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Is your job search "cookie-cutter" or "hand-dropped"?

6 October 2009, 10:01 pm

I’ve been honored by my career colleagues with an invitation to participate in The Career Collective. Once a month, a group of career professionals will blog on a subject topical and timely for a job seeker. We’ll post our thoughts on our own blog and link to the post of our colleagues on the same topic. What a great resource for job seekers and what a great way for us, many solo-preneurs, to learn from each other. Always take advantage of shared wisdom. I do! Our first topic is: Are you a cookie-cutter job seeker? Responses from the others are linked at the end. Follow the hashtag #careercollective on Twitter.

One of the first questions I ask clients in the resume creation process is who’s our audience? I tell them we have to know what our buyer is buying before we can sell to them. I may conduct all my business over the telephone, but I know a “deer in the headlights” look when I hear one. If necessary, I back up a bit and say, “OK, let’s talk about, how you’re searching.”

I want clients to see their skills as a product, the hiring authority as people looking to buy the product and the job postings as keys to unlock the secret to what the buyer wants. Sharing their search process lets me see if they “get it”. It’s also a window to how much research they’ve done on their own and how much additional coaching I have to integrate into the process.Sugar Cookies - dreamstimemedium (edited)

In spite of all the job search information out there, in this technical age, here are some “cookie cutter” responses to the “How are you searching?” question I’ve gotten in the past two weeks. No hand-dropped, custom-made cookies here:

“I looked in the paper this past Sunday.”

“I looked on the Monster board and I’ll post my resume once we finish it.”

“I’m going to put on my best interview clothes and drop hard copy resumes off at a businesses around town”

“My mom has a friend who knows someone.”

“I’ll find a recruiter. Once they see my skills, they’ll find me a job.”

“I’ve not looked in more than 10 years. This is all new to me.”

“I need a generic resume. I can do anything. Employers like that right?”

“I’m not good with computers.”

So, how are you going about your search?

Do you anxiously await delivery each Sunday for the paper? That’s maybe 9% of the job market. You’re leaving 91% of the market untapped.

Are you posting and looking only on The Monster and big boards? Depending on the board, posting and hoping yields about a 2% return rate. (Sorry gang. It takes effort). Do you know about places like www.linkup.com, a unique job search engine that only lists jobs taken directly from company websites? Have you discovered some of the niche sites out there focusing on specific industries?

Are you visiting in person? I don’t know about you, but I find it presumptive to think, in times of reduced staff and more work done by fewer people, someone is sitting there with nothing better to do than wait for you to arrive, hand them your resume and discuss your wants and needs. But then I don’t cherish drop in company either. (There might be a bit of personal bias there. <smile>)

Networking is the best way to land a position, but having one person who is a friend of a friend is not a network or a job search strategy. Building an effective network takes time. Don’t panic. It’s never too late to start.

Think a recruiter will help? Recruiters find people for jobs. They do not find jobs for people. BIG difference. If you’re not a fit or you can’t sell your value, forget it, they’re on to the next candidate. Gayle Howard, also a career collective blogger, did an excellent break down of working with recruiters here.

Not looked in 10 years? Then you’ve got some catching up to do. It’s a whole new world our there. Make Google your friend and learn. There’s a wealth of information out there. There’s also garbage. Read with a critical eye and use what makes sense to you. If you’re not a sandwich board kind of guy, don’t force it, but bring your skills up to date. Laurent Brouat shares some great ideas in his post about looking where others aren’t. Capitalize on social media. You never know who you’ll touch. But, I assure you, you won’t touch anyone if you’re wringing your hands and sputtering, “I don’t know how” while making excuses about your privacy. This is a  21st century job search. Deal with it.

(Quick story: I landed a resume client because, after some difficulty with a local optometrist, they told to take my business elsewhere. I tweeted this on Twitter: “My life is now complete. I’ve been fired from a job, a marriage and now as a customer.” This simple 140(ish)-character post resonated with a woman in California. She not only became a client; she referred me to her neighbor who also became my client. And, most recently, I met someone, also via social media, who might be able to use the CA client’s expertise. I will refer her. If I wasn’t interacting through social media, none of these connections would have happened. Engage. Step outside your comfort zone and use social media to build your hand-dropped, custom brand. Amazing things happen when you stretch and make yourself a little different from the rest of the crowd.)

“I just need a generic reChoc Chip - dreamstimemedium_1251213 - editedsume. I’ll do anything” is NOT a job search strategy. Employers have neither the time nor the volition to figure out where you fit in to their organization. Tell them boldly and proudly what you bring to the party or they’ll go looking for the next person that does. Research. Know what your buyer is buying and sell your skills. No one cares about what you have done until you put it in the context of how, what you have done will benefit them. You don’t see Ford Motor Company advertising Mustangs to 80-year-old grandmothers do you? They know their target audience is usually young. They’ve built a successful advertising campaign around knowing their demographic. That’s not to say grandma won’t be rockin’ down the highway in a Mustang convertible with tunes blasting, but that’s the exception, not the rule. I wont’ say landing a job with a generic resume and an “I’ll do anything” approach won’t happen. I will say, like grandma, that’s the exception, not the rule.

