Billie Sucher Blog

The Lesson

Once upon a time there was a young attorney who took his job very, very seriously. Among his many duties, his boss instructed him to take care of the PITA processing. So he did. He did it well. He processed them quickly and efficiently. He made no errors. His boss knew he was good at the PITA task and entrusted him with taking care of this important matter. Excellence in all things legal, including PITA processing!

The young attorney was in court one day and another more senior attorney asked him what he was doing.  He said he was working on some PITA processing.

PITA processing, huh? 

Yes, I have several of them.

So they never taught you in law school about PITAs?

No sir, I  had not heard of the PITA process until I started working on-the-job.

So you seriously don’t know what PITA stands for? 

Um, not really. Should I? 

Let me clarify….PITA stands for Pain in the……….(long pause)…….backside, my friend. 

Months later, a brand new attorney was hired. 

Young attorney gave brand new attorney the PITA processing task. 

Brand new attorney inquired, “so, what’s a PITA process?”

Young attorney offered, “Oh, it's just some business thing we didn’t learn in law school.”

Brand new attorney: “Very well, then.” 

It's About the Swag

I love the conversations I have with clients as I never know where they will lead. This morning’s conversation led to, among other things, this word:

SWAG

My client was telling me about how now would be a good time to consider cutting his own wasteful spending.

I looked up the definition of swag; for the purposes of this post, here’s one definition:

“products given away free typically for promotional purposes.”

Think about that last convention you attended? How much loot swag did you haul home? Think about the open houses, forums, trade shows, and events where you picked up some swag? How much swag is taking up space in your office right now?

Me, I’m a pen and pencil junkie!

And notebooks and/or notepads.

I still have The Ladders spiral-bound notebook from one of the national career conferences I attended!

I love it! It is a swag favorite!

Swag!

Consider this: in your own practice, business and personal life, what, if any, swag might you cut out? And if you say you have no swag in your professional or personal life, then here are a few more questions to ask yourself:

1. How can I reduce expenses?
2. How can I cut wasteful spending?
3. How can I become more cost efficient?
4. What is the ‘extra’ that needs to go?
5. What might I sacrifice that won’t be missed?

Thanks to my client for helping me think about this subject matter as I gave him one of my free pens.

Swag. 

Life After Getting the Boot

I remember when I lost my job.

While at the time I was shocked and devastated and overwhelmed and confused and _______________ (fill-in-the-blank), I was also immensely relieved. Immensely! I could breathe again!

I was relieved because I did not have to go to that place anymore. I did not have to do that job anymore. I did not have to encounter any personal brands that started with the first letter of the alphabet and ended with its fifth. I did not have to worry about Sunday night rolling around when I would feel myself getting stressed. I did not have to respond to the president of the company’s buzzer anymore. I cannot tell you how happy all of these things I did not have to do anymore made me. Relieved. Immensely!

As a Baby Boomer, I was taught over and over again, get a job, keep your nose clean, and you will always be taken care of.

Fortunately, that particular line of thinking was challenged when I was canned early in my career. The insubordination kind of canned, mind you.

All over one silly dime. My immediate supervisor (the president of the company) gave me a nickel an hour raise. Five cents.  (All the while he told me repeatedly that I was the most competent individual who had ever worked for him in 50+ years – go figure!) After working up much courage, I asked for a dime and that is the single, simple reason I got the boot.

One thin dime did me in. Asking for what I thought was fair and reasonable did me in.

I found out later when the same guy that gave me the boot wanted to rehire me that the reason for my demise was “crossing the line” (his exact words) hence my “‘insubordination.” I crossed-the-line by asking for more money and it cost me my job. That is the reason I was given, straight from the horse’s mouth. And the reality is, had I not been terminated from that job, I don’t think I would have ever found the courage, at that time, to leave. Someone did me a favor and set my life on a better, truer path.

When I lost my job, I had no idea how I would pay the rent, buy groceries, live, pay a very large student loan, forget going out – I just knew that it would all work out. I don’t know how I knew it, I just knew it.

IT WILL ALL WORK OUT.

That’s what I’d been told throughout my ‘growing up’ years by my parents, grandparents, friends, teachers, and other people I respected and trusted.

IT WILL ALL WORK OUT.

And here, these many years later as a career transition consultant, what do I find myself saying to job seekers when I can find no other words that seem right at the moment…I say what many someone’s said to me a long while ago,

IT WILL ALL WORK OUT.

Maybe not the way you thought. Maybe not the way you intended. Maybe not the way you planned. Maybe not with the strategy you so perfectly designed and executed. Maybe not with the people you thought. Maybe not in the city or state you thought. Maybe not doing the thing you ever thought you would do. Maybe not as fast as you thought. Maybe not with the outcome you had hoped for. And maybe better than you could ever imagine. And maybe more incredible than you could ever dream. And maybe the best thing that ever happened to you. Maybe, maybe, maybe…

IT WILL ALL WORK OUT!

 

Are You a Job Seeker -- Just Looking?

