Like you, in listening to the news I keep hearing about this 10% unemployment rate. That number is troublesome, but more and more I am encountering real life people, in the flesh, who are unemployed, they have been job hunting for months, and they are frustrated and confused. I’m talking about people with major executive experience or freshly minted master’s degrees who can’t find a job.
While I realize that this sort of thing is perhaps not very much fun to talk about, in crisis there is also opportunity. Being no stranger to unemployment, and having reinvented myself numerous times in my life, I thought I would offer this little beginner's guide to self reinvention:
Rule number one: love your work
If you’re going to be out of work, at least be out of work that you absolutely love doing. I once had a mentor who told me that the secret to success was "doing something for a living that you enjoy more than having sex." Choosing work that you love may seem like an obvious thing, but it really isn’t; many people work at jobs because they fell into it, or they were pushed into it by their family, or any number of reasons. You may be one of those people who have a talent for something they don’t really have a passion for . . . it happens often. Bear in mind, your passion in life is probably a variation of providing meaningful assistance and service to others. You need not limit it to one narrow category.
Rule number two: reverse the perceptual flow
I confess, it truly pains me when I observe so many books and coaches telling people how to hunt for a job, and there’s so much focus on “self.” “Polish your résumé, pick the right clothes,” etc. etc. Next time, instead of focusing on what YOU have to offer and on what YOU want from a potential employer, focus on what that potential employer needs. In this economy, a “job seeker” is a commonplace surplus commodity. Distinguish yourself from the pack. Don’t be a job seeker, be a need perceiver. When I worked as an orchestra contractor (read: human resources guy), I cannot begin to tell you how many people would come up to me and say, “if you ever need a viola player, I’m in the book!” It never occurred to them to ask me what I would need a viola player for, what my general needs and problems were, nor did it ever occur to any of them that, since I was no longer in the union, I didn’t have “the book”! If you walk into an interview and instead of saying, “look at me,” you show evidence of perception of the employer's point of view and problems, you will stand out big-time. You will look like a "team player." I once worked for a very successful salesperson, and he had a phrase that I never forgot: “when you’re talking, I’m selling.” What that means is, when you go into any kind of potential interview situation, open your perceptions and let people talk to you about their problems and their needs. Demonstrating a willingness to listen is always rare, and is a huge plus. (Note I explain the fundamentals of listening techniques in "Principles of Applied Stupidity.")
Rule number three: start your new career today
Believe it or not, this is more or less a free country, and you don’t need to be “employed” to be in business doing something you love to do. Granted, you may be severely underutilized the first week, but welcome to the club. It really doesn’t take very much to establish yourself as a “consultant.” Bare minimum (and this is just a guess), you need a phone, a computer, and a printer. If you don’t have any of these things, they are easily borrowed or rented. Bear in mind that, in this economy, in whatever industry you would like to work in, the people who DO have jobs are overloaded, doing the work of 1.7 people each. They are exhausted, and they would love to farm out at least some of the less appealing parts of their jobs. They may not be able to get approval today for a “new hire,” because that is a massive commitment of cash. They may, however, be able to get smaller clumps of cash to pay a temp worker/ consultant’s invoice with a 60-day cushion. If you come in on that basis and do a good job, when the time comes to hire if someone full-time, you will have a major leg up on the competition.
It is easy to fall into a state of depression when you follow all the rules and procedures and you still don’t get what you want. All I can tell you is, there are very few people in this world that have everything that they want. In every cubicle, in every boardroom, there is a constant restatement of the phrase, “I wish we could find somebody to do . . . (X).” In all that frustration and confusion there are endless sales opportunities. There is nothing terribly magical about sales and marketing. These are just words that we use for a certain kind of human interaction. Unless you’re a total misanthrope, you probably seek human interaction all day long anyway, so sales and marketing aren't that much of a reach for anybody.
In conclusion, one of the primary Principles of Applied Stupidity is, “never follow standard procedure.” The people who tell you that “we have the best way for you to achieve your goal” probably mean well, but they are inadvertently turning you into a generic commodity. Not only will you start to look just like all the other people who bought their “how to get a job” book, you will be blinded to all the many anomalies and opportunities that endlessly pop out of the ether in rather random in unexpected ways.
By the way, as a temp/consultant, always charge two to three times what you would get paid as a full-time employee. And while you’re at it, take that empty spare bedroom and turn it into an “office in home,” makes a great tax deduction. Who knows? After a while you may not need a job.
© Justin Locke
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