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We’ve all heard the childhood idiom: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Well, if you’re a job seeker, words CAN hurt you and your chances of getting hired. The words used in your job search must be carefully selected at every stage of your job search. Let’s start at the beginning.
First, there are the words you use to describe what you’re looking for – what type of job you want. If you tell someone you’re looking for a job and they ask what you’re looking for and you say “Oh, anything, I just need a job”. The listener doesn’t know how to help you. Who should they refer you to? Who should they introduce you to? They have no idea, because the words you used didn’t give them any real information about how they can help you. So, yes, the words you use to describe what you’re looking for can hurt you. Second, your resume is nothing but words and if you don’t use the right keywords, or use words that don’t fully describe the value you would bring to a potential employer, then your resume will end up in the ‘no’ pile. If you focus your resume on your previous responsibilities and duties vs. results and achievements, then yes, the words you use on your resume will hurt you. Third, the words you use in your job interviews can definitely hurt your chances of getting hired. If you aren’t fully prepared to talk about why you’re the perfect candidate for the opportunity you’re applying for, then you have no chance of getting a job offer. Remember, in a job interview, they are looking for ANY reason to disqualify you. One lame answer and you could be out. In a job interview, the words you chose can hurt you. Finally, and maybe most importantly, the words you say to yourself ultimately impact your job search success. If you’ve said any of the following to yourself, you have directly affected your confidence, enthusiasm and motivation for your job search:
Don’t think these words can hurt you? Think again. Sticks and stones can break your bones AND the words you use throughout your job search can hurt you. Brenda I recently listened to an interview about how to use acting techniques in a job interview. I was interested because I know that many job seekers struggle with how to be most effective in an interview. I strongly urge all of my clients to uber-prepare for their interviews, yet many are challenged with having their prepared interview responses sound overly rehearsed vs. authentic and conversational. So, while I was intrigued with the topic of using acting techniques, the more I thought about it, the more skeptical I became.
I use visualizations with my clients because I believe they are useful in working through issues and to promote relaxation. The reason this technique works is because our brains don’t know the difference between a real event or an imagined one. So in that sense we can ‘trick’ our brains which in turn produces an actual change in our physiology. I think that’s where my skepticism comes from in using an acting technique during a job interview: When you’re using an acting technique, you know you’re using it vs. experiencing an actual emotion. I admit that I have some bias against the word ‘acting’ because I believe most of us interpret it to mean ‘not real’ or ‘fake’. But now that I think about, that’s exactly what I advise my clients to do: practice and prepare your interview answers and then ‘act’ as if it is authentic and not rehearsed. Hmmmm….I may need to rethink this. OK, here’s my compromise: what you’re preparing, the words you use, the message must be authentic. You can’t answer interview questions with untruths or make up a background and experience that are false. To deliver that really would be acting. However,how you deliver your message you’ve prepared can be considered acting since the words are prepared in advance and your goal is to deliver them in a fresh manner. Here’s the trick: You really do have to uber-prepare your interview responses so they sound authentic, fresh and conversational. If you’ve ever prepared any type of presentation, you know that there’s a tipping point in your preparation process when you feel comfortable with the material AND you can make it sound unrehearsed. So go and prepare your accurate and truthful interview answers and then put in the effort until your delivery sounds relaxed and casual, i.e. …not acted. Brenda You’ve heard the term “Cowboy Up”, right? Since I live in Colorado, maybe it’s only a term known in the west. According to the Urban Dictionary it means “…when things are getting tough you have to get back up, dust yourself off and keep trying.” Meaning, get back on the horse or bull. With my friends, we often say to each other: “cowgirl up”, or in my house: “teenager up”. OK, that last one actually means: “hey teenager, wake up and get out of the bed”. But it got me thinking, cowboys and cowgirls (and teenagers) aren’t the only ones who sometimes have tough times, need to dust them self off, get back up and keep trying. Job seekers may need the reminder and support to do it too.
There’s no doubt that times are tough out there for job seekers: the competition is stiff, whole industries have disappeared and even though there 14 million of you, it can feel lonely. It’s easy to fall off the horse, or it may feel like you were pushed, but regardless of how you got on ground, you have to figure out some strategies to help you dust yourself off and get back up. You may feel it’s easier to just stay on the ground, or like my teenager, stay in bed, pull up the covers and ignore the outside world. That behavior, as I’m sure you’re aware, only exacerbates your situation: you start to feel bad about ignoring your job search, which leads to more ‘pity party’ behavior…and the cycle continues. So what’s it going to take to ‘Job Seeker Up’? Not as much as you think. One small action on your part can make a huge difference in your outcome. Imagine yourself as a cowboy or cowgirl riding in the vast open space of the western plains. What if you thought you were headed in the wrong direction? Would you need to turn around, do a complete 180 to correct your course? No, all you may need to do is steer your horse 1° left or right and you’ll end up in a completely different state or territory! So what one degree of change can you make today to help you ‘Job Seeker Up’? Maybe you can:
Brenda I just got back from spending Thanksgiving in Las Vegas. We don’t usually travel at Thanksgiving, (especially to Las Vegas) but we intentionally wanted a holiday distraction…and boy, did we get it. Since the goal of the trip was distraction, we immersed ourselves in the feast for the eyes that Sin City has to offer. Just walking the Strip is distracting and it helps fast track your feelings of thankfulness. So what does this topic have to do with job search?