“I’m not good with computers.” It’s 2009. Computers are a part of just about every job. Get over yourself and take a class.

(Another story – yes, it’s from Twitter. I follow a 95-year-old man on Twitter, @marcelmurrell. He is quick-witted and hilarious. He has a Facebook account and is even funnier there because he gets more than 140-character to demonstrate his humor and wit. He posts links to YouTube. He edits pictures on his Mac and uploads them to Facebook. He retweets and interacts on Twitter like a champ. He’s 95! He’s been around longer than color TVs for heaven’s sake and he gets it. Stop saying you’re not good with computers and you’re can’t learn. You need that skill. If Marcel can do it, I dare say, you can too.)

A successful job search requires creativity, strategy, a willingness to research and learn new skills, tenacity and above all, a positive attitude. Get out of your own way. There are a bazillion resources out there. Find the mix that works for you. Customize your search. Don’t stamp it out using the same cookie-cutter everyone else is using. Differentiate yourself from the very beginning or you’ll look like the rest of the cookies on the plate. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have the biggest and best cookie from the batch, hand-dropped, full of chocolate chips, slightly misshapen, perhaps, but a standout from the rest, touting its tasty pleasures over the perfectly shaped, look-alike cookies on the plate. Hand-drop your search and amazing things will happen.

Oh, and don’t forget your thank yous. Gratitude is power.

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Here’s what my colleagues have to say about this topic:

Jacqui Barrett-Poindexter of Career Trend Eating bananas doesn’t make you an ape

Laurie Berenson of Sterling Career Concepts Job seekers: Break out of the mold

Chandlee Bryan of The Emerging Professional On the cookie-cutter approach to the job search: Do you need a recipe?

Megan Fitzgerald of Career by Choice Ongoing career management is no longer optional for the expat in today’s new world of work

Katharine Hansen of Quintessential Careers Avoiding Being a Cookie-Cutter Job-seeker In Your Resume and Throughout Your Job Search

Gayle Howard of Top Margin Sabotaging your prospects: cookie-cutter style

Heather R. Huhman of HeatherHuhman.com Break the mold: Don’t be a cookie-cutter

Rosalind Joffe of Working With Chronic Illness.com Forget the cookies! Start with vision

Grace Kutney of Sweet Careers Passive job seeker = cookie cutter job seeker

Hannah Morgan of Career Sherpa Are you a cookie-cutter job seeker?

Heather Mundell of Dream Big Coaching Services How not to be a cookie-cutter job seeker

J. T. O’Donnell of Careerealism Cookie-cutters are for baking…not job searching

Barbara Safani of CareerSolvers Cookie-cutter resumes can leave a bad taste in the hiring manager’s mouth

Miriam Salpeter of Keppie Careers Conscious awareness and your job hunt and How can a job seeker stand out?

Rosa Vargas of Creating Prints Being a cookie-cutter jobseeker is a misfortune

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Job search tenacity through a blind dog’s eyes.

21 September 2009, 10:35 pm

Bart wandered in our lives on a Saturday night. Strangely enough, he appeared on the eve of the day we said good-bye to Sadie. It was almost as if he knew there’d be an opening for a dog at our house and he was Johnny-on-the-spot ready to fill it. We had and now, thanks to Bart, still have six dogs …

At first glance, I thought he was a young dog. Always smiling, tail wagging, full of energy and happy, incredibly, smile-inspiring happy. A good friendBart 3-15-09 (Compressed) and veterinarian was kind enough to make a house call and help us with Sadie. When he finished he gave Bart the once over. Turns out Bart is an old dog. His front teeth are worn to nubs. He coughs like an old man who smoked three packs of Camel no-filter cigarettes, every day of his life since birth. He’s blind in his left eye and has very limited, if any, vision in his right eye. His previous owners “lost” him. And now he’s joined a family of five other dogs – all female and one of them a brat. You’d think he’d be crabby. In human terms, he has valid reasons for a dour disposition right? But, did I mention he’s always happy?

Watching Bart stumble around the house the past six months has made me think of how his new life parallels a job search. He’s in uncharted territory; someplace he’s never been before. I’m sure he bumped around in the area surrounding our house until he found his way up our driveway. Almost like a job seeker looking for the next opportunity. We don’t train to be unemployed. It’s not something studied, but suddenly, there you are stumbling around in a place you’ve never been, frightened at what’s around the next corner and not sure exactly where you’ll end up. The security and comfort of life as you knew it, gone. Did Bart get frustrated in his search? I can’t answer that, but can assume he probably did, plowing through dense woods and rough terrain, tripping and falling. But he didn’t stop until he found the right driveway. Ours. Not bad for an old, coughing, blind dog lost in the middle of nowhere. He stuck with it and forged on. I’m sure his happy outlook got him through many briars.

