How Long Should A Job Search Take?

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Liz Ryan has a great article over on the Forbes website entitled, “How Long Should A Job Search Take?”.

Liz writes:

“I hate to think about the number of times I’ve sat on a panel and heard a fellow panelist say “As a job-seeker, you have to prepare for the long haul. It could take months and months to find the right job.”

Every time I heard that I kept the fake plastic smile pasted on my face, because I’m an actress. I was raging inside.

I am sick and tired of hearing standard brainless job-search advice repeated like it was gospel, including the line ‘Expect to spend months looking for your next job.’ “

She goes on to say:

“When you teach people to be passive and wait patiently for a broken system to grind its way along, you disempower them.”

Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by © Jan Ramroth http://ow.ly/TVvvF
Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by © Jan Ramroth http://ow.ly/TVvvF

Liz is absolutely right.

It’s funny how we routinely defer to the advice of the so-called ‘experts’ – and often to our own determent.

I learned early in my career not to listen to the ‘experts’.

At the first Recruiting Firm I worked at, I remember returning to the office after the long Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend.  I was surprised that the office lacked its usual buzz.  It seemed like no one was on the phones.  The office was quiet.

I walked over to Dan, one of the Sr. Recruiters and asked him what was going on.  Dan looked up from the newspaper he was reading and said to me, “Kid, it’s the Holiday Season.  No one is going to be hiring between now and New Year’s Day.  Everything is going to be quiet. You’ll just have to sit tight and wait for hiring to pick up again after the Holidays.”

Unfortunately, at that time I was broke and had a young family to support. I did not have the luxury to sit around and wait.  So I did the only thing I knew how to do – I got on the phone and just “smiled & dialed”.  And you know what – that December was my best month billing as a Recruiter.

And – going forward – for every year thereafter – I found that December is always one of my strongest months for the year.

After that experience, I decided that I would ignore the advice of the so-called experts. I wasn’t going to sit around and wait for business to pick up. I was always going to go out and make something happen.

And my experience as a Recruiter mirrors Liz Ryan’s advice to job seekers.

In the article, Liz advises job seekers that they should not just sit around and expect their job search to last a certain predetermined amount of months because some so-called expert claims that is the case.

As Liz writes:

“You have way more influence on your marketability, your job search and your career than you think you have.“

Humans Are Underrated – Geoff Colvin’s new book

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I read an article this morning on Fortune magazine’s website entitled, “Humans Are Underrated”.  The article is adapted from Geoff Colvin’s upcoming book by the same title.

The article discusses Geoff’s premise that technology continues to grow at an incredible pace.  Computers are able to perform increasingly complicated tasks that no one ever anticipated them having the ability to perform.  Computers are beating Grandmasters in Chess.  Computers are starting to drive cars. It seems everywhere we turn – computers are replacing human.

Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by © Kumar’s Edit http://ow.ly/Q4ztT
Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by © Kumar’s Edit http://ow.ly/Q4ztT

But there is definitely hope…

According to Geoff – humans should stop trying to beat the machines at the tasks that machines are designed to do. Instead humans should focus on developing the skills and abilities that are distinctly human.

He goes into more detail in the article regarding what are the specific skills and abilities that we need to develop to not only survive but to thrive in the future.

It is an incredible read….

I am waiting to get a copy of the book – and I will blog about it in more detail at a later date.

But if you have time – wander over to Fortune’s website and read the article.

You’ll be glad you did….

Facing Challenges

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I was interviewing a candidate of mine recently – and during the course of the interview – it became apparent that she had faced a number of challenges during the course of both her career and her personal life.

I asked her about her approach to facing the various challenges / obstacles that we all inevitably face in life.

She replied simply that; “Challenges are where experiences are born.”

Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by © Daniel Wetzel http://ow.ly/OSCHj
Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by © Daniel Wetzel http://ow.ly/OSCHj

What a great answer – and what a great approach to life. Most of us prefer to take the “easy road” and prefer a path where we are most likely to avoid any obstacles.  And when we are faced with an obstacle – we mutter and curse our “bad luck”.

However, the person I had interviewed has a much different approach. She does not shy away from obstacles – in fact she relishes them.  She saw the various challenges she encounters not as a negative or a thing to avoid. Rather she sees them as opportunities to learn, grow and get better.

