as big and bad as
you first thought.