Living with an active blind dog is interesting. I’ve learned many lessons watching his approach to things. He plows through the house, running headlong into things, hitting with such a thud I wince. Does it stop him? Nope. He backs up, shakes it off and changes his course just a bit. Almost as if to say, hmmmm, that didn’t work, let’s try this. Sound like a job search? This isn’t working, let’s tweak the strategy a bit and get back out there.

Lucy, my brat dog, is frequently annoyed with him bumping into to her. She growls and postures and sometimes pushes back to let him know her boundaries. Bart takes it with a grain of salt. She gets crabby; he backs up and goes a different way or waits his turn. Every now and again he pushes back. He goes with the flow, demonstrates patience when required, yet fights for himself when necessary. Sound like a job search strategy?

Bart has a deep, menacing bark, one that hangs in the air and resonates for a moment before it fades. If he’s outside and you ride past my house, I know it. He barks at anything that goes up or down “his road”. And if you dare pull in his driveway, he leaps to his feet and barks fiercely – usually facing the wrong direction – but no less convicted in his approach and belief he is protecting his people. Sounds like he’s pretty sure of his ability to protect (his skill set) and is not afraid to bark it from the mountaintops. Isn’t that how a job search ends in success, confidence in skills and a bold demonstration of said skill set?

Because he’s the only dog I haven’t trained to the Invisible Fence, up until recently, he stayed inside when no one was home. That is until he discovered we keep the dog food in the pantry. The pantry has a sliding latch that had been successful in keeping all of the dogs out, until Bart. He figured out how to push on the doors in a certain way, rendering the latch ineffective. OK. He beat the latch. Next we put a folding table in front of the doors. When we came home, he’d knocked that out of the way, and got into the food. Then we put a heavy, four-case stack of bottled tea in front of the doors. You guessed it. Pushed aside. The next time we left, we enlisted the aid of Heidi, our ferret, and put her six-foot tall cage, squarely in front of both doors. She enjoyed the ride around the kitchen and Bart enjoyed a snack once he’d moved her cage out of the way. Harrumph. What to do now? I took a six-foot leash and tied the door handles together. Hubby came home and found one of the louvered doors completely off the track, laying in the floor … and a smiling, full Bart. He now stays in the pen outside when we leave. Although, we discovered he likes to dig, not sure how long that will hold him. Oh to have that level of commitment, tenacity and focus about getting what we want in a job search or life in general for that matter.

So what job search lessons does Bart teach, just by being Bart? A happy disposition and a desire to get along will endear you to those around you. Had he been a grumpy, crabby dog, who picked fights with everyone and chased the cats I would have made a different decision about keeping him. He was in the right place at the right time because he kept trying. I’m sure he’d been up and down the road for a while. He was mighty hungry when he got here, but he kept trying until he found a welcoming home. He doesn’t let blindness, lack of teeth or a debilitating cough stop him. He backs up, changes his path, stops to hack a moment and keeps on moving. He may be an old boy, but gives off a youthful air and approaches things with a joie de vie I can only hope to duplicate. Overall, after getting to know Bart, I’ve decided we could all use a little more Bart-itude in our lives.

PS – For those concerned about Bart’s cough, it’s a sure sign his previous owners didn’t have him on heartworm prevention. The vet said, with the way he coughs and his age, he probably wouldn’t survive the treatment. He’ll live out his days here, giving and receiving unconditional love until he draws his last breath. He’s where he’s supposed to be.

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UPDATE: Bart left us on October 28, 2010. Not wanting to be a bother, he quietly slipped off in to the words surrounding our home, sprouted angel wings and crossed the rainbow bridge. Your vivacious spirit and accompanying life lessons are sadly missed my boy.

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Seven observations from my day at the job fair

30 June 2009, 10:57 am

Today, I’m sharing some observations and insights gained while volunteering to do resume reviews at a local mall for a job fair. To say I’m disgusted by what I saw is an understatement. And I’m not talking about the resumes. I’m used to seeing boring career autobiographies, all out career confessionals and self-centered, “this is what I want” documents. That’s not what bothered me. That can easily be fixed. That’s what I do. What got to me was the sheer laziness of the job seekers I met. I am appalled and want to use them as a good lesson in how NOT to approach a job fair, or a job search for that matter.

