Go To The Library

Good day to all. Today is the first installment of my online resources posts. There are so many online resources that I don't really know where to begin. The posts over the next week or two will be centered around helping you find FREE online resources that will assist you with finding job openings. My assumption is you have a type of job in mind that you are looking for and I want to provide you with ways to locate them.

One thing to keep in mind is I will assume you are going to make the attempt to locate jobs on your own. You may use the job boards but Please, Please don't just rely on them 100% of the time to find the type of job you are looking for. Job searching is "an act of doing" the search for openings not just posting your information on a job board and wait until a job comes to you. This type of active job searching means you have to put forth effort and move forward in progression in order to get results. Every once in a while you might get a hit from your Monster or CareerBuilder profile, but don't wait for it because it may be a long time coming.

Another assumption is you don't want someone to do the work for you in locating companies or job openings for you. There are companies whose primary business is to do the work for you....see my personal working home listed on the side of this post.

I think one of the most underutilized places for job search and company research assistance is your local library. The local library has a wealth of information to assist you in your job search. We don't give librarians the respect they are due because most of us never set foot into a library unless we are students, have kids or have hit the golden years. These are the main purveyors of the library systems.

Librarians are FANTASTIC information searchers. That is what they went to school for and that is what they do each and every day. They think about information, they talk about organizing information and how to retrieve it and they probably dream about it in the wee hours of the morning when they cannot sleep. Respect the librarians and look into the library system in your area.

On a special note: when you meet a librarian for the first time, you may or may not get along with them. I say this because I have noticed that people and their lack of value and respect for librarians have given some librarians an "edge" to their personalities. Most people when they get in front of a librarian don't really know how to speak to one. People tend to tell a librarian what they need from them. This is a no no. You should explore what the librarian has to offer. Don't make demands on them, ask them for help and both of you will enjoy the experience. Librarians really do enjoy helping people find the information they are looking for. If you are not sure what you are looking for, let them know your goals. They can work backward and find ways to help you find the info you need to obtain your goals.

I use the library for a number of job search activities. The number one for me is to research companies and the executives at these companies. Many of the library systems have databases just centered upon company research. These databases are a wealth of information for developing a company target list for your job search. The database information is not 100% accurate but will give you a way to organize a list of companies by location and who you can contact for more information. This is the place to start. Once you have this list, start visiting the companies online to look for information, connections and job openings within.

Visit the link on my blog for more details on locating your local library. Once you get to the link, look for your particular area of the country for the libraries close to you. When you visit your local libraries' website, take some time to look through the entire site. They are normally pretty extensive and you don't want to miss the good stuff.

In my next post we will discuss other places to find company information.

I met for coffee with a new client today. This client is starting a consulting business. We are partnering together so that I can assist him in marketing and selling his consulting firm. This type of endeavor is a huge challenge because it takes a long time to build a reputation in a community so that you can continuously find contracts. We are starting on the ground level but it is going to be a wild ride.

We met at Starbucks in another part of town. I don't like going to the same place more than one or two days at a time. I want to keep everything as fresh as I can. This Starbucks had ok coffee. I am still on the 1/2 decaf kick. I may go all decaf. Anyone else out there who cannot drink the caffeine but like the taste?

Let's Get Started!

Trusting The Internet For Jobs?

Do you trust more or less today than you did in the past? This question is a tough one because those of us on the internet are inundated with so much "stuff" floating around that we are numb to much of it. We don't even see the pop up ads and subliminal messages at all the sites we visit. We probably see them but they don't register much in our conscious brain. Because of this "stuff" do we have less trust in people or sites who we come in contact with?

I don't know, so I am asking you for your opinion. I would love to hear it. Please email or make a comment, on the blog.

I probably trust more now than I have ever done. The main reason is because of the business I am running. We are exploring new avenues every day and I have to rely on other people for information. I do a better job qualifying people and companies now and this information allows me to trust more.

What about job searching...do you loose trust when you don't hear back when you submit your resume to a job posting? When you first start a job search and hit the job boards like Monster, CareerBuilder and SimplyHired you believe that if you submit your resume to enough postings, you are bound to get some hits. Within a couple of weeks of doing these activities, you quickly realize there may not be anyone on the other side who even gets the messages. You get a hit or two from a admin job guy or for something you are not even remotely interested in. These hits discourage you from further activities.

Now who do you trust...no one? As a general rule the job postings have jobs or the potential of jobs on the other end. Don't stop using them. Just don't use them primarily. The statistics hold true that the job boards will only allow about 5% of the users of them to find jobs. The other 95% find jobs the old fashioned way...they earn them by finding them through friends or contacts or contacting companies on their own. It is the tougher way, but it does work for the majority of job seekers.

