This month’s topic: Mid-year job search checkup

Responses from others contributors linked at the end. Follow the hashtag #Career Collective on Twitter.

You’ve set up metrics to track resume send-out-versus-response ratios. You’re so engaged with your network, you know who you spoke with, when, the topic of conversation and have scheduled a date and time for the next contact. You set up social media profiles across the web making you Google-able. You online presence is pristine. You engaged a career professional to make sure your resume and other career documents properly positioned you. On paper and online, you appear to be a slam-dunk candidate for many positions in your industry. You interview well too. But wait … you’re still unemployed or you still haven’t been able to land a new position. What gives?

First, if you’re not in the enviable position, online and on paper, as outlined above, be sure to read all the Career Collective contributions this month. You’re sure to pick up helpful tips and tricks to bring your career marketing collateral and job search strategy up to snuff.

Now, if you’ve got all this going for you, why no job offers? When was the last time you sat down and had an honest look at how you present yourself to the world? I’m not talking about external appearances. I’m talking attitude, outlook and perspective. If you’re doing everything right in a job search and your persona contradicts the message conveyed in your introductory documents, you’re going to have a difficult search. People hire people with positive attitudes and energy. Be sure your habits support that positive projection

Find a quiet spot (like this one) and take a long, hard, honest look at what needs to change.

Moore's Creek, western Pender County, NC

• Do you hang with a crowd that’s usually complaining about something?

Assess how external forces affect your internal sentences. Picking, poking and complaining about everything under the sun might be all in fun when you’re together with your friends. But, sometimes, that negative tone creeps into everyday conversations and starts to jade your entire perception of the world. Does that mean you have to dump your friends to get a job?

Of course not, but at least be aware of any effect “negative” jokes and kidding have on your personal view of life. Your assessment might cause you to initiate a change in how the group interacts (not an easy feat). It might be a good idea to change the group dynamic and add some new people to the mix at your next event. Or, you might decide to reduce the group events for a while and keep in touch with individuals.

• Has your job search support group turned into a commiseration session?

When you first joined the group, you left meetings energized, full of ideas and suggestions to propel your search forward. As time wore on, you began to leave meetings more discouraged than when you went in. Your commitment to the people in the group is still there, but the benefits evaporated long ago.

Apply some of the same ideas listed above to change group dynamics without eliminating the group completely. But don’t be afraid to admit it’s time to move on either. Your loyalty has to be to you and your positive mental state.

• Are you parked on the sofa watching the six-o-clock news every night?

If you’re told (or tell yourself) something often enough, it becomes your reality. If you spend an hour each evening listening to how horrible things are in the world right now, chances are the message will eventually seep into your perception.

A client recently told me, she knew she needed to look for a job, but she watched the news every night. She heard how difficult the job market is right now and adopted the perception that to do anything would be a waste of effort. My advice to her: Turn off your TV. (Apologies to the news industry.)

In lieu of such a drastic measure, at least keep things in perspective. You don’t have to find a job for every single unemployed individual in the United States; you only have to find one, for you. If watching the news every night is stressing you out, there are plenty of ways to stay current with world events, on your terms. Find what works for you and protect your positive outlook. Focus on what you can do to improve on your personal news; not on things you cannot control.

• Is your family supportive of your search and your career?

Does the question, “So. Do you have a job YET?” pop up daily in family conversations? Does it feel like an inquisition at family gatherings as second-cousins-three-times-removed (what does that mean??) start grilling you about and assessing your job search efforts? Do you get that “sure you are dear” look whenever you share career goals and aspirations?

If family interactions leave you curled in a fetal position under your desk while you’re trying to conduct a job search, it’s up to you to take action. They mean well, but it might be time for a conversation with those closest to you. Ask for their support and tell them what they can do help, and what hurts.

Develop a thick skin for those occasional (unintentional) barbs from extended family and friends. Everyone has an opinion. That doesn’t mean you have to absorb each and every one. As in the examples before, take charge of the dynamic or make some difficult decision about interactions and frequency.

• Does an (involuntary) frown creep across your face when you talk about past positions and people?

No matter how many times you tell yourself, everything’s fine, if you don’t have a “poker face” when talking about what happened or is happening to encourage you into a job search, you’re going to lose in the job search game.

Find an outlet or method to handle the (understandable) anger and negative energy so it doesn’t make unwanted appearances during career conversations. If you have to, engage friends or sit in front of a mirror to put a positive perspective (spin) on less than perfect circumstances. You don’t want the look on your face and your actions to drown out the value you’re trying to convey.

• What are you saying to yourself?

