Recruiter's Couch

May is just around the corner. If you are thinking of doing something new this spring or summer, now is the time to put those wheels in motion.

Lying on the couch complaining will get you nowhere. Trust me.  I know. I am a veteran couch potato. I can spend an entire evening clicking through my movie channels while scanning Twitter. Dinner to bedtime…..gone…..

The couch, I think, is attractive because figuring out what to do first is usually pretty overwhelming.

Here’s the secret:  just start. It’s like priming an engine or warming up before running. There is no wrong way to do it.

Some suggestions:

• Call a former colleague. Start the conversation with “Hi. I thought about you today. How are things?”
• Check the jobs tab on LinkedIn. Find a job that you think one of your friends might be suited for and send it to them.
• Look up the summer offerings at your local college or your professional association. If you see something that catches your eye, sign up.
• Send three thank you notes to people who have done nice things for you. Hand written is best but email will do in a pinch.

These are little steps that will get you going. They are neither difficult nor intimidating but they will get you paying attention to the world outside your living room and that’s the key.

So take the batteries out of the remote and do something!

I had lunch with a friend this week. She is in a bit of a career lull and wanted to get my opinion on her options.

First, I applauded her efforts and not just because I make my living helping people get new jobs. I cheered her on because looking for a job when you have a job is really hard but really necessary.  We cannot take for granted that our jobs will still be there tomorrow or that our employers will look out for our best interests.

So we have to take the bull by the horns and do it ourselves.

I started off by asking her a simple question: what do you do?  She rhymed off a seven word job title.  I had no idea what it meant.

A job title is pretty meaningless outside of your own organization. It does not give any indication of scope, scale or responsibility. You could be a director and look after 200 people or you could be a director and look after 2000 people

By the time dessert rolled around, we had distilled her job into a lovely sound bite that could be universally understand. It was fantastic.

Now she has a solid way to introduce herself and her skills to new people.

Try it when you have a few minutes. Think about the essence of what you do and how to describe it to a knowledgeable business person outside your industry.  No acronyms.  No slang.  No buzzwords. Use only real, meaningful words.

For example, here’s what I do:   I listen to my clients problems and then go out to the market to find the people who can fix those problems.

So, what do you do?

Networking schmetworking. We are constantly told that to develop our career, we need to get out there and network.

But how?  Where do you start?  How exactly do you get out there to meet people and discover new things?

Here is the answer: lunch.

I learned this technique from my colleague, Linda Clark yesterday.  She said she makes it her practice to never eat alone. It does not matter how busy she is, she makes her way to our lunch room and chats with whoever is there.

Even if it’s only a few minutes, she is able to connect, share and learn.

This is a great way to start your networking adventure. You can start gradually.  Resolve to eat with people twice next week. You can plan ahead and actually make a date with
someone that you don’t see often or just drop in to see who’s aro
und.

Lunch is terrific because there are lots of potential conversation topics. You can do the usual “how’s your day going?” but I prefer using food as my opening salvo as in “Gosh that looks good.  Did you make it?”  That opens the door to all kinds of non-work conversations.

See, that’s real networking.  Creating opportunities to learn about what other people do and how they do it.  That, in turn, lets you talk about what you do and how you do it so well.

All kinds of new and common threads start connecting you to people. Suddenly, your network is fresh and dynamic and brimming with new opportunities.

And to think, it all started with lunch.

It feels like the dark days of winter are still here. I know that it is getting lighter earlier (my dog is pretty happy about that) but it’s still cold and the wind still blows right through me.

It is really tough to feel inspired. Usually, at this point, soft spring breezes are causing grins, patios and a general loosening of our cranked up shoulders.

But trust me, there is inspiration everywhere.  You just have to look for it.  Here are some ideas on where to look.

TED Talks – I went to bed last night feeling great.  Rather than reading my email before turning off the light, I watched a TED talk given by a stand up comic with cerebral palsy from New Jersey.  She was gracious, forward and frankly, hilarious.

My husband went to a gala in Oakville last night that recognized men in the community who have made a difference in raising the awareness about violence against women.  These men have gone out of their way and sometimes, against the norms to really help people. (You can read about this at oakvillenews.org)

I met a candidate yesterday who has been very active in Toastmasters. He joined his local group as a way to get to know some new people and maybe improve his personal presentation style. It turns out that he has not only met some cool people but been coached by those very same people.  He has faced lots of his fears about public speaking and is now starting to help others do the same.