I understand, from here on, I am generalizing. I also get there are people who understand a job search requires effort and time and energy and follow-up and more effort and some research and more follow-up and even more effort. I’m not talking to them. Those enlightened, focused searchers can stop reading now or pass the link along to a friend who isn’t quite up to speed on the fact that jobs don’t magically appear and the world doesn’t owe them a living.

Now, on to things I learned at the job fair:

1. Show up when offered an opportunity to network with business owners, employers and career people. In 4 hours, I spoke with only 12 people. (I kept a tally to measure efficacy of the event versus my time to participate.) Every exhibitor there commented on the lack of traffic and the lack of participation by local job seekers. If I were not an eternal optimist, I would have packed up after the first hour. I believed things would pick up. They didn’t. And the event was well publicized.

2. Dress the part. Do you know how many flip-flops, t-shirts (with questionable logos), ripped jeans and halter-tops (on women who had NO business in halter-tops) I saw? People, if you want a job, look the part. Slovenly is NOT business casual. If you don’t care enough to look your best, how are you going to convince a potential employer you care enough to do a good job for them?

3. Be able to articulate what you do and what you seek. I sat next to a woman who was recruiting for a local power company. She politely asked everyone what s/he did; what type of position s/he sought. One guy said, “I want a job in business”? What the ____ does that mean????? Prepare a 30-second elevator speech to sell your skills immediately. Don’t know what an elevator speech is? Google it. There’s plenty of info out there; even some YouTube videos to help you boil down skills and express the value you bring to an employer in 30-seconds. By the way, “I’ll do anything” (another frequent refrain) is NOT a job search strategy and makes you appear weak and desperate.

4. Leave your bad attitude at home. One attendee stormed over the power company booth and demanded to know why the booth, two spaces down, was unmanned. “I filled out this application and now I don’t know what to do with it.” To Yolanda’s, the power company rep, credit, she got up, went to the other booth and tried to show the woman what she needed to do and help her figure out where to turn in the application.

True the booth sponsors should have been there or left better instructions, but Earth is a tough town and sometimes the difficulty in the application process is part of the screening. If you can’t figure out how to handle something that is going to benefit you on your own, how effective are you going to be when it comes to problem solving for a potential employer?

Anyway, this woman became more and more agitated. Finally, rather than breathe any more of this Negative Nellie’s venom, Yolanda agreed to take the application and turn it in for her. Yolanda then spent 15 minutes walking to and from the mall office to turn in the application. Frankly, she was much kinder than I would have been. I probably would have trashed the application. (Not really, but I would have thought about it really hard and at least editorialized when I did turn it in ….) NO employer deserves to be subjected to that “the world owes me” attitude. Here’s someone trying to her best help and all this attendee can do is spit venom and whine about how inconvenient things are for her. Later!

5. If you’re going to a job fair, bring your resume. Pretty obvious, but I overhead, several attendees say, “No I didn’t bring my resume with me today.” Hello. You’re attending a job fair and you left your resume at home??? I have no words.

6. When offered free job search advice jump on it. I have an interview prep package I provide all my resume clients as a thank-you for doing business with me. It’s also available on my Web site for the nominal fee of $20 for non-clients. Part of my giving back to the community was to give anyone that spoke with me that interview prep package for free – FREE. I started out making an email sign-up sheet, but decided I was taking already a day out of my work week to help and really didn’t want to end up with a typing project when I got home after volunteering. (I was anticipating a lot more traffic than materialized.)

What I did instead was hand every person a business card, told them to send me an email requesting the interview prep info, letting me know they’d met me at the expo – didn’t have to be pretty, didn’t have to be properly punctuated. I wanted them to take some initiative and save me having to type in their email address. After all, I’m giving them something for nothing. The only requirement was to go home and send a simple email. Did anyone, ANYONE do it??? You guessed it. Not one unemployed, job-seeking soul took the initiative to send that simple email and request a valuable package of interview information. (And I waited six days before I proclaimed no one took the initiative.) Guess they’re too busy lamenting the sad state of affairs to actually put fingers to keyboards and do something about it.

7. Say thank-you. Not as proof that you’re polite, but as a way to network and reinforce and resell your value. Of the 12 resume reviews I did, not one person sent a follow-up email. Remember, I gave them a business card with my name and email address. If no one emailed me, it’s a safe assumption no one took the time to a send thank-you to the people who interviewed them or provided information about open positions either.

In not following up, they missed an opportunity to grow their network and have an extra set of eyes out there helping them find gainful employment. I may appear to be out of the loop because I work out of a home office, but I talk with people around town and across the country every day, via telephone and various social media outlets. Frequently, I’ll have worked with a client, hear about a job that fits their skill set and send them the lead. I won’t recommend people I’ve not actually worked with outside resume creation, but I will share job leads when I get them. None of those 12 unemployed, people I spoke with will ever have the benefit of that resource because none of them made the effort to follow-up or expand their network.

