Job Hunting Outside The Box

by keycoaching on April 20, 2012

With the job market still tighter than we could have ever imagined it would be by now, I have had the privilege of speaking with many who are all trying to figure out what’s next for their careers. These acquaintances, clients, colleagues and friends are a mix of the unemployed, the underemployed and the unhappily unemployed. What I found to be most interesting is the common thread between them. Each conversation provoked me to ask some very basic questions which resulted in very similar results.

I asked each person that I spoke with the following questions:

  • What kind of job are you looking for and why?
  • What do you bring to a job that is unique from any other applicant?
  • Why do you believe that you haven’t found an opportunity yet?
  • How can you approach your job search in an ‘out of the box’ way and design your own job with no limitations?

The answers were all similar when I got to the part about how they can approach their job searches in an ‘out of the box’ way. Each of them gave me several reasons for why what they came up with won’t work. Then I ask the following… What if the opportunities are there but finding them requires you to think outside the box? What would that look like and how would that change your approach? After hearing that series of questioning their answers were again consistent: “Well, I don’t know. I would have to think about that.” I might have pissed off some by pushing this idea that just because they don’t see the opportunity doesn’t mean it’s not there, but hopefully I left each of them thinking because clearly what they’ve done so far hasn’t worked!

The job market today is not as tight as we think. Don’t get me wrong, it is tight. However the current marketplace for job hunting is also so different than anything we’ve ever seen before. Thinking outside the box is not a nice-to-have attribute anymore. It is a requirement for success. Think about all of the successful people we know today. Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, the late Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg. I bet when they came up with their genius ideas most people they shared the idea with thought they were dreaming or crazy and only thought about why the idea cannot work. Most people, when they hear an out of the box idea, will come up with a million reasons why it will not and cannot work. If Bill Gates or Steve Jobs believed others’ doubts our computer industry would look very different. You get the point.

To be successful in this life you have to be willing to believe that anything is possible and know that the status quo will keep you living a status quo life. And there is nothing wrong with that if that is what you desire. If you want to live an extraordinary life, if you want to have a job that excites you and makes you jump out of bed every morning, or if you want to simply land a job in the current marketplace, then please consider what I’m saying.

Here’s a perfect example of what I’m suggesting. A couple in Iowa, after trying to sell their home unsuccessfully, decided to try something that we have never seen before in home sales. They had their house for sale, asking $99K, but there was a lack of interest from buyers. They launched a contest that requires participants to submit a $100 fee and an essay that answers two questions:

1. How has the Economic Downturn affected you and your family?

2. Why would receiving this house help your situation more than others?

The contest closes either on May 31st or once they have received two thousand submissions. The owners of the house will read each essay and choose a winner who will then become the proud owner of their very own house in Cedar Rapids, IA. And the irony is that the homeowners might end up making double what they were asking for when the house was for sale using the traditional method! That’s what I call thinking outside the box.

What keeps us from believing anything is possible? Part of the reason is because we have become so used to the way we are ‘supposed to’ find a job, for example. As if there is only one way to make that happen and if we don’t see it, it isn’t there. This morning I woke up and thought that I had nothing to write about this week that might be of interest to you, my readers. Then I saw this story on the news and bam! Outside the box! I think we can all agree that this story has nothing to do with the job market but look how well it worked out!

Have a great weekend and happy hunting!

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The Cultural Fine Line

by keycoaching on April 12, 2012

With the California Supreme Court decision in on the Lunch Break class action lawsuit against Chili’s Restaurant owner, Brinker International, it’s surprising to me that neither reporters nor pundits have address a very important piece of this story. No one has questioned to what extent the organization’s culture played into employees’ decision to take or not to take ‘required’ rest and lunch breaks.

From what I’ve observed, it seems that corporate culture often take on a life of their own and the unspoken acceptances are often created by a collaboration of over achieving employees. All it takes is one employee to forgo a benefit, like taking a lunch break, to completely change the organization. Coworkers don’t want to be overshadowed by these overachievers so one by one they start to “follow the leader” until the whole department or organization adopts a new cultural acceptance. And during times of layoffs and job insecurity this behavior is not surprising. So what can be done to insure that this type of class action lawsuit does not happen again? Well I think the answer requires action by both sides, employer and employee.

