Remaining Flexible in the Hunt – by Susan Vagnoni Murphy

I have started this particular blog multiple times and then got too busy to finish.  When I started again my focus seemed to change and each time I picked it up I found myself running into a time crunch. I am really busy! That is when I realized what the blog had to be about.

 

So, I hoped to be telling you all about the fabulous, full-time position that had snapped me up but, alas, that is not the story.  Not being part of an organization can be frustrating, unnerving and at times pretty lonely.  I realized I had to change my priorities for the time being. While continuing to pursue a new job I decided to return to my consulting roots.  I began by running job readiness trainings as were available, but now I am independently helping other very busy entrepreneurs get their work done. Most of the services I provide center around writing, marketing, research, networking and social media.  They utilize my core skill base and my personal interests.

The irony is that the very thing that has made me face difficulties in finding work has also provided work that I am enjoying. Having been in the work world a while can make some HR departments feel they can’t afford you, or can’t mold you to what they need, or that they don’t think you will be comfortable with a younger supervisor.  All of which is erroneous, but it is out there.

 

So my job tip # 11 is: Remember to be flexible in your job seeking journey.  As it was when you started working years ago, you knew you had to prove your worth and learn as you went along; that has not changed.  What has changed is that you bring with you an amazing toolbox full of proven skills and developed knowledge that can allow you to carve your own path for a while. Enjoy this time while meeting new people and continuing to practice your craft. If we stay nimble, stay flexible and stay positive I believe the meaningful next step will come along.

Yours in motion, Susan 

Knowledge is Hope by Susan Vagnoni Murphy

Blog Tip #10: Know What You Are Up Against

February is month 8 of my job search. I have been successful in finding contract and part time work, but am still on the hunt for the full time employment that will support my sons and me.  Surprisingly, I am optimistic. Due to a concerted effort, my skills and knowledge are growing each day and that gives me hope and a sense of self-worth.

What tends to drive us towards depression or self-defeat is the unknown.  Fear of the unknown takes its toll by robbing us of our confidence. The best way I have found to fight back, especially in a search that has been going for a while, is to arm myself with knowledge from two directions:

1. Outwardly: What should I understand about the success rates in the applications I send? 

  2.  Inwardly: What should I be doing right now to make myself the best candidate as opportunities arise? 

To help with number one I have taken advantage of a number of classes and some of the best have been through the Dislocated Workers Program.  One recent workshop discussed the likelihood of getting a job, or even an interview, when the application goes through an ATS or Applicant Tracking System. Most of the ‘fill in the blank’ forms you encounter online go through this type of sorting program.  It looks for key words, and when they are not found in the version of your resume or cover letter that you are allowed to provide, your application is rejected. The Hiring Manager will never see what great things you have to offer. 

Some facts on the ATS:

•          They exist to make the recruiter, not the applicant’s life easier
•          They are often not formatted correctly for the job or the resumes being submitted
•          They  kill 75 percent of candidates' chances of landing an interview as soon as they submit their resume

One quick takeaway is to be very selective on whether you spend your time applying for a job where an ATS form is the access point. It may rule out some jobs you were considering applying for, but perhaps your time would be better spent on a more accessible application, for example: Send a resume and cover letter to Bill@thisjob.com.  You get the idea. A human may actually be the first person to see your qualifications and the amazing cover letter you worked on so diligently.

If you really want to apply for a job using this software, here is a good article on CIO with some great ideas to try to beat the ATS: http://www.cio.com/article/2398753/careers-staffing/5-insider-secrets-for-beating-applicant-tracking-systems.html.

Next blog I will discuss number two above on how you can arm yourself inwardly.  Till then, I am really pulling for you, Susan

Writing the Script for 2016 by Susan Vagnoni Murphy

If you are a living, breathing human being you may have tried that old, tired path of New Year’s resolutions. It never worked very well for me because there was no foundation to make it happen.  So this year I have set in motion what will be a more thoughtful and productive path to an excellent 2016 in both my job search and my home life.

 Job Tip #9 – Not only embrace the blank page of 2016…write it!

My journey to writing 2016 started with accepting an invitation from a colleague named Hanna Cooper who is a talented Executive/Leadership Coach. Hanna generously offered a mini-end-of-year web retreat to create a plan for 2016.  Having ended my 2015 with no full time work, I felt this was a great opportunity to organize myself for the year to come.

