Career Consultations

The other day the neighbor child, age 10, announced that he will attend Harvard for a PhD, either in computer science or law.  When I queried him a little more, he told me he would have a full scholarship, too!  I think he will accomplish that goal. Why?  As this child told me, “…because my parents both have PhDs!”  His parents enforce study time and summer school.  It shows!

What influence did your mom and dad have on your career?  Were you encouraged as a child or told you were a loser?  What tapes do you play in your head from you childhood?  Maybe, with Mother’s Day around the corner, it’s time for introspection about your family’s influence.  Maybe we need to rid the cobwebs in our brains from some negative influence or pay attention to the good advice our moms provided.  Maybe mom was right when she suggested you be a teacher!   She saw you helping others and instructing your younger siblings.  And you still love to tell people how to do things!

Were you encouraged to find a “calling” or get a job?  In a recent article in the Harvard Business Review, Bill Barnett discusses How to Make Your Job more Meaningful, but he failed to mention how critical our childhood is in our careers.  What is the message you received when you wanted to go in the military?  What did you mom say when you told her you wanted to be an artist or study graphic arts?

Maybe your work atmosphere is stifling or critical and you should bail.  You were allowed maximum creativity growing up.  You may want a career change, but simply moving to another corporate culture where innovation is appreciated may solve your dissatisfaction.  Career change is far more difficult than changing jobs.

Did someone plant a seed that never grew or overpowered your aspirations?  Sometimes we must do menial, unpleasant tasks, yet staying in a hostile work environment will affect your entire family.  Loyalty is a virtue you may have learned, but moving to another job may be what is needed.  Your role model may have been loyal to a fault.   Your current allegiance may not be healthy for you!

When you think about the affect your mom may still hold on your career, common sense requires that you analyze the affect.  Take time to reflect.  Is your mom proud of you or is it pretense?  Are you proud of your accomplishments or sick of what you are doing?  Were you raised to think being a workaholic is simply part of life?  Or was there balance?

Pause, not just to say thanks to mom, for all her diligence and hard work, but consider the clear and present consequences of your situation.  Is it time to let go of some of what she said or take heed?  And if she’s still living, maybe you need to take her some flowers, too!

I am very worried.  The economy appears to be improving but the job market certainly demands very specific skills.  I am worried when I hear people say, “I want a job with stability.”  I’m worried when I hear someone say, “I’m a Marketing Communications Manager with video industry background.”  The TV industry is in turmoil.  Just ask people from Kodak.  I’m worried when I hear someone say, “No, I won’t work contract.”

Please, seriously develop Plan B and start implementing it.  What will you do if suddenly your job (Plan A) disappears forever? You need to plan.  Here are some guidelines.

Suggestion 1: Assessment & Research (most important)

When you dream about other work, what comes to mind?  Sit down with a piece of paper and list the tasks or projects which brought you a real sense of satisfaction.  Was it teaching or selling?  Were you recognized for your photography at a recent wedding?  Do you love working on cars?  Are you outgoing or introverted?  Assessing your skills, education, personality and experience to integrate who you are and will become.  Career change is easiest when your current talent and interests form the basis of the new endeavor.

I have a friend who went to seminary at age 53.  Her dad and husband were both ministers.  Her career at that point looked like a patchwork quilt, as she always wanted to be a minister and refused to implement her plan.  She and her husband lived with extreme financial difficulties while she attended school but as she reminded me, “In three years, I’ll still be 56 whether I go to school or not.”  Her new life is full and challenging; she loves it.   Stories such as this one abound.  But you must be willing to sacrifice to achieve a career change.

Online career assessment is readily available.  I like www.livecareer.com as their free assessment provides food for thought and is based on excellent career theory.  Another good resource for assessment is The Everything Career Tests Book by Llewelyn and Holt.  Plus, most colleges offer career testing.

Research the competition.  Google and other online resources, along with your public library are your new best friends.  Maybe you are a “foodie.”  Talk to people in the grocery or restaurant business.  Just because you like to eat healthy doesn’t mean you have the stomach for the hours they work.  On the other hand, you may find a niche where you could fit.

I know a career writer who takes his clients white water rafting.  Guess what his hobby is?

Suggestion 2

More and more companies are hiring through temporary or contractor agencies.  This method merits serious consideration with advantages for both you and the company.  You discover the culture, the management, and the realities if you work contract or temporary.  The employer ascertains your work ethic and your abilities.  You may not have robust  or any health benefits but contract work will put food on your table with the possibility of a full time job in the future.