What kind of tapes play in your head all day long? I’m not talking about your iPod play list. Are you saying positive things to you about you or is your dialogue peppered with, “You idiot. I can’t believe you were so stupid. I’ll never find a job. It’s not my fault, the world is against me. I never do anything right. I’m always late.” – enough! You get the idea. You spend more time with yourself than you do with anyone else on the planet. Be encouraging in what you say to yourself. (For more on this topic: “What are YOU saying about you?“and “…And then shut up“)

Time and time again I’ve read comments from hiring authorities indicating candidate attitudes play a huge role in hiring decisions. Specific skills can be trained. Attitude determines the success of that training. As I said, people hire positive people. It’s in a job seekers best interest to develop a positive energy in addition to executing a well-strategized search. Remember, the unspoken sometimes speaks louder than the words being said. Rediscover your joie de vivre and see if that isn’t the mid-year tweak your job search needed.

Here’s what my colleagues have to say:

4 Summer Strategies to Step Up Your Job Search, @DebraWheatman

Putting Your Job Search Up On The Rack For Inspection, @dawnrasmussen

Mid-Year Job Search Checkup: Are you wasting your time? @GayleHoward

What is your unique value proposition? @keppie_careers

It is Time for Your Check-up Ms/Mr Jobseeker, @careersherpa

Mid-Year Career Checkup: Are You “On Your Game?” @KatCareerGal

How to Perform a Mid-Year Job Search Checkup, @heatherhuhman

Reposition your job search for success, @LaurieBerenson

Mid-Year Job Search Checkup: What’s working and What’s not? @erinkennedycprw

Mid-Year Job Search Check-Up: Getting Un-Stuck, @JobHuntOrg

Mid-Year Check Up: The Full 360, @WalterAkana

5 Tips for Fighting Summer Job Search Blues, @KCCareerCoach

Are you positive about your job search? @DawnBugni

Where Are The Jobs? @MartinBuckland, @EliteResumes

Mid-Year Job-Search Checkup: Get Your Juices Flowing, @ValueIntoWords

When Was Your Last Career & Job Search Check Up? @expatcoachmegan

Is Summer A Job Search Momentum Killer? @TimsStrategy, #CareerCollective

Is It Time for Your Resume Checkup? @barbarasafani, #CareerCollective

This month’s topic: Re-Tooling/Re-Focusing/Organizing Your Job Search (spring clean your job search)

Responses from others contributors linked at the end. Follow the hashtag #CareerCollective on Twitter.

Photo by PuuikiBeach via Flickr

With the wild popularity of shows like Clean House and Hoarders and websites like Fly Lady, it is evident clutter is a problem for many of us. It’s true. Living amongst clutter and disorganization can befuddle even the most stoic individual. But what about the mental clutter we carry around during a job search? It’s time to spring clean cob-webby, pigeon-holed thinking too.

I recently worked with a talented woman wanting to transition from physical trainer into teaching health sciences at a community college. She had the credentials, the degrees and knowledge to support this type of transition. As I do with all my clients, I had her forward a few posting illustrating the targeted position. This ensured we addressed the skill set academia sought. During our conversation, I listened with “academic, teaching ears” – in essence, pulling the teaching, training, motivation and inspiration part of her career through to present her in a new light. Academia “doesn’t care” if she can do sit-ups; they care if she can teach the physiology and kinetics behind them. And perhaps, motivate a group (or individuals) to do them.

When I wrote the document, I was sure to speak the needs of the potential employer. I wove words like teach, educate, individual education plans, tutoring, one-on-one and group support … throughout the document. I pulled her teaching and training skills though the document and drove home the point that while she may not be in classroom, she was teaching her clients every single day. Her job title may have read “personal trainer”, but her skill set presentation screamed teacher.

She and her good friends, who have known her for many years, “edited” the document. They provided feedback on my carefully strategized, well-thought out academic presentation. When I opened the feedback file, I was welcomed by a sea of blue track changes. Whoa! I had my work cut out for me.

We went through, line-by-line, the changes she and her friends made. We discovered during the process she AND her friends were dragging along the clutter of her personal trainer title. She (and they) went through and undid every attempt I’d made to paint an academic picture.

Her friends added another layer of clutter when they indicated the presentation was “too professional.” They brought boxes and boxes of long-term love, friendship and personal knowledge along for the job search ride. They knew she was a talented professional, so they “assumed” the rest of the world possessed the same knowledge. She didn’t have to come across “so professional” on paper. (News flash: If you don’t tell a potential employer; they don’t know. If you don’t appear professional; they’ll assume you’re not. They have no knowledge outside the document before them.)

I patiently explained the strategy behind the presentation and why I used the verbiage I’d used. The longer we talked, the clearer it became. I had no personal trainer clutter in my head about her. She told me she wanted to be a community college instructor, so I saw her through those eyes. I had no preconceived thoughts about her training position, so I left that title behind and focused on the skills the employer sought. I looked to her future; not back to her past.

