Tag Archives: Job hunting

Take The Risk

Without risk, faith is an impossibility.  Kierkegaard

I have posted previously about some of my favorite reading material.  Fortunately, that list keeps getting longer and longer.  I was thumbing through a book I read years ago and I came to a page telling of an interesting study.

The book is The Journey From Success to Significance by John Maxwell.  The title itself speaks volumes.  It assumes you’re starting from success and want to make even more out of your life.  A good portion of the population want to get to success.  Once there, they think they’ve made it.  Nope.  Success is just a stop-over on the way to significance.

Like the definition of success, the definition of significance will mean different things to almost everyone.  But stop and ponder that for a minute . . . .  Think BIGGER.  Don’t just define what success looks like for you.  Define what significance means to you and set your sights on that!  I promise you, the two are very different.

On to the study.  The following is quoted verbatim from pages 28 & 29 from The Journey From Success To Significance:

Anthony Campolo has recounted a sociological study in which fifty people in their late nineties were asked one question: If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently?  It was an open-ended question allowing any kind of response, yet three answers kept surfacing from the people:

1) If I had it to do over again, I would REFLECT MORE.

2) If I had it to do over again, I would RISK MORE.

3) If I had it to do over again, I would DO MORE THINGS THAT WOULD LIVE ON AFTER I AM DEAD.

What a perfect description of the preparation for significance!  These near centenarians didn’t miss any of the traditional trappings of success.  They didn’t wish for more money, power or fame.  They wanted to get beyond themselves and do something that mattered, boldly and purposefully.  They recognized the value of a life given to significance.

“Get beyond themselves.”  What a powerful statement.  I submit that the reason most people will never achieve success (even as they define it for themselves) is because they can’t get out of their own way.  They find all the reasons why something can’t or won’t work.  As a result, they stay stuck where they are.

So what’s in your heart right now?  Is there something stirring there?  Is something speaking to you?  Don’t ignore that voice.  Listen to it.  Pray over it.  Act on it.  Recognize your gifts and that you have a lot to offer this world.  I have had the great fortune to see glimpses of how people view me.  Believe me, you engender more influence and respect than you think.  You are more powerful than you would ever believe.  Our Maker certainly isn’t in the business of making mistakes.  You have the power and all the tools you need to have a life of significance.  As Erika Napoletano has said: when are you going to admit that there is something glorious about being you?

Have you been out of work for a while and nothing seems to be going right?  Are all the doors being closed on full-time employment opportunities?  Maybe it’s time to take a look around for that window God opened for you.  Feel that breeze?  Yeah, it’s coming from somewhere.  Go find the source.  Maybe that opening leads to you starting your own business instead.  Maybe being an employee is not where you’re supposed to be.  Maybe you’re supposed to be a business owner and the one that offers opportunities to others.  Are you in a failing relationship?  Are you refusing to take ownership of your responsibilities to make things better?  Is it the right relationship for you?  Ask the tough questions and be honest with the answers.  There’s a better life out there…for every one.  Go and get it.  Make it happen.

If you step out and take the risk, might you lose? It’s a possibility.  Will the outcome be precisely what you were working toward?  Perhaps, perhaps not.  Will you regret taking the risk?  Never.  If you step out and act on what’s in your heart I promise you, you will learn more about yourself and your limits (or what you thought were your limits) than you ever thought possible.

It Won’t Be Like This For Long

It Won't Be Like This for Long

It Won’t Be Like This for Long (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Are you out of work?  How long have you been looking?  How long has your neighbor, friend, sister, whoever…been looking?  Or are you worried that your current position is going away soon?  Either way, it’s not good.  Stress and anxiety are common ailments through this phase of life.  And what’s worse is that if this isn’t your first round of unemployment, it more than likely won’t be your last.

You’re probably thinking, “geez Chris, I sure wish you wouldn’t be such a downer.”  Well, I’m not a downer.  I’m actually a hopeless optimist; always a glass-is-half-full kind of guy.  I have long preferred to see the good in a situation rather than the bad or negative.  That’s just how I’m wired.

But I’ve been where you are.  I know it’s not fun.  Actually, “fun” is a word that shouldn’t be anywhere near the situation.  But believe me, there are better-paying positions, better bosses, and better opportunities out there.  I know, I’ve found them.  I’ve shared them.

