Beware the Job Description! – Part 2

So here we are again. You've waited patiently for the second part of this blog. You identified with something I said in Part 1 and realized that you should be on trial for cruel and unusual punishment - for the torture of your résumé! I truly believe that my mission in life is to help people realize their value-added to themselves and to others - and how to skillfully communicate that to potential employers/clients. And if you still think that just sitting back in the comfort of your home and diligently applying to online jobs is actually being productive, then let me correct you right now. I believe in the spam reduction act. And if you have engaged in any (or all) of the activities outlined in my last blog, you are in violation of this act to the highest order! 

Now, I'm not saying that you should abandon the online/print job search. But it is a very passive method because all you're doing is waiting for someone to post a job that you feel you can do. Did it ever occur to you to create your own job description? Did it ever occur to you to network and build relationships with like-minded professionals in your chosen career path? Did it ever occur to you to do in-depth research on your target companies? Did it ever occur to you to spend the necessary time discovering who you are and what benefits you bring? Did it ever occur to you to recognize and improve your career limiting personality traits that people have pointed out to you time and again? Do you really want to sit around job searching and complaining that there are no jobs out there? I mean, is that really a valid excuse? Just because you don't see job postings then you equate that to there being no jobs? Do me a favor and just think about that last question.

Wouldn't you like to know what goes on in the minds of employers before they write a job description? By understanding the mentality of employers, you will understand yourself and what you need to be doing to position yourself for success. First, let me be sure that you understand that businesses don't hire people out of charity. That is to say, that the decision to hire you won't be because an employer wants to make a charitable contribution to society. Yes folks, you will be hired because there is actually an expectation that you will produce. There are too many reasons to name as to why employers actively seek someone to hire so I won't name them here because you can google it. However, I will clarify some job seeker myths and fantasies so that you do not fall victim to the "Job Seeker in Wonderland" story.

The Make A Wish Foundation
Your job search is not the "The Make A Wish Foundation". No business is spending its days and nights trying to grant your final career wish to save you from your self-inflicted, demented job search. It's not about you and what you wish for. It's about what you can contribute and how you can help an organization grow and prosper. I wish that I could work part-time and make a million dollars a year. I wish that I could go to work and leave work as I please and still get paid a top salary. I wish that I could work for Apple or Google. I wish, I wish, I wish! Everyone is just wishing for a job without thinking about what they actually have to offer. It is not the Company's job to find you a job! It is not the Company's job to design the perfect job for you! It is not the Company's job to manage your career path! My dear job seeker, these things must be done by YOU.

The Job Search Fairy
Wouldn't it be nice if we could just find a job online, print it out, put it under our pillow, fall asleep, and then wake up to an email in our inbox inviting us for an interview for that very same job? It can happen if you believe in the Job Search Fairy! The Job Search Fairy does not ask you tough questions about your motivation and raison d'être. The Job Search Fairy does not make you do a deep introspection to determine who you really are, what you can really do, what you are capable of doing, and what you want to do. The Job Search Fairy will do all the work for you so that you never have to prove to yourself or to an employer that you actually bring something of value to the table. But there is one small detail that you might find important. The Job Search Fairy can only get you an interview with any job posting you find. But YOU still have to convince the employer to hire you. So sorry my dear job seeker...it always comes back to YOU.

So are you ready to awake from the long slumber of your nightmarish job search? Are you ready to try something new, something different, something proven? Are you ready to stop being a passive job seeker who sits around each day waiting for that new job posting? Trust me, by now the cyberworld knows you by name. You're the talk of the virtual town! Indeed, you've become quite popular. Only you don't get invited to the exclusive parties. No, your name is not (and will never be) on the guest list. In fact, if your résumé shows up at the virtual door unannounced, it will be summarily executed! All the cyber gates that say "help wanted" are programmed to say "no vacancies" when they see your résumé. To add insult to injury, the only people who do want you (and who are desperately seeking you) are the cyber trash bins - because they want to delete you from the résumé database!

But wait, the story doesn't have to end in a Greek tragedy. Have I convinced you of the need to make a mental shift? Well, if not, there is a final chapter to this series. Stay tuned for part 3 of this blog!

Beware the Job Description! – Part 1

How many people do you know who are (or were) unhappy with their job? Well, starting with yourself, you know at least one! No job is designed to bring you 100% happiness. It’s not like the Job Gods are sitting around planning the perfect job description with you in mind. It’s not like they want to talk with you first, learn all about your motivations, and then customize the job just to suit your specific needs. The job description is Employer-focused, not YOU-focused! 

So what's a poor job-seeker to do? You’ve been trained all of your professional life to search for job descriptions. And what a frustrating search it can be during these times of slow market growth. You’ve been told by companies to just go online and see what openings they have. You’ve been told by employers that they are not hiring. You have browsed job description after job description only to find a precious few that you met most of the requirements for. You’ve even applied to jobs that you were obviously underqualified for, and even overqualified for – just hoping that someone, anyone, would have mercy upon your poor little résumé…

At this point, you have no shame – you just want a job! And in your desperation, you become more anxious, more frustrated, and eventually more negative. But still, like an old failing company that refuses to change tactics, you search the Matrix of job boards for the ONE. You know it is out there just waiting for you to stumble upon it like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And so, on and on you go finding job description after job description and tirelessly sending your worn-out application materials to each one. If your résumé had feet, they would be gnarled and lumpy like the roots of an ancient sequoia tree!

So stop!! Stop I say!! For the sake of your poor little résumé who wishes not to be sent out on these foolish quests to search for El Dorado – the lost city of gold. Mindlessly sending your résumé into cyberspace is like spamming! And pretty soon the constantly evolving online system will either filter you into the spam folder, or store you in the holding bin of a company’s applicant tracking system...sadly awaiting a death row march towards the electronic trash bin.

I will leave you with something to think about. Would you rather spend your time chasing jobs, or would you rather have jobs chasing you?  Daniel Porot (www.porot.com) coined the terms "job beggar" versus "resource person" to describe this dichotomy. Think about the mental shift there and stay tuned for part 2 of this blog!