Updated July 2006 |
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Dear Seeker, |
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Greetings to you, With warm heart I offer my friendship, and
greetings, and I hope this mail meets you in good time. However strange or
surprising this contact might seem to you as we have not met personally or
had any dealings in the past, I humbly ask that you take due consideration of
its importance and the immense benefit it will be to you. |
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Stolen from a Nigerian spam letter |
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For whatever you think of the Nigerian spammers, someone wrote a nice intro. I'm not spamming you, trying to sell you anything, and I really do share those sentiments with you. You're in a place, where I have been many times and may well be again. People helped me. I am repaying that debt by (I hope) helping you. If this is valuable, you can repay me by helping someone else. Here's some survival stuff. |
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You are not: the only one that this sort of thing happens to, unlucky, or even alone; you only think you are. |
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Share and share alike |
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I have added the Creative Commons License stuff. Some bozo was taking this "aid" and trying to sell it to someone. But! Bozo didn't edit out my web references, so the hapless seeker, that he was trying to sell it to, contacted me. Hence I added some legal mumbo jumbo in case another bozo tries it again. |
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You are free to use it on a share and share alike basis. |
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The compilations and my underlying docs are given to you under the Creative Commons License. See XML below. |
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[This work is licensed
under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. To
view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, |
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It May Not Be You |
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"Hi. I'm |
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"Hi |
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That's how I would think that every job search group that I would run would start off. |
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Please recognize that you and I are "turkeys". |
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You re not a "loser" and neither am I. |
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Stuff happens. Times change. And, in the modern economy, which is undergoing cataclysmic shifts, stuff happens! |
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I don’t look down on you because you are "out". Nor, do I want you to look up to me because I am "in". I've been "in" and "out". You'll be "in" and "out". It's all timing. |
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Think of surfing. Sometimes you're gliding along; sometimes you're swimming for your life. |
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Please be cautious. |
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Take anything I say, or anyone says, with a big grain of salt. "Your mileage may vary!" |
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As my wife tells me, often, if you're so smart, why ain't you rich? And, in the alternative, when I am "out", if you're so smart, why are you "out". I love her for keeping me "grounded". |
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So, I'm just a turkey that has been chopped four times, but each time I grew a new head and went on my way. Blows the metaphor but I think it's accurate. I like to think I've become pretty adept at "growing new heads". |
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This is an attempt to teach that skill. If I showed you how to backup your computer, refill your own wiper blades, or demonstrate how I can flair my nostrils, there'd be no question that we were buds. Equals. |
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You wouldn't think I had the "silver bullet" unless it was a Coors. You might be able to do lots of stuff better than me, different than me, or in ways I ain't thought of. |
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I offer this "lesson" in how I do things, for your use. |
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I've been thru the "outplacement" process four times! First time is a shock. Second, Third, and Fourth are even more so. No matter how prepped you think you are, you're not. |
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The outrage and hurt dies down. And, I know that can take a while. You will come to the realization that it may not be you. Then, dimly at first, you say to yourself, hey I'm OK. Hell, I'm damn good. Maybe it's not me! Maybe it's them. |
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One past employer had a 25% annual turnover. After seven years, they final got to me. Does that make me broken? Did I get stupid in year 6? No, there is a series of things going on. |
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IMHO! |
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First, management changes — that 25% turnover isn't just you — it robs you of your mentors, rabbis, allies, friends, contacts, acquaintances, and the bloke who hired you. In one case, the guy who hired me was fired between the time I accepted and my first day on the job. That went well! |
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Second, there is a financial angle. Why pay you X when they can pay some one else 75%, 50%, 25%, or maybe 0% of X? Job elimination is a distinct possibility. If you repair the net at the circus, management may decide that it's cheaper for their insurance company to pay off the dead trapeze artist family than to pay you to ensure the net can catch a falling one. When it happens, then they'll worry about how to screw the family, but that's later. Does that mean that you did a crappy job mending the net? No, you may have, but that may not be the reason you're "out". Does that mean that your particular brand of "net mending" isn't valuable? No, unless your skill is making buggy whips, (and maybe even if it is), I GUARANTEE that you will be valuable to some other employer. |
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Third, there is also a perception that the shiny new candidate with a pat line of barbara streisand is better than a current employee. The current people have all see the warts, goofs, and out and out stupidity. And, remember it. I call that organizational memory. People, who have seen the oscillation between solutions over time, are wise to the games going on. |
