Billie Sucher Blog

Thinking Errors

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." Shakespeare, Hamlet

Are you familiar with the term “thinking errors?” If not, you can read more here about how common thinking errors can “skew your judgment and make it hard to appraise your situation realistically.” When I heard the term used earlier in the week, my mind immediately shifted to thinking errors as it relates to job seekers and job search. Here are a few “thinking errors” to ponder if you are in the midst of a job search in today’s uber-competitive market:

►That the place to start a job search is by whipping up a résumé when you have no clue what you want to do occupationally. Reality check: Develop a professional résumé once you have explored realistic career options.

►That a cheap résumé will open doors for you. Reality check: If you are really lucky and the moon and sun and stars all align in your favor, then maybe, just maybe  a ‘cheap’ résumé will open doors for you. However, if your lucky charms are failing you, consider investing in a well-built résumé that reflects quality, compelling evidence and your remarkableness. 

►That looking for work requires a little bit of effort a few hours per week. Reality check: Value your job search with deep regard, steadfast commitment, and an ongoing investment of your time and talent to produce the best R.O.I.

►That hopping online and blasting your application and résumé into cyberspace is the w – a – y to get a j – o – b.  Reality check: People hire people.

►That a Hiring Manager/recruiter/HR pro will spend 10 or 15 minutes absorbing your résumé. Reality check: If you were a Hiring Manager/Recruiter/HR pro, how many seconds would you devote to a 2, 3, or 4 page résumé?

►That “copying and pasting” a résumé from a “free sample” you found online is a good idea for you. Reality Check: Invest the time it takes to copy and paste into creating a unique, distinct résumé document that is a one-of-a-kind, amazing original creation that captures the essence of you in support of your candidacy.

►That “just because” you are a good talker you don’t think you need to practice prior to a professional employment interview. Reality check: While interviewing is a business conversation with a purpose, for many job seekers -- of all ages and abilities – practice pays in many ways!

►That “going to market” before you are ready will result in a desirable outcome. Reality check: Know with clarity and certainty your product’s most valuable features and benefits to derive the greatest return on your product offering.

►That “more is better” – more words in your emails, résumés, and interviews will deliver more of an impact. Reality check: Less is more. Think: tweet.

►That a prospective employer will listen intently to a protracted explanation of your work history, starting from 1978 forward. Reality check: Compress your words into bite-sized chunks of solid evidence directly aligned with your target job to keep the listener engaged and the conversation flowing.

What, if any, “thinking errors” have you experienced only to discover that your thinking wasn’t working to your advantage in this competitive job search world? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

 

 

 

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Over the week-end, my son and his fiancé came into town. As we headed to one of many pre-wedding take-care-of-business stops, all of which required decisions, I asked the bride and groom-to-be if they were familiar with different styles, makes and models of decision-making.

The answer was swift.

"Nope, not a clue!”

The other evening, I attended a webinar and one of the topics of discussion had to do with decision-making styles. This topic intrigues me given my work with clients who are constantly confronted with important career decisions, such as:

Stay at my job?

Find another job?

Quit my job?

Accept the offer? 

Relocate?

Resign?

Go back to school?

Stay at home with the new baby?

Buy a business?

Build a business?

Work full-time?

Work part-time?

Retire now? Retire later?

Finish a degree, certification or designation?

Drop out of the MBA program?

Start my doctorate?

Move to another business unit?

Switch careers? 

And on and on and on with the vast number of career decisions workers are faced with today. For the purposes of this blog post, I decided to do some online research. Shown below are a few decision-making styles, makes and models I discovered in my search: 

Agonizer/Agony
Authoritative
Avoidant
Collective-participation
Command
Compliance
Conceptual
Conditional
Consensus
Consultative/Consultation
Decision trees
Decisive
Delayed

Delegative
Dependent
Escape
Evader
Experimental
Fatalist
Flexible
Hierarchic
Impulse/Impulsive
Individualistic
Intuitive
Irreversible
Mystic
Pareto Analysis

Play-it-safe
Plunger
Plus-Minus-Interesting (PMI)
Predisposed
Proactive
Procrastination
Pros and Cons
Quick Decision-making
Rational
Reversible
Six-Thinking Hats
Spontaneous
Submissive
Systematic
Trial and Error 

Decisions, decisions, decisions. How do you go about making decisions in your professional life? As a job seeker, what decision-making style works best for you? 

