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Job Seekers: Know
Thyself print page
By Barbara Moses
It's tough out
there - hiring freezes, cutbacks, and restructuring.
But there is also great work to be
found.
Finding your great work will require
perseverance, creativity, and sometimes thinking
unconventionally. Take a career activist stance and
follow these 15 strategies to uncover and secure your great
work.
Know
yourself: The most significant factor
in securing great work is the ability to articulate
interests, skills, unique talents, values, work preferences,
and accomplishments. This is the foundation not only for
setting meaningful career goals, but also for writing
marketing materials and presenting yourself effectively in
networking and interviews.
I've seen many people who are talented
and accomplished, but who can't put economical and compelling
words around what they have to offer.
Think broadly: Disconnect your identity
from jobs and job titles. Think of yourself as
the owner of a self-managed portfolio of skills, talents,
and abilities to solve certain classes of problems and
to thrive under certain environmental and cultural
conditions. Rather than thinking in terms of
jobs or job titles, focus on what roles you
want to play, whether as a team builder,
problem solver, communicator, facilitator, or
leader.
The
broader your self-definition, the more options are available to
you.
Aim high:
Don't be
put off by stated job requirements. Recruiters
often start their search by asking for the moon and
stars, then modify expectations in light of
the available talent pool.
Think like a
recruiter: This is my golden rule for an
effective job search, whether you are writing a cover letter
to your resume, preparing for an interview, or pitching someone
for work. Imagine you were recruiting for the targeted
opportunity: What would you be looking for in terms of
technical and non-technical skills, values, and work
style? Spin your work experiences and accomplishments in
works that speak directly to the employer's
needs.
Network intelligently:
Cherry, a 35-year-old job seeker, recently told me:
"I've been so busy networking. I've had lunch, drinks, or
played tennis with over 100 influential people, but I still
haven't found a job."
Networking is one of the most powerful
career management strategies, but it is also the one that
poses the greatest challenges.
It does not mean:
Glibly handing
out your business card to everyone you meet with a robotically
over-rehearsed sound-byte that has every meaningless buzz word
in the language.
Daily networking
lunches (people are too busy, and the social environment often
changes the focus).
Interacting
only with senior people, unless you are looking for work at
that level (senior people are often too removed from where the
work is actually done).
Asking
people for a one-hour meeting to discuss opportunities in
their field, going through a list of canned questions from a
job-search book, the answers to which you don't care about,
and concluding with a request for the names of 10 people you
can talk to.
If you are looking to make a career
change and are conducting information interviews, ask targeted
questions related to your own particular needs and
interests. Instead of thinking about it as an interview,
think of it as a conversation. Make it easy and
enjoyable for people to meet with you, with reasonable time
commitment (I usually recommend asking for about 15 minutes -
if the person you are meeting with is enjoying herself or
himself, they will often give you longer).
Consider a phone
conversation rather than a face-to-face meeting to make it
easier for your contact to agree to "meet" with you.
Don't forget to
send a thank-you note. Keep your network appraised of
your progress, especially once you have landed.
Use the "eye and ears"
approach: Most people are sympathetic to work
searchers. One woman sent out an e-mail to 100 people in
her network and friends of people in her network, asking them
to be her eyes and ears in identifying opportunities.
She generated 33 leads in a week.
Become an oral
storyteller: In your networking, you will be gathering
important insider information on industry trends, corporate
strategies, and product innovations that will often be
of interest to the people you network with and to the
recruiter. Use every interaction as an opportunity to
pick up a piece of information and pass on a piece of
information.
Pitch an
employer: I secured every job I ever held in
this way. Find a great employer. Show you
understand their needs and why you are an irresistible value
proposition.
Think culture and industry
sector: Sure, the work has to
be interesting, but the most important factor in finding great work
is your fit with the culture—whether it be freewheeling and
entrepreneurial, consensus-building or
team-oriented.
Target your
search: You know what you want and need in a
job and work environment. Conduct your search and focus
on organizations, industry sectors, and roles that speak to
your skills and values.
Audition the
employer: What do you see when you go for an
interview? What does the art say? How are people
dressed? Are people smiling? If you pay attention
to all the cues, you will learn a lot about the
culture.
Show your personality:
Communicate enthusiasm for your work. Charm and manners
speak volumes. Employers are hiring a human being who
they think will be a good fit for their organization, as well
as someone whose accomplishments indicate their ability to get
desired results. "Fit" is basically an euphemism for "I
can imagine sharing a limo to the airport with this
person. And I can imagine working on an intense project
team with them." Be natural and express your authentic
self. Prepare for the interview, but don't
over-rehearse.
Don't be embarrassed about job
loss: It is simply a feature of the
contemporary landscape and there is a fairly good chance your
interviewer has had a similar experience. If you were
fired, show what you learned from the experience and how your
coping strategies speak to your emotional
resilience.
Avoid the cliché
of the over-heartily expressed, "This is the best opportunity
of my life." It may well turn out to be, but unless you
got a huge severance or hated your previous job, chances are
you won't feel that until you get that new great work.
On a related note, take the acid test before you go into the
market. If you can't talk about your job loss without
rancor and bitterness, wait.
Conduct an
audition: It is easier to say yes to a date than
to a marriage proposal, and it's easier for an employer to
say yes to contract work than a full-time permanent
job. Consider contract work as a foot in the door and an
opportunity to check out the work and culture. If you
are early in your career, or making a career change, consider
doing a three-month internship to show your
wares.
Know the tradeoffs: Make
age, and career- and life-stage appropriate decisions.
If you are starting out, you may need to take a stepping stone
job to get great resume-enhancing experience. If you are
well into your career, issues related to work-life balance and
supporting your most important values will be
critical.
Be prepared for
delays: Follow up in a few weeks
if you haven't heard back from the recruiter—and every couple
of weeks after that. (If you call more often they may
feel you are pestering them.) Things often don't unfold
the way they are supposed to. Expect
unanticipated roadblocks and changes in the hiring process. Do
not be disheartened if a search is put on hold—sudden hiring
freezes are a common occurrence in the current
economy.
Looking for work can
be challenging. Don't get discouraged—there is great work out there.
Think of this as an opportunity to strut your stuff, meet new
people, test yourself in new environments, and learn about
other organizations.
Good luck and good
hunting.
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Barbara Moses, Ph.D.,
is an organizational career management consultant, speaker,
and author of What Next: The Complete Guide to
Taking Control of Your Working Life.
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