Use Your Head to Get Your Foot in the Door (33 page)

KE: Weakness; understanding of oneself.

HM: Another “we-all” question, but this time worded in such a way that you’re given the option of agreeing or not. So, now you can agree. Again, I’d stick with providing two instead of the requested three, on the theory that giving only one shows arrogance and inflexibility and three is a classic display of wimpiness in going along with whatever the authority figure demands. And again, I’d try to turn the question around so you can give yourself the opportunity to play to your strengths and not to your weaknesses. Thus, you want to continue to grow professionally. While you are certain you have the tools necessary to perform the job in question, no one can have too much education or preparation, and you’re going to continue to take self-improvement courses, both those that provide professional training and those that are designed to help upgrade personal and interpersonal skills. Secondly, you never seem to have enough time to perform service work on behalf of others, and there are various volunteer organizations you’re interested in, such as Habitat for Humanity, Rotary, and so on.

KE: a. Threat, b. Fear, c. Example.

HM: I’ve already indicated why I believe threats are overrated and misunderstood. Fear works. For example, Bob Knight, the former Indiana University and Texas Tech basketball coach, is a master at goading players into performing. But what motivates a nineteen-year-old college sophomore to excel in athletics over a brief, intense time span as part of a team, all of whose members have been equally abused by “Coach,” won’t work in just any setting. Where the personnel are mature, experienced, and professional they will not regard mistreatment and claims of absolute authority as a source of inspiration.

One of the most powerful motivators is “peer pressure.” That’s what the Armed Forces use to motivate soldiers. What makes an eighteen-year-old kid risk his life in combat? It sure isn’t because he thinks his second lieutenant is such a prince. It’s because his buddies, the guys he’s bivouacked with since boot camp, will think he’s a coward if he doesn’t go with the flow. But peer pressure, despite its powerful impact as a motivator, is, like the other motivators, imposed from without, which means the values expressed are someone else’s. It tends to work best on young people, because their personal set of values is not yet fully formed, and they are more easily influenced by others.

I think the best motivator, the one that is most likely to stick with you, even for a lifetime, is the one that comes from within, the voice inside you that tells you to show ’em your stuff. If you’re looking for a one-word description of a truly motivated person, I’d say “self-starter.” Sure, the spark that lit that fire had to come from somewhere. It can be the product of your home environment, your religious upbringing, your drive to achieve success. But wherever that spark comes from, once it becomes part of you, what you believe, then external forces are merely temporary, coming and going with the people who are imposing them.

To stay motivated, you sometimes have to play a trick on yourself. I call it the peas/pie routine. (That is, you have to eat your peas if you want a piece of pie.)

KE: a. When I can collect Social Security, b. When I am president of the company, c. When I have your job, d. I will never arrive—neurotic need, constantly chafing at the bit. Explain “compulsive achievers.” Difference between “wanting” and “having” to succeed.

HM: My definition of “having arrived” is when you learn how to realize your passion in life in a meaningful way, and are rich enough to value time and respect how you use it in realizing your goals.

Perhaps I’m shooting myself in the foot here, but since the purpose of this book is to help you get a job, I’m going to provide you with my list of some of the
other
best job-hunting books out there. I consulted headhunters, human resources managers, recruiters, job hunters, and bookstores. I reviewed dozens of their suggestions, found a few others on my own, and compiled this list, “The Mackay Lucky 13.”

Following, in no particular order, are brief descriptions of these books, all currently in print, readily available at bookstores or the library, and written by people who want to help you, too.

Good luck!

This granddaddy of job-search books has been revised and updated annually since 1970 to give job hunters the most current information. There is good reason this book has sold more than ten million copies since it was first published: It is a practical manual divided into two main parts, “Finding a Job” and “Finding a Life.”

Part I, “Finding a Job,” takes the reader from the hard times to the things they never taught you in school about job hunting. It offers sixteen different ways to find a job, including the five best and five worst ways; Web sites to direct you through the ins and outs of hunting on the Internet; plenty of advice on résumés, interviews, and salary negotiations; and special tips for changing careers, starting your own business, and what’s in store for workers over fifty.

Part II, “Finding a Life,” shifts the focus to the moment you decide that “this time you’re not going to do just a traditional job-hunt; you’re going to do a life-changing job-hunt or career-change: one that begins with
you
and what it is that
you
want out of life.” The workbook format assists the reader in thinking through goals and reasons. The bulk of this section focuses on the seven steps to finding a life that has meaning and purpose. It’s not a book you can read in an afternoon, but it is a great start to figuring out what you really want to do and be “when you grow up.” You’ll never regret buying this book—it’s a keeper.

The subtitle of this book is
The Art of Selling Yourself
. As I have pointed out repeatedly in my book, this is the biggest sales job you’ll ever have. When
You, Inc.
was published a few years ago, I was asked to provide an endorsement, which I eagerly gave: “The one book on marketing I’d have if I could have just one.”

While this book is not specifically aimed at the job hunter, the hundreds of short lessons would prepare any job seeker to present the best possible image. The inspiring stories, true-life examples, and solid advice flow freely throughout the commonsense lessons in a very readable format. Some examples: “Living Is Selling.” “Life is a sale. And the path to success at both living and selling is the same.” “Be grateful for your strengths, but work on your weaknesses.” The shortest lesson in the book is entitled “Tricks and Shortcuts.” The complete text is this: “There are none.” The authors discuss communication skills at length, summing up the “real first rule” of communication: “Communicate so that you cannot be misunderstood.”

