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Three Ways to Demonstrate Your Value in a Job Search

by Joshua Waldman on July 29, 2010

When I train career advisors and job seekers on the strategic approach to the online job search, I make sure to mention that a résumé is an obituary.

Résumés do a great job telling people what you did. Where you worked. What things you’ve done in your past that made a difference.

And résumés have a place in the job search as well. They are requirements in many HR departments’ intake process. They help hiring managers to remember you after an interview and pass you along the chain.

But to really stand out from the rest requires that you demonstrate the value you can bring in the future, not the past. Remember that you are being hired to solve someone’s problems.

Here are three easy ways to help you demonstrate your value with a potential employer.

1. Have Something to Say

Even if people don’t agree with you, they will respect you for being brave enough to voice an opinion. No one likes to hire a “yes” man.

No matter what industry you go into, there is always an opportunity to indulge in some controversy. For example, if you are in marketing, you might have an opinion about Gillette’s Old Spice campaign.

If you are in finance, you might have some insights into why the banking industry is doomed to yet another failure. If you are a project manager, you might have some issue with Agile.

Having something to say shows that you are motivated. And having motivation for your job means you are a low-risk candidate.

2. Have a Place to Say It

Today there are thousands of bloggers, and many of these bloggers are job seekers. In fact, I have several clients who have been able to find work based on their blogs.

A blog is a wonderful platform to show the world that you have something to say. It shows that you can write. It shows you are tech savvy. It shows that you are not afraid to take a stand.

You might document your job search.

You might follow a topic.

Here are some examples of some great job seekers who found work from their blogs:

Karen Bolipata (Writer)

Danny Cox (PR)

Jenny Blake (HR)

Terry Shultz (Engineering Design)

Norm Elrod (Marketing)

3. Be a Leader, Start a Community

The majority of blogs are dead within three months. Most never get more than 50 people to read them. The comments section develops cobwebs.

When you pass two restaurants, and one is full with a line, and the other is empty, which one are you going to assume is the better place to eat?

When an employer is checking you out online, if you’ve linked to your blog from LinkedIn and from your email signature, and the employer sees you ranting and raving online with nobody giving a crap, you might not get the result you hoped for.

A blog is a community. Having comments shows that you, as a thought leader, are provoking discussion and that people care about what you have to say.

Apart from begging your friends to comment, this can be one of the most disappointing parts of starting a blog. And, I suspect, a major reason that they don’t last long. No one likes the feeling of talking to a wall.

Having comments also tells Google that you are special. And with your name on the blog, your smart articles will soon begin to dominate Google search results for your name.

To solve the comment problem, I’ve started a Comment Co-Op for career-minded bloggers.

A Comment Co-Op (noun): A Comment Co-Op is a group of people who support each other by commenting on each other’s blog posts in order to improve ranking and traffic.

Basically, members can ask other members for comments, tweets, and links at any time. In return, members can respond back with comments, tweets, and links to other members.

If you would like to learn more about this Blogger Co-Op, click here.

And of course, your comments are welcome. If you don’t comment, I’ll just be a total loser.

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A Meditation Guide For Job Seekers

by Joshua Waldman on July 26, 2010

So far, I have not dabbled in the metaphysical on this blog. Nor am I about to. However, meditation is an essential part of my life and has helped me in ways that go beyond words. So I feel compelled to share some of my experience with you.

In 1996 I traveled to Nepal to study language and culture, as part of a Junior Year Abroad program at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. My ulterior motive, of course, was to find a teacher.

Finding a teacher is not easy, and I think has less to do with your efforts than it has to do with your state of mind. It took me many months of interviewing Tibetan Lamas, wandering Yogis, and ancient monks. But finally, I found a teacher. (If you are interested, I helped write his autobiography, which is available on Amazon here: Lama Wangdu).

One of the first things I learned, and the meditation I still perform today, is called Generosity. Some readers may recognize this from books such as The Secret and other abundance-type programs. But this practice is old; it dates back a thousand years to 12th century Tibet.

One of the benefits of this meditation is that it completely removes fear and desperation. I remember what it was like being laid off — and I know fear and desperation were my daily companions until I healed from the experience.

Another great thing about this meditation is that it doesn’t take a lot of time or require past experience.

Here’s how it works.

Picture the thing it is that you want. Do you want a job? Do you want a promotion? Do you want more money, a bigger house, whatever? Picture it clearly in your head.

Then begin to give it away. That’s right. Imagine giving it away.

Start with people you love. If it’s a job you seek, imagine that the people you love in your life receive their dream jobs.

Next, move to strangers. Imagine everyone you don’t know, everyone on Earth, receiving jobs. It just rains down on them by the thousands.

Finally, imagine the people you don’t like getting jobs.

