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www.hillaryrettig.com / page 1 TITLE It’s Not You, It’s Your Strategy: The HIAPy Guide to Finding Work in a Tough Job Market by Hillary Rettig www.hillaryrettig.com hillaryrettig@yahoo.com VERSION INFORMATION – Version 1.1 released 1/7/08 AUTHORSHIP Thisbook isbyHillary Rettig, whose other booksinclude The Lifelong Activist: How to Change the World Without Losing Your Way (Lantern Books, 2006)and The Little Guide To Beating Procrastination, Perfectionism, Fears and Blocks: A Guide for Artists, Academics, Activists, Entrepreneurs and Other Ambitious Dreamers (downloadable for free at www.hillaryrettig.com). I amaBoston-based coach whohashelped hundredsofpeople around the countryuse their timebetter; overcome procrastination, perfectionism and blocks; and create more satisfying careers. Formore information on me andmywork, please visit myWebsite or emailme at hillaryrettig@yahoo.com. PREFACE – IT’S NOT YOU, IT’S YOUR STRATEGY Recently,a coffee datewith afriend took a serious turn ashe despondentlynarrated the saga of hislatest failure toget hired, and then the whole story ofhispasttwoyearsof unemployment.It wasafamiliarstory ofresumes not acknowledged, telephone calls not returned, andsome excruciating nearmisseswhere he hadgotten tothefinalround of interviews but wasn’t hired. “Ineed you totellme what’swrong with me,”he finallysaid,hisface strained.“WhyI’mnot gettinghired.” Itwasabrave request. Not manyofusare willing tolayourfailures out on the table for someone else toinspect and critique. SoI grilled him on the details: what jobshehad applied for, howhe had foundout about them, whatprocess he hadused toapply, whom he had heused asreferences, etc. And thisis what I concluded: there wasnothingwrongwithmyfriend. Nothing. There was, in fact, alot right with him. He wasapresentable, personable individualwith solid www.hillaryrettig.com / page 2 credentialsand alot of interesting work experience. What waswrongwashisstrategy. Hewasn’t applying for jobseffectively. He wasmaking, in fact, alot of the mistakesIdiscussin thisebook. Ifhe corrects those, and follows the strategyI outline inPart II, heshould have a much betterchanceof gettinghired movingforward. Theoddsare that, ifyou’ve been unemployed awhile, you’re alsowalkingaround wondering what’swrongwith you – butthere’sa good chance that, thesameaswith myfriend, the problem isn’t with you, but your strategy. Strategies can bechanged, sotakeheart and keep reading. Thisebook focuses on the foundationalactivitiesand strategies underlying asuccessful job search, but doesnot include information on tactics(e.g., how tointerview or write aresume), partlybecause that information iswidelyavailable elsewhere. Ifthere’s sufficient interest, however, I’llwrite thetacticsbook later on. Because a lot ofthisbook focuses on mistakesyou yourself might be making– onthe premise that thatis the mostfruitful area ofdiscussion, since your ownperformance issomething you cancontrol andimprove – I wanttobe veryclearthat Idounderstandthat theU.S. economyisin avery badstate andgood jobscan behard tofind. Andyet, the good jobsare often out there, but people sabotage their efforts towin them. That isthe problem I focuson in this book, and that I hopetohelp you solve, butplease donot think Iunderestimate the difficulties and pain offinding work in aweak economy. I wrote this ebook tohelp people, and alsotopromote mycoachingand workshop business. If, afterreadingit,you believe you orsomeone else couldbenefit from mycoaching, or you know ofanorganization that could hostone of myworkshops on,(1)findingwork, (2)time management, (3)overcoming procrastination, or(4)entrepreneurship, please email me at hillaryrettig@yahoo.com and I’ll send you more information. Andthanks! I welcome allcommentsonthisbook, and especiallysuggestions for improving thenext edition. Please emailthem tome at hillaryrettig@yahoo.com . Hillary TEXT NOTES I use the words“candidate,” “applicant” and“job searcher” interchangeablytorefer tothe person looking for work. I use the word “hirer” mainlytorefer tothe person makingthe immediate decision on the www.hillaryrettig.com / page 3 candidate’sapplication – i.e.,theperson screening resumes,interviewing, ormakingthe final hiring decision. And I usethe word “employer” mainlytorefer totheorganization doingthe hiring. Sometimes, however, Iuse the words“company”or “organization” torefer tothe organization. Please note that, even when Iuse the word “company,” Iamalwaysreferring to alltypesofemployers, includingsmallbusinesses, large businesses, nonprofit organizations and government agencies, unless Ispecify otherwise. I use the word “application” sometimestorefer tothe form the hirerwantsfilled out, but more often torefer tothe entire job-application process. I use the genderpronounsinterchangeablyandrandomly. Footnotes and citationswillbe found at the endof each chapter. All personaland companynamesused in thisbook are fictitious, and Ihavechanged identifying detailson some case studies. WARRANTY Theinformation inthisbook is presentedwithoutwarrantyofanykind.It hashelped many people, and it ismysincere wish that ithelp you, but Iobviously can’t accept responsibility for anynegative result you feelyou mayhave obtainedfrom usingit.Ifyou are suffering from anxiety, depression, addiction or anyotherpsychological or physicalcondition, please seek professional help before following the advice herein. LICENSE Thisbook islicensed under the Creative CommonsAttribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/], which meansyou are invited tocopy, alterand distribute itnoncommercially solong asyou preserve the above Title, Version, Authorship, Preface, Text,and Warrantyinformation, aswell asthisLicense statement.