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In my quest for wisdom, (I study paradigms and I have one that says data, information, knowledge, and wisdom), this is an effort to give you some data, organized into information, that can be translated into knowledge, and maybe recognized as wisdom. I'd be interested in anything that you see that I can pass along to seekers that might help them. |
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The First Principle - Awareness |
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Be aware at absolutely all times that one’s continued receipt of a paycheck, whether as an employee or as a consultant, is only as sure as the last one that cleared in the bank! |
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You have to feel like at all times you are on “thin ice”, have a plan to “rescue yourself” since no one else can, and “program your life, calendar, and activities” with this awareness in mind. Hence, my “kit bag of tools” is never out of date, rusty, or obsolete. |
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For example, the first week in my new position: updated resume, notified all my contacts, and reprogrammed my networking activities to reflect my new circumstances. |
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For example, the week before when I was waiting to start, I had two networking meetings, made 5 networking calls, sent out 25 resumes, contacted two new hunters, had six hunters contact me, discovered a “gold job” for a networking contact that was looking, and found a new job search tool (i.e., www.indeed.com). |
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Notice the similarity! Trust no one EVER! |
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I know one fellow who had accepted a new job back in the States and, while his family and he were in the air, the new employer reneged on the offer. |
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When a fellow "turkey", read this he shared his story with me. I, in turn, with his permission, share it with you. |
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I was hired into J&J, sold my
house in |
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So, you never truly “land”. (Until they bury you.) |
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My “new world view” is that we are all “consultants” earning value only as long as we deliver value. You'll hear me continually talk about value. What a company pays you isn't salary; it's value retained. What you do for a company isn't work; it's value unlocked. So if the value you retain ever exceeds their perception of the value you unlock. You're history. Notice I said perception. Perception is reality. |
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An employee is merely a consultant with a long term contract that restricts their choices of where to go tomorrow. |
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IMHO |
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When you talk to a new "turkey", they want strategies and tactics to get "in" as quickly as possible. Most don't want to hear "mindfulness", awareness", and "patience". Most want to hear you offer them a "job", or find them a "job", or make it all go away. Maybe they'll listen to tactics like: “Monster”, “Networking”, “Execunet”, or such. |
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In my mind, awareness is the key. If I am unaware, then I am surprised. If I am surprised, then by definition I am unprepared. So like the Buddhist ring the beautiful bell for mindfulness, I am bashing the cymbal labeled “awareness” and yelling “wake up!” at the top of my lungs. |
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As you may or may not know I have counseled out-of-work execs ever since my first run thru the turkey farm and I know the deer-in-the-headlights look of the unaware. Once you become aware, you must be vigilant to not fall into complacency. |
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The first step to getting "in" is awareness. |
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The Second Principle - Financial Preparedness |
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If I had one observation, "financial preparedness" is the key. If you don't need that steady paycheck for a period of time, then you can take a "force out" much better than 99% of the people I see. I think that is the one get ready activity that everyone should be doing. If nothing else. |
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I tell everyone who will listen that on the First of Every Month, it is their management obligation to figure out their financial position (i.e., # of months with zero income they could stand) and their employment position (i.e., how many months they will need to find a new job which is a function of: their Annual Salary; the likelihood of a layoff in their company, industry, or skill set; the ease of finding another job in their skill set; their age; and the economy). |
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When I get around to it, I'll try to webicize my logic. |
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{Placeholder.} |
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The first step in any job search -- voluntary or involuntary -- has to be a realistic assessment of the financial picture. And the second step is a financial budget. |
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The hard part of an involuntary job search is the need to take time to ramp up to develop a Unique Selling Proposition, a resume, cover letters, strategies, tactics, and the processes that are needed. In the rush to get a new job, it is real easy to get buried in the weeds before making sure you're in the right field. |
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Personally I know, when it comes tax time, I don't have a good record of everything I spent on search 'cause my processes were defective. Luckily my financial budget doesn't need that to survive. |
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OK, let's get to the good stuff. |
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The Third Principle – Help others; help yourself! |
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There is the Budhist principle of karma. Basically, it is "what goes around, comes around". I know that you are in what you perceive as "big trouble". No matter how bad your problem is, there are others who are worse off. Even if you can't see it. So, help yourself by helping others. For example, if I give you a lead, then you have a "karmic debt". You may not be able to help me, but pay me back by helping someone else! You'll find that by helping, you will get help as well. |
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"Lessons on Landing" |
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Execunet printed my response to their feedback request in their "Lessons on Landing" section of the newsletter. If you're interested. |
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http://home.comcast.net/~v2y2r0n27rhj6y/Reinke_EUN_article.pdf |