"Life is a sum of all your choices” ~ Albert Camus Quotes

When You Are Not The One

Are you watching The Voice this season? I love that show! If you watch it, you know that some contestants do not get picked. Just like in your job search, sometimes, the other candidate gets picked instead of you. So where does that leave you, then, when you are not the one that gets chosen?  In the middle of nowhere? Close to somewhere? Anywhere at all? 

Where it leaves you is with a chance to start anew in your quest for employment.

A chance to compete again.

To give it another shot.

To give it another go.

To try, try again.

To not stop.

To be relentless in your pursuit of a new opportunity.

To get another chance to sit in the hot seat once more.

To understand that being rejected is something that happens more than you realize to very talented candidates.

To know that not being picked doesn’t mean that you don’t have skills, experience, knowledge, gifts, abilities or talent.

It just means that someone did not pick you on that particular day, that moment, that hour.

It just means that in a stranger’s eyes, you were not the right one for them at that time.

And yes, while it does hurt and it is not easy and it is not what you thought or wanted or needed or hoped would happen when you did not get picked, do not let up. And do not give up – on yourself or others.

Get up.

Dust off.

Press on.

Stand tall.

Chin up.

Shoulders back.

Onward.

Straight ahead.

Looking forward, not back.

Keep moving.

Keep going.

Keep competing.

Until someone picks you.

 

Job Candidate Number Five

Based on a true story...

Let’s suppose that you are a Hiring Manager – a hiring manager that happens to love baseball. Along comes the fifth candidate out of the five you and your team have chosen to interview in person. After the small talk about the weather and did you have any trouble finding the place, you lead off with…

So, how come you are no longer employed…I notice your employment with ABC Company ended in December 2011?  

And you, the candidate sitting in the hot seat, freeze. While you thought this question might be asked of you, you had not counted on it being asked so abruptly at the beginning of the conversation.

Um, well, I guess you could say it was a bad fit – a bad choice…and so I just quit after about a year…resigned in December.

So, am I to presume you are a quitter and one who makes bad choices?

Well, no that’s not exactly what I meant….

So, what exactly did you mean?

Well I meant… I just thought it was a bad fit, you know, a bad pick.

A bad fit? A bad pick? So, tell me, Candidate Number 5, are you saying you also make bad decisions and bad picks on behalf of your employer?

See how this conversation is going nowhere and mostly nowhere fast for you, the Job Candidate Number Five?

Five Tips to Keep A Job Interview Conversation From Going in the Ditch:

1. Know that one of the Hiring Manager’s many jobs is to give you ample fodder to A) keep you in the game and/or B) to listen attentively to your responses to see if you do yourself in and / or take yourself out of the running.

2. Know that one of the Hiring Manager’s many tasks is to assess what you are made of and evaluate how you will add value via the proof / evidence that you deliver in the interview conversation.

3. Know that the Hiring Manager is expecting you to convince him or her that you are a strong contender for the j-o-b and that no matter what “negative bait” you are given, you can manage it with confidence, grace and style.

4. Know that it is your job, as the candidate, to consistently present positive-sounding responses to questions that may be negatively rooted. (So, then, are we to assume that you have poor decision-making abilities and why or why not?)

5. Know that no matter what comes at you – knuckle ball, spit ball, curve ball, fast ball, cutter, slider, slurve, change up – whatever it is, be ready, be prepared – and know it’s coming at you for the purpose of keeping you in or getting you out of the job search game. So swing batta’ batta’ at something good, something that keeps you headed for home plate.

Tippy-Toeing, Not Through the Tulips

Tippy-toeing around the inevitable. Not talking. Shhh! Don’t want anyone to know. Holding off. Just keep it quiet. Leave the house each morning as per usual, pretending everything is all right when you know for a fact that everything is all wrong.  Don’t tell the kids. Can’t tell my wife. Better not say anything to my husband right now. And I for sure don’t want my friends and neighbors to find out!

Losing a job, whether you are 28, 38, 48, 58 or 68 hurts. For most, it is not fun. For many, it is a painful, unpleasant experience and you know that’s true if you have ever been through it.  It is, though, what happens every day of the week across America, and elsewhere around the world. Recently, I met a man who in his entire 30+ years of working had not once experienced losing a job. Until the other day. And that was it…just like that. He got a phone call: “We need you to come up to the office now.” And if you have ever lost a job, you know what comes next. The talk – then the walk. The walk out the door. Thirty years and one box of memories as you are escorted out “the back way.”  