(I hope someone decidestotranslate it intootherlanguages!) Ifyou choose to distribute your altered version toothers, you mustpermit themthe same freedom tocopy, alterand distribute noncommercially, and theymust preserve thesamerequired information. For more details see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/. TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I. FOUNDATIONAL ACTIVITIES 1. How Unemployment Stinks:Let MeCountthe Ways... 2. IfYou Need Help, GetHelp 3. Practice Optimism www.hillaryrettig.com / page 4 4. Yes, There are Good (or, at least,Okay)JobsOut There 5. Negotiable andOptionalJob “Requirements” 6. On Pickinessand Biases 7. On Fear, Procrastination, and Not GettingStuck 8. When You Don`t Like YourOptions 9. Yes, You’re Employable 10. Invest in Lavish Self-Care 11. Create aSupportive Community 12. Create Time 13. Be Frugal PART II. A JOB-SEARCH STRATEGY THAT WORKS 14. 85% 15. Competingwith the“Fab 15%” 16. HIAP vs.Willy-Nilly 17. Doit LikeDudley 18. HIAP +Enthusiasm = Safety 19. HIAP +Enthusiasm = a FewGood LAFS 20. HIAP +Enthusiasm = the Magic Wand 21. Doit Like Dudley(Part II) 22. Details Count – Incredibly! 23. Zip toIt! 24. Scanners(and Emailers andFaxers) Live in Vain:WhyTechnology Isn’t Necessarily Your Friend 25. “TechnicalSkills” <= “Soft Skills” +BusinessSavvy 26. Don’tCommoditize Yourself 27. The CrucialImportance of Framing Epilogue APPENDIX I.Article on Copingwith Rejection APPENDIX II. Article on Finding, and WorkingWith, Mentors APPENDIX III. Article on Solving Problems vs.Dithering And awaywe go... PART I. FOUNDATIONAL ACTIVITIES 1. How Unemployment Stinks: Let Me Count the Ways... Unemploymentisalmost alwaysa horrible experience: demoralizing, depressing and disorienting. Wetend topunish ourselves harshly for our“failure,” feeling lotsofshameand www.hillaryrettig.com / page 5 guilt, and sometimesothers – evenfamilyand friends– punish usaswell. G.J.Meyer’s fantastic bookExecutive Blues: Down and Out in Corporate America (Franklin Square Press, 1995)offers thebest narrative I’ve read ofwhat it’slike tobeunemployed and struggling tofindwork. He sayshe experienced shock,resentment,fear, envy, self-pityand shame duringaseveral-yearspanof intermittent unemployment: adreadful list. Here’swhat he saysabout theshock, envyandshame: Shock. “Bone-rattlingshock at findingmyself, for thefirst timesince theweek I graduated from grade school, without aplace intheworld ofwork…I walked thestreets inan almost trancelike state,feeling like Iwaswalkingon the bottom ofthesea, cut off from everything around meand not like otherpeople anymore.” Envy. “Ifenvycausedcancer I’dbe dead bySunday.” Shame. “I’m ashamed in twoways. On asimple levelI’m ashamed ofmyselffor being out ofwork, for gettingmyfamily intosuch afix…I’m ashamed ofmyselffor losing. When I hearthe guynext doorstart hiscar inthe morning anddrive away, I’m ashamed tostillbe in bed.I’m ashamed torake leaveson weekdayafternoons because everyone in the neighborhood willsee – asiftheydidn’t alreadyknow – that I don’thave an office togoto anymore. “The other shame isdeeper, and, Ithink, more important…In somewaysthissecond shame comesperilously close toself-loathing. Ask yourself: how are wesupposed toreact whenbadthingshappen?Everybody knowsthe answer. Thegood and the strong react calmly, cheerfully, confidently,bravely…so, what’swrongwithme?” Addingtothe burden ofMeyer andother unemployed people isthe factthat – due to overwork, or plainold uncaring or incivility – lotsof hirers treat unemployed people badly. Meyer describes thegarden-varietysnubs, like not gettingcalls returnedor resumes acknowledged, which individually maynot be sosignificant but which reallywearyou down afterdozens orhundredsof repetitions. Andhe alsodescribes sometruly callous andhurtful behavior, such asthe time ahirer had him flyout toNewYork for a jobinterview, thenstood himup.WritesMeyer: “InEdvard Munch’spaintingThe Scream, asolitary, empty-eyed figure standsin aroadwayclutchingitshead,mouthopen wide. I hopethat’snotwhat Ilook like asI walk the streetsof Manhattanduringthenext several hours, seeingand hearing nothing, waitingfor it tobe time toreturn toLaGuardia. But it’show Ifeel. Withoutmaking a sound Iscream allthe wayback toWisconsin.” ***Your first job as an unemployed person is not to look for work, but to learn to cope with unemployment.*** That’sbecause: (1)you deserve tofeelpeace and self-respect even when unemployed; and(2)depression, discouragement, anger, anxiety, fear, shame, guilt and othernegative emotions can undermine yourjob search.If unemployment isbringing you down, evenwaydown,don’twaste time feeling bad about that – such feelings are entirelyunderstandable – but follow the advice offered in Chapters2 – 13 about seekinghelp and takingcare ofyourself. It’salsoimportanttounderstand*all* thecausesofyour unemploymentso you don’t feel undeserved shame or guilt. In myexperience, few people get laid off orfired entirely, or even largely, due totheir ownfault. AsIwrite this, the government hasfinally acknowledged – at least ayearlate– that the U.S. economyisin arecession.1 In suchaneconomyyou could ... - tailieumienphi.vn
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