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Make yourself findable! |
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I use Plaxo to synchronize my address book. People can use it to "find" me. If they join Plaxo (It's free!), then we are forever "joined at the hip". Never "silently" lose people again! |
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I use LinkedIn. Think MySpace for Executives, Techies, and Businesspeople. I have loaded LinkedIn with EVERY email address of ANYONE I have ever exchanged email with. When one of those people joins LinkedIn, it shows. I can then "link" up with them. (I don't waste time "inviting" any non-member because it's not a good use of time.) I've bumped up against LinkedIn's Upper limit because this tool is so valuable. |
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I try every new idea that comes down the pike. Let me know what works for you? |
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I have a "searcher's" reading list. |
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http://home.comcast.net/~reinkefj/My_Favorite_Job_Search_Books.htm |
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Of which, I recommend Lucht's book and workbook enthusiastically. It gives you some absolutely rock solid ideas to follow. It's not "your" plan to transition, but, it's the methodology to develop "your" plan. |
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My wife says I get to wound up with this stuff and overpower people. I keep buying copies with my Christmas and Birthday gift cards (What else can a family give a nerd but books?) But, my inventory seems to be always at zero. Even my personal copy is gone. Loaned to a particularly pathetic turkey. |
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I have a "networking profile" |
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Using Lucht's concept, I suggest that every searcher prep a "networking profile". (Not my original idea. I took the concept from Execunet and refined it for my purposes. Here's my old one. http://reinke.home.att.net/data/networking (Note to self: needs update) |
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I have a yet another resume format |
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If you need yet another resume format, mine is at http://reinke.home.att.net/data/resume |
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I have a large network |
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You may know I have played around extensively with the Internet Social Networks. Go sign up at LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com and send me an invite to connect. It's just one more way to cast a wider networking net. Connect to me and you are connected RIGHT NOW with a huge bunch of people. You can exploit those IMMEDIATELY. |
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I am an alumni of Manhattan College |
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As an alumnus of schools, you have a unique resource available. For example for my school, I have two cracker jack hunters will take a call merely because someone is a fellow Jasper. If such, doesn't exist for your school, create it. What better way to build a network, I have over 7k Jaspers that I know "stuff" about at my finger tips. |
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For my fellow alums: |
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http://home.comcast.net/~reinkefj/Jasper_Jottings_Jasper_Headhunters.htm |
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For my fellow "turkeys": |
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http://home.comcast.net/~v2y2r0n27rhj6y/GOLD_hunters_for_2005.htm |
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I have found some sites |
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I have found some sites exceptionally useful. |
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http://home.comcast.net/~reinkefj/Job_Search_Sites_with_specific_value_to_a_hunting_Jasper.htm |
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I recommend forming a Job Hunt Group |
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I try to tell people that they are not alone. People will help. |
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From my experiences, I learned that a Job Hunt Group is a great way to get started. When I was "out" for the first time, I was given a "transition package". I went to it because it was paid for and, since I was planning to start my own business, I was interested in anything I could learn. |
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A group of us at the turkey farm created a "fraternity of turkeys". What started as gallows humor and clowning around became a clan or partnership dedicated to helping its members find their next job. At any given time there were only a dozen or so of us, but we worked like a team. It was some IT guys, some CFOs, a couple of CEOs, a teacher. It was just a gaggle of turkeys, all in the same boat, with no particular leader. We mostly all were looking for something different. But, for some reason, we bonded. We became a hunting machine. Everybody had everybody's profile, from whence came "my" format. We handed off opportunities, networking contacts, and info. We supported each other with condolences when a "perfect" job didn't get offered, gave kick in the butt for those who were cycling down, mock interviews, “What are you thinking” consultations, and helped those particularly who were "aging out" (i.e., their company paid time was running out or was out). |
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"Dying" of old age at the turkey farm is absolutely the worst feeling. You feel like you are selling dog poop, and you are really supposed to be selling yourself. Didn't happen to me! I was always getting "in". Almost too quickly! That was the worst, And Delta Beta Mu gave special priority to the "dying". |
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We formed mini Board of Directors for the each of the various candidates and questioned the individual candidates as: the “head of sales”, the “head of Product Development”, and the “head of Operations”. You know along the lines of you are the product, the salesman, the marketer, the IT guy, the product developer, the CFO. Hence we came up with the theory of many hats that a seeker must wear. For the especially dense turkeys we even made paper hats labeled "CANDIDATE", "SALESMAN", "SALES MANGER", "PRODUCT DEVELOPER", "OPERATIONS AMANGER", "CLERK". It was hysterical to see an ex-CFO of a Fortune 500 wearing a paper hat labeled "CFO" with a sign that said "Will cook books for food". It was the best of times during the worst of times. |