So look around. Talk to people in your network. See what’s going on. I bet it won’t take long for you to find something that makes you smile.

With smartphones in our pockets and tablets by our TVs, there is no excuse for not paying attention to what’s happening in the world.

It is now so simple to stay in touch with you network and keep a pulse on jobs in your field. It should be as natural as Facebook and coffee.

Dropbox is a free service that allows you to keep files in the cloud. You can keep a few versions of your resume and some sample cover letters in your Dropbox. Download the app and you will have access to them anywhere. You can also change and save on the fly.

Search for jobs on Indeed and then email postings to yourself or a friend. Indeed remembers your last few searches and shows the new jobs added since your last search. You can build your resume and have it available for things you want to apply for right away.

When you search TweetMyJobs all you need to do is enter the job title, industry and location and it will search for you.  You can choose to get the job info by text, email or Twitter.

Felt is an iPad app that that allows you to send personal handwritten thank you cards by hand writing the note on your iPad and telling Felt know where to send it.

LinkedIn allows you to take your professional network with you wherever you go. You have immediate access to your network and important updates such as when someone posts a lead for a neat position. You can also search for jobs and save them to apply to later on.

If all else fails, head to the App store and pick out a mixology app – there are a couple dozen to choose from.  It won’t inspire you or get you a raise but it might make you feel better in the interim.

An interview is not a tell-all

A first interview is like a first date.  It’s not the time to reveal the story of your whole life and career.  You want to hold on to some of the mystery.

Give the interviewer time to ask the questions.  It will be tempting to jump in to show that you can anticipate what will be asked.  Don’t.  Just wait for it.

Take a moment and then answer directly.  Be careful to keep your answer relevant to what was asked.  There is nothing worse than discovering that you have wandered down the garden path and you can’t remember the original question.

Remember your bad first dates?  What happened?  Sellf centered?  Icky personal habits?  Too many cell phone glances?  Distracted by other people?  These are signs of a bad first interview too.

Be on your best first date behaviour.  Wear nice, clean clothes.  Check your hair and teeth before you get to the reception area.  And above all, don’t open the kimono on your first interview.

Things are busy. Not just with me but with everyone I talk to these days. A campaign has been launched in my company to “ramp up” for the last quarter.

I have to admit that I had no idea how to ramp up. I already feel like I am going 100 miles an hour.

Then I remembered hearing a speaker talking about fitting more into your life. She used a bunch of rocks and a measuring cup to illustrate that is always room for a few more things. Especially if, she pointed out, they are important to you.

So I have embarked on my own personal campaign to do more. Here is my plan:

1. Stop complaining about being busy. No one wants to hear it and I could use that time and energy to do something better.
2. Just start. I will focus less on making lists and prioritizing and more on actual doing.
3. I will recognize that some things are just not going to be perfect. Sometimes good enough is okay.
4. I will make a point of saying thank you to the people who are helping me. That act will make them feel more buoyant which, in turn. will help me feel that way too.

There you have it. Aside from the fact that this has turned into a list, I am feeling pretty good about it. I’ll check in with you next week to see how things have turned out.

And hey, thanks for reading this. I really appreciate it.

Hiring is like toilet paper.  Most managers only think about it when they are out and in desperate need.  This means showing up unannounced with your resume expecting respect and consideration probably won’t happen.

There are exceptions. My son is looking for a dish washing job. Dropping into a restaurant and shaking hands with the owner or manager can work. He made a strong enough impression that they gave him a couple of trial shifts last weekend.

He was smart about his timing. He did not ask to speak with the manager in the middle of a busy dinner service.  No, he stopped by on a weekday between lunch and dinner when the manager not only had time to talk with him but was also in a thinking ahead frame of mind rather than the reactionary chaos of the lunch rush.

There are not many other roles that get filled this way.  You cannot drop by a plant and expect to get a meeting with the Production Manager nor can you expect to have a meaningful conversation with the Marketing Manager of a non-profit on a drop by.

People are

a) busy with more pressing issues (like the toilet paper order) or

b) just not in the right frame of mind to consider whether you would be a fit.

The bottom line is to be sensitive to your audience. Once you can identify who you need to connect with and the best way to do it, the rest will become clear.