Suggestion 3

Think creatively. Maybe a volunteer activity will evolve into a leadership role and paid position.  I can name at least three people whose volunteer work led to regular employment.

Suggestions 4

If your skills are very specialized, not in great demand, it may take less time to upgrade your skills than to keep looking for any companies which use similar skills.  The community colleges have wonderful short and longer term classes to assist you.  They have relationships with companies who need the skills which you could learn.  Often their placement offices post openings and have an occasional job fair.

Suggestion 5

Perhaps you harbor an idea to manufacture a “widget” in your garage or create a unique, needed software package.  Maybe you are the next Bill Gates.  Many you have an “app” idea for the I-Pad.

Suggestion 6

You can start a business from scratch, buy an established business, or purchase a franchise.  All have their risks and rewards.  Do your research to make an informed decision and establish a timeline.

Suggestion 7

The latest renaissance may be here.  Multiple streams of income may work for some.  A little E-Bay business coupled with a part time job at Starbucks or Lowe’s while you update skills may lead to new people in your life with leads for the next step in your plan.

Success!

Not all career changes require huge steps.  As I said in the book I wrote for you (MORE than a Paycheck: Inspiration and Tools for Career Change), more and more people must look at self-employment and moving their skills. Unemployment offers freedom to grasp opportunity.  Changing careers is not necessarily easy.  You must be willing to make a plan and attack it.  A few calculated risks and failures make us stronger!

I just wish someone would pay me for worrying.  Surely, I’d be a billionaire!

Ruth Glover is a technical recruiter and author.  She re-cycled this article from one she wrote  several years ago to reflect current trends.  You can reach her through www.hotcareers.com or www.morethanapaycheck.net.  Feel free to subscribe to be notified whenever a new post appears.

For many years I’ve said that job search is like getting married, but I’ve never written about it.  Let’s say Joe found a girlfriend and his wife threw him out.  Compare that to Joe’s company discovering his inaccurate expense reports, coupled with fraternizing with the new programmer down the hall.  He cleaned out his desk and crawled into a cave.  Not the same?  Or is it?  Joe will ride a roller coaster, regardless of which happens.  The emotional impact and stages to the next step on his life ladder are similar.

Stage 1-Networking/Finding Leads

Today every dog in town is preaching “networking, networking, networking.”  But many misunderstand what is meant by networking, which is NOT just attending a meeting and collecting business cards.  If you look for a spouse via business cards or online, you may be single a long time.  The job seeker who thinks networking means showing up for the meeting and leaving immediately when it ends, will search much longer than others.  You must get to know people for the end results you want!  Leads often come from unexpected sources.  Neither beg for dates nor a job.  You earn respect and become acquainted before achieving success.

Stage 2-Dating/Research

When we are searching for the right partner, whether in business or marriage, we determine common interests and try out the friendship or possible temporary “opportunity.”  We see how the individual acts on a date.  Does the individual arrive on time?  Is he or she polite and caring?  Does the person work diligently to please?

In job search the process is not much different.  The employer checks people who might know you, in addition to references.  The hiring manager may invite you to interview multiple times, trying to decide if you have the right skills and experience for his or her business family.  You must discover whether you want to spend as much or more time with this corporate culture than your own family.  Will you fit the conservative or fun atmosphere?  Do you like the people you meet?  What about the guy who made rude remarks to you and grilled you until you wanted to cry.  Yes, you may need a job.  But pay attention.  This is a life decision!

Stage 3-Engagement/Interview

Engagements can be very short term.  The woman who meets a gorgeous man in the bar and marries him the following week rarely stays with the situation very long.  The hour long interview may be too short but, in our society, the process can be exceedingly brief.  Discernment is incredibly important when the engagement or interview is brief.

On the other hand, the company who interviews you, requiring five interviews and four months to make a decision may not be the fast paced atmosphere you want for thriving and surviving.  You don’t want to accept too many short term jobs, unless per chance, you are a professional contractor who never wants a full time, ongoing job.

Stage 4-Marriage/The Job

So you give each other rings and take a honeymoon.  You love him and he loves you.  It’s a marriage made in heaven.  Then the little bumpkins come along with essential adjustments, BIG adjustments, like sleepless nights, piano lessons and dental appointments.