Photo by Evelyn Giggles via Fllickr

On the other hand, she and her friends were bogged down with a semi-truck load of everything related to her training profession and personal friendship. She thought of herself as a trainer hoping to “somehow” become an educator. Her friends saw the joyful, convivial individual they’d known and loved for years. They were a bit uncomfortable with the professional, credentialed, talented individual presented on the document I created. None of them made, or even knew how to make, the transition from trainer to educator. In essence, their edits presented her strengths as a trainer and eliminated the educational focus I’d so carefully woven through the document. Their edits were GREAT if she wanted a job as a trainer. They were ineffective, almost diminishing, in helping her make the transition to academia.

As we wrapped up our edit session, she saw how she and her friends were stuck in the cob webs and clutter of training. They all carried boxes and boxes of the past with them and hoped a potential employer would take the time to sort through that clutter and pick out things they needed from her wonderful training past. (Another news flash: They won’t.)

By the time we’d finished, for this search, she understood the need to dump the trainer vernacular and presentation goo if she wanted a brand new career. She was seeing herself through different eyes. She understood if she didn’t see herself as an educator; no one else would.

If you’re in job search, take some time to examine the clutter of job titles and past perceptions you carry with you. It might be time to vacuum the pigeon-hole and knock down the cob webs so you’re ready to show the new and freshly-polished you.

Now, in the words of Niecy Nash, “Git to Gittin.’”

Here’s what my colleagues have to say:

Personal Branding to Fire Up Your Job Search, @DebraWheatman

Succeeding in a “Final Jeopardy!” World, @WalterAkana

5 Steps to Retool & Jumpstart Your Job Search, @erinkennedycprw

Your Job Search: Let’s Just Start Again Shall We? @GayleHoward

Checklist for Spring Cleaning Your Job Search, @careersherpa

5 Ways to Spring Clean Your Job Search, @heatherhuhman

Ten Surefire Ways to Organize Your Job Search, @KatCareerGal

Put Spring Into Your Job Search, @EliteResumes @MartinBuckland

Toes in the Water, @ValueIntoWords

How to Revitalize a Stale Job Search, @KCCareerCoach

How to re-think your job search, @Keppie_Careers

Wake Up and Smell the Flowers: Spring Cleaning Your Resume, @barbarasafani

Spring Cleaning and Your Personal Brand, @resumeservice

Spring clean your mind clutter first, @DawnBugni

Managing Your Career 2.0: On Giving Something Up To Get It Right, @Chandlee

Clean up, Chin, up, Shape up, @LaurieBerenson

A portion of our daily walk

I walk with my neighbor, Brenda, four to six times a week. Last week she was out of town. Unfortunately, my motivation went with her and we both ended up on a brief “no walk” sabbatical. This week, determined to re-launch our partnership, we met at our normal 8:30 a.m. time. Before she left we’d enjoyed temps in the 60s and 70s – in November. This week, a cold front moved in and temps were in the teens, low twenties. {It’s nice folks to the north like to share cold fronts with Southern states, but stop it. Please. } Brrrrr. Not only did we have to jump start our motivation; we had to bundle up to do it. Again. Brrrrr. Once we got going, of course, we warmed up – she has a quick step for a 65-year-old!

This morning, like most mornings, I spent a little time on Twitter before our walk. While there, Erin Kennedy’s @ErinKennedyCPRW retweet of Michelle J. Iseman’s @QueenSchmooze weather report floated by in the stream:

Erin said:
“Yuck. I thought our 7 degrees here was c-c-cold. RT @QueenSchmooze: Cold now -22C in Ottawa”

I added:
“Whoa! No complaints a/b 27º now. RT @ErinKennedyCPRW: Thought our 7º here was c-c-cold. RT QueenSchmooze: Cold now -22C in Ottawa”

See how Erin’s and my view changed because Michelle shared her morning reality. The thought of Ottawa’s MINUS 22ºC (-7F)  made Erin’s Michigan 7º less daunting and my North Carolina 27º downright balmy. About a quarter of the way into our walk, I took off my gloves. Half-way through my hat came off and I unzipped my jacket just a bit. I know it sounds crazy, but viewing 27º against temps of -22C (-7F) and even 7º changed my entire perception of the morning. It wasn’t “freezing” as I told myself every other morning this week. It was now tolerable and we were fortunate not to have the true freezing temperatures that would have prevented our enjoyably morning constitutional.

I’m grateful for my perception reminder this morning. Hopefully it’ll help the next time you’re feeling defeated by a difficult task or you think you can’t do another job search-related thing. It really is all a matter of perspective. I proved it to myself yet again: The battle of the day is won in the mind.

We are not garbage. (And no, that's not my house. *smile*)

This week I lost a client. It happens. That’s not the reason for this post. You know I’ll eventually get to the point, but first some background. The client was someone who had some “not that big a deal jobs” in her career (her words, not mine). She decided to reinvent herself, went back to school and recently earned a two-year nursing degree. She had her license (meaning she’d sat for and passed the boards) and was ready to launch her new career.