One of my favorite gems concerns the heart of every transaction: “Inexperienced sales people start their pitches with the price and the product, then talk about the company. Only at the end, and perhaps not even then, do they finally sell themselves. Experienced salespeople proceed in the opposite direction. They sell themselves and their organization, then discuss the product. At the end—at the very end—they say, ‘Now, let’s talk about how little this costs, considering everything you will get.’” What interviewer wouldn’t be impressed?

Your first clue that this book will be helpful is that it’s written by the coauthor of the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory, an assessment tool used by many schools to guide students toward career choices based on their personal interests.

While the advice seems at first to be geared toward those who are looking for their first “real” jobs, it has plenty of useful information for anyone interested in reevaluating his or her career choices. Campbell starts with the premise that what we all want are choices, and focuses on how to create opportunities for yourself. He writes, “You will realize that the greatest tragedy in life is to have no options, to have no choices. Consequently, when you are planning your future, you should plan it in a way that will give you a range of choices.”

Planning is “a matter of probabilities,” he says, which means that your plans will work sometimes, and not work other times. “Nothing in life is a sure thing,” he counsels, “and any plans you make for the future will have to deal with uncertainty.” Clearly, this approach makes sense for job hunters at any stage.

Campbell takes planning a step further by showing his readers how to best assess their assets, which include talents and skills, intellectual intelligence, emotional intelligence, education, friends, family, experiences, appearance, and health. It’s the longest chapter in this short book, but what a self-examination it is. In his words, “If you have it, use it.” Trust me, if you have this book, you’ll use it.

 

Career coach Robin Ryan says, “You will not land the job unless you excel in the interview.” Her latest edition of this book contains 125 answers that have been used successfully in real interviews, and spends the bulk of the book explaining how to adapt them to your particular situation. Here’s the news: You need to answer in sixty seconds or less.

Why just sixty seconds? Ryan says “verbose, lengthy answers bore the interviewer into not hiring [the candidate]. Nervousness and lack of preparation often result in long, rambling, erroneous, or never-ending answers.” When you notice that interviewers don’t seem to be listening to you, it’s probably a sign that your answers aren’t impressing them. So never use more than sixty seconds on any answer, she says.

Starting with the simple “tell me about yourself ” opener, Ryan explains how to prepare the “60 Second Calling Card,” which summarizes your skills, abilities, and previous experiences in an organized, thoughtful fashion that will immediately make the interviewer want to listen. Her next strategy is called the “5 Point Agenda,” in which the job hunter selects the five most marketable points and repeatedly illustrates them throughout the interview process. Both these strategies can be tailored to the specific interview or job, and help job seekers clarify the reasons they would be the best fit for the position.

Chapters on interview etiquette, salary negotiations, pitfalls, and questions job hunters should ask also offer valuable advice for the big interview. If it’s been a while since you’ve had an interview, spend some time studying the 125 answers—your interviewer will be glad you did.

“There is no such thing as the perfect career,” Strayer writes. “But there is a career that’s perfect for you.” The author leads job hunters toward that perfect job through the use of the Kaleidoscope Career Model, her trademarked system which she describes as an “uncomplicated way to take an inventory of all you can give to a career or job and determine everything you want in return.”

Through workbook-style charts and graphs, the model goes through five steps: defining values and setting boundaries, defining skills, determining behaviors, defining environmental and cultural factors, and examining benefits and monetary rewards.

Once the self-examination is complete, part two of the plan is taking career action, because the author warns, “Most career problems can usually be attributed to continuing to do the wrong thing, or spending way too much time making excuses.”

Strayer doesn’t stop with getting the job; she next concentrates on helping you manage your career. “Many professionals make the mistake of thinking that career management ends when a new job begins . . . whether you’re in your position for a few months or a few years, from salary to performance, you need to keep tabs on how you’re doing, what you’re making, and how you’ll get ahead.” Keep your kaleidoscope handy, she says, because you can use it again and again.

Paul and Sarah Edwards have authored a long list of books on self-employment, including the Working from Home series. In
Finding Your Perfect Work
, they tackle the problems presented by the changing job market. They explain how “what’s happening in our society today is making it economically possible for the first time in history to truly find your perfect work outside the confines of a job so you can build your work around your life instead of the other way around.”

Their master guide for job hunters is divided into three parts. Part 1, “The Destination,” helps readers envision the life they want to create. Part 2, “The Path,” explores the many avenues that lead to the desired outcome and how to choose the most appealing path. Part 3, “The Means,” explains how to evaluate the many opportunities to earn a living along the chosen path.

Real-life examples of their process illustrate how the master guide works. One profile describes a woman with a gift for managing money, a passion for performing, a mission to free people from financial distress, assets including a background in acting and experience in bookkeeping. Her means to her dream: a bookkeeping service offering financial awareness seminars.

In addition to charts, worksheets and questionnaires, the book features detailed appendixes including an alphabetical listing of self-employment careers and professional and occupational licensing.

Anyone considering self-employment will get plenty of inspiration from this book. The authors remind us that “the greatest dreams are often born in periods of the greatest distress. Change presents us with new choices and causes us to seek new options that fire up our dreams.”