Jobs Lead to Experiencing Life

The last 2 weeks have been an interesting trip down the path of life that I am currently taking. But my point of this entry is how ENTERTAINING my life has become. Consider this path, if you are seeking something instead of flipping burgers or delivering pizzas as a career, just to pay the bills.

I started a career where I only call on commercial accounts for utilities (gas and electric). The deregulation in utilities that occurred here offers a lot of opportunities in the next few years.  With my background and experience, I was able to be promoted after only 2 weeks of work here, to become a Leadership Mentor to train new marketing specialists become better at what they do every day on the street. But the point of this, is to share what I've been able to encounter in my personal life BECAUSE of  it.

I've learned more about what is "out there" because I've walked it, talked to business owners, and seen/experienced more that I would EVER get online or in the AAA magazine. I met a 72 year old German woman the other day that runs a family business by making bratwurst and hot dogs by hand. Oh yeah, she also is the landlord for 2 apartments and rents storage areas in her old warehouse. Talk about an interesting person to come across on my path in life. She was barely 5 feet tall, and I'm 6' 4" but her spark, zeal, and sharpness of mind made me feel like I was in kindergarten again.

Speaking of which, another business that I call on are daycare facilities.  When was the last time you sat in an extremely small plastic chair at a really low table to fill out your work papers while 4 and 5 year old kids keep pulling on your arm and yammering in your ear about what they are going to be dressed as for Halloween?

This new career allows me to walk into ANY business in my territory. Sure, I get to walk into the common places like hair salons, barbershops, restaurants, and convenience stores... but I encounter the most interesting people when I run down the rabbit trail, and go into taverns, pizza parlors, tattoo shops, gentlemen clubs, lounges, autobody shops, and dive diners. Sure, I can't always help them reduce their utility expenses, but I get to meet people, learn about new things of where I live, and will return to them with personal business.

Harley Davidson "Liberator" (photo taken in the Frysk Museum, Leeuwarden (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For example, by sauntering down an alley yesterday, I walked into a "custom and performance" motorcycle shop. They restore and custom build bikes. Even though I couldn't help them on their utilities, I was allowed to walk around their shop and got to see that they are in the process of restoring 3 Indian Chief motorcycles from the 40s, several Harley-Davidson bikes from the 70s, and were working on a custom chopper. I took off my suit jacket, rolled up my sleeves, and started turning wrenches. Because I worked with Arlen Ness and Dave Perewitz, and was in a shop that worked on their bikes, I just had to experience life again.

My ultimate point of all of this is that you really need to step outside your normal box, take the job that will not only pay the bills, but also give you a ton of personal experience. Talk to people, get to know them. It might not affect your bottom line, but you get to experience things in life that make you smile.

Write a Resumé

In not searching for a new job for a few decades, I recently had to. My other entry was about searching for a job online [click HERE], this one is about writing the resumé. You just have to figure out what "style" of resumé to write. Back in MY day, we had one template, now there are a ton. The best way to decide which style to consider, surf to:

• Career Advice via Monster.com
• Dummies.com about resumés
• Job Searching via About.com

Yes, it requires a little reading, but they provide the next step forward in the path of securing an interview. Some things learned in the last few weeks may help you narrow some focus on what is written as a resumé. First, decide which style would apply to the position you are applying for. The 3 basics are (there are more):

• Chronological (focuses on where you've been for your jobs)
• Functional (focuses on what you've achieved & the abilities you have)
• Combination (adds both of the above)

Follow the guides to tailor it to fit the position being applied for. If it is technical, focus on chronological; management, focus on functional. If it requires a little of both, combination. Do not create one "general" resumé that you feel meets all of the needs. Draft a resumé for each position applied for.

Why? The resumé is NOT the interview. The purpose of submitting a resumé is to grab attention for them to want to interview and get more information verbally. The interview SELLS you, not the resumé (that is just a spice to inspire them to call to schedule an interview).

