The Downtown Women's Club womensDISH blog

DWC Guest Post: From Fired to Hired

DWC Guest Post by Tory Johnson, author of Fired to Hired: Bouncing Back from Job Loss to Get to Work Right Now.

1) When you tried to go from fired to hired after losing your job at NBC News, what obstacles did you face?

When I was fired from NBC News from a job I loved and a place I considered heaven on earth, I was stunned. I thought my world had come to an end. I was embarrassed. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I stayed in my apartment for weeks and weeks. Ultimately I had to accept that the job was over, but my life and career could continue just fine. I had come out of hiding, pick up the phone and reach out to all of my contacts. I had to hold my head and realize that the skills and successes were still mine—and nobody could take those away.

2) If I get laid off today, what’s the first thing I should do?

Two things simultaneously: Indulge in a pity party--give yourself a moment to let your emotions run wild. You'll no doubt feel scared, frustrated, angry, and maybe a tinge of relief. Acknowledge those concerns, but don't allow them to consume you. After all, you've got a lot of work to do. Focus on your finances. If you've lived paycheck to paycheck, it's time for a reality check. What are your monthly obligations and which ones can you lower? How much money do you have in reserve? File promptly for unemployment, with an emphasis on accuracy and honesty so your claim isn’t delayed or denied.

3) What are 3 mistakes you see jobseekers making most often?

• Trotting out the “nobody’s hiring” excuse. By assuming “there are no jobs out there,” you’re looking for an easy excuse—a crutch—to throw in the towel and give up on your search. When I appeared on Larry King Live earlier this year, a caller phoned in to ask how he could possibly find a job when 90 percent of the local employers in his area weren’t hiring. My answer is always the same: Focus on the other 10 percent. You don’t need 100 percent of the employers to be in hiring mode. You only need one to say yes.
• Talking mainly about your needs. It's not about what you want, dummy. It's about what they want. No employer will hire you because of what you want—such as an “opportunity for growth in a progressive company.” Forget that nonsense and recognize that you’ll only be hired based on what the company wants. Figure out what they want and position yourself as an ideal match. (Ultimately you have to want the same things for yourself, but as a jobseeker, sell yourself based on their needs first, not your own.)
• Spraying and praying. Only a fraction of online time should be spent on the giant job boards because they lead to a false sense of accomplishment. You submit hundreds of resumes and you feel pretty good about yourself. You assume someone out there will respond to at least one, if not more, of your submissions. All logical assumptions—and all wrong. Job searching in a recession is more about quality than quantity. If you’re not following up and proactively reaching out directly to decision makers, your chances of being discovered in that big black hole are slim.

4) Where do jobseekers say they’re spending most of their time online?

Sadly, the sites they turn to most often are the giant job boards. That’s fine for finding job leads and getting a sense of who’s hiring and what’s out there. But it’s hardly enough. I steer them to social networking sites. Anyone looking for a job should be on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. It’s not good enough to simply have an account and amass a slew of contacts, friends and followers: you’ve got to work those connections to make them work for you. Embrace the 60/40 rule: 60% of your jobsearch time should be spent offline, with just 40% spent online using job boards, social networking sites, blogs and industry sites.

5) Give us a few quick tips that are easy to apply:

• Enhance your digital identity. When we want to find out about someone or something, we google it. If nothing comes up, it must not exist. Don’t be absent in cyberspace. When a prospective employer or contact googles you, make sure something comes up—ideally information that enhances your professionalism and touts your credentials. Online social networks—Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn—can help you do just that. Create a free digital resume at VisualCV.com. Start a blog. Post comments on influential industry blogs to tout your knowledge.
• No typos, duh. Three out of four (76%) executives surveyed by staffing firm Accountemps said just one or two typos in a resume would remove applicants from consideration for a job. Ask 3 people to proof a hard copy—don’t rely on spell check. Read it backwards too.
• Don’t blame your age. Resist the urge to blame the one thing you can’t control—age. Even though workers age 45+ are disproportionately represented in the long-term unemployed, it’s not impossible to get hired. You’ll no doubt encounter “over-qualified,” which is often code for “too old,” but keep plugging away.
• Spend 3 to 4 hours a day devoted to your search. If you’re not working on it daily, it’ll take longer to get hired. If you’ve been struggling for months without success, wipe the slate clean and start over.
• Mind your credit. Poor credit, which is more and more likely for some people in a recession with prolonged unemployment, can prevent you from getting hired. Don’t bury your head to mounting debt and unpaid bills. Be proactive about addressing this if it’s an issue for you.
• Ask for feedback. If you’re going on interviews but never hearing back, ask for candid comments on why you weren’t selected. Don’t get confrontational; just make it clear that you’d greatly appreciate the benefit of feedback to help you going forward.