Likewise in your new job, you soon realize who really wields the power and how you accomplish goals with simplicity, rather than angst.  You learn to cope.  As they say, “The honeymoon is over.”  No more romance but some drudgery and wonderful challenges in the new endeavor.

Stage 5-Divorce/Job Loss

Finding the actual divorce rate in the US is difficult, but articles claim that fewer people are getting married and fewer are getting divorced.   (Sounds like more contract jobs in the offing!) Trends over the years concur with what is currently happening, additionally predicting that although fewer are marrying, their marriages will last longer.

You may find yourself facing divorce from your mate when happiness in the relationship is completely gone.  You may find yourself on the job market when there is a reorganization.  The pain is often inevitable but it can be a healthy change.  Divorce and layoffs are rarely easy.

People seem to be afraid to commit to one another.  They look for perfection and find faults when they date and marry.  This happens all the time in job search.  The hiring manager needs to fire the last “yoyo” his boss encouraged him to bring on board.  He doesn’t want to make the same mistake again as training the new person incurs time and money.  So he puts off the decision to  fire the boss’ friend.   Progress is non-existent.  When the hiring manager refuses to take action, it affects the bottom line.  Finally, he must face the reality that this relationship must end and terminates the individual, the same as Joe had to find another place to live.  Waiting for the shoe to drop in marriage and an unstable job is painful for all concerned.  Knowing you are not appreciated at work can affect your relationships at home.

Whining and stewing about your marriage or job situation isn’t healthy.  Either improve the situation or move on.

Stage 6-Conclusion

Yes, finding a new job is like getting married.  There is no perfect mate and there is no perfect job.  You must separate the emotions and facts to determine whether you have a match made in heaven or one which can be hell.

Below are some URLs you might want to read about this same topic.

http://familylaw.typepad.com/stats/divorce_rates_us/

http://www.examiner.com/networking-in-national/plan-your-job-search-like-a-wedding

http://www.professionalpenwriters.com/2011/03/16/job-marriage/

http://www.city-data.com/forum/relationships/923147-why-dating-like-job-hunting.html

Ruth Glover is a technical recruiter who volunteers regularly to assist people in job transition.  She wrote the book MORE than a Paycheck: Inspiration and Tools for Career Change to provide role models for people who want to move their careers forward.  You may want to register to be notified when she posts.

In Part 1 you saw suggestions for women’s job interview attire.  Men have fewer alternatives.  Either they wear a suit or they don’t. But, we need to attempt to define business casual.

What is “business casual?” 

“Business casual” means different things to different people.  It may mean a sport coat and slacks.  It might mean a sport coat with dress jeans, although I’m biased about ever wearing jeans to an interview.

The men I asked who were in job transition tended to want to wear business suits but they were all over 40 years old.  I bet I’d get a different answer from younger candidates.  One guy stated, “I would always wear a suit.”  Not so fast!  He’d better check with the recruiter beforehand.  Another one firmly said, “You haven’t earned the right to be casual in an interview situation”

Below are some suggestions for our male readers:

New Grads

• If this is your first suit, you will need to cut the label off the sleeve.  (No kidding, I’ve seen the label still attached more than a few times.)
• Wear dark colored knee socks.  Interviewers are not fond of seeing hairy legs during the interview.
• Buy a pair of nice interview shoes long before you graduate, so you don’t hobble during the interview.  New shoes can HURT.  Wear them awhile to assure comfort.
• Make sure your shirt is clean and ironed. If you can’t convince anyone to wash and iron it, do it yourself or take it to the cleaners. You may not own an iron but the dry cleaner is available for a purpose.
• Khaki or dark pants and a golf shirt with regular shoes will work for business casual, but no tennis shoes.  If it’s winter, a long sleeved shirt is advisable.
• If you are a Barrister, cover your tattoos.  If you are interviewing for a Barista job at Starbucks, tattoos may provide extra points!

