Guerrilla Marking for Job Hunters 2.0 - Jay Conrad Levinson [24]
Get Over Yourself
Pastor Joe Palusak is an extraordinary guy I met 7 years ago. Joe ministered to the needs of police and firefighters at the World Trade Center after 9/11. He shared with me a sentence that I have said aloud each week since then: “You would care less what other people thought about you if you knew how little time they spent thinking about you.” Write this down and keep it on your desk.
In job seeking and date seeking, the days seem like weeks and the weeks seem like months. You start to think, “She didn’t return my call because of something I did,” or “They didn’t like my resume and that’s why they’re not calling.” Don’t give up because one person or one company doesn’t get back to you right away. Until I hear a client say, “No, we don’t need you this year,” I always assume they are busy doing other things (and it’s not about me).
You’ve got too much time on your hands. Get over yourself. Keep busy, keep the pipeline filled, volunteer at a school or immigrant-assistance program and put your experience and knowledge into helping others. Join a Toastmasters group and meet amazing and motivated people. (www.toastmasters.org). How would you answer this question on your next date/job interview? “So, you got divorced 2 years ago, what have you been doing since then?”
One Last Thing
Start asking couples how they met. Start asking employees how they got their job. You’ll find a lot of similarities. Opportunities are around us every day. Treat job hunting like looking for a date. Make other people look good and they’ll send leads your way. Then tuck your new business card inside your wedding invitation.
Dave Howlett is founder and managing director of www.realhumanbeing.org. RHB hosts seminars on networking, sales, and company culture. He can be reached at dhowlett@realhumanbeing.org.
■ HOW TO STAY MOTIVATED
Everyone acknowledges that rejection is a fact of life when you are job hunting. It pushes all the wrong buttons—not once—but sometimes hundreds of times. What is even worse than the rejection letters is dead silence—the lack of acknowledgment that you even exist. The fundamental truth of job hunting is that it’s not pleasant. It is all about being rejected and ignored. Eventually the stress gets to everyone. You can lessen the sting and develop that critical can-do attitude by taking the following 4 empowering steps.
➤ Step 1: Take Charge of Your Job Hunt
Only you know your strengths and weaknesses. Only you know what you really enjoy doing. Only you know where you want to work and why. Only you know how you can help a prospective employer. Only you can articulate your interests and strengths in a cover letter and resume. Don’t let anyone else do your resume or your cover letter. You need to do it yourself. You can ask people to review it but it must come from you—even if you are receiving outplacement counseling. Come interview time, you need to mirror the person you have portrayed on paper or you will strike out. You can sell yourself better if you own every word on the page.
➤ Step 2: Adopt a Tough Mindset
Surround yourself with positive people. Get rid of anyone who sympathizes with your plight and is eager to commiserate. You do not need sympathy. You need support, and there is a huge difference. Supportive, helpful, optimistic family, friends, and reputable professionals remind you of your strengths and give needed encouragement and feedback. Sympathizers zap your energy and self-esteem. Staying inspired requires the input of inspiring people, so find a trusted confidante who can help you polish your presentation, provide moral support, and strategize.
➤ Step 3: Stay Focused
You need to feed your opportunity funnel in