I imagine even if you didn’t travel last week, you still found yourself engaged in a few distracting activities: eating, visiting with family and friends, watching football, basketball and parades or just relaxing. I encourage distraction with my clients – it’s good for clearing your head, getting a fresh perspective on your situation, and simply re-energizing yourself. But if you were employed, today you’d be back at your desk, calling on customers and attacking the stack of work that piled up when you were gone. The same needs to be true if you’re looking for a job. Too often I seen clients distractedly float through from Thanksgiving to the New Year, and frankly it’s a mistake. As of today, Nov 28, we have 4 work weeks before the typical week off between Christmas and the New Year. FOUR WEEKS! I know there are plenty of holiday activities to keep you busy, but there’s still a lot of time and it’s a mistake to believe nothing can happen on the job front in the next 28 days. So use these next four weeks wisely:
As you can see, there’s lots to keep you busy and productive on your job search in the next four weeks. It’s great you had a little distraction last week, just don’t stay distracted! Brenda Control, Alt, Delete: This universal (at least in the PC world) key stroke sequence is used to reboot a computer system. I don’t know about you, but I typically use Ctrl/Alt/Delete when something isn’t working right, when my system is working too slow, when a program isn’t responding or when I need to reset. Depending on your Windows version, you get different computer system responses and screens that appear. I’m currently on Windows 7 and my options are:
We continue to hear how we’re experiencing a ‘new normal’ so if your job search or career is stuck, nothing and no one is responding and you need to start new, maybe it’s time for a civilized reset…press Ctrl/Alt/Delete. Brenda I keep running into job seekers who say their job search isn't working. Why do they think this? Because they're applying for jobs online and they're not getting any response. So they're left to wonder 'why' and they end up frustrated, angry, resentful and confused. My response is always the same:
They need to start acting outside of the box! What do I mean by this? A successful job search is not conducted behind your computer screen (the box). In fact, only about 10-20% of job seekers are actually hired after applying online in response to an online job posting. And, the higher level position you're looking for, the lower that percentage is. So what does this mean? You should only be spending 10-20% of your time applying for jobs online. What percentage are you sitting behind the box? 50%...75%? Yes, there are other activities you can be doing at your computer: writing thank you notes, updating your profile or finding new people to connect with on LinkedIn, doing company research. But my message is the same: Start acting outside of the box! Step away from the box and go meet with someone! Go to a networking event. Make a phone call to a well connected friend. Take a walk to clear your head. Do anything, except continue to sit behind your computer screen! "Don't mistake activity for achievement" is a quote from the famous basketball coach John Wooden. That's what a lot of job seekers do: they mistake activity at their computer for progress on the job search. Don't be one of them: Act outside of the box! Brenda Are you familiar with the children's book We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Rosen and Oxenbury? If you don't have kids or if you've never read it, it's a cute story, apparently based on a camp chant, about a father taking his kids on an outdoor adventure that takes them through many obstacles.
If you want to watch the author acting the whole story out (4:30), click here. Here are the first lines of the book: "We're going on a bear hunt. / We're going to catch a big one. / What a beautiful day! / We're not scared. / Oh-oh! Grass! / Long, wavy grass. / We can't go over it. / We can't go under it. / Oh, no! / We've got to go through it!" The family continues their adventure through the grassy slope, across a river, into thick mud and a dark forest, through a snowstorm and finally come upon a cave with a bear who chases them back through their obstacles to home. Each complication is met with the same chant: "We can't go over it. / We can't go under it. / We've got to go through it!" This story is what a job search is like: You can't go over it, you can't go under it, and I would add one more: you can't go around it. You have to go through it - eventually everybody has to go through it. Yet so many job seekers continue to try to figure out a way to go over it, under it or around it. They don't want to:
Don't be one of them. Accept that you're going to 'stumble and trip', as the story says, and have the courage, just like the family in the story, to go through it. Brenda One of my favorite summer activities is getting my hands in some dirt: planting flowers outside and re-potting indoor plants that need it. The re-potting that needs to take place is needed because the plant has outgrown its current pot. It gets root bound and has trouble growing further and may even die.
So, are you root bound? Have you outgrown your current pot (read: position or organization)? Are you feeling like there is no where else to grow? We are already starting to see some movement in employees voluntarily becoming job seekers because they feel root bound. They've held onto their positions for the last few years because of the downturn, but are now feeling more confident to leave their root bound positions for a bigger pot. If you are an employer, what are you doing to prevent a mass exodus of your best people? If you are an employee, have you laid the strong foundation needed to start a job search? Better start taking some action now before your pot starts to crack and the rich soil starts spilling out. Brenda Have you ever noticed the steps involved in lighting a candle?:
It's a similar process in a job search:
Brenda As a Career Coach, I work with clients on what their 'story' is. Specifically, their career story. People like to hear stories, people relate to stories and people remember stories. So it's an effective communication, networking and interviewing technique.
When you interview for a position, the department and organization you are trying to get hired by also have a story. And they're trying to determine if 'your chapter' fits into 'their book'. So your goal is to understand, as best you can, what their book is about. You accomplish this by doing your research on the company (the plot), researching the hiring manager, potential co-workers and leadership (the characters) and understanding the industry (the genre). The more you understand all the components of a potential company's narrative and how your story fits into it, the better your chance of adding your chapter to their tome. |
Brenda CodyJob Search and Career Strategist who hopes I have written something you'll find useful. Archives
August 2014
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