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Inspiration Of The Week: Perfection

Do you know about FUD?

FUD stands for Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. It’s the quiet voice inside your head that says “you’re not good enough.” Not good enough to earn an internal promotion, land a new job, get into grad school, or secure a seat on the Board of that industry association. It may be a quiet voice but it is a lethal one and can stop you dead in your tracks. For those moments of paralysis I offer this simple quote from George Eliot, nee Mary Anne Evans. She wrote under a  male pseudonym to ensure her work would be taken seriously:

”The important work of moving the world forward does not wait to be done by perfect men.”

What about the important work of moving yourself forward?

The New Year is upon us; let’s agree to fight the FUD and achieve our dreams.

Who’s with me?

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Ask For Ten

You already know that looking for work can be a full-time job, but have you ever considered that helping  people who are looking for work can also be a full-time job? In fact it is. It’s called Recruiter. Or Headhunter. Or Hiring Manager. It is not, however, called Networker.

Being a helpful networker takes an enormous amount of time. When I accept your request to network I spend time as follows:

• Vetting your request
• Prepping for our conversation
• Speaking with you on the phone
• And finally, following through on any promises I make during our call

My advice to anyone who wants to “network” in the name of job-hunting–be it a proper informational interview or a more casual “do you know anyone at” conversation–is to ask for just 10 minutes. Not 30. Not even 15. And never ever ask for an hour. Who’s got an hour?

When you ask for 10 minutes it shows me that you respect my time. Most professionals, no matter how busy, can find 10 minutes in their schedule to help someone in need. When you’re on a call and the 10-minute mark approaches, say “I see we’re almost at the 10-minute mark – do you need to run or do you have time for one more question?” If you demonstrate respect for someone’s time, they’re more likely to give it to you freely. Just be sure you’re prepared to make the most of it!

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What Are You Worth?

Wondering if you’re earning what you’re worth? Check out this handy salary guide for marketing, communications, web and creative professionals from The Creative Group.

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Working With Recruiters

Is working with a contract recruiter any different than working with an in-house HR professional? Yes and no! I asked my LinkedIn network to share some tips and over the next several weeks I’ll be posting the best and the brightest!

Greer Dorsey, A-1 Careers, Kansas City
“Treat the interaction with the Recruiter as if you are interviewing with the hiring manager. Try to relax and treat the interview as a conversation; that’s what an interview is–an organized conversation. It is imperative to be completely open and honest about your professional experience and background but there is no room in an interview – at any level – for personal lives to show up.”

Laurie Swanson, The Laso Corporation, Chicago
“Never go around the recruiter! A good recruiter has real expertise in managing the hiring process along with negotiating the best package for you. It is in your best interest to take advantage of this and separate yourself from the negotiating process. Instead, focus your time and efforts on being as prepared as you can in your knowledge of the role, the company and those involved with the hiring.”

Royal Bacote, R Bacote & Associates, Baltimore
“Make sure we have the best contact number and the best time to contact you.

• Don’t put your cell number on the resume if you hardly ever turn it on
• Don’t put your email address on your resume if you don’t check it at least daily

Many qualified applicants get skipped because they don’t respond to calls or emails.”

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Luis Is Loving LinkedIn

Meet Luis, he is a LinkedIn job seeker success story extraordinaire! Here is his story, in (mostly) his own words:

“Sima, I noticed an IT contracting job on one of my LinkedIn mainframe groups under the jobs posting tab. I contacted the recruiter and sent her my resume. We scheduled an interview and it was a fit – I was offered a position the next day!”

(Sound too good to be true? The truth is, it CAN happen just like that! But Luis’ story is even more interesting – keep reading!)

“Before this opportunity there was a possibility with another company. Under the ‘who viewed my profile’ section, I noticed that a VP of a company checked out my profile. So I sent her an invite and she accepted right away. She followed up with a personal email about needing a seasoned IT person. She even said that the company would train me in a  programming language that I didn’t already know – that is really rare these days.  Unfortunately, the budget was stalled and the position was put on hold.”

The moral of the story? Keep an eye on who’s looking at your profile!

Epilogue
Congratulations are certainly in order but condolences too. Luis’ story has a bittersweet twist that reminds me no matter how much I think I’m in charge, sometimes there are larger forces at work in my life.

“The recruiter for the IT contract job contacted me on the day of my mother’s funeral. My mom had been ill for quite a while and I had the honor of taking care of her the last three weeks of her life. I feel very blessed to land a job after being out of work for 13 months, but if I had landed the job before she passed then I would have not been able spend the last few days of her life with her.”

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Chart Your Course, Then Wander

I gave a presentation last week to the New Jersey chapter of the American Marketing Association and I met a lovely woman who was spent her entire career as a chemist only to discover that what she really wanted to be was a market researcher.

Now hang on. She didn’t waste 20 years being a chemist. Far from it. For a long while she enjoyed her work – heck she was good at it! – but somewhere along the way her interests changed and she was wise enough to take notice. Today she’s on a completely different path headed toward true north as she defines it at this precise moment in time.

My story is not unlike hers. For many years I was gunning for the corner office. You know the one, with the view? I was a B2B marketer in a high tech world climbing the ladder from start-up to start-up,  making the leap into the mid-market and ultimately landing  a director level job for a $1B software company. Funny thing happened along the way. The corporate office lost its luster only I failed to notice it.

It wasn’t until a series of largely unforeseen events nudged me in the direction of entrepreneurship that I found my true calling. Well, it’s my calling for today anyway. Where I’ll be in five years remains a mystery but I know one thing for sure: While I enjoy plotting a course, real joy happens when I let myself wander.

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