About the Book

At just 22, Tory Johnson was fired from her dream job as a publicist at NBC News. What followed is an all too familiar story—days of denial, Häagen-Dazs, and daytime TV. Tory’s pity party turned into a misery marathon until she decided to own up to her new reality and move forward. After writing a cathartic “Dear Andy” letter to the boss who arrogantly sent her packing, Tory made a cognitive shift—vowing to get going on the next chapter of her life, learning valuable lessons along the way. After a few intermediate jobs, Tory founded Women For Hire, a leading provider of comprehensive career services for women, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this fall.

How to Rein in Runaway Negotiations

This guest post is by Michelle Goodman, author of My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire (Seal Press, 2008).

Clients who don’t know what they want can chew up countless hours of your time with exploratory emails, phone calls, meetings, and requests for more details if you let them. Ditto for blood-sucking zombies who milk you for free advice but have no intention of ever hiring you. Here are some suggestions for “training” indecisive clients and weeding out the bloodsuckers:

Cap getting-to-know-me meetings. Bloodsuckers are fans of meetings with agendas like “let’s spend the next four hours talking about how you’d execute our project were we to actually offer it to you.” For this reason, I have a rule about complimentary getting-to-know-me meetings: One hour max is all you get—by bat phone, webcam, or in the flesh—and then I’m billing you for it. Likewise, I don’t dress, drive, and give up my morning for just anyone. Unless there’s big money, repeat business, or real PIE potential, I phone it in.

Use templates. Although I have a bio and work samples on my website, I still need to email interested clients my references, additional samples, and a more detailed bio or resume from time to time. The materials I send vary wildly, depending on whether I’m talking to an arts organization that wants me to teach, a potential copywriting client, or a news website that wants an article written. Rather than reinvent the wheel each time, I have a nice collection of templates I employ: ShamelessInstructorPromo.doc, Fortune500Bait.doc, and MediaWhore.doc.

Create a FAQ. Rather than answering the same questions over and over, email a “How I Work” doc to interested clients. Or post a FAQ page on your website. “Before I do any illustrations, I send clients a detailed breakdown of how I work, how many sketches I do, what sorts of changes they can ask for, and when payment is due,” says freelance illustrator Molly Crabapple. “So many headaches averted!”

Send a questionnaire. Besides having a helpful FAQ and Design Process page on her company’s site, Emily Carlin of Swank Web Style cuts to the chase by sending a design brief for interested clients to fill out. We’re talking twenty-plus questions about everything from the site’s purpose and number of pages to preferred colors, graphics, and layout. Considering how many people will call a web designer before they have any idea what they want, this saves her a load of time.

Make a video. For Erin Blaskie, who runs Business Services, ETC, a virtual assistance company based in Ontario, Canada, creating a ten-minute video called “How to Work with a Virtual Assistant” was “the smartest thing I’ve ever done.” Not only has it greatly reduced the time she spends answering potential clients’ questions about how she works, it adds a personal touch. “What’s nice about the video is instead of it being written, they get to see who I am,” she says. “It’s a great way to get that trust built.”

Do have a business-savvy pal in your industry weigh in on any FAQs, web pages, or videos you make before you send them to potential clients, especially if you’re new at this. You don’t want to be so demanding—“Only green M&M’s in my dressing room!”—that no one wants to hire you.

© Michelle Goodman. Excerpted from My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire (Seal Press, 2008).

Do family patterns limit your success?

This month's DWC Indicator article is written by Sylvia Lafair, author of Don't Bring It to Work: Breaking The Family Patterns That Limit Success (Jossey-Bass, March 3, 2009)

 

I'm certain you've all had the experience of looking in the mirror and recognizing you have your father's chin or grandmother's blue eyes. We also inherit our ancestors' ways of thinking and behaving. Thus, our decisions are less totally "ours" than they are a collection of threads from our family tapestry. Thanks to advances in neuroscience we know that unconscious emotions occupy a different region of the brain than conscious perceptions and exert a powerful influence on our actions. The trigger is usually stress!

 

When a co-worker tries to one-up and makes you feel stupid, suddenly you are responding to your older brother who always put you down. When your boss demands that costs be cut, suddenly he is your single mom who could never make ends meet. Reactions happen in milliseconds. As the internal anxiety gauge goes up your ability to respond in a mature manner goes down. I am seeing more and more fear, anger, and defensiveness in offices as the current economy puts stress at a recent all time high.

 

Awareness that an old pattern is activated offers options for deactivation. However, if it stays underground I can guarantee it will be reacted to beyond what is called for in the present situation.

 

In my book I identify the 13 most common patterns in the workplace. Here are three that most women understand: 

 

Super Achievers must excel at everything. Not only do they achieve every conventional measure of career success, their families also must look picture perfect. "Happiness" is not a word used by super achievers; they just say "success." They tend to step over or on anyone and breed resentment at work. The good news is: super achievers who tackle the need to be "the one" become creative collaborators who include and cooperate. They put ego needs aside realizing greatness comes from a group effort.