Experienced

• Be sure your suit fits you and is up to date.  You should not wear the black suit you wore to your grand-father’s funeral in 1998.
• Your tie should blend with the color of your suit.  Muted red, yellow and light blue are very common colors which look professional with a white or light blue shirt.  The Mickey Mouse tie, even if you are very proud of it, should be left in the closet.
• If you are color blind, get help!  Most fine department stores, such as Macy’s or Nordstrom’s, have career clerks who can assist you with your selections.
• Make sure your shirt isn’t frayed, especially around the collar.  What does it say about you, if you don’t take care of your appearance?  Does it reflect your attitude?  Probably not, but in an interview, you want every chance to be hired.  A threadbare or stained shirt can definitely mark your efforts with a big red “reject.”  I know you think they should hire you for your skills, not your clothes, but appearance is important, whether you like it or not.
• Are your shoes pathetically worn?  Are they polished?  If you will meet with customers, appearance is even more critical.
• Don’t be afraid to use hair color.  If you are over 40 and starting to turn gray, you may compete better with other generations by looking mature, but not old. Bias is rampant in our society.  But don’t obsess about hair.  A touch of gray on a man may be an asset with some interviewers.  That 20 year old you saw in the waiting room may be wishing for a few gray hairs!

Smell

I neglected to mention smell in Part 1.  Try not to eat anything before an interview that will interfere with the interviewer’s focus.  I shouldn’t have to mention cleanliness or odor to professionals, but I’ve had too many people in my office with offensive odors to omit this topic.  Both men and women should refrain from using colognes that may knock the interviewer off his or her chair.  Some interviewers may be allergic to certain odors.

Summary

Dressing for an interview may not be the most important factor in whether you get the job, but your appearance is a factor.  Currently the bottom line for both men and women is a wavy line or crooked road.  We are becoming less strict on attire.  And that makes it a little more challenging to decide what to wear.  Make it easy on yourself. Just ask.  Although some men seem to be averse to asking for directions while driving, before you get in the car, you will be more likely to meet your new boss!

Ruth Glover recruits for both large and small companies, mostly in the semiconductor and telecom industries.  She is the author of MORE than a Paycheck: Inspiration and Tools for Career Change.  Be sure to register to receive notice of her posts, both for new jobs and articles.

Last week I read an article titled Suits are Passe.  Although I have two relatively new business suits, I feel a little over dressed in them.  When I make a sales call, I want to look stylish.  When I make a presentation, I want to look sharp, up to date.  The article I read addresses women’s attire only, so I decided to explore deeper since I coach many people in job transition through my recruiting, outplacement and volunteer activity.  I contacted many of my colleagues, both men and women in the Dallas area and in other states, since I recruit nationwide.

Additionally, I talked with job seekers to hear their views.  The difference between my colleagues and the job seekers demonstrates the need for discussion.  I gathered enough information to publish a two part series.  Part one is for our female readers.

Mitch Byers, HR Director at Jefferson Dental Clinics summarizes the research, when he says, “Like so many other things in life, it depends….It depends on the company and the position. Someone interviewing for a position as press foreman at a local print shop might dress business casual or wear a golf shirt, where a bank manager position around the corner would warrant a suit.”  But there are guidelines to gain, as a result of my un-scientific research.

Suit or No Suit

Whether you are the interviewer or interviewed, you need to update your look.  Ann Luna, sales recruiter, who places sales professionals in the Dallas area recognizes what can happen.  “Don’t pull out your 2001 business interview suit and attempt to squeeze yourself into it because that was what you wore the last time you interviewed.”  What looked great a few years ago is no longer the norm.  Although a suit is not really wrong, some companies want to see how you’d fit within their casual atmosphere through how you dress.

If you are in the financial, banking or legal industries, suits will work and are ordinarily required.  Gaudy jewelry, low cut blouses or tops are not a good way to begin.  You need to be hired for your skills, not how you look.  Pants suits or a layered look, with dark slacks and a colorful jacket over a plain blouse can be quite stylish.  A pretty scarf or elegant piece of jewelry on a boring suit may help you feel more confident.

Dye or not  Dye

Dying your hair can be an asset or liability.  Beautiful white or gray hair may actually be an asset, yet if you are competing with 20 year olds, you may want to cover the “snow.” Your hair needs to look natural.   A touch of gray may be better than solid black dye which could look severe.  Many women have highlights in their hair, which may provide a more fashionable appearance and competitive edge. You don’t want the interviewer to be staring at your coal black hair rather than asking about your accomplishments!  Women need to be sure their roots are not showing.  Unless you are interviewing for a beautician’s job or a retail establishment where tattoos and purple hair are the norm, you need a complimentary hairdo.  Many women with long hair may prefer to wear it swooped upward.  Just be sure it’s not falling in your eyes, as the interviewer might be greatly distracted, wanting to swat it to see you better.  Maroon or brassy red hair is better left until the new colleagues are sure of your competence.  You can be more flamboyant, based on the area of the country, the interviewer’s preference and the specific industry.