When we first spoke, she was tentative about working with a pro to create her resume. The more we talked about the process and the leg-up she’d have in the job market, the more excited she became. She quickly saw the resume creation process was not about hiring someone to type and that a resume wasn’t flopping job descriptions down on a sheet of paper and hoping someone would call. She saw value in the process. She realized she needed help transitioning the skills gained from her “no big deal jobs.” She started to see she HAD gained skills from those “no big deal” jobs. She booked.

I called at the appointed time. She started the conversation with “we need to talk.” I don’t care the circumstance; those are not words anyone wants to hear. She nervously started the conversation with something like, “I’ve decided the fee we discussed WASN’T WORTH IT because I don’t have that much experience. I’m JUST a recent graduate with ONLY clinical nursing experience. My mom and I talked about it and agreed, my other jobs WEREN’T THAT IMPORTANT so it really shouldn’t take you that much time to put something together for me.” I politely asked what price point she and her mom thought was fair for her specific circumstance. (All caps mine, not hers)

(Note: I was mirroring her verbiage. I avoid using words like cost or price when discussing investing in a career. Price is what you pay for milk. Investing is what you do when you’re looking for long-term benefits. Investing in professional guidance and support while shaping your career, and in essence your life, is an investment that delivers almost a 100% ROI in a very brief time … but I digress.)

Anyway, she and mom decided her resume was worth only half of what I originally quoted. I politely explained the process I’d take her through once again and the additional handouts I provided as part of the resume package. I went so far as to share how many hours are spent working on this type of project, breaking down the price to an hourly rate. After the calculation, I asked her if she asked if she was willing to work at that hourly rate. Funny. She wasn’t. But she also wasn’t willing to move forward with the project, reiterating she’d done so little in her career she didn’t see how it could possibly take long to share it.

Seeing a deeper problem here I backed off. She wasn’t balking at the investment level for a resume. She was balking at taking a chance on investing in herself. She didn’t see her own value. I can’t fight that. Here is someone who already invested several thousand dollars on her education, spent hundreds of dollars on books, worked hours and hours gaining clinical experience and studying for state boards, gave up two years’ income to earn her degree and sacrificed family time and social gatherings for those two years to study. My fee for resumes pales in comparison to what she’d already invested.

What happened between the time we booked and the time we were ready to get started? Negative internal sentences. And, yes, I’ll say it out loud, a mom willing to support that negativity, in essence encouraging her daughter to devalue herself. I know this wasn’t the intent, but it sure was the outcome. During the entire conversation, this young woman kept using the words, “just”, “only”, “not worth it”, “no big deal.” Knowing this battle was lost, I shifted into helping mode. (I know. You’re screaming WHY????, but I had to do something to circumvent the “I’m not worthy” thinking … if I could.)

I spent about a half-hour sharing a few sites that would help her get the correct focus for a search and help her craft her own career sales and marketing documents. (I know. I’m devaluing my own value by giving my knowledge away, but someone had to be a positive force in this young woman’s life. I decided I was willing to donate 30 minutes to that cause.) I suggested a different perspective on her work history. She thanked me and said, “I’ll give it a try. If I get frustrated, can I change my mind and come back and have you do it for me?” I assured her, if she needed help I was there.

I then told her, “I don’t care if you find another writer. I don’t care if you do it yourself. I don’t care if I never hear from you again. I don’t care if you call next week and we get started then. The thing I do care about is how you’re talking about and to yourself. No matter which way you choose to go with this, you have got to dump “the just, only, not worth it, no big deal” messages from your life. If your perception of yourself is so negative; if you place such minimal worth on your life’s experiences to date, how will you ever convey your value to a potential employer? If you tell someone you’re no big deal, then can you blame them if they start believing it too? In this job market, people that believe they’re no big deal take a lot longer to land jobs than those who go into the interview, and though life, confident in their skills and the value they bring. There is no such thing as “just” when it comes to talking about yourself.”

I don’t know that I’ll ever hear from her again. I can only hope at least part of what I said stuck. If nothing else, I hope her story helps someone else see their value. We’re not garbage. Most of us are viable, contributing members to society. Believing it is the difficult part.

This month’s topic: How are you fooling yourself about your career/job search? What can you do about it? “How to avoid being tricked by common job search blunders?” Responses from others contributors linked at the end. Follow the hashtag #CareerCollective on Twitter.

Imagine my surprise the other day when I received an eletter from an organization chastising the subscriber base. Here’s what it said: “After three days less than a third of you even opened the last newsletter…you voluntarily signed on ….” <italics theirs> In essence the sender thought it OK to impose their schedule on the readership and publicly lamented the fact everyone didn’t drop everything and read what this organization had to say immediately.