Don't stop using the job boards, just stop trusting that your activities on them will get you the jobs. Most of the time they don't. So go find another way, too.

I like my new office. The library I found is new and vacant because the grand opening is not until mid September. I feel like I have the place to myself. They even have a cement counter dedicated to the wifi users. In addition, I can bring my own food and coffee. What a treat.

Dopio macciato and a half caf is my current recipe. It goes done smooth.

Let's Get Started!

Jeff

The Fear Bed

Today is all we have...actually this moment is all we have. What are you doing right now to affect your job search? Other than reading this post, what are you doing?

A better question is what are you not doing for your search? The answer to this question may reveal what you should be doing. It is never easy to do what we should do sometimes is it? There are many reasons for this but most of them sleep in the bed of fear. The fear bed is where we put our fears to sleep. They are like a little baby. You make a special room with special furnishings and special colors and theme. You keep out all the noise, place your baby in the bed and slowly close the door. Once the door is closed a heavy sigh of relief goes out.

We don't want to wake a sleeping baby do we? We really want some peace and quiet; just for a short time. This is where we put our fears. We try to keep them closed up and comfortable so they don't wake up. When a fear wakes up there are only two things we can do. The first is to try and put it back to sleep by ignoring it or gently soothing it so no one hears. The second thing we can do is pick it up and start to work with it. This is not normally what we want to do. It is much easier to put it back to sleep.

Try something new. Wake up one of your fears today. Wake it up gently and begin to understand why it is yours. Think about when it started. Think about why you ignored it for so long. Think about where your life would have gone if you had not ignored it. Then think about what your life could be like if you didn't have it. Think about this...dream about it.

Dream about it as much as it takes to begin to envision yourself "on the other side" of it. Once you start seeing yourself without this fear, start to trace your steps back. Go from the image of you without a thought of the fear doing something you only dreamed about. Move back to where you still had the fear but it was slowly going away. Finally, go back to where you are right now and what first step you need to take to start to make that fear begin to disappear.

My number one fear used to be public speaking. I have so many stories about how I dodged speaking in front of a group for many, many years. I would leave meeting faking a telephone call or going to the bathroom when I knew it was getting close to "my time" to speak. I knew every trick in the book to ignore my fear and let it keep sleeping like that little baby. Then one day I asked myself why I had the fear. I traced it back to my self-centered-ness. I traced it back to me not thinking much about myself and thinking people would laugh at me. It was me I was worried about not the speaking.

When I realized this, I decided to try and remove those thoughts by telling myself over and over that I had something important to say. I kept saying that people wanted to hear what I wanted to say just as I did of them. This began a s-l-o-w process of me becoming less and less afraid of public speaking.

What is your fear? Ready to start getting rid of it? Practice today within your job search. I know you can make a change!

Today I am in a new library in my neighborhood. I can bring my coffee and computer and spread out. The library is not officially open yet so I am one of the few patrons. The coffee is good, the A/C is strong and I have some more work to do before the end of the day.

Let's Get Started!

Jeff

I Give You Permission

Stay tuned next week for the blog to have some meat in the posts. I plan on posting information that will assist you in locating job opportunities. I have scoured the internet in search of great resources for resumes, cover letters, company information, job fairs and more. I will begin to unload some of this information on you. There is so much on the internet, please feel free to email me if you have any info that would be of assistance. I will begin these posts on either Tuesday or Wednesday, so start sending what you have.

Today's word from the job search front line is "fresh." Take a break from your job searching today. I give you permission. EVERYONE needs a break from what they are doing. Healthy boundaries are another secret to conducting an effective job search. Healthy boundaries include leaving the computer, leaving the cell phone, even leaving the house/office and go in a different direction. It is important to change things up every once in a while to keep it all fresh and exciting. If you give yourself a short vacation from the job search, you never know what may come of it. There have been many times in my life that I look back and realized one thing. If I was working on a project for long stretches of time, it wasn't until I took the break and got back to work I figured out something I was missing.

Embrace life every once in a while otherwise it will embrace you and squeeze your guts out.

YUMMY expresso today. Hope yours is good too.

If anyone is looking to start a business, I highly recommend doing a business plan. I know that you may not want to put the work in but it is worth every second of your time. A couple of years ago I decided to develop one and wasn't sure where to go. I used one of the free templates from an organization called SCORE. SCORE is a non profit organization that is normally staffed by retired business people. They provide a wealth of knowledge, wisdom and experience. Check out their site and see if you can find a local chapter.

Click the link for SCORE Business Plans on the right hand column for more information.

Let's Get Started!

Jeff

Hey, Wake Up!