If you have been out of high school or college for more than five to ten years, are you still wearing your hair the same way?  A good hair stylist can help, even if you have challenging hair that is too curly or too straight.

Heels or No Heels

Unless you are going to an advertising agency where everyone dresses like fashion models, the extreme heels with platforms are not advised.  Really!  Your wobbly walk might be the focus, rather than your skills.  Low heels or stylish flats are appropriate.  No tennis shoes, of course!  Nice sandals are fine in the summer.  More people are wearing fashion boots in the winter.

Culture or no culture

An interview is two-way communication.  Will you fit the corporate culture?  Be sure to ask the person who contacts you for the interview what you should wear.  The companies who are business casual all the time may want you to see how you fit their relaxed atmosphere.  And you need to determine if sharing a cube with someone in this company could be disasterous.

You simply need to look sharp.  Although some hiring managers and recruiters are a bit disappointed that suits are no longer as common, they are looking for your skills and personality fit more than how you are dressed.  You need to feel comfortable in what you are wearing.  As Ann Luna said in her comments, “You can be up to date without being too trendy.”

Your appearance is just one rung on your ladder to success.  You need to suit the company but what you wear is only one factor in achieving the goal.

I want to thank my colleagues who took the time to respond.  Space is limited for comments, but all their ideas are incorporated in this article.  Part 2 will be shorter.  Men’s attire is far less complex, but equally as important.  Feel free to add your comments.

Ruth Glover is the author of MORE than a Paycheck: Inspiration and Tools for Career Change. If you’re thinking about a career change, you’ll want to read the 20 stories about real people who have moved their careers in various directions.  You may contact her though www.morethanapaycheck.net.

If you want to find work soon, pay careful attention to your words.    Your behavior can swiftly sway the interview the wrong way.

1) I don’t want to move.

What you should say:

Although I would prefer to stay in (Dallas), I’d like to hear more about the job.

2) I don’t want to drive that far.

What you should say:

I’d really like to work for your company, but the distance might be a problem.  Let’s see what develops.

If the job is fantastic, you might be able to work from home when they see your work ethics and productivity.  Do not ask to work remote until you know whether the opportunity excites you, as you might be able negotiate flex time during less traffic or work remote several days a week.  Why mention this at all until you discern whether this is your dream job?

3) I can’t start for another six months.

What you should say:

I’m on a project which I truly enjoy, but it won’t end for six months.  Please tell me more about your opening as it would be difficult to leave in the middle of this commitment.

Sometimes loyalty interferes with good judgment.  Is your company stable?  Companies base their layoffs on business situations, not personalities.  If the opportunity tantalizes you, take the time to explore it.  You’ll learn about the company and its culture in the process.  Companies ordinarily won’t wait more than six weeks for any candidate, unless they are looking for a new grad in the next semester.

4)  I’m not sure I have the background for this job.

What you should say:

Let’s talk more about the job requirements and duties before we move forward.

Don’t squelch the opportunity before you hear the details.  Time is money.  Take adequate time to explore the requirements.  Perhaps another job opening in the company would fit you better.  Or maybe they see your potential better than you do!

5)  I never share my last/current salary on the first contact.

Many, many recruiters will move quickly to the next candidate, if you won’t share your salary.   Not sharing your salary is irresponsible.  Outplacement consultants teach you to provide a salary range but recruiters need the specifics.  I could write an entire article about this topic.

6)  I can’t talk right now; my child needs to go to soccer practice.

What you should say:

I need to contact you at a better time.  May I call you in about an hour or tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.?

Be specific.  Better yet, take the call and be late to soccer.  Do you want a new job or not?  Perhaps the screaming child could wait in the next room with the door closed briefly.  Reaching a recruiter is often very challenging.

7) I can only work 20 hours per week.

What you should say:

Let’s talk about the job duties and responsibilities.  My experience would be an excellent match.  I was really looking for part time but maybe this is an opportunity which could work for us.

8)  I don’t have my references ready.

What you should say:

I haven’t reached one of my critical references yet, as he’s out of town.  I’ll send you the two confirmed references.

Complete your reference list at the very beginning of your search.  Notify your references each time they will be called.  Be sure your references know what the job is so they can concentrate on relevant information about you.

9) I can only work from home.

