“Career & Life Lessons of 2004”
Part 2 of a 2-part series
Career Cycles
By Joe Hodowanes, Career Strategy Advisor
Of J.M. Wanes & Associates
www.jmwanes.com
2004 was the year of the almost-recovery. Business bounced back – sort of. The long-awaited Google IPO debut was a smash – but failed to pull the rest of tech out of its funk. Consumers opened their wallets again – but focused their spending on pricey designer wear and other indulgences, buoying the purveyors of luxury goods while most of the rest of the retail sector was left gasping. Smart phones that take pictures and applications that give them sizzle ignited a cellular boomlet, but the overall telecom industry continued to stagger. Yet, despite the economy’s starts and stops, we can most definitely learn from 2004.
In part two of our two-part series, we outline the career and business lessons that emerged or intensified during the past year. Some of these will certainly hold true in 2005.
Get a better picture of a prospective company’s culture. I always instruct candidates to study how stock options are distributed at the target company. If they’re dispersed across the management level and not spread throughout the company, it says a lot about the culture of the company and the leader. Also, look at what’s hanging on the walls when you enter executives’ offices. You can tell by what they have on the wall what’s important to them in life. Look for pictures of their family, the commonality of pictures of sports, coaches, and things like that.
Play to your strengths. It may seem obvious that people achieve results by doing what they’re good at and by working in ways that fit their abilities. But very few people actually know – let alone take advantage of – their fundamental strengths. After all, it’s a rare baseball player who is equally good at every position. Why should a natural third baseman labor to develop his skills as a right fielder? Once you’re aware of your best self, you can shape the positions you chose to work in – both now and in any subsequent phases of your career.
Personal and confidential. Don’t put “Personal and Confidential” on any envelope you mail to a stranger when you’re job hunting. People often try to attract attention that way, and it’s always a poor strategy to follow. If there’s anything an assistant is trusted to do, it’s open the mail. So, regardless of how your envelope is marked, it will be handled in the usual way. That’s what happens in your office, isn’t it? Attempting to bypass an assistant with such a phrase just makes you look naïve. That’s not the impression you want to instill in a potential employer. There’s only one proper way to get your mailing looked at when others are not – make it more impressive. Write a clearer, more elegant cover note. Enclose a very succinctly worded, logical and factually persuasive resume and you will get the attention that you deserve.
Make a generic electronic subject line for your email transmission. In a world of click and send job postings and canned letters that pass for communication, I prefer more substantial contact. That way you can be sure they hear you and you know they’re listening to you. For that reason, I personally prefer face-to-face discussions and telephone conversations, but hate the impersonal email way of communicating. Nevertheless, email is a major tool when searching for new employment, therefore, when submitting your resume, include your name in the subject line (e.g., “John Smith Resume” is a very straightforward and helpful label for an email resume or appended file). Sadly, most job seekers say something like “Resume Submission,” or worse: “Resume Doc#2 Final.”
Take advantage of the rejection letters you receive. Sift through carefully to find the unusually cordial ones…perhaps 10 or 20…from people who were so impressed by your mailing that they really did wish they had a place for you. Since they’re at hiring levels in industries and companies that appeal to you, they’re ideal early contacts for your job search campaign, which would otherwise be narrowly based on the people you already know.
Always begin your search by skimming your best personal contacts and alerting the executive search community. If that doesn’t correct your career transition problem within the first six weeks of looking for a new position, then chances are you’re in for a full-scale job search. If so, you may save several months in the long run by devoting one or two weeks to a targeted direct mail campaign at the outset, rather than later in your job search campaign.
Don’t abandon networking. Don’t be tempted to abandon persistently purposeful networking for other deceivingly simpler, more impersonal but far less effective job searching methods that don’t require your personal interaction. Building good interpersonal chemistry is the best way to move your job search campaign forward and keep it steadily progressing. Guaranteed, you will find yourself negotiating for a new job sooner using a structured, strategic plan to methodically reach out repeatedly to your target companies through networking. This will keep your name on employers’ radar screens and get them to recognize the value you bring to their organizations.
Please note that many of today’s successful careers aren’t planned out in advance. They develop when people are prepared for opportunities because they have rigorously assessed their unique characteristics. I sincerely hope this two-part series challenges readers to take responsibility for managing their futures, both in and out of the workplace.
Joe Hodowanes, a career strategy adviser in Tampa, Florida, offers a free resume
and career analysis. Fax your resume to (813) 936-0201 or email it to
jmwanes@jmwanes.com For questions, call Joe at (813) 936-0091 or visit
www.jmwanes.com on the Web. All Job Search Advisor articles on this website are the property of
www.jmwanes.com
(J.M. Wanes & Associates). You may download a copy for personal use. Redistribution without permission is strictly prohibited.
© 2005 J.M. Wanes & Associates.
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