It’s important to realize that no matter what your current situation is “It Won’t Be Like This For Long.”  I put it in quotes because I’m stealing the words from one of my all-time favorite artists: Darius Rucker.  That’s my kind of music.  I listened to that song on the way in to work this morning and I thought about things from his perspective in the song.

Think about it, how many things last forever?  With the singular exception of God’s love, nothing does.  Periods of pain, discomfort, joy and happiness come and go.  They do not go on without end.  If you’re a parent, you know this well.  You bring your new baby home and the next thing you know they start crawling.  Then they say their first word.  Then they start kindergarten.  Wow, how did that happen?  Next they’re getting their driver’s license.  After that they graduate from H.S.  Then college.  Next they get married.  And can you believe it?  They’re now having a baby of their own.  All that happened and all you did was turn around.  It happens that fast.

As I was listening to the song this morning, I realized how lucky I am.  I recently came out of a job search with a new position.  The job-search process was very cleansing.  It was difficult but it also had its moments.

Like what you might ask?  First, the love and support of my amazing wife.  I’ve had that for a wonderful 18 years.  I do not take it for granted at all.  But when hard times come – and they will always come – I am fortunate to have chosen my wife.  It’s the best decision I have ever made.  With any luck, your spouse is like mine.  One that loves you truly and whole-heartedly.  One that will support you through anything.  If so, that’s more than half the ballgame right there.  And if THEY’RE lucky, you love and support them every bit as much.  That’s the way it needs to be if it’s not.

Secondly, new friends.  To say that being unemployed throws you out of your comfort zone is an understatement.  Everything about being unemployed is uncomfortable – at least in the beginning.  It gives you an opportunity to plug-in to new networking groups, volunteer opportunities and people.  One of my favorite quotes is: when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.  You might not know why you lost your job.  But maybe it was for the singular purpose of meeting someone you would have never met otherwise.  Maybe it was so you could connect with someone who can help you build your own business.  Maybe it was to meet the one person who was going to tell you the one thing you needed to hear to change the trajectory of your life.  Laugh or sneer if you want.  I’ve seen it happen.  It’s miraculous.

In my recent job search, I met several people I now consider good friends.  I hope as they read this, they know who they are and smile.  We were sharing a painful yet cathartic experience.  We were supporting and encouraging one another.  I have learned so much from them.  To this day, they are still encouraging me and I hope I’m still encouraging them.

Next, new opportunities.  When we are going about our life, going through the daily activities, things can have a tendency to sneak up on us.  In my case, I didn’t realize the negative impact my job was having on my life.  It happened slowly, day by day.  It was such a slow process I didn’t see or feel it happening.  It was only after I was gone that I realized how stressed I had become.  I felt liberated.  It was entirely freeing.  I started networking even before I lost my job.  I knew it was coming and had a few weeks to mentally prepare.

I came across multiple opportunities and had many interviews.  The opportunities took me from Chicago to San Francisco and Seattle.  You might as well have a little fun creating possibilities for yourself while you’re uncomfortable.  Open yourself up to look at all the opportunities and possibilities before reflexively saying “no”.  Out of all the positions I interviewed for, only 2 paid less than what I had previously been making.  Most paid considerably more.  If I had still been at my previous job, I wouldn’t have even known about what else was out there.  I would have still had my blinders on wondering what I was going to do with the rest of my career.

Best of all, more family time.  I was driving home from a networking meeting one morning and my wife called me.  My in-laws were in town and my wife wanted to know if I wanted to join them at the zoo.  It was a glorious day.  The sun was out, it was about 70 degrees and I had my sunroof open listening to my favorite tunes on the radio.  If I had been working, I would have missed that opportunity to be out and about with my family on such an awesome day.  It also happened to be spring break so the kids were home all week.  I got to see them a lot.  Later in the week, I got to join my wife and kids on their annual trip to the bowling alley with my dad – their Grandpa.  Years ago, my parents started the tradition of taking them bowling on spring break and my dad has continued the practice in the years since we lost mom.  I can tell you this: it’s more fun to be sitting in a bowling alley at 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon with your family than sitting in a weekly meeting.  Take it when you can get it.  Appreciate what you have.

Are there any other advantages you can think of while being unemployed?  I would love to hear your thoughts.

No matter what you’re going through, remember this: “This phase is going to fly by so baby just hold on.  It won’t be like this for long.”

Words are important; tone is critical.

It’s not so much what you say, as the manner in which you say it.

It’s not so much the language you use as the tone in which you convey it.

