Keeping Motivated During Your Job Hunt

If you’re out of work – for a little time or a long time, make sure you don’t waste your energy on negativity.  There is no bigger turn off in a job interview than someone who is feeling down. I’m not saying that it’s easy, but there are some tips you can use to keep yourself motivated and positive as you seek employment.  And, they may help you score a terrific position.  Just searching job postings and sending a resume isn’t enough anymore unless you are VERY, VERY lucky.  So consider any or all of these possibilities:

1)  Schedule your weekdays as if looking for work is your job.  Make a plan:  What are five to ten things you need to do this week and next week?  Schedule at least a few hours every day to work your plan. Here are some ideas:

• Online Research:  What companies are hiring, or undergoing management changes that might result in an opportunity for you?  What areas might you shift into if your old profession is shrinking?
• Set up informational interviews to learn about companies or new professions
• Call two to three people a week to network with;  ask them for suggestions of other introductions for further networking and for informational interviews
• Make sure you have a terrific resume and several cover letters.  Get help from friends or professionals if you need it. Create several resume versions if you are looking at a variety of opportunities
• Learn about social media, like LinkedIn and Face Book.  Create a presence for yourself online that could help with employment.

2) Keep your existing skills sharp or learn new ones

• Get a part-time job doing anything that might be fun or interesting – you never know where it will lead
• Take a class or go online to learn new skills or to improve existing skills
• Read the latest books and periodicals in your professional area; attend trade events; look for free online webinars and research
• Do some volunteer work that offers you an opportunity to use current skills or to learn new ones. This may also broaden your network, and at very least show a potential employer that you have been productive and will give you something to add to your resume.

3)  Allow time to do fun things.   Most of us have been working for years and rarely get a break.  Since you have time off, take advantage of it:

• Take care of yourself:  work out, nurture a hobby that you have always been interested in – do whatever makes you happy
• Visit friends and family that you might have neglected
• Read great books!

4) Turn a Dream into a Reality.  What have you always wanted to do, but were too afraid or too busy to do before? Could you create a plan to get it done?  Maybe it’s a new business venture, or it’s writing a book.  Why not?

5) Put your focus on the actions you are taking, and don’t worry over the outcome.  If you work your plan daily, you will make progress.  Don’t waste time worrying that it won’t work out.  Simply do the next thing and allow it to take you where you need to go.

Remember, just because the economy has shifted, doesn’t mean that you are not worthwhile. Nor does it mean that you don’t deserve to be happy.  To the contrary, you are still your fabulous self, only now you also have an opportunity to explore, rethink, be creative, and to turn lemons into lemonade.  Yes, there may be financial considerations – but your creative potential for problem solving is unlimited if you can manage yourself away from negative thinking.

As Buddhist writer, photographer and monk Matthieu Ricard says, “Nothing goes right on the outside when nothing is going right on the inside”.   Good luck and get those insides right!

Nine More Steps to Better Finances

According to a Wall Street Journal article by Karen Blumenthal, most of us would like to save more, earn more and spend more wisely in 2010.  To help you do just that, Blumenthal put together a year’s worth of personal-finance suggestions, which I’ve summarized below.  She suggests you tie these activities to major holidays – I suggest you try one a month – or whatever works for you!  Even if you do just one of these things you will be better off!  The road to change begins with one tiny step.

• Save more. Take a few minutes to set up an automatic deduction from either your paycheck or your checking account to an online or a bank savings account. Or, increase your contribution to your 401(k) by one percentage point. Commit at least half of any raise you receive this year to savings as well.

• Get educated. Take an hour or two over a long weekend to study up on one financial issue that you’ve ignored. For example, look up the expenses embedded in the mutual funds in your 401(k) or calculate how much your debt is costing you.

• Prepare for new credit-card rules. In late February, the second phase of the Credit Card Act will kick in. To be prepared, look at your credit-card bills to memorize your due dates, which, by law, will be the same each month. Paying your bills on time is the most important factor in your creditworthiness.

• Get your annual credit report.  Take advantage of the once-a-year freebie and check your credit report for accuracy and to help avoid identity theft. If you want an idea of what your score is, buy the FICO score, developed by Fair Isaac Corp., and avoid signing up for a monitoring service, which isn’t worth the cost.