Imagine that you are out and about shopping for a new outfit for your upcoming interview. Let’s say you walk into a store and this is what you experience:

Crowded aisles

Cluttered displays

Disorganized merchandise

Dirty, dusty floor

Dressing rooms filled to the brim with discarded try-ons

Lighting that is dim and dreary

Music that does absolutely nothing for you

And you have money in your pocket, ready to spend. Are you going to invest it in that store?

While only you can decide the answer to that question, consider how browsing any résumé is similar to shopping at any store.

There are hundreds of stores – there are millions of résumés.

When a Hiring Manager views your résumé as a guest, what will he or she experience?

Crowded margins (mini-margins)?

Cluttered arrangement of words?

Disorganized information?

Too much text?

Hard to follow messages?

Lack of achievements and results?

Lack of brand evidence to do the job?

Words slammed on a piece of paper without thought, direction or purpose?

Do yourself a big favor today. Before you hit send, stop by your résumé store for a while.

And remember, you have money in your pocket to spend. Based on what you experience and see on the résumé before you (Brand You), would you be compelled and convinced to invest in the merchandise?

posted by: billiesucher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Get This Party Started!

The other day, I was helping a client via phone with a review of her career management materials. As the conversation got underway, I offered:

Are you ready to get this party started?

Absolutely, ready to go!

Before we jump in with the review and all, I’d invite you to consider these three variables, factors, ideas – whatever word you wish to affix to them, before we get going.

1.  I would like you to pretend that you are a recruiter, HR pro and/or key decision-maker, okay? Put yourself in that role, see the world – your resume and cover letter world – through their lens, their eyes, their view.

Oh, okay, well why do you want me to do that?

2.  I would like to invite you to ‘Think Tweet’ – 140 characters with spaces, the essence of the message, brevity. Short and sweet. To the point. No fluff, no fluffy.

That’s different – so what does Twitter have to do with a resume and cover letter review?

3.  I would like to invite you to think about The Easy Button – you know, Staples – “that was easy" – that button?

 And I am thinking about the Staples easy button because why?

As we proceeded through the critique session, I could hear the client’s tone change from one of what am I doing at this l a m e party to I get it, I get it, I get it…I so get this now. My client indicated that after our session, she was going to start over in the way she presented her brand on paper.

No more long and boring resume, no more seven-paragraph cover letters. Make it easy for the reader to pick me!

As the session drew to a close, I offered “Any further questions before we part company?”

Yeah, it was a totally awesome party!

The Magic of Power Words -- Job Seekers, Do You Use Them?

Last week, my client was speaking about power words to use when communicating with others. He told me that there were seven power words. In my quest to find the seven, I came upon information that led me to more than seven. Perhaps you know the seven?

Upon discovering the most persuasive selling words I decided to put myself in the role of a #jobseeker, utilizing power words to communicate with a Hiring Manager…here’s what I came up with (example only for purposes of this post).

Dear Hiring Manager:

You can get a new gift and an exciting, exclusive bargain you will love and here’s how if you hurry and immediately discover (Brand) for a lifetime offer of happiness, guaranteed healthy results and proven safety in money savings delivered free, direct to your door. It’s easy – contact…

So, what do you think? Do you think that a Hiring Manager would be more convinced to get in touch with you if you used these magic power words listed in the text above, and or below?

You

Easy

Discover

Proven

New

Happiness

Love

Money

Results

Health

Safety

Guarantee

Are you using power words to communicate with your target audience?

 

Job Interviews and The Rest of the Story

Remember Paul Harvey, an American radio broadcaster and his famous The Rest of the Story? If you are looking for a job, do you freely offer your listeners ‘the rest of the story’ or do you make your listening audience drag information out of you syllable by syllable, word by word, line by line? Is it painful or painless for a listener to converse with you about your product offering? Let’s say you are scheduled for a telephone interview tomorrow morning at 9:00 A.M. – listed below are ten questions for you to ponder prior to that time:

Have you practiced your opening lines?

Have you rehearsed the overall brand message you wish to deliver?

Have you considered your best traits and greatest value?

Have you evaluated your liabilities and weaknesses with responses that sound genuine and credible?

Have you selected three to five of your key competencies (with supporting examples) that relate specifically to the organization’s needs?

Have you thought of your best attributes and thoughtfully crafted examples to support each?

Have you created conversational efficiencies to help the employer get to know you and your brand’s best?

Have you cited specific examples of key portable and transferable skills that align with the employer’s needs or will you be dreaming up answers ‘off the top’?

Have you compiled a convincing body of evidence that you have the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the job of interest?  

Have you contemplated ‘the close’ of your interview conversation?

Knowing ‘the rest of your story’ before you proceed with a job interview will help distinguish you in today’s intensely competitive job market. Make it easy for the listener to pick you to move forward in the interview process.

Do you know the rest of your story – the part that will make you stand out in the listener’s mind?

Transitions: Back to School, Off to College

Clients always bring up interesting topics. Upon completing our work together the other day, my client was saying how she was both happy and sad about taking her son off to college. I so remember those feelings. A few years ago, I wrote this poem for our son as he entered his sophomore year of college:

 

ON SOPHOMORE

And so I tasted the wind

the smell hinted of Fall

I knew time was drawing near

as she hastened her call.

