Are you unemployed? Do you know someone who is? Practical steps and helpful resources for you to consider—post a comment if you have anything to add that can help someone else going through the same challenge.
Now What
What Language Do You Speak?
by Now What?® Coaching Founder, Laura Berman Fortgang
Spanish? French? Arabic? German? Those are not the languages I am looking for when I ask what language do you speak? I am 
wondering if you up-language or down-language when you write or speak about yourself. By that, I mean do you undersell, oversell or get it just right?
Whether you are marketing yourself as a business owner or a job candidate, the use of words is critical to your success.
I have had the recent pleasure of working with a director-level job candidate who exemplified the power of our choice of language.
Her resume read like a younger person with less experience than she really was. The language was underselling her accomplishments and despite almost fifteen years in her industry, her resume read like that of a young hopeful.
She reworked the language to be more powerful and to better exemplify her solid experience. Entries like “Established a ____” became “Maintained full responsibility for ____”. And “Implemented _____” became “Pioneered the implementation of ____”.
It was no surprise that interview opportunities started to show up more readily once the changes were made.
Your word choices are colored by how you see yourself. Are you afraid of bragging? Do you lack confidence in your accomplishments? On the other extreme, do you embellish the truth too much? Finding the right balance is key. A strong self-image is important as long as you can wear ‘the suit’ you carry yourself in well.
Try this: Have someone read your website, business brochure or resume out loud to you. Then, answer these questions:
- How did it feel to hear the language used in your materials?
- If it was hard to listen to, why do you think that is?
- Could the documents use some toning down or some ‘up-languaging’?
Before you change anything, have your buddy listen to you reading it. Get their opinion of your answers to the above and make some changes accordingly.
If your language needs upgrading, be aware that you’ll need to practice saying those words in a mirror or mock interviews to get comfortable wearing them. If you over embellished, practice being more truthful and know you are enough as you are. Finally, become very conscious of what you say and please, choose to speak the language of success.
What business idea might you like to explore?
Here we have three examples of women who started their own businesses. In one case the business idea originated as a simple holiday gift; in another instance the business started as a sideline; the third business involved a more deliberate study of a potential market niche. As Nan Langowitz, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship at Babson College states, “Even in an economic downturn, there’s opportunity for smart entrepreneurs.”
Get Paid For Your Hobbies
Frank Hyman, the author of today’s article, shares what came from the decision he made at age 26 to get paid for his hobbies. Certainly, a career of combined hobbies isn’t for everyone, but Frank’s story just may spur some ideas. In the Now What process, we encourage you to engage in your hobbies even as you are researching other types of jobs and scenarios. As Frank says in this article: Follow your curiosity.
2011 Best Companies to Work For
Flip through this summary of current job openings at the “25 Best Companies to Work For” and read what lead recruiters are looking for in candidates. As you might expect, many recruiters emphasize the importance of demonstrating your knowledge of the company and your fit with company culture and values, as well as being curious and able to think beyond today. Here are a few of our favorite tips which echo the Now What?© mantra of connecting who you are with what you do:
“We know that candidates are good at many things, but we’re most interested in what exactly makes them each a rock star. What do they do so well that no one else can compete with them in this area.” —Jeff Vijungco, Adobe Systems
“Don’t be afraid to demonstrate your passions and your personal brand.” —Holly Paul, PricewaterhouseCoopers
“Don’t feel limited by your past… Consider how your skills translate to the role you’re seeking and help us make that connection when we interview you.” —Oriana Vogel, American Express
“What impresses a recruiter is a well-prepared candidate with clear accomplishments, tremendous passion, and the ability to connect his or her experience and skills directly to the job he or she is going after.” —Pam Anderson, Intel
WRITE YOUR OWN TICKET FOR JOB SEARCH RESULTS
by Now What?® Coaching Founder, Laura Berman Fortgang
Here’s a far out idea. If your job search or dream goal is not coming along as you had hoped, write a story about how it could and watch your circumstances change.
“Really? Can that work?”, you might ask.
Yes, it can and let me tell you why. When you write fiction and allow your imagination to take over, you are wiping out linear, logical thinking and tapping into your intuition, also known as your superconscious. (vs. subconscious) When we approach a strategy linearly and it does not work out, we have a hard time tapping into a new, creative approach and tend to get stuck repeating the approach that is not working over and over again.
When we use our imagination, as in writing a fictitious, outrageous story about how our goal can come to be, we are tapping into our intuition, getting away from linear thinking and coming up with new ideas that may work to change our circumstances when put into action. We are also tapping into a greater knowing within ourselves that may not have been obvious to our conscious, linear mind.
For example, Marty is a hard working CFO of a hospital and has been ready for a new job for a long time, but has been stuck and not getting any substantial results from sending out resumes. He has used the bad economy as a reason to drag his feet and not be too aggressive about his search, assuming he should be grateful to have a job and not rock the boat to find another. When he gets a burst of energy about his search, all he can think to do is to send out more resumes.
When asked to write an outrageous, fictitious story about how he lands a new job, Marty struggled at first. That’s not unusual. We are not used to using our imagination or even thinking it’s a worthwhile exercise to stop and write a childish story about getting what we want. Yet, Marty managed to leave his disappointment and disbelief aside for an hour and let his imagination take over.
“I am sitting outside the hospital one day and the CEO’s of several hospitals are walking around during a break from some sort of conference. Two of them come over to me at different times and tell me they have heard of me and wondered what it would take to get me on their team. We have meetings in the next couple of weeks and they have a bidding war to get me. I have my choice and go with the highest bidder securing a contract that with bonuses that could create great security for my future. Within a month from that day on the bench, I am in a new job and very happy.”
Marty’s story seems far-fetched. That’s GREAT! That’s the point. Now, will his story come to be just because he wrote it that way? Likely not, but we have seen stranger things happen in our Now What?® career transition coaching work. However, where the gold is here is to then interpret what your intuition may be trying to tell you as it snuck into your story. What parts of the story are actionable? What hints can you glean from it?
Marty saw that he was not networking at all and that he had to be out to industry events and shaking hands again like he did in the beginning of his career. He took that message from his intuition to heart and created a linear plan of action for being in touch with more industry people. This was his ticket to a new job. Within six months of active networking, he was getting responses to his resumes and interviewing with hospitals that he would be happy to work for. In eight months, he had a new job.
No matter what you may be stuck about, career or not, use fiction-writing as a way to see your situation differently and be released from the ‘no -results-zone’ and ushered into the ‘opportunities-come-my-way-zone’.
It really is all in your mind and how you see things……..I want you to see what I see……POSSIBILITIES. You really can write your own ticket.
Based on Chapter 9 of “Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction”, “Life Often Does Imitate Art; Write Your Own Fiction”. More on this topic in Laura’s upcoming “The Prosperity Plan” (January 2011)