I read a quote today I have to share with you. It reads:

"You must go after your wish. As soon as you start to pursue a dream, your
life wakes up and everything has meaning."
-- Barbara Sher

What a great statement. Going after your unique wish or dreams will wake you up. Those are very powerful words for a coffee drinker like myself. This means I can stop drinking the "dirty water" and wake up without it.....NNAAHHHH! I still like my cup(s) of coffee even for just security purposes.

Use this type of reminder to keep dreaming of how you are going to use your unique talents and gifts and DON'T stop trying even if you fail. Don't stop dreaming even if they get put on the shelf temporarily. Just don't stop trying.

Two big cups today but from the Village Roasters in Scottsdale. They let me office there once a week. I am grateful.

Let's Get Started!

Jeff

Stuck in the Bathroom

Well Monday is here again...do you look forward to Mondays or dread it? Monday is the kick off to a new week. It is a bad sign if you are dreading it on Sunday night. I have even heard of people starting to dread Monday on Saturday night. Not good. If you are there, it is time to make a change. Start planning now.

Today at Starbucks, one lady I saw was not having a good day. I opened up my office for today and began to work. I have been diligently working on a project for one of my clients. We are organizing a second campaign around companies he might like to work for. This is one activity that has some results and can be exciting. In addition, I never know who I am going to speak with during the campaign. It is fun.

So I am deep into my work when I hear some commotion from behind me; centered around the bathroom doors. I look and quickly notice two s...bucks employees trying to figure something out. Evidently a lady had gotten locked in the bathroom. She had locked the door behind her and it would not open for her when she wanted to get out. The employees were frantically trying to use a knife to open the lock. One was on the telephone and the other was digging in with the knife. They had that nervous laugh going that was getting them nowhere fast.

Now granted I am no locksmith, however, I have broken into my in-law's house twice because my wife left her keys in the house while checking on it. Her parents were out of town on one of their month long driving excursions. So I thought I probably had more experience breaking in than the s...buckers did. I offered my assistance. I was not much help either. I could not open the door. It is a commercial door and lock system so they are a bit tougher to slide a Blockbuster card into and release the lock. I gave up after about 15 minutes.

For the next 30 minutes the 21 year old manager tried vigorously to "jimmy" (sorry all you Jimmys out there) the door and lock to open. They told the lady they called the fire department and a locksmith. The fire department never showed (as I don't think they really called them) but the locksmith did show. Within 10 minutes the lady was out. The s...bucks manager gave her and her mom a free drink and then left for a smoke.

What a day to spend your morning, locked in a Starbucks bathroom. I bet she will be reluctant to go to the bathroom in the future at a Starbucks. So what does all this have to do with job searching? Glad you asked.

Getting locked in a bathroom is an example of making the best when something unexpected happens. Job searching has enough ups and downs to keep you dizzy and sick while you are doing it. This is a simple reminder to just pick up where you left off when something unexpected happens. You should just keep moving forward on your planned activities and don't get knocked off your course. Anything can happen and will happen in due time. Your personality is affected when you react to getting locked in the bathroom. How do you react? Do you stay positive or do you get ticked off?

The lady who was locked in had a smile on her face. She was just happy to be out. She didn't yell or throw a tantrum even though she could have being locked in for almost 2 hours. It didn't ruin her mentality. She just left with her drink in hand and a story to tell later. Life is about stories to tell, not whining and complaining. So if you are whining and complaining (even on the inside) stop and start finding ways to keep focused on what good is going on.

Tall half-caf this morning and going home for lunch and a dopio macchiato to take to the library.

Let's Get Started!

Jeff

Your Quest For A "Dream Job"

How does one find their "Dream Job" anyways? Does it magically appear one day and knock you over the head? Does it sneak up on you and scare you into it? Do you just get worn out searching for it that you decide one day what it will be and then tell others about what it is in order to feel more comfortable about your decision? All these are good questions but how does it really work?

I personally don't like using the words dream job very much anyways. The reason I don't is because the idea of something being dreamy and work is difficult to imagine. But on the other hand, a dream job would be doing what you like to do, making the money you would like and having the ability to turn it off when you want. That would be a "dream job" wouldn't it? I think the real question is, how realistic is this dream job?

I have to tell you IT IS REALISTIC and DON'T YOU FORGET IT!

A dream job is sometimes found, sometimes planned and very attainable. However, there is no single or simple way to find one. It takes time, planning and a little luck (or God's grace) to find it. I don't think you should wait until it hits you but you should begin to define it for you. This process includes putting a plan together whereby you would be one step closer.

So what is your dream job plan? Do you have one? If not, start thinking about it and formalizing it. Include in your plan time to explore possibilities. Don't design a rigid plan that doesn't have time to mature or change it along the way. This type of plan is what we call dynamic or always changing or refining based on new information or experiences. Learn and experience all you can so that you can refine YOUR dream job plan each and every day.