For employers, encouraging employees to take their breaks as a way to recharge their batteries is the obvious answer, however, for those employers or managers who think “well if they want to work why should I stop them?” consider this. Would you rather your employees provide quality service or quantity service? We all need a few minutes over the course of a day recharge and so many of us see this as a luxury, not a necessity. We either don’t realize or forget that these timeouts help prevent burnout. I think it goes without saying that burnout will impact performance and output. By taking interim timeouts we allow our brains to refresh so that we can bring our “A” game when we return from our break.

For employees I ask you this: why do you deny yourself at least a few minutes per day to recharge? There really is no reason for this. If you’re company or department’s culture seems to frown upon this why not talk to your colleagues and convince them that a timeout is not a luxury but a necessity. I bet many of your coworkers will agree. If you band together and show your employer why they should WANT you to take a break (ie. it recharges your batteries so that you can be more productive for the rest of the day) then you will not only make a difference in your life but in the lives of all of your colleagues! Take charge of your career. Do so in a professional manner and stop being a victim to your job!

In the interest of not belaboring the point, I hope this gave you something to think about and the next time you consider forgoing your break or refraining from encouraging your employees from taking their’s I hope you will consider what I’ve suggested. Breaks are not a luxury, they are a necessity. Would you prevent yourself from using the restroom if you really had to go? Think of taking your break as a necessity for your brain and your soul!

 

 

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When the Music Stops

April 4, 2012

It’s no secret that the economy is cyclical and its turbulence impacts the job market significantly. With every downturn there is an upswing and sometimes the recovery happens so slow that it’s almost unrecognizable while it’s happening. In recent months it has been reported that companies have begun to hire again but with caution. Employers [...]

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Balance Begins at Work

March 22, 2012

There are so many in the mainstream talking about holistic living, work-life balance and overall happiness. Some even talk about work-life balance in terms of making sure we are defined by who we are rather than what we do. There is a lot of value and validity to this type of thinking.It can open our [...]

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What’s Old is New

March 14, 2012

Despite the struggling job market, I have the pleasure of reporting that three people within my network have landed jobs over the past three weeks. And I don’t mean they settled on just any job offer that came their way. They were able to avoid becoming part of the statistics of the underemployed or unhappily [...]

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How To Be a Valuable Employee Without Burning Out

February 17, 2012

It’s the same old story lately. Companies have streamlined their finances through cost cutting and layoffs. So much so that it has left those remaining expected to pick up the slack and complete the abandoned workload. For those of us who feel lucky to have escaped the dreaded layoff I just have one question for [...]

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Will it be YOU?

February 2, 2012

I love it! A PSA for the Super Bowl announced it will ask the ONLY important question about “the next great entrepreneur”… “Will it be YOU?” How great is that? The truth is it can be any of us. All it takes is an idea, desire and tenacity. You may be thinking… but I don’t [...]

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Company Men & Women, Part III

January 24, 2012

So, I’ve talked a lot about how we have the power to take ownership of our careers by becoming “career entrepreneurs,” regardless if we work for someone else. There is another side to this equation which is just as important, especially as we begin to turn the tide to a whole new world of employment. [...]

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Company Men & Women, Part II

January 16, 2012

After Company Men & Women, Part I was released, I had some interesting conversations about the whole idea of “layoff-proofing” oneself. Although no one questioned whether or not that’s even possible, I decided that I wanted to offer some clarification. I’m not suggesting that anyone who works for someone else has the ability to avoid [...]

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Company Men & Women, Part I

January 12, 2012

Recently, I was watching the film, The Company Men, and found the story to be so relatable. I started writing this post and then realized that I have so much to say about it. The movie sparked so much thought about Career & Executive Effectiveness that I decided, rather than writing a blog entry the [...]

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