Topic: It's your life what are you gonna do with it
"What Color Is Your Parachute" by Richard Bolles. (amazon link) is the most widely cited job search book you're probably ever going to read. If you've read it you understand that if you're working today luck played a very important and unappreciated role in you finding your position.
But what is is luck? And how do you get yourself some?
Luck is that happy spot where preparation meets opportunity. Everyone's current state of luck is different. So our first step is to map out what you have and where it's located. You may be very good at some elements of preparation and not so good at creating opportunity. Or visa versa.
This week's topic: From potential to purpose a model for becoming you. (Handouts only available to those that come to the meeting)
NEW: Refer to "DF Form 1" (link here) to help you organize your thoughts for checkin. (I use this form for one-on-one coaching)
PLEASE READ: On the 12th we DON'T have the meeting room reserved so if we can't find a table big enough to meet at we may end up heading up the street to Kakao (http://www.kakaoseattle.com/) or if the group prefers, go next door to "the Wurst Place" or "Blue Moon Burger" and gathering over a beer. (Text Duane if you get there and don't see us)
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Monday, July 8, 2013
Post meeting insights: How to approach interviews
Four ideas to help you have better interviews.
1. Come prepared.
Before any meeting do the advance work of understanding yourself and what you offer this particular opportunity. This is of course in addition to understanding everything you can about them and their wants and needs. If luck is where preparation meets opportunity, the better you prepare the better your odds of getting lucky.
2. Be Present.
The past and the future only matter as they relate to the present. The opportunity at hand, the problems at hand, the people in front of you (and their wants and needs) are the only things that matter. Listen and be.
3. Accept self.
Your Mom probably told you this: It's better to be rejected as who you are then be accepted as who you aren't. The "perfect" candidate/job match doesn't exist. Each of us offers tradeoffs to an employer. (Every value proposition is a mix of what you will and won't do and how it compares to the next best alternative.) Those that reject you are just helping you understand your offer or evidence better. Learn from it, thank them, and move on.
4. Detach from outcome.
Finding the right alignment between your personality, skills, and experience and a particular organizations culture, position, and problems takes more than a massive about of effort. It takes time. Let go of any particular interview outcome and keep your attention focused on improving your process or your offer.
1. Come prepared.
Before any meeting do the advance work of understanding yourself and what you offer this particular opportunity. This is of course in addition to understanding everything you can about them and their wants and needs. If luck is where preparation meets opportunity, the better you prepare the better your odds of getting lucky.
2. Be Present.
The past and the future only matter as they relate to the present. The opportunity at hand, the problems at hand, the people in front of you (and their wants and needs) are the only things that matter. Listen and be.
3. Accept self.
Your Mom probably told you this: It's better to be rejected as who you are then be accepted as who you aren't. The "perfect" candidate/job match doesn't exist. Each of us offers tradeoffs to an employer. (Every value proposition is a mix of what you will and won't do and how it compares to the next best alternative.) Those that reject you are just helping you understand your offer or evidence better. Learn from it, thank them, and move on.
4. Detach from outcome.
Finding the right alignment between your personality, skills, and experience and a particular organizations culture, position, and problems takes more than a massive about of effort. It takes time. Let go of any particular interview outcome and keep your attention focused on improving your process or your offer.
Friday, July 5, 2013
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Agenda Item for 6/21/2013
Topic: Learning from the Masters The granddaddy of all job-hunting career-transoforming books is the perennially updated "What Color Is Your Parachute" by Richard Bolles. (amazon link) It's been rewritten every year since the 1970's to adjust to how the job market and employment processes have changed. It includes a number of time-tested exercises to help job searchers sift through their experience and align their interests and capabilities to what employers want. Which is why it's the next book I'm tackling in my research on "career path development".
Over the month of July we'll be discussing the exercises and job search process shared in the book and figuring out how to customize it to our own needs. If you come the the meetings in July you'll be expected to come prepared to talk about the book. (Lazy don't cut it. Yes we're still a support group but we're also a work group.) This week's topic: Introducing the book. How far have you read so far and which exercises you've done so far. (No, we won't be doing every exercise it the book. But we will be sharing with each other which we've done and what we learned from doing them.)
NOTE: We're taking next week off (June 28th) and in July we'll be meeting on the 5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th. (Yes, the day after the 4th we will be meeting. If your employer isn't giving you the day off - because you don't have one - consider it a work day.)
Other note: Forward this message on to anyone you know that's also looking for work or contemplating a career transition. July is gonna be productive!
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Time to learn from the masters (part one)
I encourage you to get a copy and read along. Next week I'll no doubt be introducing some material pulled from it.
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