Needle, Meet Haystack

NOTE: This is a (mostly) untested theory, and as such is very rudimentary.  You’re welcome to offer your own observations and suggestions, because I think that this could be the psychological/sociological/zoological find of the week.  At least.

So I have this theory about work and how it ties in to your romantic life.  And it’s not that the job application and work process are like dating, because we all know that theory is totally true.  This one is a bit different:

How you act in a romantic relationship (and the type of relationship that you are in) reflects how you are as a worker.

Consider the jobs of teenagers.  Usually a bit uncomfortable, often unsure of their full responsibilities and duties (at least at first), and mostly set at a beginner’s level.  Similarly, most teens are trying to understand the intricacies of romantic entanglements and are developing from a position of little or no knowledge to one where they at least have a rudimentary understanding of how things work.

Similarly, college and younger post-grad students will take on a myriad of jobs and relationships as they discover what they are really looking for, personally and professionally.

However, when a good career and relationship are discovered, one may settle into their new role comfortably with the knowledge that they have found what they are looking for.

But it goes beyond an age and dating history distribution.

A single person in the workplace often has polarizing work performance.  While prone to strong bursts of productivity and lulls of distraction and inactivity, single employees may use work as a substitute for romantic relationships.  This in turn can develop into workaholism (which, despite my spell checker, should be a word, since you can be a workaholic) and a larger dependence on having career-related distractions.  Single employees may also flit to and from different positions and companies, not wanting to remain with one job title at one place too long.  That’s right – a fear of commitment can impact your career choices.

Meanwhile, those in relationships can develop tendencies to stay on with a company or position past the point when they should.  Though they may have more stable work tendencies than those who are single, there can be a greater hesitation to take risks.  However, those in relationships also will want to push themselves upward in an organization with promotions and raises more rapidly than those who are not; the desire to provide for one’s partner and mature are key influences on this change.

Additionally, those who are single may have a tendency to be less risk-averse than their coupled counterparts.  Whether it’s undertaking a new responsibility, making a radical career change or going the entrepreneurial route, a single person will not have concerns about how their actions will impact their partner or family.  The lack of a significant other that would make them rethink their actions and remain more conservative in choice making allows them to expand their horizons with less guilt.

Relationship roles can create a dynamic reversal in one’s workplace personality.  If someone is feeling more put-upon by their partner and becomes more submissive in the relationship, they may become more boisterous and dominant at work.  As such, there is a trickle-down effect that comes from unhappiness with one’s partner that can affect an entire organization.  Using a football structure, here’s how the Chain of Screaming (as referred to by one of the best shows ever) develops from the top down to create discord:

As such, a depressing or angry relationship can create a depressing or angry business.

No matter how we try to deny it, the different aspects of our lives are all linked together.  Regardless of if we label them professional or personal, they all have an effect on each other.  So what does your relationship say about your work habits?

You guys have no idea how long I’ve waited for someone to ask this:

Dear Andrew,

I recently re-entered the ranks of the unemployed, though it’s been a while since I’ve had to look for a job.  What is the biggest mistake that someone can make on their resume?

Short answer: Not proofreading.

Longer answer: The biggest mistake that someone can make on their resume (or cover letter, or any other part of the job application) is to not use spell check, or to check spelling and grammar without proofreading.

With the lax allowances of the Internet, like a lack of capitalizations, punctuation, sentence structure and abbreviations, more people than ever are submitting job applications that would get a “C-” in a fifth-grade writing class.  The simple action of running a spell checker can save potential embarrassment and ensure that your application is clean and polished.

But spell check doesn’t catch everything.

Some of the most common errors can be found in similar words, like they’re and their and there, or affect and effect, or its and it’s.  And because they count as words, a computer can gloss over them.  Adding or subtracting an apostrophe (like its and it’s) can change something from a plural (no apostrophe) to ownership (with apostrophe), and vice-versa.

If the spell check doesn’t give you any alternative spelling suggestions but still says the word is wrong, unless it’s a last name, look it up in the dictionary.  Or at dictionary.com.  Afraid you’re using one word too much?  Try a thesaurus.

The easiest way to find errors is to read something aloud.  If it doesn’t sound right when you say it, then it isn’t right.  What may read fine may not sound fine.  And since everyone interprets what they read differently, make sure it makes sense when spoken aloud.

