Sunday, May 15, 2011

Posted: 14 May 2011 02:31 PM PDT

You hate your job, but you're too busy to look, and you can't quit your job to free up time for a job search because 1) it's better to look when you have a job; and 2) you need to maintain your salary. You're already working 80 hours a week – how exactly are you going to squeeze in a job search? You're exhausted, frustrated and negative after work – how attractive are you going to be in this state anyway? This describes the vicious cycle of a lot of professionals in demanding jobs: you want to leave your job but you need another one before you can, and you can't find another one while you have this one.
The only way out of this loop is to somehow break the sequence. I would never advise a client to quit a current job to launch a job search. As a former recruiter, I know firsthand the big advantage an employed job seeker has over unemployed candidates. It's also financially irresponsible and an undue psychological burden on your job search. Why place urgency on your job search – the pressure to start bringing in money – unnecessarily?
That said, if you keep doing what you're doing with anything, career or otherwise, you will get the same results. So the only way to land a new job is to make time for your job search. When you're already working 80 hours a week, this means cutting down on your work time. You might argue that you'll get fired – perhaps, but you were going to quit anyway. More likely, you will have several weeks if not months before your diminished effort is noticed – this should be enough time for your search. You need to find just a few hours a week to get started, and then you can build up to 10, 15, or more hours per week for your search.
But you're too exhausted to carve out even a few hours! You're harboring a bad attitude that makes you lazy because your current job makes you crazy. This negativity part of the bad cycle often has to be interrupted first before you can do anything. Besides, even if you could muster the time for your search, you can't launch a successful job search as an angry, anxious, or otherwise negative person. You'll drive networking leads and prospective employers away. You need to be upbeat, energetic, and enthusiastic enough to attract people and opportunities to you.
If your job makes you negative, it means you have to find something else that will counteract the negativity. This "something else" is not your job search (the search itself can be tedious and frustrating). I haven't met anyone who likes to look for a job; it's a necessary evil. What will counteract the negativity is something personal, something outside your current job and your future search. It could be a hobby or an activity from your Always Wanted To Do This list. The goal is to get you doing something you actually like. You want to reconnect with that part of you that feels enjoyment. Fulfilling this personal desire counteracts the negativity. You will still hate your job, but you will have enough of a spark elsewhere (think of jump starting a car with another vehicle) to get started on your search.
You don't need to quit your terrible job to find another job. Don't add that extra worry to your already full list of things to be unhappy about. Don't even worry about how you will make the time for your job search. The time is there – right now it is squandered on feeling bad about your situation. Instead, focus on finding a spark outside your current job (and not your job search) that will inspire you to get started. Some of my clients threw themselves into fitness goals, ate at all the restaurants on their Someday list, or finally read that novel they've been meaning to get to. They rediscovered something they liked, became far more interesting people, and then were able to launch a search. If you hate your job and just can't leave, don't worry about leaving. Just do something fun. Remember what it's like to like something. Break the vicious cycle.

Job Interviews: The Illusion of Control | Career Rocketeer

Job Interviews: The Illusion of Control

Posted: 14 May 2011 05:40 AM PDT

Here's how a job search usually takes place: You put together a resume, which probably won't be given much attention because it's not put together very well. You send it with a generic cover letter which gets less attention than your resume.
You post it on job boards, email it to companies with ads, and you wait. You may opt to blast it to thousands of employers, because it doesn't cost much, and think of the odds! Nothing happens. Time passes.
When the chance to interview finally arrives, although they want the job, the majority go to an interview unprepared, and yet hope they're the one that's hired. When nothing happens, the frustration grows. You feel helpless, as if the decision is everyone's but yours.
And that's where the danger begins.
• “The interviewer is from Chicago, and so am I so that might be good. I didn’t like the city, so maybe he didn’t either.”
• “I worked at Billions Banking Corporation, and she did too. Though it was a while back and in a different department, I bet she was as frustrated as I was. Everyone hated working there."
• “His last name is German, and he’s an older, so he’s probably very conservative and serious. Maybe I should wear a suit and not smile.”
Suppositions are an attempt to feel in control when you don’t. You’re going on an interview, you’re nervous, you have no idea what to expect, so you try to pin some of it down. The danger is because you're making things up, you can make a grave mistake based on your assumptions. Illusions and reality aren't synonymous. Millions of job seekers every day confuse the two.
Let's take one of the above examples. You're interviewing in Houston, and you assume the interviewer left Chicago, because he didn't like the winter. Anticipating a shared viewpoint and an immediate camaraderie, you say, "Get tired of those mean Chicago winters? I bet you like Houston much better."
"No," he says. "Actually, my company transferred me down here. My wife's and my immediate family are still in Chicago. I was raised there, and I miss the snow."
You're thrown off track. You were counting on shared joviality from bashing Chicago winters, and suddenly, not only is that non-existent; it's not likely to develop. Now what? Do you recover and express sympathy for his position (meanwhile noting that this company transfers people, and if you're a company guy, you're expected to go)?
Do you try to make him agree with you by continuing to make negative comments, because you're seeking validation? Or do you shut your mouth and maybe – or maybe not – notice that you're more nervous than you were when you sat down, simply because he didn't agree with you?
People who buy into the illusion of control aren't generally cognizant of what they're doing. Consequently, this lack of awareness can perpetuate itself, and either one of the last two reactions, or something similar, takes place. And because the whole process passed quickly and unconsciously, all you know is something has gone amiss.
Pay attention to your thoughts. If you catch yourself making assumptive statements, recognize that you're moving into a danger zone. If you're hanging on to illusory beliefs, you're not likely to make a sound decision, because sound decisions are based on reality.
You're already setting yourself up for a defensive interview position and the need to be approved of. And instead of participating in the interview to determine if you wanted to pursue it, you gave the power to the interviewer, hoping he'd like you and it would increase your chances of being hired.
Understand that it doesn’t put you in control at all; it's an illusion that makes you feel better. What puts you in control is preparation based on facts about the company and yourself. Spend your time on that instead.

Guest Expert:
Judi Perkins is known as the How-To Career Coach, and was a recruiter for 22 years when she worked with hundreds of hiring authorities helping them hire entry level through CEO, set up/followed up on over 15,000 interviews, consistently broke sales records by building relationships, and has seen over half million resumes (and climbing).
Now, many of her clients are employed within 8 – 12 weeks. She brings sequence, structure, and focus to the job search, including skills, psychology, and sales components, showing why the typical strategies so often fail. You can find her at www.FindthePerfectJob.com. Please see her website media page for her extensive media credentials.

College: Those Final Days of Freedom

Posted: 14 May 2011 10:00 PM PDT

The fact you see your last semester of college as your "final days of freedom" tells us things are not going to be great for you when you graduate.

To get this useful advice and many other helpful career resources, visit us now at CAREEREALISM.com.