With a philosophy like that – it is easy to see why she has been so successful.

Refuse to Fail

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Last week I was speaking to a VP R&D who I have known for over 20 years.

We were discussing a search that I was working on for him.  One of the things that he stressed was that he preferred someone with direct experience in his specific industry segment as opposed to someone coming from outside of the industry.

I thought this was an interesting request especially because he himself had actually made a similar type of transition years ago.  I asked him why he was reluctant to hire someone from the outside – especially given the fact that he himself had made the exact same transition.

He replied that his own industry transition had been extremely difficult.  No one thought he would make it. (He said that he found out years later that his own co-workers had started an office pool betting that he would not make the transition and be fired.  The question to his co-workers wasn’t if he would be fired – it was simply a matter of when.)

So I asked him to what reasons did he attribute his successful transition.  Was it a helpful mentor reaching out to him? Was it his co-workers pitching in to show him the ropes?

He simply replied: “I refused to fail.”

Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by ©Tim Hipps, FMWRC Public Affairs http://ow.ly/O5cwe
Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by ©Tim Hipps, FMWRC Public Affairs http://ow.ly/O5cwe

He went on to say: “I would stay late – often to 10pm at night.  I would work weekends.  I knew that I would only get one good nights sleep during the course of a week – on Saturday night – because every other night I was either at work late – or thinking about work.  I had decided that failure was not an option and I would do whatever it took to be successful.”

Refusing to fail.

How many of us make that same level of commitment in our own lives?  How many of us are willing to “burn the proverbial bridges” and leave no way to turn back when we embark on a new career, new project etc.

Many times it takes that type of drive – that level of commitment to achieve any degree of success in life.

We are powerful when we decide that some goal is so important to us that no matter what we have to do – we will accomplish that goal.

We are powerful when simply refuse to fail.

 

 

 

People Without Facebook Accounts Are ‘Suspicious’

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I had written an earlier post about How To Clean Up Your Social Media During The Job Search.

And this is still a good idea…

But while cleaning up those ‘crazy party photos’, some job seekers may be tempted to take their clean-up to the next level and simply delete their Facebook account and shut down their entire social media presence.

That however, may not be such a good idea….

Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by © Marco Paköeningrat http://ow.ly/MZBVs
Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by © Marco Paköeningrat http://ow.ly/MZBVs

According to author Kashmir Hill in her Forbes magazine article entitled, Beware, Tech Abandoners. People Without Facebook Accounts Are ‘Suspicious’.

In the article, Kashmir writes:

Anecdotally, I’ve heard both job seekers and employers wonder aloud about what it means if a job candidate doesn’t have a Facebook account. Does it mean they deactivated it because it was full of red flags? Are they hiding something?

While she admits that people may be avoiding social media for any number of valid reasons (e.g. the person finds social media too addictive and prefers to avoid it), she goes on to write:

But it does seem that increasingly, it’s expected that everyone is on Facebook in some capacity, and that a negative assumption is starting to arise about those who reject the Big Blue Giant’s siren call. Continuing to navigate life without having this digital form of identification may be like trying to get into a bar without a driver’s license.

So job seekers not only should not shut down their Social Media presence – they should continue to maintain their various Social Media accounts.

And in fact – in this day and age – not having a Social Media presence may actually hinder you during your job search.

 

The Perfect LinkedIn Profile

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Neil Patel is an expert in Online Marketing.  His blogs and websites are wildly successful.  But not only is he successful, but Neil routinely provides a wealth of information for anyone looking to market themselves online.

Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by © Sheila Scarborough http://ow.ly/MAU1H
Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by © Sheila Scarborough http://ow.ly/MAU1H

He wrote a brief blog post on How to Structure a Perfect LinkedIn Profile.  While the post is targeted towards people who are building on-line businesses, the principles of building and maintaining a strong LinkedIn profile apply to anyone in business, including job seekers.

You can read the post here.

How to Clean Up Your Social Media During the Job Search

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Very interesting post by Lily Herman over at The Muse entitled: How to Clean Up Your Social Media During the Job Search.

Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by © go_greener_oz http://ow.ly/IMqpS
Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by © go_greener_oz http://ow.ly/IMqpS

Lily writes:

Think the whole “future employers checking your social media accounts” thing is just an annoying urban legend? Think again.

It turns out that one in three employers have rejected candidates based on something they found out about them online.

Lily’s post is spot on – and the infographic in the post contains a number of great suggestions regarding how to “spring clean” your Social Media presence.

Bottom line – it really is a good idea to follow the suggestions in the post in order to ensure that a “social media” snafu does not cost you your “ideal” job.

 

 

Resilience – The Key to Success

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There’s a great post on the Harvard Business Review by Rosabeth Moss Kanter entitled: Surprises Are the New Normal; Resilience Is the New Skill.

Rosabeth writes:

The difference between winners and losers is how they handle losing.

That’s a key finding from my ongoing research on great companies and effective leaders: no one can completely avoid troubles and potential pitfalls are everywhere, so the real skill is the resilience to climb out of the hole and bounce back.

Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by FMWRC - U.S. Army - Official Image Archive - Athens Greece - XXVIII Olympiad
Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by FMWRC – U.S. Army – Official Image Archive – Athens Greece – XXVIII Olympiad

One of the things I have noticed over the years in working with successful executives is that NONE OF THEM had a steady rise to the top.  They all experienced “bumps in the road” as they progressed in their career.  Some of these mistakes were self-inflicted.  Others were the result of factors totally beyond the executive’s control. But what these executives had in common was that while they all experienced adversity – they all possessed the ability to bounce back.  While less successful people would have folded under the first whiff of adversity – these executives just rolled up their sleeves and got back to work.

Bottom line: Successful people just don’t quit.

And Kanter concludes:

Potential troubles lurk around every corner, whether they stem from unexpected environmental jolts or individual flaws and mistakes. Whatever the source, what matters is how we deal with them. When surprises are the new normal, resilience is the new skill.

Adversity is to be expected – And change is the new norm.

Which is why in today’s world – the skill we all need most is Resilience.

Warren Buffett’s Career Advice

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Warren Buffett is a legendary investor without peer – but the Oracle of Omaha can offer some sage career advice as well.

Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by Aaron Friedman http://ow.ly/HDTa1
Image Courtesy of Creative Commons by Aaron Friedman http://ow.ly/HDTa1

According to a post on the Lifehacker site:

“Fortune magazine drops in on a Q&A Warren Buffett offered to 150 business students, and the advice dispensed by the Oracle of Omaha on investing and money in general is elegantly simple. 

When one student asked Buffett how to best spend his free time to further his investing knowledge, Buffett avoided generalized advice and told him to stick to what he knows. Fortune paraphrases:

For most people, the bulk of their income is going to come from earning power in their chosen profession. Therefore, from the standpoint of building wealth, free time is better spent sharpening one’s professional skills rather than studying investing.“

Warren’s advice is prudent.

But how many of us actually do this?  How many of us actually spend our free time doing things that will enable us to get better at our jobs and make us more marketable?

As a Recruiter, I often hear people lament about how their careers are stagnant, or that they are not earning what they think they are worth.  But when I ask them what are they doing to invest in themselves and get better at their jobs, often there is no response.

Maybe – if we are really serious about developing our careers – we should follow Warren’s advice and spend more time developing our professional skills and less time following other pursuits.

Maybe we should all start investing in ourselves.

 

7 Signs You Should Leave Your Job

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As we enter a New Year, now is a good time to review your current job situation.

Time Magazine’s website has a great article on this very topic entitled: 7 Signs You Should Leave Your Job (Sooner Rather Than Later).

The article’s author – Camillo Cho – lists the following signs:

  1. You’re Living the Status Quo
  2. You Don’t Get Feedback
  3. You’re Not Learning
  4. There’s a Constant Exodus
  5. There’s Regular Re-structuring
  6. Headhunters Want You
  7. It Feels Like Time to Go

You can read more detailed explanations regarding the 7 signs in  the complete article on Time’s website here.

If none of the above listed signs apply to you, then you should definitely stay where you are.

But if you find yourself nodding in agreement as you read down the list, it may be time to polish up the old resume…