So spend a little extra time going over your job application to check for content, not just spelling and grammar errors.  It could be the difference between getting the job and having to repeat your sixth grade English class.

The news cycle was abuzz last week with the story of a boy who accidentally flew off in his father’s experimental balloon.  He was chased for hours by rescue teams until the balloon landed, but he wasn’t inside.  It was then discovered that he was hiding in the garage the entire time.

Really.

Of course, there were some later reports that the whole thing was staged, but the why of the situation isn’t that important.  What is important is this: when looking for the child, his parents forgot to look in every room of the house.

Think about when you’re filling out a job application.  Do the details mentioned in the job description show in your resume and cover letter?  Do you follow all submission guidelines and make sure that you have everything spelled correctly?  Is the letter addressed to the right person at the correct company?

Sometimes, in the panic to get a job (or find your child who may or may not be in your experimental hot air balloon), important details can be overlooked.  Take a minute to breathe normally, think about your situation, and make sure that you have checked for all potential problems.  Not only will your chances of getting a job increase, but you will be less likely to create a national incident because of it.

…and now, Mr. Potato Head is out of the top 10.  What took his place?  Find out below:

* It looks like there’s only a limited number of spaces held for these results with my current site analytics, so apologies to the two of you who sent in the searches for “cool hamster”

There are a number of reasons that you might not get called in for an interview.  This list highlights six of the main reasons that you might not be getting a callback.  So if you want the job, make sure you read the job description carefully, make a resume tailored to the position, show persistence when contacting your potential employer, and don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

6 Reasons They Didn’t Call You Back (via Yahoo! HotJobs)

The job: Brewmaster

You might like this job if: You like beer or chemistry.  But mostly beer.

The good: You get to make beer!  As much as you want of whatever kind you want!  Upset that there isn’t a beer with the flavor of your favorite snack?  Make one!  The beer-making possibilities are endless!

The bad: As you may be aware from watching Super Bowl commercials, the beer industry is very competitive.  And as such, making a great beer that sells well (regardless of taste) can be harder than one might think.  And even if you want to start a micro-brewery, you will still have to contend with the high costs of equipment and obtaining raw materials.  Want to work for a beer company as their brewmaster?  Get in line.  In addition to the job being hard to get, many brewmasters have to rise through the ranks of a single company for years before getting the official title.  Plus, you’ll smell like beer all the time, which might sound cool at first, but will slowly start to gnaw at you until you can barely stomach the taste of what used to be your favorite beverage.

Summary: An awesome-sounding job that will earn you numerous high-fives at the bar, but one that requires a loving devotion to your craft and requires a lot of time and dedication to master (while trying to succeed in a fairly crowded field).

Rating: Three rather large and imposing industrial vats full of beer out of five

So yesterday was Blog Action Day, where a bunch of people blogged about climate change.  Unfortunately, climate change and job-getting do not intersect much (besides trying to get a job with an organization trying to prevent global warming).  As such, here are 5 tips to help reduce your environmental impact while seeking employment:

Use these tips while looking for work, and you’ll find yourself in a great environment in no time!

Alton Brown, the host of the only watchable show on the Food Network these days besides Iron Chef, was interviewed by the Onion AV Club, where he shared this piece of wisdom:

We live in a constantly fracturing culture. You know, when I was a kid, there were three networks, and people had more in common on the streets. Let’s put it this way: We had more in common than not in common. Well, one of the things about the Internet and the culture that’s come out of the Internet is that it’s made people cluster into micro-communities. We’ve become hive-minded. We’ll gather with four people who have something obscure in common with us, like “I macramé squirrels!” or something that’s far less appealing than that. We’ve lost a lot of our commonality.

The fracturing that Brown is talking about is a roadblock that many people encounter while trying to build rapport with others.  As personal interests and hobbies get more and more specific, the room for common ground decreases.

When trying to build new interpersonal relationships, it is critical to find some common ground.  But with more choices on leisure activities, entertainment and so on, it’s become increasingly difficult for people to really connect.