Conceptualize giving away an infinite number of jobs to every human on Earth.

Feel the joy that brings.

Do this once a day, for at least 10 minutes, right after you wake up, for 30 days. I can’t guarantee that you’ll have a job by then, but from my own experience I can guarantee that you will feel VERY different about your situation.

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The Problem with Goals

by Joshua Waldman on July 25, 2010

I recently joined a Master Mind Group with some other small business owners here in Portland, Oregon. One of the topics we discussed was perfectionism, and how it can get in the way of making any progress.

Well, my readers know that with my notorious Dyslexic spelling and the speed with which I release new content, I’m probably not a perfectionist. However, there was one idea that did resonate with me.

This is an idea that I’ve embraced since 2006. The idea is that Goals Suck.

The Problem with Goals

In his book, Goal-Free Living, Stephen Shapiro says one of the biggest problems with goals is that as soon as you achieve one, you are left feeling empty and without direction. So most people dream up another goal to strive for, thus perpetuating an endless cycle of discontent: Goal-Striving-Achieving-Goal etc.

Another problem with goals, according to the leaders of my new Master Mind Group, is that a goal might be so utterly unachievable that you are always feeling inadequate. There emerges a “gap” between what you are capable of achieving with the time and resources at your disposal (Actual-2), and what your “ideal” may be (Ideal). What is actually possible — and what can live only in our imagination.

When I lived in Nepal, I was friends with a serious meditator from Spain. I remember expressing my frustration at not being able to visualize the right things in my own meditation. His pithy advice to me was, “It may be the hardest thing we do in our lives, but we all have to acknowledge our own limitations.”

Yet without BHAGs (Big Hair Audacious Goals) we would never have 15-minute turn-around times at the airline’s gate, free Dominos pizza after 30 minutes, or even underdog winners of the World Cup. Sometimes these big visions can become achievable. Knowing what is a BHAG and what is an unachievable dream takes wisdom and experience.

Ideals give us direction, and measurable goals provide us with the road to get there. The problem is that most people confuse the two, causing “the gap” of inadequacy. An ideal is just a mental construct. Sure, it serves a purpose, keeps us motivated and growing. But most of the time an Ideal is unattainable.

How to Remove the Gap

Whether your goal is to get a new job, go on vacation, or save for a new car, watch out for this tendency we have to idealize the goal. To want the job that is impossible with our experience level, the vacation that costs more than our means, or the car that would ruin our credit.

We have to keep bringing ourselves back down to the world of what is actually achievable: the job we qualify for, the vacation that is just a drive away, and the car that takes us from point A to B. Otherwise, we may feel totally unsatisfied, even after having accomplished great things in our lives.

By taking these achievable goals to heart, rather than the ideal, we begin to live with more contentment. We see that we can achieve, and we feel we can provide for ourselves.

A technique for accomplishing this sense of purposeful contentment requires the development of the habit of self-reward.

Every day, reward yourself for accomplishing just one thing. Think back to everything you did today, pick out one thing you are proud of, and allow yourself to rejoice in it. Maybe you had a good conversation with a potential hiring manager. Perhaps you found a job posting that seems a perfect match. You might have finished your LinkedIn profile, finally.

Let’s raise our glasses and toast our daily accomplishment. Leave your ideals to the world of the sacred, and reclaim your achievable goals.

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“200,000 Jobs in 30 Days” — An Interview with Henry Mackintosh

July 7, 2010

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Twitter Is the Only Real-Time Job Board – Do You Tweet Yet?

June 22, 2010

Did you know that there are thousands of new jobs posted on Twitter each day? Imagine you are a small company, and you are growing rapidly despite the naysayers in the news about the economy. It’s time to hire a full-time sales person. Will you spend $600-$800 to post on Monster? Will you enjoy being [...]

Is Your Brand the Ultimate Narcissism?

June 15, 2010

My grandmother, who is 86 this year, always told me, “humility was for people who could afford it” and when I was 10, I “couldn’t afford it.” She wanted me to be more confident, brag a little bit. I’m sure she was just a proud grandma, and I love her for it. Now, and only [...]

← Previous Entries

Three Ways to Demonstrate Your Value in a Job Search

1. Have Something to Say

2. Have a Place to Say It

3. Be a Leader, Start a Community

Related Articles:

A Meditation Guide For Job Seekers

Related Articles:

The Problem with Goals

The Problem with Goals

How to Remove the Gap

Related Articles:

“200,000 Jobs in 30 Days” — An Interview with Henry Mackintosh

Twitter Is the Only Real-Time Job Board – Do You Tweet Yet?

Is Your Brand the Ultimate Narcissism?

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1. Have Something to Say

2. Have a Place to Say It

3. Be a Leader, Start a Community

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The Problem with Goals

How to Remove the Gap

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