I sat there in stunned silence. I read it again. Surely I was reading it wrong. No. There it was. Someone was “yelling” at me for not reading what they wrote on THEIR schedule. Someone, knowing nothing about anyone’s schedule or email volume, deemed three days an adequate amount of time to open this document. And were so convicted in that belief, they thought it OK to chastise the entire readership for not adhering to their arbitrary schedule. Really? I signed up for this eletter more than three years ago and suddenly, by virtue of that sign up, they get to tell me what to do??? About 10 minutes later, as I was digesting this craziness, I received an email from a friend who was on the same mailing list, with a note saying, “Seriously? I’m being lectured?” She unsubscribed. I didn’t … yet.

So what does this have to do with being foolish in a job search? Let’s change up the players a bit. The organization is the job seeker, the eletter their resume. I’m the hiring authority.

I personally get more than 100 emails a day (and that’s a minimal volume compared to most HR professionals.) I run a business. My priority is client and colleague correspondence. I read all the other “stuff” when I can. Sometimes it takes a day or so to plow through everything. Sometimes, I look at content through the Outlook preview box. If the information doesn’t grab my attention or convey value to me in 10-15 seconds (sound familiar???), I hit the delete button and move on to the next email without ever opening the email.

Now, imagine I’m a busy HR professional or hiring authority with a full plate – a notice insurance costs are rising yet again, an overflowing inbox, budgets are due, an argument is brewing between staff members, a toilet backed up in the employee bathroom AND 300 resumes to review for an opening in engineering … and that’s a slow day. Rather than get a document that understands my pain and brings a solution to ease that pain, I get a cover letter with “I, me or my” mentioned 21 times in two paragraphs – basically a mini-opera all about me-me-me – accompanied by a me-centered resume, starting out with: “Seeking a position where I can grow personally and professionally while helping the company grow.” My HR world is imploding (as it frequently does) and a person I don’t even know, haven’t even engaged on any level is telling me what they want. I know nothing of them and their introduction is “gimme”. Sounds sort of like that organization deciding I “should” have opened the email already with absolutely no regard to my own personal circumstance or pain.*

I tell my clients (potential clients, strangers while out shopping – it’s happened … anyone who will listen); a job search is not all about you. (WHAT?? It’s not all about me?) I go on to explain, the beginning of the search is yours – you get to decide (or circumstances do) it’s time to launch a job search. The end of the search is yours – you get to decide which offer you accept. BUT, for all points in between, every word out of your mouth, every email, every voice mail, every conversation with every person even remotely affiliated with the target organization had better deliver, repeatedly, a “this is what I bring to your organization, this is what I can do for you, this is how I can make your life easier” message or you’re destined for the delete button. In this job market, with 6.3 individuals for every open position in the US today, you’ve got to sell your value, not pound your chest, stomp your feet and scream “I want.”

Don’t be an April Fool … or even a May, June or July fool. Convey your value. Think about your audience and don’t impose your agenda on others. Remember, in addressing their needs, your agenda is handled too.

*(BTW – I was one of the 33% that had opened the email, read it and forwarded the info along to a few others who might find it interesting BEFORE they yelled. Know what? Most likely, I won’t do that again. I won’t risk my friends and associates being yelled at for not jumping through imaginary hoops ever again. Do you think the harried HR manager will save or pass along your information to a colleague? Hmmm. The unsubscribe / delete button looms … )

Here’s what my colleagues have to say:

Walter Akana @walterakana Same as it ever was

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter @ValueIntoWords Mirror ‘their’ needs, not ‘your’ wants in #Jobsearch

Laurie Berenson @LaurieBerenson Don’t get tricked by these job search blunders

Chandlee Bryan @chandlee Don’t Kid Yourself! (The Person You See in the Mirror is a Good Hire)

Martin Buckland @MartinBuckland @EliteResumes April Fool’s Day — Who’s fooling who?

Katharine Hansen @Kat_Hansen Don’t be fooled: Avoid these 10 job search blunders

Gayle Howard @GayleHoward If It’s Not You and It’s Not True, You’re Fooling Yourself

Heather Huhman @heatherhuhman 9 Ways You Might Be Fooling Yourself About Your Job Search

Rosalind Joffe @WorkWithIllness Trying hard to be nobody’s fool

Susan Joyce @jobhuntorg Avoiding Most Common Blunders

Erin Kennedy @erinkennedyCPRW Stop Fooling Yourself about your Job Hunt: Things you may be doing to sabotage yourself

J T O’Donnell @careerealism 10 Ways to tell if your job search is a joke

Meg Montford @KCCareerCoach Is Your #Career in Recovery or Retreat? (All Joking Aside)

Hannah Morgan @careersherpa Job Search is no joking matter

Barbara Safani @barbarasafani Job seekers: Are you fooling yourself if …

Miriam Salpeter @keppie_careers Are you fooling yourself? Bored at work? Is it your own fault?

Rosa Vargas @resumeservice Hey, Job Seeker — Don’t Be a Fool!

This month’s topic: What do you do when you’re really, really, really discouraged about your unsuccessful job search? How do you overcome the negative aspects of job search? Responses from others contributors linked at the end. Follow the hashtag #CareerCollective on Twitter.