In addition, remember it is your plan and not anyone else's. So don't ask others for their approval (unless you are married). Even then, it is a good thing to enlist your spouse in your plan. It may take a while to show them you are for real but it can be done over time. In addition, I don't advise you to make drastic changes that will negatively affect others (ie. your family). Friends who don't agree will get over it but when you have made commitments to your family, it is good to keep those commitments and explore your options judiciously (slowly over time).

Sometimes a family is willing to make drastic changes. Sometimes they are not. The goal is to not alienate them during this process because it can be difficult and time consuming. The commitment you made to them is first and foremost (even when it is difficult) but with good planing and dedication, you can transition into a new area in a suitable amount of time.

So yes, a dream job can be found or developed. One way I like to plan for the dream job is to list without any boundaries what a dream job would look like. For example, if you want to be able to work from anywhere, work in casual clothes, take vacations when you want, not have to manage others, want to work only 3 or 4 days a week, be able to travel to where you want to go, make $5,000 per month, or whatever, list these types of ideas down. When you have developed this list start thinking about ways to obtain these items. You might have to get rid of your debt or sell your house or move to another city or save a lot of money or whatever. These items will dictate how to produce your dream job.

If I took the example above and tried to put it into three or four jobs what would they be?

Here are ten...

1. Travel Writer
2. eBay Seller
3. Public Speaker
4. Some type of Designer (web or graphics)
5. Some type of Artist
6. Independent Sales Representative
7. Investor/Broker
8. Online Marketing Consultant
9. Product Distributor
10. Other Reseller or Other Consultant or Writer

These jobs if you become expert in a particular area would allow you to conduct your work wherever and whenever you would like. Yes you cannot start these jobs overnight. What you can do is work your way into them over time. Learn to be patient and start planning the direction you want to go in. You will be surprised if you plan and refine your plans along the way how fast it happens. Start today, start planning NOW!

I am at a new coffee house today. I moved out of my office because the family and I are moving to Denver, Colorado soon. We put the house up for sale and are ready to see a new world in Denver. So I have no office suite or home office any more. Life is going to be crazy over the next few months. We are looking forward to it. I think we will survive; we always do.

I am drinking a BIG, BIG cup of coffee at a new coffee place two blocks from my house. Now I can trudge over to my "office" here and get my work done without much driving. The coffee is just ok. Their decaf is not very good and has that yucky after taste you get with older, poorly roasted decaf's. That is ok, even I have to make due in order to work my "dream job."

Let's Get Started!

Jeff

Riding The Waves

I am not much of a surfer but think I could be given the right circumstances. What I do enjoy is boogey boarding. I know it is not really "riding the waves" but it kind of feels like it to me. What I really like about it is when the waves are strong, I can finally get up on one of them and start to ride it. I don't really care how far it takes me into shore but how high it is and what it feels like. I don't really even mind it when I misjudge the wave and it crashes down on me or with me in it. The feeling when I have totally lost any of the control and have to experience whatever the wave has for me can be fun at times. I normally just hold my breath and see what happens.

Job searching is kind of like that as well. We all have in our own mind the type of job we are looking for. We know the salary we want, the benefits, and the responsibilities. The picture of our ideal job is in our minds and if we could only get an employer to see us the way we see ourselves, the job will be ours. This mental exercise of defining the perfect job in our mind is one of our most basic qualities, control. I don't mean you are a control freak. What I do mean is you want what you want and hope you can find it.

When I first started riding the waves on my boogey board, I thought if I did things a certain way the wave will behave as I want it to. I knew I would have to try and fail in order to be good at surfing. I knew I would eventually be able to understand the wave. Well to my surprise that never happened. I never really understood the wave to the point I could control it. It was a lot of work to stay on it without getting too beat up or worn out. I was not really in control and neither are you when it comes to job searching.

One of the most basic principles in the search for a new job is the process is not ours to control. We may have some basic needs and desires on what we want from our next job. That is nice but the employer is the one who makes the decision or not to even contact us. They have a system of analyzing and sorting candidates that is foreign to us. They are the ones in control and not us.

So what does that mean for the average job seeker. How do we use this knowledge to our benefit? How do we determine what jobs to go after, how to structure a resume, what happens when we apply through a job board like CareerBuilder or Monster or Hot Jobs? If the job boards and local ads are not the most effective ways to find a job, then what works? These are the types of questions we are going to explore in future postings. Stay tuned and tell me about what has worked for you in the past.

