Thursday, December 30, 2010

New Year's Goals

It’s New Year’s time. Get those dusty old goals out and and polish them for the new year. While your friends are making New Year’s resolutions you can be setting goals and achieving success. How many people make New Year’s resolutions on January 1 and give them up by January 30th? Why? There are at least two reason for this. First, some people are not the structured goal setting type. Second, some folks only work with part of a plan to succeed.

In the first case, you may prefer to stay open to new information and be flexible when making decisions. Rigorous goal setting may be outside your mode or abilities. It doesn’t mean that you do not set goals, you have goals and attain those goals in a different way. In Myers-Briggs terminology you deal with the outside world as a “P” or perceptive person. The “P” folks out there prefer a, “...spontaneous way of life, and like to understand and adapt to the world rather than organize it.” That’s okay.

The second case presents others who set goals but forget to realize and keep in mind the benefits of achieving the goal. Or they don’t break down the big goal into smaller bites and set time lines. Or they don’t write down the goal and communicate it to people who might help.

There is more that goes into goals than just making a resolution. Goals need to be written down, shared, committed to a time line and tied to a benefit. Plus, each step or mini goal needs to be recognized, appreciated, and celebrated when it’s met. Often goals are made and written down, but then our daily activity doesn’t fit into meeting our goal.

Like my friend and chiropractor tells me, things work better when they are in alignment. That holds true for our physical body and our lives. This is the case for those of us who are more spontaneous in our goals and for those of us who find comfort in planning out the detailed steps in achieving our goals.

It’s New Years; may this year be happy, prosperous and successful for you.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas 2010 filled with hope

Christmas is in the air and have you noticed how warm and kind people are in the stores? I was at the movies tonight with my daughter and there was a traffic jam exiting the Mall at 10:15 PM. This is a lot different than just a year ago.  There seems to a sense of hope for the future. My wish is that you’ll experience the peace and hope of the Christmas Season. And may the new year be filled with success and prosperity.

I have worked with over 200 people this year. Many of the folks I coached, trained or presented to were motivated and invigorated in the hope of an improving economy. And a good number of my clients who had been in transition for over a year landed a full time jobs. They did that with some new tools, hard work and a commitment to working their network. They quickly found that the more they called their contacts and asked for help and support in their job search the more interviews they were getting. 

Making the calls

It’s easy to say it’s a numbers game... it’s hard to move out of your comfort zone, learn new skills, practice phone and networking scripts and ask for help. They tell me that it’s even harder to accept people’s help when you have nothing in return. But with me in their corner, cheering them on, they made the phone calls, got the meetings, did well in the interviews and landed the job.

This November I was privileged to give the Keynote Speech, which was an inspirational talk to the Career Stimulus Program’s 150 attendees. For weeks afterward, I ran into people who told me how motivated they were by the talk. They emailed me with accounts of how it gave them courage to carry on and trust in a higher power. As I said at the end of the presentation, I cannot guarantee when, but each one of your will find a job, if you trust in your God, your friends and family and most importantly, have faith in yourself.

Have a Merry Christmas and may the blessings of the Christ Child fill your heart, your home and your future. Happy 2011

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Holidays, Job Search and the Blues

One of the hardest things I have to do when I am working with someone in job search is supporting them through the blues. Especially when the blues is really depression. I work with a counselors and psychologist and if I suspect that someone is dealing with more than the blues I refer them to seek professional help.

The Mayo Clinic cites the following as symptoms of depression:
  • Feelings of sadness or unhappiness
  • Irritability or frustration, even over small matters
  • Loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities
  • Reduced sex drive
  • Insomnia or excessive sleeping
  • Changes in appetite — depression often causes decreased appetite and weight loss, but in some people it causes increased cravings for food and weight gain
  • Agitation or restlessness — for example, pacing, hand-wringing or an inability to sit still
  • Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements
  • Indecisiveness, distractibility and decreased concentration
  • Fatigue, tiredness and loss of energy — even small tasks may seem to require a lot of effort
  • Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or blaming yourself when things aren't going right
  • Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things
  • Frequent thoughts of death, dying or suicide
  • Crying spells for no apparent reason
  • Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches
For someone going through transition due to a job loss some of these symptoms are normal and natural... but when these symptoms persist and even grow stronger action is called for. Counseling is one of the most important actions a person can take. Some folks will require medication in addition to counseling and there is nothing wrong with that. I’m amazed the number of folks who will routinely take cold or flu medicine but balk when depression medication is suggested.

Acute and chronic depression is a real disease that people are suffering from. Like the flu, cancer or a broken leg, depression is a medical condition that requires medical / psychological attention.  Psychologist tell us that the holidays are a difficult time for all of us, many people feel depressed during this time of year.  Even Elvis sung about a “Blue Christmas” and bouts of the Blues are understandable especially in our current economy.