And you wind up in some career transition management professional’s office a few days later because you simply don’t know where else to go. You share with her (or him) that you have not yet told your spouse, or your kids, or anyone, for that matter, that you don’t have a job. And the career management professional invites you to practice telling those that need to be told – your immediate family and your closest friends. You role play your “lines” with the stranger and realize that you can find the words to tell your wife, husband, partner, friend, roommate, son or daughter that you lost your job and that you really do want them to know. 

In the event you get downsized, right-sized, terminated, dismissed, or fired this afternoon, or this morning, I hope that you will get in touch with those who need to know, sooner than later. I hope that you will readily inform those closest to you that your job was eliminated today. I hope that you will not feel too ashamed, too embarrassed or too proud to tell those who love you the most what happened at your place of work this day. And if you are too ashamed, too embarrassed or too proud to let others know your current occupational status, the world is also full of experienced career management professionals who can help you find the courage to tell.

How To Find a Job When There Are No Jobs, According to Someone Who Found One

For nearly six years, I have been a contributing blogger over at Career Hub, and more recently, here at my own blog. During this time, I have shared oodles of “free advice” to help job seekers. Today, though, I wanted to share a job search success story in the words of one of my clients. “Ben” was kind enough to accommodate my request for his thoughts on “How Did You Land Your Dream Job When There Are No Jobs?”  Ben has an inspiring story to tell and I found his words worth sharing. I hope they will make a little dent in your life as a job seeker.

Snapshot of Ben:  Male, Gen X, Supervisor / Team Lead level; resigned his job after 20+ years of employment with a market leader.

How did you find the courage to “quit” your job after so many years of employment in a supervisory / team leadership role? 

After my mother’s death, family became especially important to me. I wanted to see my son play baseball and football. I wanted to have weekends off and be with my family on holidays. In retail, you work when everyone else is off. I did not feel appreciated at work. Every year, you worked harder and you received less. 

How long did it take you to find another job in a job market where there are no jobs?

I started looking for a new job at the end of September 2011. By mid-October 2011, I found a new job and gave notice. By mid-November 2011, I knew I had made a big mistake with the new job I started. I came to the reality that for the last two years, I hated my job. On December 23, 2011, I decided I would put myself first before everyone else. This was the first time in my life that I was going to quit a job without having another. On 01/26/12 I found my dream job, Monday – Friday 7am. to 4pm.  

What job search strategies worked best for you?

Your résumé is an investment. Invest in yourself and your future. Spend the money on your résumé to display the real you. The way the résumé is written in 2012 is totally different than in 2000.  Have four great professional references. You need to network with your friends and family. The last two jobs I found, I sent my résumé to someone who knew someone. In my new job, I let my present employer know that I just dropped my wife off at the airport. My new employer noticed that my wife worked for the same company and asked what she did.  

What is the single-best-piece of advice you would offer today’s job seeker to do?

I have a super résumé. I have a personnel endorsement on page one and two of my résumé.  I had my second interview on a Monday and on a Tuesday, I received two emails that my personal references were contacted by my new boss. My personnel reference knew I was looking for a job but I never contacted them to let them know that my second interview was a homerun.   

What was the defining moment of your job search?

The position I applied for had a reference number. For this position, I noticed there were four different references numbers. I applied for each position, even though the only difference was the reference number. In my last interview, I had asked why all the different reference numbers for this position.   

What did you do on the days if and when you felt like giving up on the search, got discouraged and/or lacked motivation to look for work?

Call a great friend, pray, cook, take a walk, clean and re-clean house or car.   

What do you think today’s job seeker could do to enhance their chances of standing out from the crowd?

Take the time to research the company you want to work at. If you get a phone interview or an in-person interview, make sure you have six great questions to ask the interviewers. Wear your best business suit. Get a business card so that you can send a thank you email. Make sure you have copies of your résumé on quality paper. Wow your interviewers. Interviews are hard to get. First impressions are huge.   

What other words of wisdom might you offer to job seekers today?

Don’t give up. On a daily basis, keep track of who you sent a résumé to and rate yourself from 1-10 on your job search performance.

Anything else you learned about finding a job in a competitive market that would be of value to job seekers?