What you should say:

I’d like to hear more about the job.  Since we live in an electronic age, I’m hoping to find work, where I can affect the bottom line, while working from my home office after we become better acquainted.

Not many companies hire virtual employees before on site training.  Be flexible.

10)  I can’t talk right now; I’m watching the Cowboys play.

What you should say:

I’m very sorry I can’t talk at the moment.  I’d like to return your call at 4:00 p.m.

Maybe you need to see if the Cowboys have any job openings.  They seem to need a bit of new talent.  You are not a serious job seeker unless it’s the World Series in the last of the 9^th inning, in which case the recruiter should not have called.

Other show stoppers:

• Talking too much, rambling, giving too much detail.
• Talking too much about dress code, time off, stock option, sports, etc.
• Not being specific enough or not providing enough detail.
• Hygiene and attire: you’d think everyone would look good and smell clean.
• Answering your cell phone during an interview; turn it OFF!  Or leave it in the car.
• Trying to negotiate higher salary too soon, if at all; the economy is not robust yet.
• Responding without enough research.
• Criticizing former managers and co-workers.
• Overly friendly; too much personal information.
• Late to the interview.

Summary

Be prepared.  Do your research about the company and its people.  Show enthusiasm.  Be sure to know what the next step is in the process.  Ask good questions (but not too many).  It’s a little like playing ball or getting married.  You just never know what curve ball may be thrown at you but adequate preparation and awareness of each of these items will help you score a touchdown or find a new business family.

Ruth Glover owns Career Consultations, an engineering recruiting agency in the Dallas area.  She is the author of MORE than a Paycheck: Inspiration and Tools for Career Change. She can be reached at careers@hotcareers.com.

Title:              Web Designer

Location:        Dallas, TX

Position No.   84175

My client needs a creative, yet technical, Web Designer, for its McKinney, Texas location.  We need a candidate who wants to work full time to help the company’s growth.  With a really cool web based consumer electronics product, they need a wizard with the technical acumen to add new products, change the look and feel of the site, provide applicable programming and add to the fun of their branding.

You should have a passion for web design and visual representation of information in graphs and charts.  You’ll need to be an independent thinker with proven skills to react quickly to the fast paced world of a start up which is gaining international acclaim. Primary responsibilities will be internal web design for the operations center. You may also support marketing design activities from time to time.

Requirements

• Minimum 5 years web design
• Ability to generate a variety of web-based plots, charts and graphs to visually represent data
• Experience with MySQL database queries and results
• Proven skills in creating appealing web pages, including login pages
• Capable of generating web forms to display information based on user input
• Background in choosing the correct design packages for the web solutions
• Expert in coding in various web design languages, including HTML, PHP, Javascript
• Experience with scripting languages such as Perl or shell scripts is a plus
• Experience with Magento desired

Benefits start the first day.  Send your resume to careers@hotcareers.com as soon as possible in a Word document.  Respond NOW as this action oriented company will hire quickly, if you are ready for the next step in your career.

Anxiety is part of job search.  The monotony of trying to manage the sheer idiocy of applying online through difficult applicant tracking systems, the lack of response when you had a good interview, not being able to reach the recruiter…all are significant reasons for stress in your life while you look for a new job.

Problem: Loss of Control

“I can’t do this any more.  I’ve been out of work so long.  My MBA and EE degrees don’t help.  I attend many networking events and send out resumes.  What is wrong with me?  I am so de-moralized.”

Problem: Shame/Embarrassment

I don’t want to go to the upcoming family Thanksgiving dinner.  My brother-in-law is a lawyer who never looked for a job and he doesn’t understand.  We can’t afford the travel and expense for food contribution they expect.  I would rather stay home, but the family really wants to go.

I attend a faith based unemployment group where others seem to be getting jobs and return home completely deflated.

Emotions run rampant during your job search.  You cannot eradicate the emotions entirely, but pessimism can ruin your efforts.  Here are simple survival techniques to assist you.

