Needle, Meet Haystack

Hey everyone!  Thanks to all of you who participated in the Job Application Diet, or read about it, or considered it, or stumbled across it in a web search to find Mr. Potato Head and then never came back.  In case you missed any of the Diet, here’s the breakdown – with links!

Day 1 – Introduction

Day 2 – Detox

Day 3 – Initiate change

Day 4 – Experiment

Day 5 – Take your time

If you haven’t figured it out, the overarching theme of the D.I.E.T. is to help you see that looking for a job is almost like a job in itself, and that it must be taken seriously.  I hate to use the following phrase, but in this economy (I hate saying that!), job seekers are looking for work longer than usual,  and some of the old tactics that may have been used successfully in days gone by just don’t work that well anymore.

Sometimes, we get so wrapped up in doing things a certain way, or assuming that we know how things are supposed to be, that we forget how things are, and that we might need to make some changes.

I hope that the D.I.E.T. helps re-energizes your job search, and helps you find work a little quicker.  And if it didn’t…

…at least you weren’t sweatin’ to the oldies.

Well everybody, we’re finally here!  The last step of the Job Application Diet!  If you’ve noticed the name trend thing by now (and you should, because I’ve been telling you D.I.E.T. is an acronym since day 2 or so), then you should know that today is the “T” – Take your time.

In this case, I’m advocating a change from the mass-output, get-to-as-many-people-as-possible school of thought.  Tae your time and make sure that your application is good!  I mean, if you don’t spend much time on it, why will any hiring managers want to?  Spend a little time looking over the companies you’re applying to – what is their mission statement?  Who are their consumers, clients, and competitors?  Why do you want to work there?

Make sure to spend time to check for typos, bad grammar, and other stuff that could make your application go right to the top of the trash heap.  I have a friend who was applying for finance jobs, and in his rush to send out applications, he started with the following:

“Dear Sir or Madam:

I am interested in pursuing a financial analyst with Goldman Sachs…”

What’s wrong here?

He was sending the letter to J.P. Morgan!*

Sometimes, you just need to spend a little time on revision to double-check things that most of us don’t give a second thought to, like addresses (Google maps!), spelling (why bother when there’s spell check?), or names.

For the record, Cameron, Casey, Kelly, Lou, Sam, Alex, and many other names are pretty much unisex.  Do your research on these people if you can, so you don’t end up calling a man “Ms.” or vice-versa.

The job hunt is just that – a hunt.  Just like in hunting, you have to wait and plan carefully if you want to catch the big game, or else you’ll wind up having sat around upwind since 3 AM covered in deer urine (metaphorically speaking).

Diet Homework: Spend a little extra time going over your applications.  You might not send off as many as usual, but try to go for quality, not quantity.

I hope you have a great weekend!  There will be a brief wrap-up on the Diet tomorrow.

*Those aren’t the companies, but I don’t remember what they were.  Nonetheless, my point stands, and I hope you get what I’m saying here.

Congratulations!  You’re more than halfway through the Job Application D.I.E.T.!  We’re moving into the final stretch today by talking about the “E” – Experiment.

In the visual metaphor on the right, you are the scientist, and your resume, cover letter, and all of those are the mouse.

Yesterday, you were tasked with seeking out advice from others on improvements that you can make to your job application hardware.  I also suggested that you adapt what they say for different positions – we’re going to go a bit deeper into that idea.

It’s a good idea to have a catch-all resume and cover letter for most jobs.  it covers the bases, gets the most critical information to your reader, and can be used for any number of things – think of it like chicken.  It can take on the taste of whatever you’re sending it to.

But sometimes, you don’t want chicken.  You want steak, seafood, pork, or some other food that has more of its own flavor.  In this case, you need to make specialized application stuff.

I have different cover letters for different job positions, different company types, and different search categories.  That means that for most any job I see that I want to apply for, I have some sort of clue on what and how to write.  However, I change around these templates to reflect the employer and the specific job duties.

For example, the tone, voice, and content of a cover letter for a job at a humor magazine would be funny and relaxed.  I might be a little self-deprecating, and would want to show my personality through the writing.  After all, that’s more likely to be what the hiring manager is after.  But if I’m sending in for a financial adviser position, I’ll stick to a more formal, fact-based voice and contents.  My resume will highlight different aspects of my different responsibilities in former careers, and as a result, the hiring manager will get a different impression of me.

Some people might call this deceptive or uncalled for, but I say that there’s a huge difference in doing a job where you post fart jokes and lolcats on a website (sometimes simultaneously!) versus explaining Roth IRAs and mutual funds to clients.  While you might be adept at either job, they are not necessarily looking for the same person at both companies.

Diversity in your applications: it’s a good thing!

Diet Homework: Take some of the jobs from the list you made on day 2, and adapt your improved resume, cover letter, and any other materials to better reflect the positions.  If you are so inclined, get some feedback from others on your submissions.  Then apply!

Hey everyone!  I hope you all did your homework.  Remember, just like a food-related diet, if you want results, you have to follow the program.  And get lots of exercise.  Or something.

Anyway, today we’ll be focusing on the “I” of D.I.E.T. – Initiating change.  This step builds on the Detoxing from yesterday and helps us to focus on making positive changes that will lead to better results for job applications.

Look at it this way: if your TV signal was bad, would you fix it?  If your router kept cutting off your Internet for no reason, would you look into getting a new one?  And if you’ve had leftovers sitting in the fridge for a few weeks, would you throw them away?  If your answer to any of these was “no,” you either have some serious emotional attachments to material objects or are in denial.  Of course you would!  If something isn’t doing its job, you get it fixed or get rid of it!  But please keep in mind that this philosophy can take a lot longer to be realized in politics and the corporate world.

