How easy it is for someone to say, "Just go get a job." These words are too often said by the person who already has a job and who has not had to search for a job in the past ten years.
Or you'll hear from an HR Director or a jobs service, "Create your resume." For what?
Having an up-to-date resume is a good idea; don't get me wrong. But it's not likely to get you a job. It might fit as one piece to the puzzle, so it ought to be up-to-date and nicely done. But it doesn't have to be one of those $500 jobs from some "resume mill" somewhere. And nobody cares what you were doing in 1975.
I went to a job interview in Denver back in about 1986. As the VP invited me into his office, he held out his hand and said, "Give me your resume."
I said, "I didn't bring one."
He stopped in his tracks and asked why not. I told him that I didn't know if I wanted the job. "In five minutes I'll know if I want the job, and you'll know if you want to see a resume." Pretty bold?
Ninety minutes later he looked at his watch and exclaimed that he had other work to do and asked me to bring him a resume. The next day I took him a six-page proposal on why he should hire me.
It turned out that his company had not yet funded the new position (and they never did). He was interviewing in advance of knowing whether he would even have a job to offer!
So you need a job. You want a job. Well, there aren't any. What you need is money. What you want is a means to get it.
How long have you been out of work? How much longer will you be out of work? One year? Two? Five?
Now is the time to explore creating your own business. For many there are very real opportunities in multi-level marketing ("MLM", also known as network marketing or relationship marketing). You may need to put your "I'd never do that" hat back on the shelf and open your eyes. Or stay in the unemployment line.
First, find out how it works and why it works. It is a viable business format, just as corporations and partnerships are. Next, you'll need to explore different business offerings. Do some reading. A good book is The Business of the 21st Century, by Robert Kiyosaki, co-author of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series. Then start interviewing.
A friend in Denver likes to say, "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you have always gotten."
So, start your own MLM business and give it five years. You'll need the right training, coaching, mentoring, "care and feeding".
Got questions? Ask me.
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5 comments:
As a small business owner, I agree with you. We are inundated with resumes, cover letters and application forms. It has reached the point that we use an outside firm to screen and slelect a handful of candidates for an open position...we just don't have the time to process sometimes dozens of applicants for an opening.
With that said, when it comes to reviewing a resume, the only thing I really paid attention to is what the person was doing for the last two years. In this economy, that has meant a bias towards the long term unemployed, so the window look back window has to be extended to a 3 to 5 year period. Even then, it' really puts a long term unemployed applicant at a disadvantage because as an employer, I want someone that can start with minimal training...someone who has been on the sidelines for an extended period of time is more likely to get off to a slow start, require more (re)training, or generally underperform for some period of time. In a sense, the employment search firm we use does exactly what you did years ago. They match candidates to our open position, and bring in a handful to see if they are a good fit, and if so, they "sell us" on why we should select them.
As for MLM, there is a lot of opportunity. And I would say there is also opportunity in offering your "skills" to businesses an outsourced/contract basis. The job you may have lost at your previous employer probably still needs to be done, so don't hesitate to propose to them your services as an independent contractor.
MBlue, thanks for your valuable comment! Every jobhunter should read and frame it!
I suspect that few employees who have been RIF'ed think of turning right around and proposing that they be "hired" back. Not "hired", of course, but contracted as self-employed workers to do the work that still must be done. Just because employees left doesn't mean that the work was eliminated.
Thank you!
When is the best time to brush up your resume? The first day on your new job.
Or TODAY. If your phone rings and you are invited to an interview in three hours, is your resume ready to go with you?
If there is time, be sure to "fine tune" your resume to the specific interview. "Stock" resumes no longer work.
A lot of times the employer hasn't given any thought to contracting out the position...so don't hesitate to make a proposal. Eliminating a position that may be costing $75/hr (with benefits, taxes, etc included) that has to be paid weekly or biweekly (payroll) is a burden on cash flow. Coming back and offering to to the job as a contractor for $45/hr paid in 30 days can be attractive. Especially with smaller businesses that live or die by their cash flow.
Back before I got into booze & broads, TMB was a hir'n manager. The resume gives a general script of what the candidate's record is. Meeting the individual and determining if they are of good character and a good person to add to the team is what I look for. You can change "behaviors"... you cannot change "character". Just as you cannot cure "stupid". DOH.
Perhaps its this belief that has led me down the long road to self-destruction! DOH!!!
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