Exercise

• Take a walk
• Go to the gym
• Quick no cost exercises at home, like crunches
• Coach or participate in a team sport
• Yoga
• Chair exercises

Relaxation techniques

• Write affirmations on “post-it”  notes, putting them in visible locations (on your computer, on the dashboard, on the bathroom mirror) to remind you to breath deeply
• Listen to music periodically
• Turn off the music and brainstorm creative solutions; write them down
• Visualization: go to the beach in your head for a few minutes or picture  your new office
• Get enough sleep
• Don’t exercise before bedtime
• Pray

Volunteer work

• Offer to help someone with a project, demonstrating your talent
• Volunteer to do a pro-bono project for a favorite charity
• Become a foster home for the Humane Society
• Serve food at a local homeless shelter

Rewards

• Take a walk after making five superior job contacts
• Go to a cheap movie
• Talk with an old friend
• Clean a closet or drawer
• Write an email to someone you haven’t seen for awhile
• Post a motivational or humorous slogan

Time management

• Choose a “career partner” who can be objective (not a family member) whom you will call daily at a specific time to report your  job activity
• Maintain a record of how you spend your time
• Make a daily/weekly/monthly list of things to accomplish.

These suggestions are simplistic but they work.  You can Google “depression job search” and you’ll find six million articles to assist you with more sophisticated ideas to help.  If you are immobilized for more than three weeks, you may need to see your doctor as you don’t want to spiral downward any longer.  You may have a health issue.

The bottom line:

If what you are doing is not working, try new methods.  People like helping others.  Don’t hesitate to ask for suggestions and help.  This is not a good time to feel shame or lack of confidence, but to take control of the roller coaster in new ways.  Maybe your brother-in-law will have a good contact for you on Thanksgiving!

Please subscribe to be notified of upcoming posts. If you have tips for maintaining balance on the  job search roller coaster, please comment.

Why does China pertain to you?  Are you open to global opportunities?  Are you connecting with people you know outside your immediate area of expertise?  Are you staying in touch with your boss who moved to Malaysia?  What about that friend of yours who moved to Budapest?

According to my former colleague, Francesco Masetti-Placci, China is a wonderful place to live and work.  Reading articles about the economic opportunities in China or India  sounded so far away for my colleagues or me.  But the more I think about it, the more likely we all need to consider global careers.

Francesco is a fabulous example of the globally oriented engineer.  When I met Francesco, he was Director of Research and Development for Alcatel in Richardson.  He’d already migrated from Italy to the US, later returning to Italy for a two year assignment with Alcatel in strategy and marketing.  From there he moved to China for the company to develop business in the Asia-Pacific market.  When that assignment ended, he took a few months to decide what the next step in his career would be.  And he’s still in China!

Francesco and I re-connected through Linkedin, after many years.  He’s truly a “renaissance man” in today’s marketplace.  Willingly and with excitement, he’s creating his own career adventure.

Francesco is now a part of a small, growing consulting company with a niche and connections doing business with companies who need, not only advice, but also people willing to take calculated risks with developing their careers in new ways.

Certainly there are families who can’t move but the ones who are stuck in a rut, unwilling to move into our global, electronic world may be left behind in the dust.  If you are an entrepreneur, you want the best profits for whatever your endeavor may be.  That may not be in China.  With the right advice, your innovative idea may become reality in Argentina or Allen, Texas.

You may want and need to take some classes to prepare for the idea of being employed abroad or owning your own company.  Southern Methodist University, as well as University of Texas-Dallas in Dallas offer excellent programs.  My bet is you can find classes in your area or online to help you fill the gaps in your background before moving forward.

If you have a creative idea for a business, think globally.  You may work from your garage after writing a plan on a napkin, as innovation is critical in this economy.  Experts exist to encourage and help you.  Brainstorm your ideas.  Make some plans.  Research and revise the plans.  Leaving relatives and friends may be difficult, but with our global communications, you can easily stay in touch.  Being open to change prevents missing opportunities!

Are you a calculated risk taker?  Can you willingly adapt new ways to use your skills?  I bet you know some people like Francesco.  And if you don’t, I have some more stories to share in upcoming articles to encourage you to think globally!

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Steve Jobs is the founder and CEO of Apple Computer, NeXT and Pixar.

“I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: “We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?” They said: “Of course.” My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents’ savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn’t see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn’t interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn’t all romantic. I didn’t have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn’t have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can’t capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it’s likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My second story is about love and loss.

I was lucky that I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parent’s garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation – the Macintosh – a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn’t know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down – that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me that I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple’s current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I’m pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith. I’m convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You’ve got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.

My third story is about death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything that all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn’t even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor’s code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you’d have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I’m fine now.

This was the closest I’ve been to facing death, and I hope it’s the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960′s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and Polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.