“Come here!” I said sharply,

And the child cowered and wept.

“Come here,” I said

He looked and smiled

And straight to my lap he crept.

Words may be mild and fair but the tone may pierce like a dart;

Words may be soft as the summer air but the tone may break the heart.

For words come from the mind,

They grow by study and art.

But the tone leaping from your inner self

Reveals the state of the heart.

Whether you know it or not, whether you mean it or care,

Gentleness, kindness, love and hate

Envy and anger are there.

Then, would you quarrels avoid

And peace and love rejoice?

Keep anger not only out of your words,

Keep it out of your voice.

Is your job search going mobile? It should.

Here are some quick stats to get you thinking about one way you should approach your job search.

  • 1 in 5 of all job searches are now made via mobile (Google)
  • 30% of company traffic is now coming from a mobile device (WRC)
  • 63% of passive candidates used mobile to search for their next role (Educate)
  • 90% of smart phone users use mobile to read emails and search the web (ALP)
  • 61% of users will go to a competitor site if you do not have a mobile site (Forbes)

In my life there have been two distinct job-search worlds; one when I graduated from college, the other just recently.

Here’s what my job-search world looked like when I graduated from college:

I graduated in May of 1995.  The next month I got married.  At that point, we certainly had no money and only an idea of what we wanted our future to look like.  Obviously, the first priority was finding me a job.  It seemed only fair.  At that point, my wife had two.  Actually, I was working a retail position.  But it was time to find that ever elusive “career” track.

Back then I read the want-ads in the Sunday paper and circled the best possibilities.  Because we did not have a home computer or printer I would find some time during the week to go over to my father-in-law’s office and use his.  I would update my resume and write a cover letter, print it out and put it in the mail.  So after reading an ad on Sunday I would be lucky to have my resume/cover letter in the mail by Wednesday or Thursday.  Talk about lag time.  Obviously, it was not the quickest or most efficient system.  But I had to use the resources available to me the best way I knew how.

Contrast that to what my job-search world looked like when I was searching for a new position just a few months ago:

This time, no want ads.  It would have been difficult to do that since I haven’t had a subscription to the paper in several years anyway.

I did lean on all the other avenues available to me, however.  The most valuable was my network.  I have spent the intervening 15+ plus years since my post-college job search building it and I knew it would be a powerful tool.

I also created several job-search agents on various job boards that met specific criteria I entered.  The various systems would then email me the daily results.  By the time I woke up every morning, I would have anywhere from a handful to several dozen opportunities waiting for me in my inbox.  Even before my feet hit the floor in the morning, I could respond to any particular opportunity I chose by submitting my resume which was stored on my smart phone.  I use the Galaxy S II and am a huge fan.

I had several versions of my resume to reflect various aspects of my career.  I could choose which one to send based on the details of the opportunity.  If a particular opportunity required me to make additional changes to my resume I would get on my laptop, make the changes and store the new version on my phone as well.

If a lead came through that looked really exciting I would get on Linked In and see if anyone in my network worked at that particular company.  I would then reach out to them and ask for their help in networking with the right people at the target company.

The best example I can think of to illustrate how things have changed in my two job-search worlds is this story:

I was meeting a member of my network for lunch.  I got there early and as I was a waiting, another member of my network who happened to be located in Pennsylvania had forwarded me a really good job lead.  I looked through the details, composed an email/cover letter and sent it off with the appropriate version of my resume.  By the time my lunch was over I had already received a response from the recruiter.

It’s fascinating to me how things have changed.  Years ago, looking through the paper it took days to respond. Today, anyone can receive and respond to opportunities in real-time all thanks to advances in technology, their network and their smart phone.  Did I mention I love my Galaxy S II?

If you don’t use your mobile device for your job search, you are missing out on a lot of opportunities.  The ability to respond to opportunities in a timely manner is essential.  Don’t miss out.

To get the job would you do this?

This is by far one of my all-time favorite recruiting stories.

Years ago, a co-worker was working to fill several administrative positions.  Part of her responsibility was to verify the information a candidate would enter on their application.  It was common for her to ask candidates to send in copies of their high-school or college diplomas as a way to verify their education.

One day she stopped by my cube and handed me a fax and with a big grin on her face asked “does anything look out-of-place to you?”  It was a copy of a high-school diploma.  The copy was a bit grainy but it was still fairly easy to read.  I read it three times before I finally started to believe what I was reading.