Hanna’s retreat had several valuable steps, but I will recount 3 activities that helped me the most:

• 1       Writing down my accomplishments in 2015

• 2       Writing down my failures in 2016 (why did this one seem so much easier)

• 3       Writing down the lessons I learned from BOTH the accomplishments and the failures

This process allowed me to put on paper what had been swirling in my head and clogging my productivity, and list out how I had grown and became a wiser me from all of those experiences.

The freeing step Hanna gave next was to tear up the pages on the accomplishments and the failures. With that action they became a thing of the past. The accomplishments would always be with me and I could let go of the disappointments. Best of all, I was armed with the valuable lessons to more forward, unencumbered, into 2016. (There was much more to the retreat and I encourage you to contact Hanna at the link above for any of her very helpful services, or listen to the recording of the mini-retreat here).

For me, I have started my 2016 by getting a couple contract assignments that bring me joy and are in my passion areas. Yes, I am still in the hunt for that special job that is out there for me, but in the meantime, all the processes I put in motion are coming to fruition with a more positive person at the helm.  I am writing and visualizing what I want to see for my sons and me in 2016. 

I hope you too will take the time to reflect, remove the negative, and renew the positive lessons as you jump into a better life in 2016. If you have a moment, please comment and let me know what you have done to prepare for 2016, or where you are in your job search. 

In your corner as always, Susan

What Do You Do With All That “Free” Time or A Day in the Life of A job Hunter by Susan Murphy

Without going too political I want to say how offended I feel when I see news articles, political candidates and Facebook commentary belittling people who are on unemployment and calling them lazy, or a drain on society.  If you have never been in the position of having your livelihood go away, be sure to thank the Lord for you are very blessed. If you are like the many, many, many of us who have to get through a rough patch and look for new, meaningful work, than you will know how big a job it is to job hunt.  So for the under-educated on the world of job hunting I present Tip #8: A day in the life of a job hunter:

5:30 am - Get up, feed cat and get sons up to drive them to archery practice at the High School.

6:05 am - Call unemployment line to check in and go through the long list of questions to be able to get your unemployment benefits for that week (benefits you earned by the way)

6:15 am - Grab a quick breakfast and bring it to your computer to check today's job listings on a vast number of sites you put together.

7:45 am – After sprucing yourself up head downtown to volunteer at a networking breakfast. Volunteering is your payment into the event that day thanks to great people who run the organization.

11:00 am – Whip on over to the local Workforce Center to take a class on Job Hunting Over 50, Advanced Excel, Resumes, Interviews, Advanced LinkedIn, etc., etc., etc. You name it, I’ve taken them all.

1:00 pm Zip home to grab something to eat and make a series of calls to set up appointments to find ways to lower your car insurance and find health care for the upcoming months, or anything else that might make your bills go down.

2:00 pm Work on any applications to jobs you found that morning and submit.  This includes writing a killer cover letter and updating your resume to be pertinent to the work.

2:25 pm Stop for a few minutes to say hi to your son coming back from school and see how his day went. (Sometimes this time becomes driving other son to his job or picking up younger son from afternoon activities.  Return to job applications. Continue with applications and submit.

4:45 pm to 6:00 pm Cook dinner for sons and eat together whenever possible.

   

6:30 to 8:30 pm Attend a weekly career support job search seminar.

9:00 to 10:30 pm Help son with his homework by drilling him on vocabulary, reading over an essay and/or listening to his presentation for the next day. One of the highlights of your day.

10:30 to 11:30 pm Do dishes, hand washing, clean cat box or whatever little chores you still have energy for.

Midnight or maybe 1:00 am Climb into bed and read for a bit to try get your mind to relax and let go of the day.

Next day: Rinse, swish, repeat.

You get the picture.  This is not an exaggeration but a page out of my calendar.  Job searching is hard work so be kind to others who are in the midst of it and for heaven’s sake, you job searchers be kind to yourself!

Determinedly yours, Susan

You Still Have a Job to Do by Susan Vagnoni Murphy

One of the best pieces of advice I can give is you is to continue your life as if you are still employed. This is Tip #7 and I cannot express how important it is in helping you stay productive and maintain sanity. People who are not in your shoes may not understand how uncomfortable it is to not have that job to get up for each day. It saps your sense of purpose and sense of self. However, by giving yourself goals and keeping to a schedule you can make this the perfect time to create a renewed sense of how valuable you are.

So, how do you conduct yourself as if you still have a job?  Here is a quick list of habits to keep or create to keep you job-ready:

1.       Have a regular, early rising time.

2.       Maintain a personal dress code.  You never know when you will run into someone you may want to impress. Dress a step up from the crowd - you will feel better for it.