One thing to keep in mind is that you cannot take for granted there is a system in place to weed you out not in. You cannot over look the little details in your job search. The details DO matter and knowing how an employer sees you means everything. Riding the job search wave is tough. There are a lot of ups and downs (probably more downs). There are many ways to get a better understanding of what your "impression" to an employer is. One of the most effective ways is to have others analyze what they think of you and your experience level. Ask friends and family or whomever to be honest with you and learn from what they tell you. Don't embrace everything they say. Embrace the first impressions they have of you. This information is golden. If you do this, your wave riding might be a little shorter.

I am drinking a cold glass of H2O today because it is way to FREAKIN' hot and humid here (113 and 35%) for the third week in a row. I know we have another 6 weeks of this stuff. I guess that is why the family and I take frequent dips in our play pool. It sure feels good that way. I am about to make a decaf expresso...aahhhh!

Let's Get Started!

Jeff

Life Happens

It was a HOT one here in AZ again today. We had a break for a couple of stretches over the last few weeks where we only got into the high 90's and 30% humidity. It felt like a break but many of you probably think it would be horrible to think the 90's was a break. I still don't understand why people like me live in a desert. Even though it is a dry heat, it still is unbearable. Every time I hear it is a dry heat, I always think that about an oven. An oven is dry heat also but at moderate temperatures it COOKS FOOD. I could cook on my sidewalk every afternoon if my wife would let me.

Today's job search strategy is about not getting stressed out when life happens. There are many times in life when things just don't go the way we thought it would. For guys like me, we get all "miffed." I am miffed because I always have a check off sheet for each and every day. If I don't get into my routine and get the things checked off, I feel like I haven't accomplished anything. Today was one of those days. What I have realized is that I really need some work in this area. So I Blog about it today in hope that I will eventually learn how to grasp the idea that sometimes Life Happens.

So with that, let life happen in your job search. When life happens and it doesn't fit into your job search, try to open your mind to embracing what life gave you. It won't be long when you are back into your job or job search routine. When life happens, we should recognize it and see what it has to offer us. Explore new directions, ideas, people or activities. If you do it might just chance your life, forever.

I went to two places to find good coffee and an internet connection to do some work. Both places had no access to the internet; life happened to me. I had an excellent dopio expresso macchiato. It was at a new place where the barista put a teeny, tiny amount of carmel on the froth. It gave it a mild sweet taste and it was good. I always think sweet in coffee is for whimps....maybe I am turning into a whing because I liked it.

Let's Get Started!

Jeff

Brain Training

I have been working with a particular client for three months now. We are still looking for a job for him. He is professional, has solid experience, a MBA and is currently employed. You would think we could find him a job fairly quickly. We have conducted letter campaigns to company directors and executives, email campaigns, cold call campaigns to local companies, over 250 submissions to job postings on the various job boards, and much more with no job offer yet. He has spoken with a couple of recruiters who wanted their clients to consider him but lost the slot to other qualified people.

He has been on two interviews for jobs he is qualified for. One company decided to go with someone else. We are waiting on the second company to make a decision. The interview was about 5 weeks ago and we have followed up with the hiring manager and he promises that no decision has been made. He says they are trying to decide on my client or one of two folks from the inside. Is he telling us the truth or just cannot give us a response? We will see but for now it is a waiting game.

So where do we go from here? Are you or someone you know in the same situation? This is where many job seekers eventually find themselves. I call it the "Impatient Stage". This is where bad decisions and frustration takes their toll on you. This is the time when you want to take a vacation from searching and get back to it later. You want to not have to think and worry about it for a while. Some people may even start thinking that their current job is not that bad or that they should go back to school or relocate somewhere else. These are wrong thoughts that permeate your brain. They are thoughts with a genesis of negativity and fear.

This is where most people stop. They tell themselves it will be just for a short time and they will get back into it. DON'T STOP; not even for a second. Maybe this is where you have gotten to in the past and stopped. Don't do it again. Don't let these thoughts dictate your life for you. It is time to train your brain.

When you start feeling this way, why don't you try something new. Try doing the opposite. Decide to ignore your fears and step up your search efforts even stronger. You may think I am crazy. Maybe I am, but I believe in most cases this is where you are just on the edge of success. This is where the old phrase: "When the Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going" works well.

"But it hurts so much," you say. Yes it does, it hurts bad. There is another famous saying that goes here: "No pain, no gain." I don't think that statement was said for physical activities alone. It is relevant for all activities including a job search. Job searching can be very painful but working through the pain and getting to the other side is well worth the effort. It is not until after you feel the pain can you really appreciate the gain.

This is where most people find reasons to go in a different direction. Don't let it happen to you. Don't do it this time. Try to embrace the pain and conduct the same activities you are doing but with more intensity, not less. This is also where you need to reassess the activities you are doing. Maybe you are not networking properly. Maybe your resume doesn't really sell you for the type of job you are looking for. Maybe you are looking for jobs that are way above you experience level. Whatever you decide, fix what you are doing and try something new. Try something that you have been putting off that you don't want to do. Call a friend or ask a neighbor you have known from the beginning you should. You know what to do. Now, go do it.