From a career standpoint, I teach a “first things first” strategy. If you’re looking for a job you’d better develop a professional resume. Likewise, if you’re suffering from depression you need to deal with that before you’ll be able to do well in a job search. Just in the amount of energy required to conduct a professional job search, a depressed person will lag behind his or her competition. A job search requires a positive attitude; as one colleague says, “A job seeker has to have the enthusiasm of a puppy when the door bell rings!” I don’t know how someone can do that when they do not have the energy get out of bed, little less make 10 phone calls.

My hope is this, if you are feeling down and are demonstrating some or many of the symptoms listed above, contact your doctor for a proper depression screening. Seek out a counselor, psychologist or psychiatrist and get the proper treatment to help you get ready for a job search or career change.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Being Late: The Interview Killer

  This is a problem that has plagued humanity for millennia. The Romans had one solution--slightly impractical--although no one was ever late a second time. Beyond it being an ancient behavior, it is a killer in the interview process. Nothing communicates “Don’t hire me!” more clearly than showing up late for an interview. Sadly, for too many people being late is habitual. 

  What do people perceive when you arrive late to an interview or any meeting? Two things pop to mind:
First, it is rude and shows a lack of respect for everyone who arrived first. It is simply poor manners.
Second, when a positive impression is most important, you’re late! You’ll be late with deadlines, late with key information and late when the team needs you most. You’re not trustworthy!
  Tardiness is not allowed in job search, you need to be early to make a positive impression in the interview. When you’re shooting for a promotion or in a job search erase tardiness from your life. Wake up early and make sure you are early for everything you do. Create a mindset that being on time is for average people and you’re above average. Remove the things that set you up for being late; mitigate the risks before they result in a situation where you’ll be late.

  I know of accountability groups that sometimes deal with people being late...What if someone in your team or group is late, what can you do? Let everyone in the group know that this is not acceptable behavior. Point out that it is disrespectful to the members of the group who arrived on time, unprofessional and disruptive to the efforts/goals of the group. Remind the whole group that the purpose of the group is to help each other change habits and behaviors that are keeping them from achieving their goals and or a job offer.

  Beyond that what can you do: This is a good example when giving feedback in a group setting is acceptable since the whole group has been affected by the negative behavior. If people cannot change the behavior, invite them to leave the group; they may return when they can behave more professionally.

  One responsibility for an accountability group is to point out things that are hindering a member’s job search. If that member is being serious about a job search they need to be professional in all aspects of their life and actions speak louder than words.

  So be professional, be early and be prepared to do your very best in interviewing, networking and in every interaction you have during your day. You never know where that job offer will start from or end up.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Job Search Plus Holiday Stress

In the last couple of weeks I’ve had a number of clients tell me that they are overwhelmed by everything they need to do to launch and carryout a job search. They tell me that they cannot believe everything they need to do, all the meetings, classes and lectures they need to attend. Yes, it’s overwhelming... getting a professional resume put together, researching target companies, creating a contact list, developing positive responses to common interview questions and we’re just getting started. It’s a lot to do. That’s why I tell my clients and friends that people in Job Search are not unemployed... they’re working full-time.

“OMG, what about social media? LinkedIn and getting my profile complete and not to mention how long it takes to fill out some of these job applications...” Gee, I’m getting stressed just writing this, so what do you need to do, especially since the holidays are just around the corner?

I don’t know who first said, “Plan your work and work your plan.” But, this little cliche is a good device for decreasing stress in your life. Stephen Covey has another cliche that says, “First things first,” and I’m a big fan of Franklin Covey planners because they really help organize the goal setting process into daily activity where you can actually measure your progress toward a goal.

It’s important to realize that for most people planning decreases anxiety and stress. It allows us to see what needs to be done and what is next to do. If we follow Covey’s advice to do first things first, we are able to evaluate what activities are important and urgent and what activities are dependent on other activities which have priority. Okay, that is easy to say.

When we are at work, customers or bosses provide priorities to our day. With your career plan or job search you have to provide the priorities and create a sense of urgency. I sit down with some clients and we develop a formal plan of action for their career or job search. Some clients already have the plan but they haven’t written it down. Often when we keep things in our head they get confused or muddled. Sometimes we forget something that is essential in order to proceed.

Writing a plan down, putting it on a time line is a further way to eliminate stress.  It allows you to see in concrete terms how something is going to work. With a plan and a schedule written down you are able to fit in other activities that are necessary but ancillary to your job search. Christmas shopping for example or my favorite holiday activity, Christmas parties. I always want to make sure I have time for going to Christmas parties. They’re great networking opportunities.

Sit down and plan out what you need to do... if it’s a struggle, give me a call! I do this with clients all the time. When necessary, hire a coach or consultant to help you get up and running quickly. Remember the holidays are stressful enough, do some planing and enjoy the holidays.