• Have “that” conversation with kids or parents.  Talk to your adult children or your parents—or both—about your or their estate, philanthropic goals and other wishes. If your children are still at home, start a conversation about money and investing. Prepare a will or draw up papers for a health-care proxy or power of attorney. Don’t avoid these issues until it’s too late.

• Declare your financial independence. After the first half of the year is over, review your portfolio to be sure you’re still properly diversified in a comfortable mix of stocks, fixed income and cash. If you don’t feel confident making these decisions, find a financial adviser to help you. Check references and interview a few to be you mesh well—and that their fees are reasonable.

• Tame monthly bills. Review your biggest monthly expenses to see if you can find some l savings. Can you combine cable, phone and Internet services in a lower monthly rate? Refinance the mortgage?

• Don’t let gift cards go to waste. Round up your unused gift cards and use them for yourself or for gifts for others, swap them with family members or donate them to a charity.

• Reflect on what’s most valuable to you. What do you truly value? Were your best-spent dollars for a night of theater with friends, or a great trip? Consider the most meaningful ways for you to spend your money.

To get in touch with WSJ original writer, contact Karen Blumenthal at familymoney@wsj.com  or view the entire article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704234304574626042291925748.html?mod=WSJ_PersonalFinance_FamilyFinance#articleTabs%3Darticle

Better Financial Management Using Four Simple Questions

I don’t like to spend time on my finances – but when I don’t, I get a vague feeling of anxiety:  Like what’s going to come back to bite me in the ass?  I get the guilty feeling that I should do more, but there are so many other ways I prefer to spend my time. So, while I relegate such tasks to others whenever I can, I also know there is a certain amount of accountability I owe to myself to avoid spinning out into a giant black hole.    If you’re a financial genius just skip this post, but if not, I found a place to start that might work for you.   While watching the morning news, I caught a segment called “How to Avoid Getting Ripped Off.” Author Bob Sullivan was interviewed, and while I don’t give a hoot about some of the stuff he said like, Americans stink at math – (is it even true? And if it is, how is that information helpful to me?)  he had four awesome questions that I believe everyone  should be able to answer :

1)      What is your retirement account balance?

2)      What is the interest rate on your credit cards?

3)      How much money did you spend last month? (and I would add, for the last three months?)

4)      How much money do you need to survive for three months?

I loved these questions as the foundation for managing my financial life.  Knowing the answers can result in better financial decision making:  like if I’ve been spending about $6,000 a month for the last three months on average – how much of that is fluff – versus what I need to survive? If I got a roommate and quit eating out, could I reduce the survival number to $4,000?  Then, if I lost my job I know I better have about $12,000 in savings to keep me afloat while I look for a new one!  Should I be buying on credit above my means if I am paying 17% interest on my credit card, and only earning 2% on my investments?    As you can see, applying the answers to some simple questions can help me plan a whole lot better.

In short, remember there are two variables:  how much you are bringing in and how much you are paying out.  If you spend more than you make, you may be headed for trouble – or you’d better land a higher paying job or an inheritance! To stay out of trouble: know what you’ve been spending, create a budget, and manage to it the best way you can, start to prepare (save)for the future including possible issues like job loss.  Know who is charging you what and make changes where you need to.  Pretty simple to follow – and it makes me feel a whole lot better.   Thanks Bob!  

Watch the interview: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/34619370#34619370 or visit Bob’s blog http://redtape.msnbc.com/

Nail That Interview

Over the last 25 years, I have interviewed thousands of job applicants. While many candidates had the skills to qualify for a particular position, their lack of preparation or thoughtfulness often resulted in a thumbs-down hiring decision.

So, here are the three simple preparation techniques that I often see missing at interviews. Whenever a candidate delivers on these, it greatly increases the likelihood that I will offer them a job.

1) Research the company before you interview and be clear (with yourself) that you are interested in working there.

If you are interested in working for an organization, you should have a pretty good idea about what they do and how they do it. This will also help you to not waste your time and theirs on an interview if you know it is not a fit. Internet research, articles, press releases, talking to contacts familiar with the company, trying products or services and reviewing financial statements are all good ways to gather information. This knowledge will also help you to formulate good questions you can ask during the interview.

2) Make it easy for the interviewer: Show them how you MATCH UP to their needs.

Go to the interview knowing as much as possible how you specifically match up compared to what the employer needs. You can get a pretty good idea about this by reading the job description along with the job requirements. Emphasize those areas where you are a terrific fit.