I know you can get through this tough phase. I know it because I have seen people do it over and over again. It just hurts for a short time. Think back on all the painful things in your life (not the ones you are in the middle of right now). Think about what you felt before, during and after they were over. They eventually ended and I will bet you learned a great lesson about yourself or others that has shaped you ever since. Find an example in your own past or ask someone you respect about their experiences. Hold onto these successes when you face your darkest moments in your job search.

See you on the other side. Let me know how it goes.

I had three cups of double expresso today. I guess that means I have had six expressos today. I probably should skip a day to get my system back to normal. They sure were good. Don't worry, four of the six were decaf. I have a great decaf coffee if anyone needs to stay away from the j-i-t-t-e-r-y stuff like I do but still want a great tasting coffee. Just let me know.

Let's Get Started!

Jeff

Job Change/Prison Break

Getting ready for a job search is exciting. You are thinking about "getting out" of the environment you are in. Maybe you have been thinking about it for a while, maybe just a short time; but you have been thinking and thinking and thinking. Well STOP thinking and start planning your escape.

Have you ever seen the movie Escape From Alcatraz? What a great movie to use as an example for the way you quit your job. It has all the elements: The observations, the planning , the enlisting people you trust into your plan, the digging out slowly, the staying up when no one else is to work, the day after day consistent work on digging through a wall to make a tunnel just wide enough to squeeze through, the patience to wait for the right situation in order to attempt the escape, the feelings of tension while you are making the break, the handling of things when they go wrong and the eventual complete exit from the prison to new challenges of staying hidden, and outsmarting those that want to bring you back and your eventual making of a new life for yourself in a new world. It is a physically and emotionally a great challenge

All the same activities one has to endure in order to "break out" of Alcatraz can be used to "break out" of a job environment. The underlying principles are persistence when the going gets tough and patience in order to not rush out in desperation. Finding the right job is tough but can be done. You will have people who don't think you can do it or think you are crazy. You may have a smaller group of people who will cheer you on. Whether you have cheerleaders or pessimists in your corner, it should not matter. You just keep going forward with your activities even when they seem fruitless.

Eventually you will refine your efforts and be in the right time at the right place and the stars will be aligned and you will find an opportunity that will present itself as a "perfect fit" for you. You may get hired; you may not. If you do get it, congratulations. If not, ALWAYS remember if there was one that means there is always another one right around the corner. Don't stop doing what you did to find the first one.

Life is not how you handle the easy things. It is about how you handle the tough stuff. The tough stuff is where character is built or destroyed. You decide to build or break down.

I had a great expresso machiato this morning. Now this expresso drink is not the sugary one from Starbucks that pretends to be a coffee drink. It is a double shot of expresso (1/2 decaf for me unfortunately) with as much foam/froth milk I can get on top. I swirl it a little to make the edges of the froth to turn light brown from the expresso below and WOW what a great drink. I could sip this all stinkin day.

Let's Get Started!

Jeff

Selling Yourself Part 2

As I have stated from my first post, finding a new job is part begging, part marketing and part selling. Let's take the rest of the selling in this post. We actually are conducting a form of selling all the time. At our current job, we are selling our abilities to our customers, our bosses and our coworkers. We are always walking that thin line between trying to do our job and trying to continue to let others know we know what we are doing at our job.

That type of activity is somewhat selling. We have to keep doing our job well in order to keep doing our job. We may not like it sometimes, but we have to keep doing it. When we are looking for a new job, the selling of ourselves is stepped up. It is not just a casual thing we do every day at work. It is magnified to where it is blatantly right in front for all to see. At work we can hide things or slink by on a task or two and most people would not know. But when we are looking for a new job, our tasks and activities many times don't produce the results we want. So our selling process is not working.

Why is it that many times we don't do the real work until we realize the easy stuff doesn't work or if it does, it is few and far between? I don't think it is malicious. I think we try and cut corners to hopefully make the process easier on us. We do activities that do not work very well like posting our resumes to job boards or for listings and wait for a response. These activities don't bear fruit very often but we continue them.

Selling yourself to a new job is difficult many times. It takes creative thinking on determining how you fit into the new working world. Once you have grasped how you fit, you should put together a job search campaign that centers itself around YOU. Because YOU are the product here and YOU are what a company is looking for and YOU have the skills and talents to do an effective job. So it is YOU that YOU are selling.

Selling YOU should take many forms. The one area most people try to ignore is the area of personal connections. I know it is tough to network with people by asking them to do something for you because it opens up a bunch of psychological challenges that make you feel uncomfortable. This is normal and your feelings are normal. When you are nervous about an activity, it is a good sign. It is a good sign because it signals the "pot of gold" on the other side. What I mean by that is that the only thing keeping you from finding your next job (the pot of gold) is you getting a little nervous to ask for help. That may be all it takes.