It is not fun not having a job. Make sure you do not take it out on your family. I sent out over 40 résumés.  I had three phone interviews and three in-person interviews. I received 15+ decline letters and the rest of the résumés I did not hear back from. Keep your chin up. Some résumé and application forms took four hours to complete. After you fill out the application, some companies have you take timed tests and ask how you would handle a certain situation, math and computer skills. Many companies you send résumés to go to a third party to sort. I would call the local HR office and they did not hear of the position that was open. HR is a 24 hour operation. Many times I would receive decline letters in the middle of the night.•

Others

During a blogging and job search presentation I delivered a few weeks ago, one of the participant questions had to do with “what to say when you write a blog or make a tweet." A tip one of my English teachers taught me years ago was to think of one word of interest and then, write one thought about it. Turn that one thought into one line and then, a few more lines. Turn the few more lines into a paragraph. And a paragraph to a page. And a page into an article or story or book, depending upon your goal. So, the word my client and I were discussing yesterday afternoon was this one:  others.  After she left my office, I gave further thought to the word and posted below is what I came up with. As a job seeker, what additional thoughts might you add to this post about the word others?

Listening to others.

Asking others.

Paying attention to others.

Helping others.

Encouraging others.

Convincing others.

Motivating others.

Included by others.

Inspiring others.

Inviting others.

Interested in others.

Influencing others.

Excluded by others.

Opening the eyes of others.

Engaging others.

Opening the hearts of others.

Learning from others.

Respecting others.

Building up others.

Persuading others.

Serving others.

Sharing with others.

Training others.

Trusting others.

Accepting others.

Accepted by others.

Rejected by others.

Commending others.

Connecting with others.

Disappointing others.

Advocating for others.

Figuring out others.

Getting frustrated with others.

Avoiding others.

Complaining to others.

Finding fault with others.

Looking for the best in others.

Praising others.

Greeting others.

Reconnecting with others.

Supporting others.

Talking to others.

Reaching out to others.

Recognizing others.

Caring about others.

Being nice to others.

Showing thoughtfulness to others.

Valuing all others.

Do You Show Up?

Imagine that you are a business, trying to make a buck in this competitive market. Imagine that you have cut your staff to a skeleton crew to keep things afloat. Imagine what happens when one or more of your employees don’t show up for work. What do you do? Work 18 hours instead of the customary 10, 12 or 14? When someone doesn’t show, do you pay the price? Do your team members have to pick up the slack for the person who isn’t there?

Showing up is a big deal.

Not only is showing up a big deal for your employer, showing up online is also a big deal if you are a job seeker.

Here’s a true story the president (and hiring manager) of a small business (approximately 25 employees) shared with me:

Hiring Manager receives your two-page resume. Nice!

Hiring Manager googles you. Nothing! (Strike 1)

Hiring Manager bings you. Nothing! (Strike 2)

Hiring Manager returns to google to see if you are on LinkedIn. Nothing. (Strike 3)

Hiring Manager re-googles (is that a word?) your first and last name, along with your middle initial from resume.

Alas, some luck.

Hiring Manager spies a “John J. Smith” fourth entry from the top of the first page of google results….but oh wait….that “John J. Smith” lives in Arizona and is a CPA / lawyer…um, probably not you, anyway.

And it isn’t you because you are absent online.

You do not show up.

You are not present.

You are not there.

You are not here.

You cannot be found online.

In the Hiring Manager’s mind, do you even exist?

The Hiring Manager clicks out and mumbles to his assistant “Next.”

As 2012 gets underway, what steps can you take as a job seeker to make sure that you can be found online the first time a Hiring Manager searches for you? What, if anything, can you do to enhance your chances of showing up online in a way that provides value and credibility to your candidacy?

Homework Exercise:

Sometime this week, consider doing these three simple tasks:

1. Google yourself – do you show up? Yes? No?

2. Bing yourself – do you show up? Yes? No?

3. Do you show up in a LinkedIn search? Yes? No?

The president / hiring manager of the above-referenced company in this post told me that he is a baseball fan (Cards not Cubs) and relates baseball to everything in business: “Three strikes, you’re out.”

Hmm.

Charisma? Attractive Personality?

Watching one of my favorite television programs, CBS Sunday Morning, I was particularly interested in the piece about “Charisma.”  The story reminded me of some teachings in a Napoleon Hill book I recently read again. Lesson Ten from the The Law of Success, copyright 1928, is titled “Pleasing Personality.”

What, exactly, is a pleasing personality?