For example, the job posting reads:  Assist in implementing and drafting strategic marketing plans. Write, research and contribute to web content…..

Your goal is find a way to talk about how you have successfully drafted and implemented strategic plans in the past, and how you love to write and research, etc. If you don’t have the EXACT experience required, think about your similar or transferable experience and talk about those projects and skills. “My past job was 25% writing and editing press releases and business documents – and I did a lot of research to make them accurate and effective.”

Please note: I am not suggesting that you ever fabricate anything! However, when you do match up, take the opportunity to share.

3) Know and be able to clearly articulate why you want to work for this organization in this position.

Be able to share an authentic reason that you believe in when asked why you are interviewing with a particular organization for a specific position.”Your company sells beauty products and I think beauty is really fun,” is a shallow answer and makes me think that this candidate doesn’t have a clue what they are getting into.

On the other hand, when you are genuine, informed and passionate about your reasons for interviewing for a particular job, your intelligence and enthusiasm come shining through.

Like this: “I’m excited about working here because I’ve noticed a great deal of positive press about your company lately. It appears to be well-run and well positioned for growth – and the position itself would allow me to use my strategic planning and writing skills – two things that I really enjoy doing!”

An authentic and well-considered answer on this question will help you to stand out from the crowd. As an employer, and as a business associate, I want excited, intelligent and well prepared people to work with me – how about you?

Handling Tough Situations Like a Pro

Okay, here comes that angry or disgruntled person in your life:  your spouse, your customer, someone who is ready to give it to you.   While you may want to spin on your heel and run, or knock them out before they get to you, I suggest you consider a few key principals that will diffuse the situation – without bodily harm or long term injury – most of the time.   To me, the crux is empathy: accepting and understanding the other person’s position without judging you or them!  How to get to empathy?  Keep reading!

In his recent article, The Martial Art of Difficult Conversations Peter Bregman, author and consultant, articulates beautifully a little story that illustrates some simple actions to master the difficult situation.  His story spoke to me because I realized that I’ve used his approach countless times and it works very well for me, not only as a corporate staffer, but also as a wife and mom!  Read his wonderful article by clicking on the link above, or if you are short on time, here’s my overview of his key points:

• Ask questions.  Ask open ended, exploratory questions. Who, what, when, where, how, why, etc.  Use questions that clarify what the angry person (“AP”) is saying and feeling, i.e. try to understand and the AP’s perspective.  Hold yourself back from asking loaded questions or using language that may sound antagonistic.
• Actually listen.   This is my favorite item, and for many people, the hardest part:  really pay attention.  Don’t talk.  Hear what is being said and let go of all defensiveness.  Look for what else is going on.  As Bregman says:  Try to hear what isn’t said, but what is implied: the desires, fears, and assumptions that are behind the words.
• Repeat and summarize. Recap what you hear, using as many of the same words as the AP did.  Also summarize what you hear and check with the AP to see if you understood correctly. If you are told that you didn’t get it right, ask what you missed. Once you are told, repeat that part again and ask you got it right this time.

The goal is to get the AP to relax and release some anger.  Then you should be able to talk to each other more constructively about what happened and what to do next, if anything.  To me, Bregman’s process is like an empathy primer:  it gives you what you need to do to understand and accept someone else’s perspective non-judgmentally.

My take on the best next step is to take a corrective action.  That might be to accept responsibility for your wrongdoing, if in fact that is the case.  So, let’s say you really did ruin your boyfriends favorite shirt, you might start with an apology.    On the other hand, if it was the cleaners who did it, you could empathize: ”I can see why you are so angry – let’s talk about what happened and how we can stop this from ever happening again.”

On the other hand, there may not be a clear wrong doing.  Perhaps as a marketer, you approved an ad that some of your constituents didn’t like, but it is a good, defensible ad.   Then you might again, offer authentic empathy, “I can see why that ad made you feel uncomfortable, I hadn’t seen it that way before speaking with you.  Here are the reasons we did it this way – and while I can’t retract the ad at this point, I will certainly consider your perspective in the future.  Is there anything we can do right now to ameliorate the situation for you?”  The conversation might go something like that.

Empathy, for me:  listening, asking questions and really hearing the other person’s perspective has been a powerful tool for working through a tough situation and actually feeling good about it! How about you?