 

Martyrs go above and beyond what is called for. Martyrs want to be "special" by being needed. They love to suffer and do this quite well. They also use guilt and silence to get across how hard they work. When a martyr changes they become integrators and can work wonders in an organization. Integrators have an amazing ability to help people learn to share the work and everyone feels they are being treated with fairness and respect.

 

Pleasers rarely offer an opinion and say "yes" to everything. They don’t set limits, are ineffective authority figures, and want consensus rather than real solutions. Being popular is key, their mantra, "so long as you are liked you are safe." When a pleaser becomes strong enough to change they become valuable truth tellers, unafraid to stand for what they believe. Truth tellers are transparent; you always know where you are with them. They are the leaders everyone wants to hang out with and learn from.

 

The great news about this work is that with a willingness to become pattern aware you gain tools to make changes that get beyond knee-jerk survival responses so you thrive at work.

 

Learn more about Pattern Aware Leadership at www.patternaware.com or www.ceoptions.com

 

Making Certain Moves in An Uncertain Marketplace

This month, our DWC Dish Indicator Piece is by Marshawn Evans, author of S.K.I.R.T.S in the Boardroom: A Woman's Survival Guide to Success in Business & Life:

With the state of the economy and the bailout plan, everyone is concerned about the stability of jobs and 401Ks. As an entrepreneur, I understand and appreciate the concern over being able to maintain revenue. Regardless of whether you're a business owner, entrepreneur, or recent grad, the marketplace has everyone uncertain about what tomorrow will hold, but there are a few things that we as women (this applies for guys as well!) can keep in mind to be sure that we are equipped and protected in spite of these uncertain times:

Do Not Panic. A lot of times when we panic we make bad choices. One of the things that I talk about in Skirts in the Boardroom is the importance of emotional intelligence, which is separating emotion from your decision making process. The first thing that is very important is not to panic and to think through decisions and plan. There are many advantages right now -- it's a buyer's market. Real estate and stocks are cheap, plus you can negotiate deals of a lifetime. You need to make wise financial decisions and wise decisions about your career.

Keep Your Resume Up To Date. You never know who you may meet or who may have an opportunity for you, so having your resume up to date is a good way to be prepared for new opportunities that may come your way.

Bounce back

This month's DWC Indicator article is thanks to Karen Salmansohn, author of The Bounce Back Book. This article is from the Downtown Women's Club August DWC Dish e-newsletter. (Click here to register to receive the DWC Dish e-newsletter for free).

No one is exempt from pain. Not even self-help book authors.

That's why my new book "The Bounce Back Book" outlines 75 ways to help people cope with losses, setbacks, and adversity in general. Below are a few of my favs.

• Tip # 21: When life throws you curveballs, hit them out of the park.
  Change is good if you INSIST on making change be good. Don't fight it. Embrace it. Go with the flow of your change by considering flowing in a whole new direction. Brainstorm crazy new ideas that are now newly possible!
• Tip # 55: Sing your heartache out.
  The Institute of Music, Health and Education has found that just 5 minutes of singing or humming can put you in a sunnier mood. When in the shower or bath, sing out your heart's content. Avoid songs once shared with an ex or lyrics that verge on the maudlin.
• Tip # 57: Meditation can work like medication to calm you.
  Close your eyes. Become aware of your breath. Exhale the past. Feel it leaving your body. Inhale the future. Envision what you want coming toward you. Repeat until relaxed.

Posted by Nancy Loderick, DWC Dish editor

Six tips for landing that dream job

This month's DWC Indicator article is thanks to Alexandra Levit, author of How'd You Score That Gig?. This article is from the Downtown Women's Club June DWC Dish e-newsletter. (Click here to register to receive the DWC Dish e-newsletter for free).

Alexandra's six tips for landing that dream job are:

1. Learn about yourself. Take time to do a self-assessment of your values, how you like to work, and what you'd be compelled to do even if you never got paid. Research careers and industries that map to your skills and interests.

2. Don't be deterred by a lack of experience. In developing a resume and other promotional materials for the field you want to pursue, think about how your current skills and talents apply to the responsibilities you'll hold in the new job.

3. Ease into a new career one foot at a time. Perhaps this means earning a paycheck at your current job while doing a part-time internship in your new field or taking an adult education class or workshop on the weekend.

Why the BOSS isn't that into you

This month's DWC Indicator is by Anita Bruzzese, author of 45 Things That You do That Drive Your Boss Crazy and How to Avoid Them . This article originally ran in the Downtown Women's Club Dish e-newsletter (click here to register for free).

