Like so many Chicago Cub’s fans I am saddened to hear of the passing of Ron Santo. The Cubs were my heroes as a child and I spent many a school day afternoon alone or weekend sitting at my father’s feet watching the likes of Ernie Banks, and Billy Williams and Ron Santo playing the same game I loved to play down the street at the park with my friends. They were and still are heroes. No scandals, no steroids, so 60 minute specials on ESPN to make an announcement. They played the game with a sense of joy and addressed the fans and media with a sense of humility. I’m always amazed when I watch interviews from back in the 60s how all these players had an “awww shucks” kind of way of responding to questions. Like they felt priveleged to play the game and a bit embarrassed to get all this attention for it. Ron Santo epitomized that. Ron moved on to the broadcast booth for the Cubs and brought a heart on the sleeves style to his color commentary. I have to admit, Ron was not very good at color commentary. Certainly not a polished professional. BUT, listening to Ron scream “OH NO!” or hearing a frustated “Come on guys, just get a hit!” made me feel like he was one of us. Like he was just another frustrated Cub fan reacting to the game. I guess you could say Ron announced like he played, with a lot of heart and a blue collar style. You weren’t supposed to be able to play baseball professionally as a diabetic let alone be selected to the all star team nine times. You weren’t supposed to add color commentary to a broadcast the way Ron did and be beloved by fans for doing so. But Ron Santo did both, and he did it his way! A lot of us struggle with the barriers and disappointments that are part of our job search efforts or part of the challenges of finding ways to succeed in our work with fewer resources and challenging business conditions. I think there is a lesson for us all from Ron Santo’s life. Be true to yourself. Realize barriers are just that, barriers and don’t have to be roadblocks. Thanks #10 for the impact you had on me and my life. I don’t think I actually realized it until today. Rest in peace old friend.
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The mistake I think a lot of people make with informational interviews is they place too much importance on them. In a perfect world you will be so impressive on your fact-gathering interview the company will want to hire you on the spot. Many a person goes in to the interview with that perspective in the back of their mind and I am afraid it comes across that way. My advice is, first and foremost, RELAX. The purpose of this meeting is to gain information and make a connection. You are not interviewing for a job. Remind yourself this is a favor being done for you by someone to help you learn more about a field and/or opportunities in the field. Buy the coffee for your meeting. Prior to meeting define 3 things you would like to learn and then create questions that will help you obtain that information. Do not wing it!!! Be naturally curious about the things you hear and ask follow-up questions. Remember, you are here to gain information. The “making a connection” part comes from being a likeable person. Approaching an informational interview with a relaxed attitude and a genuine sense of curiosity is likely to translate into success.
Searching for a job can be tremendously disheartening. You do all the right things. Send tons of resumes out. Scan the job sites for new opportunities. Attend all the networking groups. Still, your cover letters and follow-up calls seem to fall on deaf ears. It wears on you. It’s hard not to start taking this personally. If you’re not careful, soon you start questioning everything about, well, everything.
So here is a little secret for you. Accomplish something. Anything. Focus on the day-to-day of your job search rather than the ultimate end result. In this labor market the job search resembles a marathon more than it does a sprint so prepare yourself for the long haul. Measure your success by the steps you complete and the useful expansion of your network. Networking isn’t a body count, it is a strategy and so we want to build contacts with people that might have the most value for us in our search.
Accomplishment can go outside the realm of your job search too. This is a great time to get started on the exercise program or clean that garage. These accomplishments will help you to keep your chin up during these challenging times. Just remember, your job is to search for work first, and these should be supplemental activities. Cleaning the house from top to bottom while useful, doesn’t really help you to find work.
Well? What are you waiting for? Go Do Something!
I was a little rough on him, I admit it. I didn’t apologize for it because I think it was the right thing to do, but I did acknowledge that I was being rough. He needed me to. Sometimes as job seekers and career changers we don’t seem to be able to get out of our own way. We want to have a great network providing us leads, but we shy away from the hard work. Networking is hard work and way out of the comfort zone for a lot of job seekers. But it is THE WAY to land a job in today’s market. Don’t hold yourself to the standard of the “power networkers” with 800 Linked-In contacts and a gift for making new friends if that is not who you are. Not being like that doesn’t make you a bad networker, it just makes you not as good as them. So what?! You are looking for work for you, so do so in a way that works best for you. Put your best efforts into it but put forth the effort! That network is not going to create itself. Go get em!
In this slap a bandage on the problem and get back in the game society of ours, career changers and job seekers are setting themselves up for disappointment. We skip right to the final destination (a new job, something other than what I have now) while ignoring what we really want. While ignoring what would really make us happy. There are a lot of reasons we won’t focus on ourselves. It might be we are uncomfortable doing so, or that we’re not used to taking the time to plan. Maybe it is the pressure to find work immediately, or at least the perception there will be a price to pay if we don’t do so immediately. In my coaching of others, it is the focus on self that seems to be the most challenging for people. In my opinion, it is also the most important thing to do.
Yesterday I received a reminder of why I love being a coach so much. One of my career coaching clients was describing to me her “A-Ha moment” where seemingly from out of nowhere she discovered the type of work she wants to be doing. She eloquently described how this type of work made so much sense for her because of its connection to her values, interests and skills. I was genuinely happy for her. Because of her hard work, her willingness to listen to herself, and to stand up for who she is as a person I believe she was much more prepared to be ready for that “A-Ha moment.” I haven’t gone so far as to create an elaborate “A-Ha theory” but I do believe that sometimes these ideas come to us unsolicited, while other times we need to put ourselves in a position to look at things in a different light. That is where coaching is a big help because you’re doing a lot of introspection and with your coach exploring new possibilities. You never really know when or where that “a-ha” is going to show itself to you, but when it does, are you ready to listen?
Our refrigerator at home is covered with magnets reminding us of places we have been, service providers we have used and sayings and witticisms that have particular meaning for us. But I never thought they would offer to me insight on what many of my coaching clients go through. Hold two magnets close to each other and the magnetic force from each will repel the other. Move them incrementally closer together and they will lock together with a force as strong as the strongest super bonding glue. So which magnetic force is more indicative of your job search? Are you so repelled by your current situation that any job will do? So enthused and attracted and clear on where you want to be that your strength and dedication will pull you to it and keep you there with a bond that few can break? What role do you want this job to play in your life? Is it something better than what you have now? Is it a rest stop on the way to some final destination? Is it the job you want to stay in forever? Clarity around what you want from your work will bring you closer to creating that lasting bond and landing where you want to be. If you don’t believe me, go ask your refrigerator magnets.
Zoom-Zoom were the words on the cover of the brochure. I am pretty sure there was a car rounding a curve with the ocean off in the distance but I’m not positive. After all it was several years ago I would have been leafing through that brochure. I am certain that I carefully studied the words and the images on each page, looking to convince myself this was the right car for us to buy. Your resume plays the same role as that brochure I described. From the summary of qualifications at the top to the rest of the story told throughout the document, each word choice should be purposeful, truthful, and get the reader excited. Ideally, the reader will salivate a little by the time they are done reading, but that is not absolutely necessary. Your resume is your sales brochure. It is the key that encourages a potential employer to kick the tires and take you for a test drive. Most people tend to understate their achievements. You would be wise to make sure your resume is presenting you in the best possible light. Zoom Zoom.