Discouraged is a difficult place to live. We all visit occasionally, but wallowing in a cesspool of negativity doesn’t solve anything. And yes. I realize that leaving “discouraged” is a lot easier said than done. This in no way is meant to diminish personal circumstance, but I do know it’s much more difficult to sell your skill set when you’ve lost confidence in you and it’s difficult to have confidence in you when you can’t sell your skill set. Add to that, it’s not easy to network when your confidence level doesn’t register at all. It’s a vicious cycle. And only you can break out of it. So how do you do it? I’m not 100% sure either, but I’ll tell you what works for me.

As I’ve said in tweets and past posts, attitude plays an important role in a job search and career management. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll be the first one to endorse a “pity-party”, but you can’t carry that woe-is-me mentality everywhere you go. Acknowledge the pain, for a moment, but eventually, perspective has to change. In addition to making internal adjustments, be sure to engage your network to support the changes. Accountability and camaraderie are important on any journey.

For a long time on Twitter, I started the day with a daily gratitude. (#dailygratitude) No matter how I woke up feeling, I sat and thought about something for which I was grateful. One morning, it was the vacuum cleaner and its ability to tame dust bunnies. Now how can I have a bad day when I start it out with the word “bunnies”? (See, it even made you smile just then.) One smile leads to another and eventually I’ll forget what made me grumpy. Or in relaxing for a moment find the remedy for the point of consternation. (Hmmm. Might be time to revive that practice.) Even if you don’t tweet your gratitude for things, big and small, at least take a moment to find a flash of wonderful in the midst of the insanity. I’ve also found, when you notice one good thing, two or three other good things show up, eager for attention too. Before you know it, you’ll find a respite from despair and perhaps stumble on the motivation needed to move out of discouraged. It’s not easy being crabby with a smile on the outside. It eventually seeps inside.

This past month, I’ve been walking most mornings with my neighbor Brenda. We walk a loop through an open field, near the Black River and up and down the dirt road. We go for about a half-hour and Brenda sets a heck of a pace. As pleasant and bucolic this setting is, some days, we don’t feel like walking. We usually go anyway (yea us!) but change our route a bit. We’ll go in the opposite direction, add a new landmark or take a different path home. One morning, after changing the direction of our walk, we both remarked it seemed much easier coming at it from a different direction. And so it goes with a job search or career management. If the approach you’re using is daunting, then change it. There is more than one means to an end. Explore them until you find what works for you.

What doesn’t work is curling into a fetal position wondering why me? Believe me. I’ve been there. Even I couldn’t stand being around me for very long. I had to make changes. It wasn’t easy. And I didn’t make all the required changes all at once. I did little thing like changing my internal sentences, (would I talk to my best friend the way I talk to me???). That changed my perspective. A new perspective attracted different opportunities and so it goes. Look long enough, you’ll find good and bad in most everything. Small changes lead to big things and one foot in front of the other will take you anywhere. It’s OK to visit discouraged. With a dependable network and an escape plan, you won’t hang out too long. It’s up to you.

Here’s what my colleagues have to say:

Walter Akana @walterakana Light at the End of the Tunnel

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter @ValueIntoWords Restoring Your Joy in Job Search

Laurie Berenson @LaurieBerenson 3 Ways to Keep Your Glass Half Full

Chandlee Bryan @chandlee Strategy for Getting “Unstuck” and Feeling Better. Watch Lemonade

Martin Buckland @MartinBuckland @EliteResumes Job Search Made Positive

Megan Fitzgerald @expatcoachmegan  Dealing With Job Search Stress: Getting to the Source of the Problem

Katharine Hansen, PhD @KatCareerGal Job-Hunting in a Weak Job Market: 5 Strategies for Staying Upbeat (and Improving Your Chances of Success)

G L Hoffman @GLHoffman How to Overcome the Negativity of a Job Search

Gayle Howard @GayleHoward Job Search: When it all turns sour

Heather Huhman @heatherhuhman 10 Ways to Turn Your Job Search Frown Upside-Down

Rosalind Joffe @WorkWithIllness Finding Opportunity in Quicksand

Susan Joyce @jobhuntorg Just SO VERY Discouraged…

Hannah Morgan @careersherpa Mind Over Matter: Moving Your Stalled Search Forward

Erin Kennedy @ErinKennedyCPRW Dancing in the Rain–Kicking the Job Search Blues

Heather Mundell @heathermundell Help for the Job Search Blues

Meg Montford @KCCareerCoach You Can Beat the Job Search Blues: 5 + 3 Tips to Get Re-energized

Barbara Safani @barbarasafani Making Job Search Fun (Yeah, That’s Right!)

Miriam Salpeter @Keppie_Careers What to do when you are discouraged with your job search

Rosa Vargas @resumeservice Don’t Sweat The Job Search

It seems to be my week to challenge verbal roadblocks. In my last post it was the word “just”. This post, I’m going after “ya, but”.