To say I am disappointed by what I saw at this particular event is an understatement. Now, when I read unemployment figures are at 9.1% (or whatever it is for this week), I not only mentally correct the perspective – 9.1% unemployment is 90.9% EMPLOYMENT – I silently add … “and probably a good portion of that unemployed figure stems for the ridiculous lack of initiative I witnessed on June 25th”. What a sad testament to the American spirit. The America I know pulls itself up by the bootstraps and makes things happen. The America I saw on the 25th saddens me.

Would I participate in this event again? Probably. It’s that indomitable Pollyanna perspective I possess. I do truly want to help others, so yes, I’d put myself through this again. Besides, sometimes, bad things are good examples of how not to be and I can share that experience with my readers. This was one of those bad things/good examples times.

For now, thanks for letting me vent.

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Do as I say, not as I do.

4 June 2009, 11:54 pm

When I first took a teleseminar on blogging, one thing the instructor said was if you disappear from your blog for a while, don’t call attention to it. Start again like you posted yesterday. Sooooo, here I am calling attention to the fact it’s almost been two months since I’ve pontificated … to help make a point for job seekers.

What got me back on track was a simple tweet sent by my Twitter friend, @jlipschultz this week. He politely asked wasn’t it time I posted something (@jlipschultz is Jeff Lipschultz – you’ll find his blog link on my blog roll.) I thanked him “sarcastically” for the thunk on the side of the head, but it worked. A support team (I didn’t even know I had) helped get me back on the blogging track. OK, so what does that have to do with a job search?

Sometimes, after spending all day at the computer writing resumes, responding to email and tweeting, in between morning and evening pet sit rounds (my other business), I’m just not up to blogging too. That’s fine. When I started this, I knew I’d not be an every day blogger. I knew I’d have to grow into that level of commitment. I started blogging because I wanted a place to point clients for help with their job search. Rather than give out all the great links in my blogroll to every caller or explain the same concepts over and over again, verbally or via email, I started a blog. Now I have somewhere to send clients in support of their search and am able to give them detailed responses to frequently asked questions through my writing – saving them and me time. Added bonus, I’ve given them clickable links to some of the best information on the Internet from the top people in the career industry. So … what DOES all this have to do this with a job search?

I understand the “I can’t do another thing today feeling”. And I battle procrastination – fiercely some days – too. Taking this (finally) to the job search side, I get how you can feel like “if I have to respond to one more Monster board alert or read one more article about how to find a job my head is going to explode”. I empathize with the need to take a break. But don’t do as I did and let that “break” turn into a two month sabbatical. It’s so easy to look at your to- do list and move the more difficult, thinking-required tasks to tomorrow and jump on the easier, fun things. That’s OK in moderation. Be easy with yourself. But don’t cut yourself so much slack that tomorrow never comes.

Face it, if you’re on day one of a six-month severance package, just started collecting unemployment insurance or have “plenty of resources to help you ride the wave” putting something off one day really isn’t that big of a deal. Or is it? A day here and there to exhale and focus on something other than your search is healthy. Moving that “develop targeted searches-research companies, markets and salaries-practice negotiation skills–network-volunteer as a part of networking-scour niche job boards-respond to specific postings-take classes to gain new skills-harness the power of Web 2.0 social media” item on your to do list can quickly go from only a day’s delay, to a week to a month, to (for goodness sake) two months, in the blink of an eye.

Something else I learned in this little procrastination adventure is the importance of support. In this life, you really don’t have to go it alone. People are more than willing to help. (Sometime you don’t even have to ask.) Make yourself accountable to someone. Ask a friend to be your search buddy and check on your progress as you wade through the quagmire that is the search process. Make it an upbeat, positive friend who won’t cut you any slack and won’t let you wallow too long. Let them know your boundaries and your goals. Know there’s someone there watching your progress, pulling for you to succeed and helping you get back on track when you stumble.

Now that I know Jeff is paying attention, I’m committed to being a more frequent blogger again. I may even walk on the wild side and add blog posting to my schedule. Regardless. Jeff’s 140-character nudge through the Twitterverse did wonders to help me. Imagine what a good friend or two checking on your search progress will do for you.

Stay focused. Plan. Enlist the help of friend. I did not do any of these and look what happened … This is truly a case of do as I say, not as I do. (Up side: I got a blog post out of procrastinating a blog post. How cool is that?!)

PS – Lest you think I’ve been loafing, I’ve been very active on Twitter, participating in lots of career initiatives to put America back to work and help job seekers succeed. And I’ve been raising four orphaned baby opossums. (Yes, you read that right. I’ve got possums.) My next blog post will cover all the places other career professionals and I are posting information and for fun, I’ll throw in the possum story. I assure you, and Jeff, that will happen soon.

Thanks Jeff!