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In the 9 months I was associated with Delta Beta Mu, only two died and 47 people were placed. It must have been personal chemistry 'cause over time it died out. The "Career Consultants" at DBM were amazed at the phenomena but couldn't package it or reproduce it. Over the years, I have "lost" all my fraternity brothers. It was a time that most want to forget. Who wants to revel in being a turkey? I do lest I forget. |
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We all found something great in a "job" surprisingly quickly. |
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The networking profile and the recognition of roles was a key learning. |
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I always know others who are "out" and looking to get "in". Maybe I could form you' all up into a team. If you're interested? |
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There are no quick fixes |
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"Alumni groups", "search groups", "resume services", and "career counseling" are trying to sell you stuff. Know the feeling? I try to urge seekers to never pay for anything like "job services". (Although I have been sorely tempted to try WSA. The letter writing guy! He sounds good!) I have paid to join Execunet. http://www.execunet.com It gave me some good stuff, some good listings, and some good leads. It's not cheap. But, I thought it was valuable. That's a very personal decision. |
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Start a web site |
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I recommend that you start a web site. There are places you can host it for free. I have two that I run and you can steal what ever suits you. I don't think the topic matters much. It makes you look like a techie! |
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Start a blog |
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Get "into" blogging. Again it makes you look like a techie. Be careful what you write. I have one at http://reinkefj.wordpress.com/ and you can see my rants. There are many free sites to blog with without spending a dime. |
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Listen to "good stuff" |
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Listen to "good stuff" in your spare time. I listen to certain podcasts that transform downtime like driving into learning time. http://www.itconversations.com |
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It's free and absolutely great stuff. |
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I have a ton of "self improvement tapes and discs. I should really convert them all to mp3s. |
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Use the web; but don't waste time |
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Explore what the web has available. The internet Public library http://www.ipl.org/ asserts that it has all knowledge every created free for your use. |
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Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Main_Page has 490,000 articles -- in English alone with 16,000 contributors. |
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Prioritize hunters |
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You do rate your hunters and networking contacts. Don't you? |
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Here's my scale. |
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HH1 Gold (got
interviews - the gold standard of hunters), |
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It allows you to prioritize your efforts. If I have two calls one from an HH1 and HH5. Whose do you return first? Yeah, the 5 could have the ideal absolutely perfect job, but if you're betting who's more likely to have something that will help you. Not that you don't call the 5 back, it doesn't get done while there are more profitable activities to be done first. |
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I also grade My Networking Contacts (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Lead). In leveraging the law of weak connections, (you know people who you've never met, don't have strong bond with, or a hot common interest --- a la Lucht's book -- but you want them to contact you if they see something you should know), your grasp should exceed your reach. Hence you have to prioritize. My rolodex has over 10k names in it. Do I give Platinum service --- you've seen it -- job leads, networking contacts, cheerleading -- to everyone of those 10k people? Could NOT do it; nor do they need or want it. I currently have only six platinum contacts, about 15 gold, about 400 silver, and a slew on bronze, and 6 lead weights. The lead weights slow me down and would suck me dry if I let them. |
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Grading hunters and contacts restores to me a level of control and dignity. If I am mistreated by a hunter (i.e., headhunter aka contingency recruiter), or more likely by searcher (i.e., an executive search firm who always wants a me to "redo my resume" -- on more than one occasion several times -- a dressed up hour interview -- a five act recitation of what I did as a child -- you know the kind -- that delivers ZERO and doesn't even disclose who the employer would be), I can "get even". Allows me to reward the good guys and punish the bad guys, and thus give myself the illusion that am not an "interview whore" (i.e., I'm desperate and would do anything for an interview). |
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Every year, or as needed, I have "award ceremonies" where I elect and notify hunters and networking contacts that they have received my coveted Gold Status. I send them a little email, thanking them for their help, letting them know how I value what they do, and offer if there is anything I can do then they just have to ask. (Give them my super secret interrupts-me-for every-message email address, as well as my IM name on the three major services, which I don't give out lightly!) I'm sure some of them think I am nuts, some share the chuckle with me, some say nothing. But it is about making me feel good. It's about being memorable and inducing people to help you. You don't have a lot of tools in your quiver to do that with so here's one that I use. Besides it sync with my own vision of what I do. |
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Share your "stuff" with me! |
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Share your "stuff" with me! I'm a turkey. When again I'll be "out" I don't know, but I am SURE I will be and then I'll need your help! |
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Hope this helps, |
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You're not alone, |
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-- |
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F. |
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This work is licensed
under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. To
view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
or send a letter to Creative Commons, |