You know that book about why the guy just isn't that into you? Well, it's time to consider why the BOSS just isn't that into you.  In "45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy and How to Avoid Them," it is pointed out that a boss does not hire you to fire you. But when you drive the boss bonkers, you hurt your chances at a promotion, a big project or even a raise.

Some of those 45 things include:

• Failing to delegate. When you do too much without asking for help, you become a bottleneck. Bosses worry that when you hoard jobs others should be doing, is it because you have a problem with other people? Do coworkers dislike you and not want to help? Are mistakes going to be made because the work is not being done as efficiently as possible? Bosses know that anyone who wants to rise in the ranks must be able to get things done through other people.
• Being disorganized. Studies have show that managers take an employee's level of organization into account during annual reviews, and neater workers were more likely to be noticed, appreciated and promoted. Bosses see a messy, chaotic work space and think: "Disorganized work equals disorganized mind." Not the positive image most people want the boss to have.

Extreme makeover - Internet edition

This month's Tech Tip is by Nancy Loderick, Dish Editor and VP, Network Partnerships, at DowntownWomensClub.com.  This article originally ran in the Downtown Women's Club September Dish e-newsletter. (click here to register for free).

Having an online presence is a great career-booster.  It can also make it easy to craft a new image for oneself.

I was studious in high school, but certainly not technical.  Let's just say that I was not very welcome in the computer lab.  Especially after an incident where the key punch cards went flying across the room.  Yes, I went to school long before PC's; back when mainframes were the thing and computer terminals were restricted to only a select few.

Fast forward several years and here I am serving as the DowntownWomensClub.com Webmaster and writing about the latest technology like Web 2.0.  Recently, I was pleasantly surprised to get a LinkedIn invitation from a friend I hadn't seen since high school. (So we are talking about a LONG time ago...)  He had seen my posts about Web 2.0, looked me up on the Internet and sent me an email. 

This was especially interesting since he is a successful Venture Capitalist out in Silicon Valley.  He was also one of those super-smart kids who basically ran the high school computer lab.  My favorite comment from his last email was, "I never remembered you as being so technical."  I was flattered, to say the least.  I was also touched that he took the time to look me up and re-connect with me. 

I'm thoroughly enjoying the new "me."  All done over the Internet.  Here's five tips on how you, too, can reinvent yourself with a little online help.

May's DWCeDISH Newsletter

For those of you who might have missed our DWCeDISH newsletter due to spam filters or other technical difficulties.  Here's a link to an HTML online version.

Downtown Women's Club May Dish -  Joining the real world, facing forty and books by presidential wannabes

Click here to register for our DWC Dish monthly newsletter and/or local club announcements.

New book: "Getting from College to Career"

DWC columnist Lindsey Pollak is thrilled to share tips from her new book, Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World, published on April 10^th by HarperCollins.  The book gives college students and recent grads 90 action-oriented tips to get a foot in the door of the real world. 

Much of the advice in the book relates to professional job hunters at any stage of their careers.  Here are five helpful tips from the book:

1. Cast a wide net.  Quick quiz: Which has the best shot of leading to a job?  a) a career fair, b) a connection from your best friend’s college roommate’s fiancé or d) a quirky help wanted ad on Craigslist?  The answer: You never know.  It could be any of the above.  This means it’s crucial to follow every lead and keep up your job hunting momentum.  I suggest taking at least one career-related action every single day to make sure you are always moving forward.

2. Shine online.  These days, your Internet image is becoming as important as your in-person image.  Make sure that you’re “Google-able” by setting up a professional profile on a website such as DWC Faces, LinkedIn.com or Ryze.com, or reviewing books (ideally related to your career expertise) on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com.

3. Become an industry expert.  Set up free keyword news alerts for companies, industries, products or events related to your industry.  This means you’ll be the very first to know about new products, new management and new business opportunities—invaluable knowledge when you’re networking within your industry or selling yourself in a job interview.

4. Set a goal before every networking event you attend.  Too many people attend events hoping that something positive will happen.  It’s your job to make it happen!  Set a goal for every event, such as meeting one helpful new contact, getting a referral for a service you need, practicing your new elevator pitch or asking the speaker a question about current industry trends. 

5. Make following up a cinch.  When you meet someone you’d like to connect with again, be sure to close the deal on the spot.  Instead of hoping the person will remember you, simply say in the moment, “I’ve really enjoyed meeting you, and I’d like to follow up if you’re willing.  What’s the best time and method for getting in touch?”  Then you can follow up exactly as instructed, and your fabulous contact will be eagerly expecting your communication.

The bottom line: Be PROACTIVE, be POLITE, be PROFESSIONAL.  The result?  You’ll get a great job where you’ll be…drum roll, please…PAID!

Getting From College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World is available now.  Visit www.GettingfromCollegetoCareer.com for more information.