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Working with Recruiters

10 April 2009, 6:49 pm

If you’re a frequent visitor to this blog, you already know I’m an avid Twitter user. I view my Tweeps as important assets in my life and love the wealth of knowledge – interesting, unusual, helpful and odd – shared daily.

Wednesday, Jeff Lipschutlz, founding partner of A-List Solutions, a recruiting firm, and fellow Twitterer suggested I comment on his most recent blog post, “Recruiting your recruiter in the job search”. I followed the link to a very informative article on proper expectations and considerations when working with recruiters. Having been a professional recruiter, I could not have done a better job of putting together a guideline for how to work with one than Jeff did. Sooooo, today I’m sending you to his blog to read:

“Recruiting Your Recruiter in the Job Search”

Make sure you read through all the comments (mine is #16). There’s wonderful information added by other career professional. All in all, Jeff and his commenters created a one-stop guide for what to expect when working with “headhunters.”

And if that’s not enough, Jeff did a follow up post today: “Recruiting Your Recruiter in the Job Search, Part II”

Jeff summarized the comments from the first post (including mine) and added more info. Then, frosting on the cake of this information, he combined both posts into one for his A-List Solutions Web site (gotta love an engineer).

If you’re job searching or thinking about job searching, this is a MUST READ!

Thanks Jeff! For the great information and the opportunity to contribute.

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Seth Godin: "Don't Try to Get a Job???” I couldn’t agree more!

31 March 2009, 7:23 am

In the last of a month-long series of guest posts (including mine) on G. L. Hoffman’s What Would Dad Say? blog, Seth Godin closes out the month with some RADICAL job search advice: “Don’t Try to Get a Job.” Run over there, check it out (GREAT READ!!), then come back and find out why this resume writer whole-heartedly agrees.

You’re back? Good. Here’s my story …

In 2000, I left a “safe, secure” corporate position to try my hand at recruiting. By June of 2002, I realized professional recruiting was going to be the first “major failure” I’d experience in a career spanning more than two-and a-half-decades.

Well. Let’s see. I left a good job, with a large company and a good salary for the potential to make big money recruiting and found out I didn’t have what it took to ride the roller coaster of the hiring / recruiting process. I was too attached to my clients, spent too much time coaching and spiffing up rezs and not enough time doing the work of recruiting. Anyway …

Bewildered, and always an animal lover, I took a part-time office management position in a local veterinary hospital for … I won’t even tell you the hourly wage … so I could sort out what to do with me, and my career. Well, answering that vet’s office phone day in and day out, giving out phone numbers for kennels and knowing most rural clients had more than one animal – yard dogs, barn cats, pot-bellied pigs, chickens, etc. – sparked an idea. One client led to another and my pet sitting business quickly grew: “Snug as a Bug – In-home pet sitting services”. (The “Start a dog poop shoveling business” line caught my eye in the Godin article.)

Shortly after I stopped recruiting, the idea to use resume writing skills, to make some extra money also surfaced. “The Write Solution” started with the referral of a friend of a friend. I continued working the part-time position (chicken entrepreneur) while I grew both businesses and earned my Certified Professional Resume Writer credential. In June of 2007, I quit the part-time job, taking both my pet sitting and resume writing businesses full time.

Today, I have more than 40 core pet sitting clients calling on me regularly to care for their animals and check on their homes while they’re away. In between pet sit rounds, I write a resume for someone almost every day. Hardly a week goes by when I don’t get a referral or hear back from former rez clients. Last year, my first full calendar year running two full-time businesses, I surpassed what I earned when I left my customer service manager position in corporate America.

Was it/is it easy? No. Do I work entirely too many hours? Yes. Can I take a nap in the afternoon? Not often enough. Did I wrestle, at the beginning, with losing a corporate identity and the part of my self-worth that came from my job title? Abso-freakin’-lutely. Would I change my decision to NOT to go back to the corporate world? Never in a hundred-ba-jillion-million years.

Mr. Godin is right about the opportunities out there. Shut your mouth. Stop whining about … well, everything. Stop expecting someone else to do it for you and open your eyes. Know what you’ll see? Opportunity a-plenty. It may not be in a cushy, corner office and you many not need a three-piece suit, but the money you earn will be by you, for you.

Absolutely, don’t get a job. If you’ve got the guts and the willingness to explore a whole different side of you, go for it. My mantra: “Leap and the net will appear.”

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Work like you’re working for yourself … well, because you are.

26 March 2009, 8:42 am

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This story came via email yesterday from Phil. I’m sharing it here today because it gives me a chance to spend some time talking about my favorite topics – a positive attitude, good customer service, social media and old friends – and tie it all into job search and career advice. Life is good.

