How to Read ...and then I painted the garage.: Getting the job you want in the least amount of time. RTF
Going through a job search can be a very difficult experience. You have to decide how to convince an employer that you, more than any other job seeker, are the right fit for their organization. How do you do that? How do decide what jobs to target, write the right resume, convince the interviewer you are the best person, and deal with the stress of possible rejection? After all, you may be one of many people (sometimes thousands) who can do the job. In our rapidly changing world where skills can quickly become outdated, outsourcing sends jobs to other parts of the country or overseas, and employers have become more difficult to satisfy, how do you get to be the one who is chosen? When people ask themselves these and other questions regarding age, experience, education, industry experience, and the like, etc., they often become discouraged. No one wants to be unwanted (unless they don’t really want the job). So, the trick is to stay focused and motivated and to communicate your value to your employer of choice.The title for this book comes from an individual I worked with many years ago (although I have seen the pattern repeated many times). Among the common activities that people get involved in to avoid dealing with job search preparation are chores around the house. While it might seem like a great time to catch up on fixing the plumbing or painting the guest bedroom, there is a danger that these kinds of activities can interfere with the healing and renewal of energy that come from getting focused and meeting people. It is not uncommon for clients who do not come to their first appointment to tell me that they had been painting some room in their home. In an extreme case, one individual only started his search after he painted several rooms and his unfinished garage. There have been many activities that have functioned on a “to-do” list that delayed new employment.Several years ago, in order to better help my clients, I decided that it would make sense to actually interview people who did hiring to determine what they were looking for and how they went about hiring new employees. I ran focus groups and taped interviews with dozens of employers, state officials, and representatives of business associations, and I held ongoing discussions with other professionals in the field of career transition.Over the past three decades I have worked with hundreds of individuals who have successfully made a career transition; they, of course, have taught me the most. These clients include CEO’s of major corporations, upper level executives, middle managers, blue-collar workers, college and high school students, and people getting off welfare. While there are some very distinct differences among the groups, there are surprising similarities in how individuals need to prepare for a job search and market themselves.
