Hello All,
I hope you have been keeping healthy and safe since my last update. It seems there has been so much going on with recent headlines and changes across the job front and employment landscape. It can be hard to keep up!
I remember sitting down for a coffee with one of my new hires after he had just started and giving him an uninspired, canned response to his question about how things were going. "Super busy, meeting deadlines, because you know we're all Team players right?" All the cliche's. We started talking about a travel concept I had and then noticed my hands moving more, my body language and tone of voice changing conveying excitement. He said he didn’t notice that level of passion when you were speaking about my day job. His comment resonated with me and it was that moment of clarity that changed my direction.
Perhaps you are young in your career and on the upswing, or maybe like many of my contacts, at a crossroads and mid-career stage asking questions about what’s next, or possibly at the tail end on cruise control. This could be a great time to define your dream job and during this crisis, it may present an opportunity for a rebirth. A career path isn’t always a consistent, steady upward trajectory as we know. Some may choose a career shift to another field, go back to get more education, take time off, or try something more entrepreneurial.
FOLLOW YOUR (SIDE) PASSION:
We have all heard follow your passion but sometimes you need to slog it out in an area you don’t love to get there. There is an extremely high level of discontent among a majority of workers in their current positions. Add to that, businesses and corporations’ loyalty has dropped precipitously. Then, there is the fact that relying on a job during a recession is always a bad move.
There is also a high level of impatience among younger people in the workplace expecting promotions and perks after just a few months on the job. While, I understand the zeal, motivation, and desire, the reality is that usually you need to bide your time. It’s a marathon…..
RECUIT YOURSELF:©
I always said that recruiting myself out of my jobs were the most difficult of all. You will need a plan differentiate yourself, become a free agent, improve your skills, and develop some side hustles. Through this process, you’re able to do something you enjoy that doesn’t feel like work, can run in parallel with your current day job, bring in residual / passive income along the way and prepare you to be more marketable. Now is a great time to build something you own and diversify your book of business. There are some incredible resources out there from LinkedIn Learning to freelancing apps. Just start with a Google search and go from there. There are more ways to build out multiple revenue streams than ever before! What will yours be?
JOB HACK OF THE WEEK:
How many times have you drafted a well worded email as a follow up to a phone conversation and not received a reply back? Or, maybe it was an eloquent and articulate voicemail or text you gave yourself a high five after leaving and then….. crickets? We all have our ghost stories…..
C’mon people, you’re better than ghosting! We used to teach candidates about persistence, professionalism, and passion. Somewhere along the line that message was lost. I would ask job seekers I was working with what the next steps were after their interview with the hiring manager and they didn’t know! Why? Because the manager was waiting to be closed! When one of our candidates would post a negative review on us as recruiters via Glassdoor and our manager found out we didn’t close the loop, we would catch holy hell. I’ve been guilty but I’ve learned, follow up is the key.
If you don’t know the answer, then say that, it’s okay. If you don’t have the time to respond back in full, acknowledge receipt and give a timeline of your reply. If you’re not interested in a product, partnership, or the person then say so. Having clear, definitive next steps is also efficient and saves everyone the time wondering about spam folders, guesswork on what their priority is and so on. We’re all busy.. It’s not an excuse. A response, of any kind goes a long way and you’ll find that most often people will appreciate an undesirable response rather than none at all.
CALL TO ACTION:
A quick shout out to those that have been helpful in referring people my way for coaching and advice. Keep ‘em coming! My ask this week is that you send this newsletter to ONE person going through a rough patch and struggling with any aspect of their work goals that might benefit from some guidance.
Have a good finish to your week, stay safe, wash your hands, and be kind.