Phil is a good friend and coworker from back in the ’80s when I worked at Square D. Those were younger, wilder days and Phil was our “self-appointed social director”. Pre-Internet, pre-texting, pre-social media (it was the ’80s!) Phil could throw together an impromptu gathering in about seven seconds. There was a core group (me included) ready for adventure at a moment’s notice and we’d always connect with interesting people along the way. From what I’m told, we had a good time. <grin>

Phil left Square D and we lost touch … as so frequently happens. Fast-forward to 2009. Phil found me on LinkedIn – the power of social media! We’re a little older. (OK, a lot older, who am I kidding?? It was the ‘80s.) Rather than planning the next happy hour gathering, we’re sharing small parts of our lives via email. On top of being a great person and friend, Phil is an awesome source for bizarre, thought-provoking and inspiring information. Thanks to social media (LinkedIn) and an old friend (Phil), I’ve got a great story to share … about a good attitude and customer service.

So what does a good attitude and good customer service have to do with a job search? The attitude part should be obvious – no one wants to be around Grumpy Gus or Whining Winnie – especially during a job search. Everyone has problems and usually, given the opportunity to trade your problems with someone else, you’d gratefully keep your own. Exude positive energy, optimism and enthusiasm and it comes back to you. (But you already know that ….)

From a service standpoint, give more than what your customer expects. They and it will always come back to you. If resumes are sales and marketing documents and you’re selling your time and your talents when you accept employment, then it stands to reason the people in the hiring process are your customers. Give them more than what they expect during the process. As I’ve said time and time again … a little consideration goes a long way.

And once you land that next position, continue to give more than your employer expects. Word gets around. You’ll build a strong, supportive network in the process. Your reputation will precede you and you’ll be in demand. You’ll have people calling with opportunities. Before you know it, you’ll be in charge of your career instead of the other way around. Work like you’re working for yourself … like Wally in the story:

Quack or Soar. It’s your choice.

No one can make you serve customers well. That’s because great service is a choice. Harvey Mackay tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.


He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey. He handed my friend a laminated card and said, “‘I’m Wally, your driver. While I’m loading your bags in the trunk I’d like you to read my mission statement.”

Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said: Wally’s Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment. This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed the inside of the cab matched the outside–spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, ‘Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.’

My friend said jokingly, “No, I’d prefer a soft drink.”

Wally smiled and said, “No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice. “


Almost stuttering, Harvey said, “I’ll take a Diet Coke.”

Handing him his drink, Wally said, “If you’d like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.”


As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card. “These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you’d like to listen to the radio.” And as if that weren’t enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he’d be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.


“Tell me, Wally,” my amazed friend asked the driver, “have you always served customers like this?”

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. “No, not always. In fact, it’s only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day. He had just written a book called You’ll See It When You Believe It. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you’ll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, “Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don’t be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.”


“That hit me right between the eyes,” said Wally, “Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.”

“I take it that has paid off for you,” Harvey said.

“It sure has,” Wally replied. “My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I’ll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don’t sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can’t pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.”

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I’ve probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn’t do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally, the Cab Driver, made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

How about you? Are you tired of quacking when you could be flying? Come fly with me!!

Smile, and the whole world smiles with you.

Filed under Career Advice, Job Search. Tagged , , , , ,
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So what do I attach to the email?

17 March 2009, 9:39 am

When working with clients, I provide the final resume in three formats. Word .doc, PDF and plain text. I tell them plain text is for cutting and pasting into online applications. The PDF ensures clear printing with no printer or software issues and the Word version is the language of business so use that version to submit resumes. (As Office 2007 takes hold, a slow conversion, I’ll provide the .docx version of Word as well.)

 

A few years ago, I worked with a young woman aspiring to move to Costa Rica and teach. As we discussed her submission process, we realized we weren’t sure of the technical capabilities or software availabilities of some of the more remote areas where she’d be applying.

 

Take it from someone who works in a software-driven world, different versions of Word, print driver settings, hardware age, Microsoft Works (ewwww) can all play a hand in jumbling documents. Since “most” people don’t think about software as the problem behind the jumbled mess on the screen, that jumble creates the first impression of you.

 

We came up with this strategy to address possible electronic submission issues. I’ve been sharing it with clients ever since and today, you get to hear it. The thing is, you don’t have to be applying in foreign lands to run into technical difficulties. So a little effort on your part can make the difference between an interview and the delete key. As a boss used to tell me, “The best defense in life is a good offense.” 

 

(I preface this with, if there are specific submission instructions, they are your guide. Otherwise …)

 

If you want to be super efficient and the Word .doc version and PDF are identical, attach them both to email. In the body of the email, explain the reasons behind including different versions of the same document so they know it was intentional and why. Don’t assume people know or will take the time to figure it out. (Besides, we all know what assuming does …) Tell them. Plus it’s an opportunity to sell your solution-driven approach to things without using the words “solution-driven” to tell them. You showed them with actions. (What’re our mantras? “Sell, don’t tell” and “It’s all them.”)

