Category: Career

Posted on

No Job…No Problem…!

A manifesto for living in the new economy.

Having been out of the country for almost two years, I’ve effectively been out of the day-to-day marketplace. The fact that I’m not ready to retire, means that I’m not ready to stop working.

But the challenge becomes…how do I get back in the game? So I sat down and put together a strategy that I’m hoping makes sense…not only for me…but for all those people currently doing the same thing.

Please feel free to forward it to one of YOUR friends that might be in the same boat!

Change your thinking:

  1. Looking for a job is a powerless position. If you are looking for a job, you’re basically trying to persuade someone to find value in you. Once you’re an employee, you become a simple line item in their overhead budget and that and costs them money.
  2. Alternative: They need you! View them as a client. You must boil down what talent you can bring them. You must give them ideas of how they can use you. Specific ideas. Give them real life examples of the problems you can solve within their company. Either with photos, names, pursuits or problems you know they are facing.
  3. Bring value from Day 1. There will be no learning curve. They need you…they just don’t know it yet.

Change the way you view money – Finances:

  1. Your life is a balance sheet. You are looking for income. Yet, you are also cutting expenses.
  2. Income. People are always looking for people to take care of a problem they have. The bigger the problem, the more they will pay. Your job…find problems. Then either fix them, if you have the skill and expertise… or find someone who can fix them… and then manage the process.
    1. You do this by getting to know people.
    2. Asking them questions about themselves.
    3. Learning…about them.
    4. Listening to…you guessed it….them.
    5. Do this…and at some point you’ll hear what they are struggling with. Spend time looking for problems…then solve them….and get paid.
  3. There are also other means of income. SELL YOUR CRAP! Literally! If you have moved at any point in the past few years, you will undoubtedly have said…I’ve got too much crap! Most of us do and it all has a price tag! Bottom line…if you are not actively using it…it’s crap…and it is just as good as a stack of bills…just waiting for you to find a buyer.

Change the way you deal with people – Networking:

  1. Hang out with people who are working! Don’t hang out in the library, at Starbucks, Panera or any other place that has free wi-fi. Everyone there is in the same boat as you…they are not working!
  2. Working people are busy! You must schedule a time to get on their schedule. These are the people who you want to be around because they have money, they have problems that they deal with every day and they have both connections (that are working) and money to pay you.
  3. Meet new people. Attend events that are specific to your business and expertise. Not generalized loser mixers…where everyone is looking for the same thing and nobody there has any authority to hire you.
  4. Make it easy for people to find you and learn about you.
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Blog
    • Visual CV
    • Personal website

Change the way you view yourself –

  1. Get up each day and get out of the house by 8 am.
  2. Get dressed in business attire.
  3. Eat lunch downtown.
  4. Smile.
  5. Workout.
  6. Never say you’re unemployed, you are consulting.
  7. Never have a bad day.
  8. Business comes from people…not computers…get in front of people.
  9. Always call…never text, email or other spineless ways of trying to get in front of someone.
  10. Advertise your success on Facebook, LinkedIn… But in a professional way.
  11. Bring value. If you read something interesting. Write a note to a colleague and send it. Highlight several points so they can see you actually read it and boil it down to why you sent it to them. (Remember, they are busy…they have a job).
  12. You are a BRAND! If I googled you…what would I find? Would it be consistent and would it support the message you are telling me and the world about you?
  13. Work on your BRAND every day.

Now quit reading this…and go out and get a new Client!

Posted on

Margin

 Did you know 40% of any book is “white space” or margin?

You might think what a waste of space! But try reading a book without that white space, and you will begin to feel the heaviness of black ink as it creeps into your mind and begins to slow down your reading and comprehension. Our lives are much the same way.

Our souls crave white space. Downtime for our senses, just as the margin allows our eyes to rest on every page.

Our lives are filled with noise and clutter. We tend to both create and wear the badges of honor that cause us to believe that “more is better”. How much CAN I get done? How long is my “to-do list”. Go, go, go, do, do, do. How far will we push out the margins of our lives? Until the words run off the page and the letters fall into oblivion? Blackberries, emails, Twitter, Facebook, texting, and the “old school” phone calls. When is enough…enough?

  • When can I sit and be quiet?

  • When can I be alone with…myself?

  • What would I think about? What would I DO?

If you can’t answer these questions. Then these thoughts have been written for you. I beg you to give yourself the “gift” of doing nothing. Schedule it if you have to! But find the time in your week to simply…do….nothing.

Go sit in a park. Go to the woods. Get outside so the breeze can touch you once again…and you actually take notice. Listen to the sounds of the world. Listen to the sounds of “your head”. Allow them all to have a place.

Welcome back…to yourself…margin is a beautiful thing.

Posted on

How to be organized at work

First, realize that each day is going to be a “paper day” or a “people day”. Sometimes there is nothing you can do to change it. 

Try to plan at least 3 of one type and 2 of the other type each week. 


On a “paper day”… 

 1. Go through all your paperwork and place post its on each paper. 

 2. Write the specific action to be taken on each post-it. 

 3. Have three files (green, yellow, red)

  • Green = Take Action
  • Yellow = Waiting on other’s or Pending
  • Red = File (remember to file by company name) 

 4. Organize your computer Email & My Documents folders – 

    a. Create files by each company that sends you email. 

    b. Drag all of your correspondance into the corresponding company file. 

    c. Use follow up flags on your daily email (green = take action…) 

    d. Put every person in you “contacts” file. 

    e. Keep attachments with emails. 

 5. Think like a “Sushi chef”…. only have one thing that you are working on in front of you or on your desk. Put all other papers in one of your colored files. 

Instead of an “inbox”, all papers start in your green file. Work hard to move them out of that file. But just keep your post-it specific about what you need to do next with that paper. 

  

  On a “people day”… 

 1. Make your calls. 

 2. Circulate through the office and “check in” with others. 

 3. Take someone out to lunch. 

 4. Expand your network – personal and professional. 

 5. Check in with family. 

 6. Try to get out of the office…remember…you are a “people” too!