“Big ideas and big plans are often easier – certainly no more difficult – than small ideas and small plans. BELIEVE BIG.”
This is taken from the book, The Magic of Thinking Big.
Tag Archives: Significance
Thought for the day: Day 8
“Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.”
I pulled this from the book Destination Success by Dwight Bain. It’s crazy how true it is. The bolder you are, the luckier you seem to get. But it’s not luck. Things begin to fall into place. Taking a step out on faith can be scary. But you’re rewarded in ways you can never imagine.
Thought for the day: Day 6
“My life doesn’t work without my wife!”
Thought for the day: Day 5
“What strengths do I most admire about my spouse?”
You and your spouse are in this thing called life together. Take stock of what you have there. You married them for very specific reasons. What were they? After you write out the list, might I suggest you write your spouse a note and let them know you haven’t forgotten? How surprised would they be if they read a note from you pointing out their best qualities? You could write one note for each individual strength each day for five days or one note a week for 5 weeks or however you think they would enjoy it the most.
Thought for the day: Day 4
What are five things you are looking forward to?
We all need things in our life we are looking forward to. Heck, some of them could even be work related. Are you finishing your degree? Planning that dream vacation? Waiting to watch your child graduate? Are there any babies or grandchildren on the way? I think you get the idea.
Thought for the day . . .
Years ago I started the practice of writing motivational quotes on a note card and carrying the card with me. Several times throughout the day I would take out the card and read it. That practice kept me focused. When I started to feel down or was getting knocked off track I would pull out the card and reflect on it. The topics of the cards ranged widely. That’s what made it so fun and easy to do.
I want to share this daily practice with you. Over the next sixty days I will be posting a motivation. While they won’t be listed in a specific order, they will fall roughly into the following categories:
1) Taking Stock 2) Facing Your Fears 3) Being Courageous/Taking Risks 4) Taking Action.
My desire with this daily exercise is that you will reflect on the words and what they mean to you. If a particular quote strikes you and you want to comment, please do. I would love to hear your thoughts. If the quote makes you think about something new or about something in a different way, that’s great.
The quotes come from a variety of places. Many are from books I’ve read, some are from famous people, some are from speakers at conferences I have attended through the years. When I know the source, I will cite it.
See you tomorrow.
Always Assume Positive Intent
You’ve been there. You know what it’s like to interview for a position several times over the course of a few weeks. The interviews seem to be going well. Why else would they have you back time and again to talk to yet other person if the interviews weren’t going well? At each stage of the interview process you find yourself inching up the food chain; first it was the recruiter you spoke to. Then it was the hiring manager, then their boss, then their boss. And just for good measure they have you talk to another high-level individual in the company for another perspective.
During the process you’re minding your P’s and Q’s, sending thank-you notes and asking questions about next steps. You are doing what you should to stay on their radar. But after that last interview, much to your dismay, the lines of communication have been cut off and you don’t know why. You are not getting any feedback or responses of any kind. That’s odd because all through the process they had been fairly quick to respond. The fact you are not getting communication from them is uncharacteristic of the process to date.
So, it’s been several days since the last time they communicated with you. Everything had been going very well. You have every reason to believe you are (or were) a top candidate. What do you do? The short answer is: keep communicating with them. You have no idea why you haven’t heard from them and you have no way of knowing what is going on on their side. So until you hear otherwise, assume things are still on track and move forward accordingly.
People get sick. Their kids get sick. Decision makers go on vacation. Offer-letter approvers are out for a few days. Maybe the position hasn’t even been approved yet and they are frantically working to get the position approved in order to move forward. I know it would be nice if they let you know that but they haven’t.
Until they tell you “no”, you are still in contention. So send them a professional, polite note once a week. And let them know that’s what you are going to do. Let them know they will continue to hear from you until you hear from them.
I don’t know why we are wired the way we are. Humans too easily gravitate to the negative. “They didn’t like me after all. I haven’t heard from them in so long. I know I didn’t get that job.” We start to assume the worst, second guess and start spiraling. I’m as guilty of that as the next person.
A great piece of advice I received from a former boss told me “always assume positive intent.” Until you have reason to believe otherwise, believe in the positive. Maybe they did go ahead and hire somebody and didn’t have the decency to let you know. It happens. Keep communicating with them and make them tell you no.
I once interviewed for a position where I was communicating with the hiring manager several times a week. It was a position I really wanted. Then all of a sudden, there was nothing. It got to the point I put a note on my calendar a couple of weeks out to remind me to send one final email. Three days before that reminder was to pop up and remind me I received a message from the hiring manager. She asked if I was still interested.