 

This simple statement explains why you’re attaching two formats of the same document: (or something to this effect in your own words …)

 

“I’ve attached my resume in both Word and PDF format to avoid any software compatibility or print-driver difficulties. Please open the version best suited to your system.”

 

Think about it. You’ve identified a potential difficulty and offered a feasible resolution. AND you’re protecting yourself. You’ve doubled the chance of reaching your audience. Believe me. A busy hiring authority isn’t going to argue with documents that don’t open or are illegible. If she has a quick solution, she’ll use it. Otherwise. Delete! and there goes your chance.

 

Some may disagree and pass this off as electronic clutter. Fine, but I tell my clients to serve your customers (the hiring authority) while protecting your sale (the interview). If you, the candidate, tell the receiver “docs are provided for their convenience,” you’ve also spread some “warm-fuzzies” — someone they don’t even know helped them be more efficient. Wow! And they’re not even employed here … yet.

 

“Little things” can make a big impact. In this challenging market, it’s best to stack the odds in your favor however and whenever you can.

 

By the way, if you’re tweaking keywords and titles to fit job requirements, BRAVO! You can create a PDF document from your newly tweaked Word document using one of many of the free downloads out there. Google will help you find them. I’ve used www.primopdf.com for years and Microsoft Office 2007 has a PDF creation feature as well.

 

Filed under Applications, Resumes. Tagged , , ,
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Guest Post on Careerealism

10 March 2009, 7:50 pm

Between Daylight Saving Time and the events of this past weekend, I’ve been remiss in tooting my own horn about my contribution to an article on resume writing for Careerealism. (As I tell my rez clients. If you don’t toot your own horn, who will???)

And yes gang, this is another Twitter-generated opportunity. Stop rolling your eyes. 11% of all Internet users are already tweeting up a storm, sharing wisdom, insights and little snippets of life 140 characters at a time. It’s an incredible marketing and social networking tool. Google it. There’s about 152 bajillion posts, videos and applications out there explaining all about Twitter. But as one astute Twitter aficionado said recently, trying to explain Twitter is like trying to explain bike riding to someone. You don’t understand the value and fun until you do it. But I digress, this is supposed to be all about me.

I met J. T. O’Donnell through Twitter, when I re-tweeted one of her posts. (A retweet (RT) is the “supreme compliment” on Twitter. By retweeting you’re sharing someone else’s wisdom with your followers because you found it valuable. I could RT everything J. T. says. She’s brilliant!)  Anyway, she thanked me (yes tweeps are polite and thoughtful — two of my favorite things) and we started a virtual dialogue. This resulted in her asking if I was interested in contributing to an upcoming article. I said YES, so, rather than read my wisdom here, I’m sending you to the Careerealism for: Hate resume writing? Here’s how to get it done. The entire article is not mine, but I did get my $.02 worth in the conversation.

I would be remiss in not publicly thanking J.T. O’Donnell for the awesome opportunity. And I absolutely have to send a shout out to Greg Barrette, Careerealsm’s Brand Development Manager. He tolerated my anxious, “When is it going live?” emails and helped fix my link when it wasn’t working. He’s a true professional and a really nice person to boot.  All around a top drawer organization. And you gotta love their slogan: “Because every job is temporary.” (So true.)

AFTER you read the article on Careerealism, go set up a Twitter account and start tweeting. Do it!

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Farewell Sadie

8 March 2009, 10:39 pm

I’m  veering completely off my usual job search / career industry topics tonight to honor my Dachshund-mix, Sadie. My Sadie girl.

I adopted Sadie as an adult on Leap Day in 1996. She had been a stray, terrified of everything and heartworm positive when we first met. I had her treated for heartworms, spayed,  brought up to date on her vaccinations and made sure she had regular meals. She repaid the kindness by spending the first month she lived with me under the bed, literally coming out only to input or output. Slowly, she emerged and eventually, became my shadow; still not trusting of many people, but my adoring fan. (Oh to be the person my dog thinks I am … )

The first time I brought my now husband, Gary, to my house, she went immediately to him and climbed in his lap. She’d never done that with anyone before. I knew he was the one.

Sadie went through a divorce with me, found new love with me, shared my joys, licked my tears away when I was sad, put up with ferrets, five other dogs (all three times her size, but she was in charge), birds and all sorts of craziness over the years. Through it all she has been a loyal and true friend. A shiny, doll-haired land-seal, as my friend Julie called her. Tonight, after 14 years together (we estimated her to be about 17 or 18), we said goodbye. A dear, dear veterinarian friend came by and helped her to transition to heaven.

Yes. I believe all dogs go to heaven and she’ll be waiting for me when I arrive.

Farewell Sadie. I’ve been blessed to have you in my life.

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