Anyway, you should think of your resume, cover letter, portfolio (if you have one), or interviewing technique as that broken appliance or moldy food.  If it was working like it was supposed to, you’d probably have a job!  Take a look at each part: does your resume clearly illustrate your best qualifications?  Does your cover letter answer some of your potential employers’ questions and show your winning personality?  Does your portfolio have your best work?  When you interview, are you perceived as a confident person who can help make your employers successful?

We all can become biased about our work; my portfolio had a photograph of a decent picture with a horrible lens flare (like in the new Star Trek movie) that I thought gave the image artistic depth.  I shared it with a few others, and every single one of them told me that it was a bad shot.  Instead, I replaced it with a different image that elicited more positive responses and showed off my skills better.

If you want to find out what you can do to improve your work, share it with other people.  Friends, former co-workers, employment agency people – whoever you can find that will give you an honest opinion.  You have to be willing to be a bit thick-skinned and accept criticism of your stuff to improve it and accomplish your goals; sure, you might not agree with the assessment, but it can help you seem more employable.  And isn’t that the real reason you’re reading this blog?  Unless you were searching for Mr. Potato Head.  In which case, you should go here.

But change should go beyond just your work.  As I mentioned in this post, changing your routine and habits can also help you become more productive, focused, and successful.  Don’t be afraid of shaking things up to make yourself better – it might be scary and daunting, but it will pay off in the end.

The point is, only you can take the steps that you need to make things better for yourself.  And since you already assessed your goals and needs and gained a better understanding of your career options yesterday, why not put your best foot forward?

Diet Homework: Share your cover letter, resume, portfolio, and other job app materials with at least five other people, asking for suggestions and opinions.  Make notes on their comments, and revise as you think is necessary.  After you’ve done this (it doesn’t have to be immediate), show it to them again so you can compare reactions.  Don’t forget to say thank you!

Also, if you’re applying for an array of different positions, consider working on different resumes and cover letters that highlight different aspects of yourself that can help illustrate your proficiency for each position.  Have others look over these as well.

Yes, that’s right.  Just like other diets, this one also has a cutesy acronym.  Today’s focus is on the first part.  D is for detox.

We’re not talking about substance abuse or the new Dr. Dre album; we’re talking about career field abuse.  When I first started looking for work, I was so sure that I knew exactly what job I wanted in what kind of company that I shut a lot of doors, which delayed my overall career path.  Even though my experience in my field was limited, I was so positive that I knew exactly what position I should have, the starting salary I should carry, the size of my workspace, and so on.

And so, I went for months without even a reply to a job application.

In desperation, I boradened my search.  Not just to other jobs in these companies, but to other fields, other experiences, and other ways of finding work.  Instead of just using job boards, I signed up with the local Ad Club, where I made contacts who could tell me about advertising and marketing careers.  Since I lived in DC, I looked for government work that I could accomplish with my skill set.  And because I was still fairly inexperienced in the career pecking order, I applied for internships to gain more experience (and which could potentially lead to a job).  Within three weeks, I had several callbacks, and a week after that, I landed a job.

The problem that many of us have with looking for work is that we pigeonhole ourselves into thinking that we can only accomplish one thing, that we can only succeed at one field.  As I’ve said before (boy, that post is popular), it’s silly to think that you can only do one job for the rest of your life (or even for the rest of the month).  Take some time to think over what you can do.

I spent a long weekend writing a list of my skills and abilities; I came up with far more than just what was needed for the one job I was looking for.  Rather than become a slave to my single-minded ideal of the “perfect job,” I broke the addiction and found great work with great people.  Just take some time to relax and be open to suggestions, and you never know what will come your way!

Diet Homework: Think about your job search – have you been casting your net too wide or too narrow?  Spend some time to figure out what work you can do, and think of things beyond your industry of choice.

I’m not saying that a video game programmer should go for a pilot job (unless you want to), but rather that the programmer could look at other fields, like creating programs for ad agencies, 3d models for architects, and so on.  Make a list of at least five other industries or positions that your skills could work in, and look for (and submit to) those jobs.

One of the problems with searching for a job, whether you’ve just started or have been among the unemployed masses for a while, is that it gets depressing.  Especially lately.  One can go for days, weeks, or even months without a response to any applications.   Your time becomes consumed with searching career boards, adding contacts on LinkedIn, and playing Minesweeper.

Looking for a job is an easy way to fall into the doldrums become incredibly unproductive, and gives you a complacency and comfort in a routine full of bad habits that can delay re-entry into the workforce.

Look, I like TV as much as anybody.  But when I was spending more time on the couch watching the Travel Channel and Food Network than looking for a new income source to pay my cable bills, I knew I had a problem.  I was able to get out of the negative practices and developed a “Diet” that helped me be more productive than I’d ever thought possible.  Over the next four days, I’ll help you find a few ways to maximize your job hunting potential so you can get off the couch and into a corner office!*

This week is going to be a bit serious, so I’ll try to offset it with some clever pictures and stuff.

Yes, hypothetical audience represented by a popular Internet picture, really!

No matter how long you’ve been sending out resumes, you might still learn a few new tips and tricks.  So come with me as we start the Diet!

Sorry, it’s not that kind of diet.  And the short-shorts are not essential to program success.

Get ready!  We start tomorrow!

*For the record, some hyperbole may be involved