According to Napoleon Hill, there are seven important factors that enter into the development of an “attractive personality.” Pay particular attention to the second and fourth factor, as he claims that these are most important. The essence of Mr. Hill’s seven factors are highlighted here. While his book is from another time and another century, the relevance for today’s job seeker is timeless: 

1. Interest yourself in other people – find out about them and speak of them in terms of praise.
2. Develop an ability to speak with force and conviction, in day-to-day conversations and in public speaking.
3. Dress in a fashion that showcases your physical build and occupation. (His exact words: “Clothe yourself in a style...). 
4. Develop a positive character.
5. Learn how to shake hands to express warmth and enthusiasm.
6. Attract other people to you by first “attracting yourself” to them.
7. Your only limitation (within reason) is what you establish in your own mind. 

So how about it. job seekers?

Do you have charisma? Do you have an attractive personality? 

How does your sociometer stack up against your competition?

How can you best utilize your charisma and an attractive personality to win a job in 2012?

 ~ Be Your Very Best Always. ~    

Job Seekers: Here's to You and Fresh Starts in 2012!

Looking forward to 2012, my friend and I were chatting about words that end in –al and how they seem to provide a launch pad for goals, changes, fresh starts and dreams for a new year.  As you peruse this list below, perhaps you will contemplate how each of these –al words might play a part in your job search, career and professional life in 2012:

Analytical – When a hiring manager scans your career marketing materials with an analytical eye, what conclusion might they draw?

Controversial – What controversial subjects do you plan to avoid in job interviews and at networking events?

Conversational – How might you enhance your conversational abilities in 2012?

Denial – What, if any, 2011 issues have you brought forward to 2012 and what, if anything, will you do to deal with them in the immediate future? 

Economical – What one thing will you do in 2012 to contribute to the economical betterment of your community and world?

Educational – What one educational goal do you intend to pursue this year?

Emotional – What, if anything, needs some attention with regard to your emotional well-being?

Essential – What are the most important matters that will demand your full attention in 2012?

Financial – What are your financial goals for the coming year?

Impractical – What decisions did you make in 2011 that may now be impractical in 2012?

Individual – What, if anything, could you do to improve the individual Brand You 2012?

Influential – What subjects would you like to become more influential about in 2012?

Inspirational – From what sources and resources will you derive your inspiration in the New Year?

Intellectual – How can you better share the intellectual abilities and gifts you have been given?

Intentional – What good things do you plan to do with intention and purpose in 2012?

Interpersonal – What, if anything, can you do to refine your interpersonal skills in 2012?

Managerial – In managing your career transition project (or work projects) what can you do this year to improve upon last year’s performance?

Mental -- How would you best describe your mental toughness should you find yourself in a state of career transition?

Motivational – What are three specific motivators that you plan to maximize in 2012?

Occupational – Are you working in or working toward an opportunity that holds interest and passion for you?

Organizational – What steps can you take today to better organize your job search activities to produce more desirable results in 2012?

Original – In what ways are you original and how can leverage that originality to better serve your job search efforts and outcomes?

Personal – What one thing would you like to change, add to, or delete from your personal brand in 2012?

Physical – What, if any, physical goals do you have in the works for the New Year?

Potential – If an organization asked you to describe your potential in 2012, what would you say?

Professional – When December 31, 2012 arrives, what is the single best thing you will have achieved professionally?

Psychological – If you have been struggling with a particular issue or concern in 2011, what plans, if any, do you have in place to address this matter in the New Year?

Relational – As you review your relationships and connections in your life, do those on your list have a habit of ‘building you up’ or ‘bringing you down’ and what, if any, improvements could be made as you move forward in 2012?

Social – How would you best describe your social life / network (both offline and online) and what, if anything, might be enhanced in 2012?

Spiritual – What, if any, spiritual goals have you thought about for 2012? 

Survival – If you lose your job in 2012, what plans do you have in place to maneuver through and manage the transition phase?

Testimonial – Have you considered how the voice of others can leverage your candidacy for a job, interim assignment or independent contracting opportunity?

Transformational – If you could transform one thing about yourself in the next 90 days, what might that be and how would it be of value to you, or to others?

Transitional – How can you more effectively manage each 2012 ‘work day’ as you explore new career options?

Verbal – How would your most recent supervisor rate your verbal skills and what might you do to improve them in 2012?

Vital – No matter what else you do in the New Year, what three to five things would you most like to accomplish by the time the ball drops in 2013?

Vocational – What, if anything, would you like to do differently this year regarding your employment situation?

Happy New Year to You! Wishing you good health and much happiness in 2012 with a sincere thank you for reading this blog!