Keep in mind that a candidate was submitting this document as proof of their high-school graduation.  It had not one…not two…but three typos on it.  I must say, it was quite an accomplishment to pack so many typos in a document that had so little verbiage.

As if that wasn’t significant enough, the signature for the district’s superintendent was not the correct name.  It was fairly common knowledge who the superintendent was because that particular school district was in the news a lot and they were currently on the hunt for a new superintendent.

To this day I still do not know what would possess someone to submit a document like that.  I understand there are some people who are willing to lie, cheat or steal.  But in this case, if they are willing to falsify employment documentation, don’t you think they would have someone look it over?  I guess that story ended the way it should have.  Cleary, my co-worker passed on the opportunity to hire this individual.

A recruiter’s job

I was talking with a friend the other day and our conversation reminded me of an experience I had while working at a job fair.

It was several years ago (maybe 2002 or 2003) and I had signed up to attend a career fair for the company I was working for at the time.  It had been a long day as I was the only recruiter there so I talked to EVERYBODY that came by.  During a lull in the crowd this gentleman stopped by and started a conversation.  He had a technical background and I was there recruiting for sales people – I’m a sales recruiter, that’s what I do.

I told him I was not aware of any specific technical positions at our company because I had a different focus.  I told him I could take his resume, share it with the other recruiters on the team and that he could also apply on-line directly to any specific position that interested him.  Judging by his reaction, you would have thought I threatened his life and the lives of each of his family members.  He  instantly started wagging a finger at me yelling about the ‘black hole’ and how it was my job to find him a job.

For those of you that know me, when I say that I am a really easy-going, laid-back kinda guy, it wouldn’t be a shock to you.  That’s the way I like to live my life.  But when necessary, all that can go away.  And it did, considering the way he reacted to my comments.  He had clearly fallen prey to a serious misconception that I now felt was my duty to cure him of – and quickly.

I told him as much as he may want to belive it, my company does not (did not) pay me to find him a job.  I had a long list of positions I was tasked with filling and THAT was my job.  I also told him it was not my job to find any single individual a job.  My job was and is to find the best possible candidate I could find to fill the positions I was responsible for.

That’s the message I want to share with you today.  When you are in the midst of your job search, remember that it is not the responsibility of the recruiter to find you a job.  They are responsible for evaluating as much talent as they can find and making selections based on that pool.  It’s also important to remember that no matter what news you’re hearing, you must always stay professional.  The gentleman in this example lost any and all opportunity to find a position with my company because of his behaviour.  True to my word, I did go back and share his resume with my team.  But it came with a  warning to stay away from him.  He was far too volatile to consider.

And just so you know, there are people out there that will be more than happy to take your money, leading you to believe they will guarantee they will find you a job.  It is my strong recommendation you tell those kinds of people what they can do with their offer.  They are about getting your money not finding you a job.

In your job search, stay positive and work with trustworthy people.  How do you know if they’re trustworthy?  Ask lots of questions and trust your gut.

Happy hunting!

How should you submit a resume via email?

In your job search, a recruiter or hiring authority has asked you to send them your resume directly.  Or, perhaps someone in your network has told you “I heard about an opportunity you would be perfect for.  I know who you need to send your resume to.  Here’s the email address.”  They provide you with the email where they would like you to send it.

Ideally, the subject line should contain only three things: 1) your name 2) the word ‘Resume’ and 3) the city or location of the opening.  It should look like this:

Chris Gustafson Resume – Dallas

Those elements in a subject line tell the recipient everything they need to know about what the email is for and what it contains.  There’s no guess-work or excess information.  If there are any other details you believe should be included, I recommend you leave that for the text of the email.  I recommend adding the city because all too often recruiters or hiring authorities have multiple positions in multiple markets.  Listing the location is a very simple way for them to know where the candidate is located.  It also makes it easy for future searching.  Presenting your information this way prevents the recruiter from having to guess what email your resume is in or opening multiple emails trying to find the one with your resume in it.  Additionally, if it gets forwarded, more often than not, nothing needs to be changed in the subject line.  It’s already ready to go.

And another quick suggestion is to label (name) your resume with your name only; first and last.  Don’t put the date it was last updated or anything else.  It just makes things confusing. Ultimately, you want to make the experience of receiving your resume via email an easy experience.  Who ever you send it to will want to name it based on their system so having a lot of additional information is unnecessary.