Last week, an acquaintance asked me if I had seen “the game.”  I assumed he was referring to football, one of the last shared cultural experiences this side of American Idol, so I began sharing my excitement over Brett Favre’s crushing defeat of his old team.  It turns out my acquaintance was referring to an Australian rugby game.

So in situations where not even some of the most common shared entertainments are safe, how do you find common ground?

You make it.

Besides creating opportunities for shared experiences, you may have to find common ground based on the hobbies and interests of others.  If you show an interest in wanting to learn about things that people are passionate about, they usually will help to teach you about them.  Not only will you gain deeper interpersonal relationships with others by sharing interests with them, but you may find new things to be passionate about yourself.

In a fracturing culture, there is no way to cover all the cracks.  But you can still find a way to connect with others on more levels than just superficial ones.

Today, I was going through the newspaper when I noticed an advertisement for an upcoming performance by the touring group of Grease.  Besides being shocked that Grease still has a touring group, I was also somewhat astonished to see Taylor Hicks, a former American Idol winner receive top billing.  Not as one of the leads or one of the secondary characters, but as Teen Angel, who Wikipedia notes is a “one-scene character.”  Instead of having hits on the Billboard Hot 100, he’s travelling the country to sing “Beauty School Drop-Out.”

But Taylor Hicks isn’t alone in this phenomenon.  Past winners Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino have also been pushed back into the hall closet in the house of Idol history.  And their stories can give us one vital lesson that should be remembered at all times:

Success is something that must be maintained.

Whether you’re determining how to market yourself to potential employers, starting out at a new job, or coming off the high of a new promotion, make sure that you have a quantifiable list of consistent achievements.  Whereas former Idol contestants might fall off the pop charts, you might fall of the path of an upwards career trajectory.  In a workplace environment, you should always make sure that your successes and achievements are not only measured, but are noticed.

If you are looking for work, you might have to find alternate ways to show success – through starting your own business, volunteering, blogging or refining your portfolio.  If you can show that you are continuously developing your skills and are not resting on your past laurels despite your employment situation, you will become a more attractive candidate to employers.

And hopefully you’ll avoid being buried on page seven of the “Arts and Leisure” section.

If you’re on Brazen Careerist (which you should be) and read this post and scanned the comments section, you may have seen my comment where I mentioned something I call “Guru Fatigue.”  So now I’m going to give you a little more detail about what that is and how you can combat it.

Guru Fatigue is not what happens when you’ve sat through repeated showings of Ghandi (which is quite good, by the way) or Mike Meyers’ The Love Guru (which is quite horrible, by the way), but is instead what happens when you exhaust yourself on the teachings of a particular person.

A guru can be anyone with an opinion you value.  Many modern gurus that my friends and I have learned from in the past include Neil Strauss, Tim Ferriss, Robert Greene, Penelope Trunk, Guy Kawasaki, Warren Buffett, George Parker, Anthony Bourdain and many others (even Tucker Max – sigh).  But the problem is that no matter who is talking, what they’re talking about, how much you enjoy what they have to say, or even why you’re reading – you will get bored.

It’s an unfortunate inevitability of life – people can only take so much of something before they’ve had enough.  And there will come a point where you want to get some distance from your guru.  And even if you take some time away, it won’t be the same when you come back.  Yes, breaking up with your guru is a lot like breaking up with your significant other.

So how do you keep things fresh, ensuing a long and happy guru-student relationship?  With three things: communication, diversity, and breaks.

Most gurus have some way for people to contact them, via Twitter, email, message boards, responding to blog posts and so on.  Using these open channels of communication, you can create an open stream of contact with your guru, learning more from them than if you just read/watched/listened to their lessons.

Also, you should see other gurus.  Diversity in the lessons you learn, and your teachers, will make you more informed and will give you a better grasp on the subject.  Reading multiple job blogs, for example, will offer you different tips and insight into the employment process and how to get the job.

Also, you should take occasional breaks from your guru.  As much as you might like to check their site daily for updates, or read their books sequentially, the content will still be there later.  You can find time to put some of their lessons into practice or analyze what you’ve learned during this time.  But you don’t need to force your guru into your routine.

It can be tough navigating your way through an activity or industry, and having solid gurus can help.  But if you become too dependent on them, you might wind up unable to develop your own skills and become a guru in your own right.