I was certain the position went to another candidate and they didn’t have the decency to let me know after all the time I invested in the process. But it only proves my point you never know what’s going on on their end. There are all kinds of stumbling blocks that can get in the way. When I finally connected with the hiring manager she offered me the position. Her reasoning for the delay made sense but it would have been nice if she sent a quick email at any point along the way to let me know. It wouldn’t take much. But if I hadn’t stayed positive in the emails I kept sending her, if my weekly emails had grown more testy and snarky, I have no doubt they would have moved on to another candidate. That’s why you should always remain positive.
And I might add this; as a recruiter, I don’t do this and never have, but I am convinced some companies go silent on purpose. They are gauging your interest level and evaluating how you handle it. So handle it professionally and always assume positive intent.
Happy hunting
Who are you going to bless today?
Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones come daily. – Ivy Baker Priest
The purpose of RecruitingShingle is to help those in the job-search process. Being unemployed or in the wrong position can be stressful. I know firsthand. I’ve been unemployed a few times in my career. I thought I might be able to help people in that situation by leveraging my years of corporate recruiting experience. It’s not flashy but the right kind, helpful or supportive word, the right assistance to the right person at the right time can be profound.
For the past several months (it could even be a year or more) I have driven through a particular part of town where I live and have seen an elderly gentleman on the sidewalk holding a sign. He is not there every day or even every weekend. But when he is there he is always wearing slacks, a nice white dress shirt and white athletic socks on each hand. His sign reads “I need a job please.” Time and time again I have driven by, seen him and wondered what his story is. Several times I have been with my entire family and we ask ourselves the same questions about him.
This past Sunday, September 15 I was driving by and he was there in his usual spot. This time I decided it was time to stop wondering and find out. I was with my nine-year old daughter and I said, “I’m a recruiter. I help people find opportunities. Maybe I can help him too.” We found a spot in a nearby parking lot and walked up to him and started a conversation.
I introduced myself and my daughter and started to ask him questions. What’s your background? What type of position are you looking for? What is your educational background? Those types of things. It didn’t take long to determine he was a bit slow. Whether it was due to age or mental capacity I couldn’t determine.
I asked him if he had any computer skills and he lifted up a sock-covered hand and moved it up and down indicating the hunt and peck method. I asked him if he had any kind of resume and he said “No. I haven’t had a phone for a while now.” He said he liked administrative work and filing. I asked him if he were given an opportunity if he would be able to get to work. He said he could. At that I told him about the Southlake Focus Group; a networking group I have written about previously.
I went back to my car with my daughter and wrote down the details for the meeting. As I was writing, another vehicle pulled up and a gentleman got out and approached the job-seeker. I saw he gave him a business card and he turned and left. Before I got back out of my car I looked at my daughter and asked: “Do you think he could use this?” as I pulled out a $20 bill from my wallet. I rarely carry cash but happened to go to the ATM that morning. My daughter got a big grin on her face and agreed he could probably use it. So I told her, “then let’s bless him with it.”
We got out of the car and went back to him. I went through the notes I wrote and told him they meet every Thursday morning. As he took the sheet of paper from my one hand, I took the money in the other and slipped it in his shirt pocket.
As we drove away, my daughter was filled with questions: “I wonder if he has a family? I wonder if he’ll be ok? I wonder if he has enough food? I wonder why he wears socks on his hands?” She even had the thought to make him a new sign because the one he had was ripped and coming apart. I told her those were good questions and maybe one day we’ll find out but at the very least there are places he could go for help in getting food. I told her “he has a car and that he is able to wear nice clothes so maybe his situation is not so bad. But we stopped and offered help; we blessed him – together.
I’m quite certain that five-minute exchange with the job-seeking stranger had a huge impact on my daughter. That thought was confirmed a few days later; the following Thursday morning (the day of the networking meeting) before she left for school. She came up to me while I was sitting at my desk in my home office and wondered out loud: “I wonder if he is able to get to the meeting you told him about.” My response was straight forward and honest: “If for whatever reason he couldn’t make it today, maybe he’ll make it some other week.”
In the weeks and months to come, I’m going to make it a point to stop and chat as often as I can. I hope over time I will learn more about him and move him closer to a job. Our first exchange lasted only a few minutes but I know it will have a lasting impact on me, my daughter and him.
To be continued…
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.
RecruitingShingle 