3.       Use your calendar and keep it up to date. Find activities to get out of the house that give you things to do and to look forward to.

4.       Find ways to keep working. Ex: If you are a writer, keep writing; if you are a teacher, find someone to tutor; if you repair cars, find one to work on (maybe help a friend).

5.       Increase your skills.  This is an optimum time for professional development, or to fill in the skill gaps you have.  Organizations like DEED, the Workforce Center, HIRED, Goodwill, Mentoring Partnership of MN and online webinars offer a great variety of free classes and workshops to keep you moving forward as a lifelong learner.

6.       Make a task list for the day and check things off as you would the projects you tackled in your previous job.

7.       Get out there and network.  Making new contacts and caring for those you already have are crucial to being in-the-know and staying in people’s minds.

8.       Volunteer – it will lift your spirits and let you use your talents.

9.       Guess what, you have the time for all that reading you kept putting off! Catch up on business journals, leadership books and articles that you never had time for while you were working.

10.   Always give yourself goals to work for and keep records of everything you are working on. You can’t remember everything you’ve done without keeping a list. Being able to recall and recount those activities could come in handy during a job interview.

Oh yes, don’t forget to find time to do something fun.  You used to go out for a happy hour or a work event.  You can still do that – just find a new crowd and let off a little steam; you earned it!  I am rooting for you - Susan

What You Gain from What You’ve Lost - by Susan Vagnoni Murphy

This will seem like very odd advice from a job-seeker blog…especially as a start my 14^th week on the hunt for good employment.  Tip #6 this week for my fellow hunters is Gratitude.

Are you still with me?  Thanks for not closing this page. 

No, I have not lost my mind.  I have, however, spent countless hours out there networking, volunteering, gathering information and just talking to as many folks as possible. Let‘s face it, going out and doing all of this is partially my choice but has also been forced upon me by circumstance. But somehow, what has risen out of it is an unexpected feeling of gratitude.

During the events, workshop and hours spent looking for new work, I have found from some AMAZING people I may never have had the chance to meet. For example: I have encountered an inspirational woman who speaks on her experience losing an arm to cancer 12 years ago. She acknowledges the difficulties while exuding true gratitude for her journey.

At a recent event, I had a lovely conversation with a woman who moved to Minnesota years ago and became a CEO. She shows her gratitude for a difficult journey by creating a foundation lending support to victims of sex trafficking in her birth country of Korea.

I have reconnected with past colleagues and employers, reminding me of how fortunate I am to have had them shape my early workplace experiences and renew my faith I my abilities.

I have found friends I somehow carelessly lost track of, and learned how they overcame their challenges; like a sweet author friend of mine who struggled with acceptance of her unique life experiences by writing a book that brought her to so many others who felt the way she did.

I have joined support groups for job seekers, like the one at a Lutheran Church in Minneapolis (I am a Catholic from Saint Paul) that is filled with gracious, giving, supportive facilitators who lend their time and resources to give us job hunters a weekly boost.

I am grateful for even the smaller things in life, like lower gas prices to save on gas money and warmer weather allowing me to walk more and put off the winter coat purchases. When you are on unemployment, these things really matter.

I urge anyone else out there to be open to gratitude during the hard times in your life.  As Tony Robbins says, “When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.”

I am wishing you abundance (and of course a great job!).  -Susan

Tip #5: Be a Joiner by Susan Vagnoni Murphy

If your job hunt is dragging on I know it can feel like you don’t belong anywhere.  It doesn’t seem right that so much of our identity is wrapped up in our jobs. We are so much more than that, but we lose sight of it after the multiple times someone comes up to ask us what we do and we have to say, “Well, recently I was…” Painful.

If you are like me, you have already tapped family and friends and networked your brains out to see what possibilities are out there; and also for the mere human contact. Now is the time to go beyond the comfort zone. So when you are feeling you have no place in the universe you fit in, it is time to find a new place to belong. My Tip #5 is: Be a Joiner. This can take many forms - the most useful of which is a job support group. 

I recently started with a great group that was recommended to me.  It is called Career Walk. We meet weekly and get help with assessing skills, preparing for interviews, and learning how to create a positive job hunting experience. We also support each other.  This group happens to be held through a church, which leads to another tip I got along the way: many of the church-based groups have amazing success rates in helping people secure a good job.

Just being in a room with folks who are facing similar challenges while hearing their stories can help you feel much less alone in your own process. The state employment sites have many suggestions for groups, workshops and classes, and the ones I have attended have all been very worthwhile. 

Here’s hoping you find someone to walk alongside you in your job journey. - Susan