I spend a good deal of time on the phone speaking with potential clients. During those conversations, I generally offer a bit of guidance to help the caller, whether they use my services or not. Sometimes they get it. Sometimes, they “ya, but…” themselves right out of an opportunity for greatness. In line with this month’s Career Collective topic, the best guidance I can give to anyone – job seeker or not – (in addition to taking “just” out of your vocabulary), is lose the term, “ya, but” altogether. No matter what tools you use or what resources you have at your finger tips, if your internal sentences contain “ya, but” when it’s time to make a change or face a new challenge, you’re destined for failure, or at least a more difficult path than necessary.

Here’s a sampling of what I say to job seekers (based in the reality of the 2010 job market) and what I hear in response regularly.

You really need basic computer skills to compete in today’s market.
Ya, but …
I never really needed to know how to use a computer in my last job.
I don’t have time to go to school.
I’ve tried. I just don’t get it.

More than 70% of jobs are filled through effective networking.
Ya, but …
I didn’t take the time to schmooze at my old job. It’s creepy.
I just moved here and don’t know anyone.
I don’t even know how to get in touch with old coworkers.
It’ll freak people out if I ask them for a job.
I’m not comfortable asking for help.
I don’t know about any networking opportunities in my town.
My car’s too unreliable to go anywhere but to work and back.

A good number of employers will Google your name or conduct an Internet search as part of the vetting process. They’ll also check social media sites.
Ya, but …
Google is evil and the developers too are powerful. It scares me. (Seriously, I’ve heard this.)
I don’t do anything on the Internet. People don’t need to know my business

Using social media is a good way to build an Internet presence and build a strong reputation in your chosen profession.
Ya, but …
What’s LinkedIn?
I don’t have time to read a bunch of blogs and comment.
Twitter is a waste of time.

Setting up Google alerts is a good way to see when you’re mentioned on the Internet and what others will find when they search for you.
Ya, but …
I don’t know how to do that. I’m not that technical.
(Also, see responses to two previous statements …)

Posting your resume on a job board is not the way to conduct a search.
Ya, but …
I don’t know any other way.
I got contacted by a few people right after I posted, so it must be working.

You can’t sound desperate in during an interview.
Ya, but …
I am desperate. Unemployment runs out in two weeks. I should have started looking earlier.
I’ve got to find a find new job. My boss is driving me crazy. I can’t help it if that shows.
I’m still so upset by what happened; I just can’t get past it.

An employer won’t take time to extrapolate information from a resume. You’ve got to tell them what you bring, boldly, proudly.
Ya, but …
It’s obvious what I do. Anyone who knows about this business would get it.
It’s too difficult to explain what I do. They should be able to tell by my list of previous employers how good I am.
I’ve won awards. That should be enough.
I’m not comfortable talking about myself.

I could go on … but won’t. Do you see a common theme? Excuses, excuses excuses and not a lot of meat to any of them. In fact, as you were reading, you were probably coming up with solutions to each and every one of them. Bottom line: anything worth having takes effort. However, if the first response out of your mouth when offered a suggestion to help get your from Point A to Point B is “Ya, but …”, then most likely, Point B will never become a reality or at the very least, you’ll work twice as hard getting there.

Move the roadblocks and watch your course get easier. Oh, and don’t even start me on “can’t”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PS – Lest you think I’m preaching from a holier-than-thou place, I’ll give you one of my own. Rest assured I struggle with the “ya, but …” monster as much as you.

This is mine: Sound familiar?
I know to lose weight and be healthy I have to work exercise into my daily routine.
Ya, but …
I stay so busy; I don’t know how I’ll do it.

Know what I did to get rid of my own roadblock? I called my neighbor, announced it was time we both got up off our … buts (butts) and started walking again. And that’s what we’ve done … two seven days in a row now. Yea us.

Here’s what my colleagues have to say:

Walter Akana @walterakana Starting anew – Tips for truly managing your career

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter @ValueIntoWords Is your job search strategy a snore?

Chandlee Bryan @Chandlee Starfish, JobAngels, and Making a Difference

Martin Buckland @MartinBuckland, @EliteResumes Career Trends and Transition 2010

Katharine Hansen PhD @kat_hansen New Year: Time to Assess Yourself and Your Career

G L Hoffman @GLHoffman A Flash of the Blindingly Obvious

Gayle Howard @GayleHoward How are those New Year’s resolutions panning out anyway?

Heather Huhman @heatherhuhman Job seekers: 5 tips for making the most of 2010

Erin Kennedy @ErinKennedyCPRW Advice to Job Seekers in 2010–learn Yoga?

Rosalind Joffe @WorkWithIllness Dogs Can Do It, Can You?