The statistics show that the most effective way to find a new job is to tap into our own personal network. Why it works is because these are the people who can vouch for you on a personal level. These are the people who know you best. Just like you think you know them best, they know you and many times are willing to go to bat for you. They do it because they are connected to you in some way. This connection in its simplest form is selling. The most effective selling you can do is when you have made a connection with someone. It is not manipulating it is just fact.

Give it a try and see how it goes. Ask 10 people in the next two days these three questions:
1. Do you know of anyone hiring (for the type of job you are looking for)?
2. Do you know of anyone who works at a company who may have the type of job you are looking for?
3. Most importantly, ask them if they don't know anyone off hand, do they know anyone who might know someone who does?

The most important question is number three. It is important because it opens up their network in a way you can only imagine. These three simple questions may change your life. Go try them today and let me know how it goes.

I just picked up a new bag of coffee from the Village Coffee Roasters yesterday. It was about 100 degrees and I left it in my car for a couple of hours while I met a friend for lunch. When I get back into my car, the aroma was fantastic. It was almost like I was sipping on an expresso all the way back to my office. What a great day.

Today I have no coffee because I wanted to get this post out before my morning run. I almost made one anyways but know it would probably mean less for me during the day when I need it most. Today is going to be a doosey, I think.

Let's Get Started!

Jeff

I Don't Feel Comfortable "Selling Myself"

Let's get one thing straight. If you want to find a new job, you are going to have to sell yourself. The idea you can just post some information online, a hiring manager will call, you schedule an interview and you show up as you want, discuss the job, they offer it to you and you work happily ever after is WRONG!!

If this has happened to anyone, please let me know. In rare cases when your skills are in demand and you are in the right place at the right time, this may happen. DON'T count on it. You are going to have to SELL, SELL, SELL yourself to that next job.

Once you accept this reality the real work can be done. There are two ways to begin to sell yourself effectively for a new job. The first is to determine your marketability. You really need to recognize how you fit into the "job environment" you are trying to locate. What job marketability means is your "profile" based on your level of expertise within a particular job. You may be a novice or an expert or somewhere in between. You cannot change that. The level you are at is what it is. Accept where you are and use it to your advantage. For instance, if you have been an engineer for only 2 years and are applying for jobs that require 5+ years of experience, don't expect many calls from hiring manager. Even if you are great at what you do, a potential employer won't even consider you at face value until you meet their basic criteria.

So what do you do? You find opportunities that only request your level of experience. This is where you are most marketable. When you go after these opportunities, you will have a better chance of getting contact from a recruiter or hiring manager. So the first way to begin to sell yourself is to know your marketability.

The second form of selling yourself is to ask good questions. One of the most effective ways to show a potential employer you are a good match is to understand what they are looking for. Asking well thought out, targeted questions uncovers the most important qualities and skills an employer is looking for. These questions can make or break your candidacy. For example, if you hear about a job opportunity from a friend at a company they work at, don't just send them one of your resumes. Ask them questions about the opening. If they don't know, ask if they or even you can talk to someone who might. Don't leave the conversation without getting as much information as you can or a contact person who can answer your questions.

If your friend is willing to ask questions for you, the best questions are those that open up your understanding as to what type of person the hiring manager is looking for. So ask, what one or two skills or experience levels is the most critical for the job. You can even ask what will be the primary responsibilities of the person who they hire. The answers to these questions will be the basis of your "sales campaign" for that job.

Don't ignore this step because it is one of the most crucial steps in the entire process. The more you know about a potential opening, the more you can sell yourself to the hiring manager.

These two areas, your marketability and learning about an opportunity first are going to form the basis of your "selling campaign" for that new job. We will get into more of what selling yourself means on another post. Keep up the hard work of trying to find what you are looking for. You will find it. It just may take some time.

Don't Stop Till You Drop! (my new motto)

I am at the library today. No coffee just some salt water taffy (yuck). I have had enough coffee this morning. I was out of my decaf so I had to pull together a couple of old (one or two weeks) packets of coffee that were way up in the cabinet to make my machiato this morning. It was not very good. I went to my local coffee house to pick up some more beans. I was out because my wife has started drinking expresso drinks. I had a review with her how to use my/the expresso maker. She got the hang of it pretty fast but now whenever she wants a cup of joe she goes pilfering through my/our coffee. This is the first time in our marriage this has ever happened (12+ years)...it makes me nervous. I guess there is a first for everything. It is fun to have her join my obsession so now I don't feel so guilty.

Let's Get Started!