Which leads to some personal observations about resumés:

• The resumé is to get an interview. Keep it short, 2 or even 3 pages, NO MORE. When I reviewed them, anything over 3 pages was thrown away. Being compelled to read more distracted from my actual job, so I won't waste time on interviewing you face to face.
• I always had a red pen in my right hand. Spelling or grammar marks were inked, and filed in the round file drawer (trash can). All positions rely on communication. Submit something that doesn't have poor spelling or grammar.
• Cover letters have disappeared, but if applying for a position by hard copy mail, the cover letter gets them interested in scanning the resumé, and that gets an interview.
• Use paper that catches attention but is not neon. Printing on a plain, low weight paper makes it harder to read, because "contrast." The harder it makes to read, the less likely that you will be called for an interview. Go to a scrapbook store, get some soft grey, #40 weight paper, and when looking at a stack of resumés, eyes will be drawn to yours. DO NOT PRINT IT ON NEON. That is offensive, especially if I am going to be your boss.
• Don't use graphics and borders. I thought about hiring you, don't distract me from my real job. I'm processing resumés as fast as possible, taking away my time means that I don't want you in my office. If done on paper, what will it be like face to face?
• Name the file as LAST NAME. FIRST NAME.***. Most applications are done online or email, make sure that the NAME catches attention. Do NOT name it "Resume for XYZ Company on 10_10_12.***" Don't use all capital letters (in chat worlds, that means yelling). Use something like Jones.Smith 10_11_12.*** The asterisks at the end were just used because we all use different software. The key is to keep your NAME out there, your name is your brand. Sell it.
• There is a lot of different software that we use. Save a copy of the resumé as a PDF and use that when sending it off. Nearly everybody has the ability to open the file, no matter if they are PC or Mac.
• If sending an "old school" hard copy resumé, double side print it to reduce the pieces of paper that need to be handled. Plus, it saves money and trees. Just be sure to include the word (Over) in the bottom right corner of the first page so they know there is more.

Anyway, writing or updating a resumé often takes longer than the interview that it gets you...

Job Search

English: P icon with a newspaper
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Job hunting SURE has changed in the last 20 years. Recently I had to put my big toe back in the job search pool. Back in the day, we found jobs by scouring the local classified ads in the paper, drove around looking for "NOW HIRING" signs, and talking to family members or friends about where they work and if they were hiring. Today we can search the Internet, join Monster.com, LinkedIn, or several other sites to promote ourselves. Not only do you get to search for jobs all over the globe and apply for them, but with a good profile, sometimes THEY CALL YOU.

I found this out when I updated my profile on Monster, and spent HOURS just surfing the web. I could see all of the classified ads on the newspaper pages, but also on sites like Career Builders and Monster. I updated my Monster profile, uploaded a resume, and within a few hours, the phone was ringing off the hook by recruiters that use it to find potential employees. I didn't have to apply to those companies to get a call FROM them, they called me.

Red phone (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On the phone I could deny any that didn't meet my goals, while grocery shopping. Saved me a lot of time & driving compared to 20 years ago. Didn't have to drive to the interview, find out about the company there, and then decide that it wasn't a fit. Listening to the person describe what was being looked for, and jumping online to Google that company, showed more than I needed to turn down
the offer of an interview. I did accept interviews with 2 companies within hours of the update to those that appealed to me. Within 3 days, I interviewed and was offered a position, and accepted it.

My first job search (20 years ago) before it returned a request for an interview:

• Talking to a friend's father (2 hours)
• Sending an updated resume (1 hour)
• Waiting for a phone call (1 month)
• Driving to the first interview (2 hours)
• Interview 1 (2 hours)
• Driving home (2 hours)
• Waiting for 2nd interview (4 months)
• Driving to and from the 2nd interview (4 hours)
• Time of 2nd interview (4 hours)
• ACCEPTING THE JOB (10 seconds)

Now, for the recent process:

• Updating resume (1 hour)
• Updating my Monster profile (10 minutes)
• Waiting for a phone call (4 hours)
• Drive time to and from (70 minutes, 26 miles roundtrip)
• Interview 1 (10 minutes)
• Waiting for phone call for a 2nd (3 hours)
• Second interview (8 hours in the field)
• Waiting for 3rd interview call (18 hours)
• ACCEPTING THE JOB (10 seconds)

Do you see now how that the fast pace of life that we live in can impact your life dramatically? Getting the 1st job took me over 5 months and several hundreds of driving, the 2nd one took me 3 days without much driving. I'm not saying that you can achieve the same results, but comparing what I did 2 decades ago to what is possible now, amazes me, and keeps cash in my wallet (yeah, I still actually use one).

Stay out there, keep searching, stay social and ask your family/friends about where they are, keep applying, and make sure it is all up to date (online profiles, resume, etc.) I enjoy the job search pool a LOT more today than I did "back in the day..."