Susan Joyce @JobHuntOrg Lifelong Learning for Career Security

Meg Montford @KCCareerCoach The Art of Being Gracious: Much Needed in Today’s Job Search

Hannah Morgan @careersherpa The Year of the Tiger

Heather Mundell @heathermundell Kaizen and the Art of Your Job Search

Barbara Safani @barbara safani Looking Into the 2010 Careers Crystal Ball

Miriam Salpeter @keppie_careers Help for job seekers in a rut

Andy Robinson @AndyInNaples What are you getting better at? Make This the Year You Become the Best You Can Be.

Rosa Vargas @resumeservice The Resume and Your Social Media Job Search Campaign

Debra Wheatman @DebraWheatman Making the most of a new year

This quote floats by on Twitter occasionally. I liked it so well the first time I saw it, I wrote it down on a post- it note and put it at eye-level in front of me. Not sure who coined it, but it’s a keeper … which leads me to the topic for today. If you tuned in thinking this is a post about truth, justice and the American way, sorry to disappoint. This addresses the use of that four-letter word “JUST”.

I belong to four professional career organizations and read each of their online discussion groups daily. The career industry is incredibly collegial, collaborative and giving. I’ve learned a great deal about resume writing, business, technology and everything related to entrepreneurship and managing clients from my colleagues. They’re wise and generous in their sharing and have the credentials, education and training to back their wisdom. They write eloquent, insightful responses to questions about myriad topics and have, on more than one occasion, helped me personally with business, client or technical issues. And I’m not talking “140-character” short responses. I’m talking long answers with references, links personal experiences and information that never even occurred to me before they shared. Judging by the sheer length and breadth of the response, these elist posts must take hours to write. The author will sign with their “canned” signature (like we all do) listing degrees, credentials, publications and other honors. But wait, what’s that at the end of the post, right before the signature listing out these accomplishments?

“Just my $.02“

What?????? You spent three hours researching and replying with brilliance, signed with a laundry list of highly regarded credentials and you diminish all that with “Just my $.02″???(Or something equally apologetic.)

I run into the same thing with my clients. They describe amazing career feats, where they “moved the mountain to Mohammed” on a daily basis, and in response to my, “Wow. Really? Tell me more…” they respond with the verbal equivalent of kicking the ground, head down and uncomfortable, “I was ‘just’ doing my job.”

I wrote for a client a while back. She worked in a busy municipal court office. People went there to pay fines, fees, gather court information … you name it. She helped, in person and on the phone, probably 100 people a day, every day. Do the math … 100 people in an eight hour day, means interacting with an average of one person every five minutes. And these weren’t “where are the coffee filters” kind of interactions. This was responding to a broad spectrum of people from all walks of life in regards to legal issues. When I wrote her resume, I bulleted the information regarding her prowess in keeping a service line moving, while still giving the information needed and keeping order in the office. She called after I delivered. That call went something like this:

Client: “Resume looks good, but I’d always read you only bulleted important things.”
Me: “Yes. That’s true. Why do you ask?”
C: “Well, I don’t think the part about me helping 100 people a day is that big a deal. Everyone was expected to do that, so it’s not that special.”
M: “Really? You don’t think an ability to keep a line moving, respond to requests and do it quickly and efficiently is a marketable skill, deserving of being highlighted?”
C: “Ah no. Like I said. Everyone in that office is expected to operate at that level of efficiency.”
M: “In that office … but have you ever been anywhere where simple questions took forever to be handled? Lines moved at glacial speed and you knew there was a better way to manage the process.”
C: “Well … ya.”
M: “And you don’t think a manager would jump at the opportunity to find someone like you, able to move a line and provide customer delight, quickly, efficiently? You don’t see that as a marketable skill?”

Suddenly the light went on. I’d managed to remove the “just my job” blinders and helped her dig down and realize her career wonderfulness. She emailed less than a month later telling me about her new job. She made my heart sing with the following: “I want to thank you for all you have done for me. It was your magic words that caught their attention.” My “magic words” properly conveyed the value she brought to an employer. Something she couldn’t do because she was caught up in her “just my job” thinking.

Many years ago, during a time when my first marriage was disintegrating and self-esteem was at a low point, I went to pull a file from a cabinet near a coworker’s desk. He was head-down engrossed in a project and I startled him when I opened the drawer. Seeing him start, I smiled and said, “Relax. It’s just me.” He paused, then said, “Dawn. There is no such thing as “just you.” If you asked him about it today, he probably doesn’t even remember the exchange. I’ve never forgotten the impact of that simple, yet powerful statement at such a low point in my life. It was the reminder I needed to help me realize I was special and had good things to offer; in spite of what my now ex-husband kept telling me.

Today, right now, I challenge you to take the word “just” out of your vocabulary when it pertains to you or something you do. If you don’t see your own wonderfulness or the importance of what you do in contributing to the bottom line, how will you ever convey your value to a potential employer?

If you “just” walked in the door, that’s one thing. If you think you “just” move mountains, then change your perspective.

Hmmm. This is a post about justice … justice and fairness in the treatment of yourself.