 

How do you pause a moment

on permanent delay or hold

as you see life stretch before you

while the stories unfold?

 

There's no turning back

only onward each day.

So blessed by your presence

and I know you can't stay.

 

Why am I so weepy

Like the swishing willow tree?

It was only just yesterday

You bounced on my knee.

 

How do you tell your child

no longer a little one

that you're joyous beyond imagination

for most things he's done?

 

So the hours count down

and the clock ticks away

It won't be long now

and you'll be on your way.

 

And I'll be just fine,

with but a hiccup or two

Watching from the distance

the wonderful things that you do.

 

Wishing you a stellar year

of learning and fun

On stand-by if you need me

while you go and get it done.

copyright 2004 by billie sucher

May I Have Some More Job Security, Please?

In conversation with a person who had lost her job within the last couple of days, the individual remarked that she would be looking for a new job with more security. Her words stopped me cold in conversation. I had not heard the word ‘security’ tied to jobs for months now.

Our chat quickly turned to the new workplace – how the workplace of today is in a constant state of flux -- you know, like the tide – in one minute, out the next. I am not sure if my analogy made any sense to this new job seeker or not…for sure, I do not think it was what she thought she would hear. A few thoughts for you to consider regarding the word security as it relates to j-o-b-s.

Skills that are sharp, solid, portable, transferable and mobile 24/7 in a volatile, intensely competitive and global job market.

Embrace what’s coming at you head on with a willingness to do what you need to do to make your life work today.

Change happens non-stop. Are you prepared to manage it and if so, what are your specific coping strategies – naming them clearly and concisely may help alleviate some of the wonder and/or worry. 

Understanding what was and how it is behind you and considering what can be and how it is before you – yours to seek, find, make and create.  

Realizing that job security comes from within, not from some external source looming ‘out there’. Are you doing everything within your power to stay current, relevant and ready to meet today’s turbulent workplace needs and demands?

Ingenuity which leads to ideas and possibilities, innovations, insights and interesting new tomorrows that can generate income to provide for you and your family.

Talent -- yours to build, yours to keep and yours to share whether you are in a job or out a job. What talents do you possess and what industries and organizations are waiting for you to target, tap or invent?

Yesterday is done. You can’t get it back. You can’t go back. You can only decide about this moment, this day, this hour and what you will do with it. How will you commence the process of defining (and/or redefining) what security looks like for you now, today – August 25, 2011?

 

 

Would You Buy A Lemon of A Car?

You can tell a child is growing up when he stops asking where he came from and starts refusing to tell where he is going.  ~ Author Unknown

When our children were little and growing up, I drove a verrrrry loooooooooooooooooong station wagon (SW)  that I did not like – evah! Not that I wasn’t grateful, I just didn’t like the brand, the car, the shape, the style, the anything about it, but I drove it for many years anyway. During a visit to The Windy City, not far from Wrigley Field, I spied a car that I thought was the most beautiful car I’d ever seen. I scribbled the car’s name on a piece of paper, later to look it up on the Internet. While I chose not to invest in a new one, I started saving money for a competitively-priced used vehicle of this particular variety.

During this time, I also befriended a local auto dealership representative that marketed and sold the specific product line that I aspired to own. As you enter the dealership, visitors go one way for new cars and another for pre-owned. I was advised not to say used, so now I say pre-owned. Also, I was advised not to say used car salesman --  I am to say car sales professional or car sales specialist. So, I met a car sales person whose name was the same as a former USA president’s – which was good because it was always easy to remember him.

When I met the car sales pro with the former President’s name, I gave him a list of the specifications that I wanted in my new used pre-owned car. I asked that he please not contact me with any other makes, models, equipment, etc. as I knew what I wanted and when he found it, I would buy it. We had already established a price range I was willing to invest in said product.  14 months later, I got a phone call from the pre-owned car pro – they had a match! Woo hoo! Peace out and bye-bye SW!

If you know what you want in a car, you probably have acquired some pretty good instincts and ideas about what you want in a job. Would you buy any car? Would you buy any job? Would you intentionally, purposefully and knowingly buy a lemon of a car? I hope not. Would you buy a lemon of a job? While I would hope that you wouldn’t, I have heard countless stories from clients who do. “I knew the job was all wrong, but I took it anyway because I needed a j-o-b.” (I am not talking about stop-gap or bridge jobs here).

Homework Exercise:

Make a list of the specifics that you would like, desire and prefer in your work. What would you be doing? Who would you be reporting to? Who would you be working with? What activities, tasks and roles would you be performing? What elements would be your favorite? Who would be your ideal customer? How much money would you be generating for your time and talent? Where would the job be located geographically? What type of environment do you wish to maneuver through? What type of work space brings out the best in you and which one brings out the worst in you? How long of a commute, if any, are you willing to make? What would you be contributing? What goals would you be achieving? What skills would you be using? What passions would you tap into and apply? What sacrifices would you be willing to make? And on and on and on – what kind of job do you wish to invest in at this time in your life?

When buying a used car, punch the buttons on the radio.  If all the stations are rock and roll, there's a good chance the transmission is shot.  ~ Larry Lujack