Jeff

You Are NOT Alone.

It is tough to believe you are not alone in this job search process. There are literally millions of individuals who are looking for a new or different job at any given time. LITERALLY MILLIONS! Of course that means you are NOT alone in the process....but maybe you are. Let's think about it.

Let's say there are 2 million people looking for a job right now. How many live where you do? If we divide 2,000,000 by 50 (the number of states in the US) then there are 40,000 people looking in your state. How many large cities are there? Let's say an average of 3 in every state. Divide 40,000 by 3 and you get about 14,000 people looking in your city. Now there are about 30 different career fields so divide 14,000 by 30 and you get roughly 466 people who are looking for a job in the same field as you. Look outside your window, because they are out there; you are not alone.Now you may wish you were alone and there were five jobs to choose from.

I think we are REALLY talking about is the idea of feeling discouraged and alone as we are looking for a new job. We are all sending resumes to the job boards, company websites and our friends and family for job leads. We couple job search activities with our current job (or if unemployed worrying about not working), dealing with family issues, dating our mate or trying to find one, dealing with the car, the house/apartment, vacations, birthdays, anniversaries, cell phones, bills, personal appearance, health, and on and on it goes. Life is busy but do we make it that way so we don't have to deal with reality?

In reality our quest for a new job is simple. We are looking for a satisfying career where we can make a good/great living. We do feel alone because we are the only ones that know if we have made it or not. Many times we ignore our own realities so we can make sure others don't see that we don't have it all together. Time to STOP PRETENDING and get real with ourselves.

Getting real means asking others what they see in us; looking for the good, the bad and the ugly. If we learn how others perceive us, we may start to find subtle cues a potential employer might pick up on. We may not mean to project a certain negative image but inadvertently do.

Should we struggle through life by ourselves? Many times we try to but in reality, those around us are affected as well. So it is virtually impossible to be alone in this process, even if we try to. Try and bring at least one new person into your job search. Pick someone you respect but may not normally not ask advice of. Ask them out for coffee or invite them over. Ask them the following two questions:

1. What do you think my best two qualities are?
2. What two things do you think I really need to work on?

Ask this person to be brutally honest with you and let them know you will NOT overreact. You want to grow as a person and you need their opinion. See where the conversation takes you. Don't hide from the truth, embrace it and it will "set you free."

Don't stay alone when searching for a new job. Open up to others and see if they will open up more to you.

I am out of the office today hanging at Starbucks drinking another tall, half-caf boring cup of coffee. The people at Starbucks probably think I am weird. I buy a tall coffee with change every time. I do this because I have a had time paying $1.73 for a cup of coffee when I can make a better one at home for about $.45. I guess $1.73 is a small price to pay for "office space".

Why do I pay with change? Glad you asked, I do it because I don't really feel like I am spending money on it. I pile a bunch of change up in my 4Runner and spend it whenever I want a splurge in life. Sometimes it is coffee, sometimes a muffin or better a $2.50 scoop of mint choc. chip icecream. My wife thinks I am nuts but knows I am a bit tight with my money. Being tight should sustain me for the long haul. At least that is what I tell myself.

Let's get started!

Jeff

WWFF Introduction

Hello and thank you for visiting WWFF. I look forward to our friendship and mutual dealings as I develop this blog.

My name is Jeff Fleming. I am no expert in job searching but try every day to become more of one as well as a pupil on the most effective way to find a new job. I want to hear from you on what you have done to find your past and current jobs. In addition, I want to provide what you need to "keep going" when the search gets tough. Job searching can be the most challenging, frustrating and even the most exhilarating experience ever. To land the job of your dreams is all of our goals. I found mine, now let's help you find yours.

My posts will have a common theme to them. They will be either about job searching, coffee or even small business development. These are my favorite subjects so why not go from one to another as the wind blows.

Why title this blog "Will Work For Food"?

Glad you asked. Job searching is challenging in and of itself. Many times it feels like you are just "begging" the hiring manager, HR person, secretaries, gatekeepers, and even the job boards and postings to just "GIVE YOU A CHANCE". We all just wish someone would just give us a chance and pay us well while doing it. The entire process feels like "begging" so I wanted to title the blog in order to keep me reminded of a simple way to describe how we may feel during the search process.

In no way do I want to demean those who are out on their luck and in the streets because of mental illness or bad circumstances. Maybe this blog could be an inspiration to those of you who walk by the down-and-outers as an encouragement to assist them far beyond a little change in their coffer. We are all just a short trip away from being down-and-out ourselves so let's pay respect when it is due and find a way to do more.

Today I am at Starbucks drinking a tall, half-caf. I am not a big fan of Starbucks but they do have wireless access in virtually any city I go to. More of that later.

Let's get started!

Jeff